Quraye's Good Friday tradition: An Easter reenactment in a Lebanese village

It's become a Good Friday tradition in Quraye: residents and visitors converging on the southern Lebanese village to witness a portrayal by some Christians there of Jesus' suffering and crucifixion.

On Friday, Charbel Joseph Antoun, 37, played the role of Jesus.

Wearing a crown that was thorny on the outside, he lugged a wooden cross while getting flogged. At one point, Antoun's arms were tied with ropes to the cross, which was then hoisted up.

Spectators walked behind the procession; others peered down from balconies. At times, many looked touched by the scenes.

"What's more beautiful than representing the final period of Jesus' life on earth ... and of feeling, even a little bit, of the pain he's felt?" Antoun told The Associated Press on the eve of the reenactment of the Way of the Cross. "What's more beautiful than all of us gathering together?"

This year, Christians in Lebanon are observing Holy Week and celebrating Easter after a November ceasefire halted more than a year of the latest Israel-Hezbollah fighting, providing the country with some respite though not a complete end to hostilities.

Since the ceasefire, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes that have killed scores of civilians and members of the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group. Israel has said that its strikes in Lebanon are in response to ceasefire violations by Hezbollah and to prevent the group from rearming. Hezbollah started launching attacks on Israel a day after the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Palestinian militants' attack on southern Israel.

Even before the fighting, Lebanon was embroiled in a series of economic and other crises.

"People vent during these celebrations," said the Rev. Tony Chalhoub of the Maronite church of St. George in Quraye. "They're trying to live as much as possible."

Many Lebanese, he said, have had to grow accustomed to coping with wars. "When Israel strikes, the people get scared in the moment and then carry on with their business," he said.

This year, Chalhoub said, he's seeing "a look of hope" and more smiles from people, before adding: "I don't know if they will be disappointed later."

On Thursday, in a ritual symbolizing humility, Chalhoub washed the feet of a dozen boys at the church.

The ritual recalls the foot-washing Jesus performed on his 12 apostles at their Last Supper together before he would be taken away to be crucified.

Chalhoub said he doesn't participate in the Friday reenactment, which he said has become entrenched in Quraye. On social media, he added, it often draws mixed reactions, with some criticizing aspects of it as "backward."

Antoun said scenes like the hoisting of the cross and the flogging are done in a calculated and "professional" manner. "We do this out of a good heart," he said.

Michel Badr, who came from another village to attend the reenactment, said he supports the performance "so that people would know, even if in a small way, how much Jesus had suffered ... to give us a new era and a beautiful life after him."

Chalhoub said his concern is to avoid an overemphasis on mourning. "It's better to turn the pain into glory and to triumph over pain with God's power, not just to go and cry," he said.

"There's redemption. There's salvation," Chalhoub said. "Of course, there's sadness, but there's huge hope for triumphing over all that is painful."