PHOTO ESSAY: An Easter reenactment in a Lebanese village

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The border village of Rmeish in southern Lebanon marked Easter Sunday with a traditional celebration that brought together residents and visitors, despite tensions at the border.

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Worshippers walk to Saint Mary Greek Melkite Church, background, to attend the traditional Palm Sunday procession in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A girl reads from the holy book during Palm Sunday Mass at the Maronite Church of St. George in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A girl holds a candle as worshippers pray during Palm Sunday Mass at the Maronite Church of St. George in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, April 13, 2025. The service marked the traditional Palm Sunday procession. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A Christian Lebanese family poses for a photo during Palm Sunday Mass at the Maronite Church of St. George in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Christians take part in the traditional Palm Sunday procession in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A boy rings the bell of the Maronite Church of St. George as his sister holds a candle during the traditional Palm Sunday procession in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A man lights a candle for his daughter during Palm Sunday Mass at the Maronite Church of St. George in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A general view of the village of Quraye, where Christians gathered for Holy Week rituals, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Christian boys rest outside their family home before attending the Washing of the Feet ceremony in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A man carries a large cutout of an angel outside the Maronite Church of St. George during preparations for the Washing of the Feet ceremony in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Members of the Maronite Church of St. George rehearse for the traditional Good Friday procession in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Members of the Maronite Church of St. George carry a wooden cross through an olive grove as they prepare for the traditional Good Friday procession in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Residents walk through the streets after attending early Mass at the Maronite Church of St. George in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Rev. Tony Chalhoub, center, of the Maronite Church of St. George kisses a foot during the Washing of the Feet ceremony in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A statue of the Virgin Mary is surrounded by shadows during a Good Friday display outside a home in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A wooden cross leans against a stone wall outside the Saint Mary greek Melkite Church during Good Friday preparations in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A statue of Saint Rafqa is displayed in front of a residential building in the village of Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Members of the Maronite Church of St. George rehearse a crucifixion scene as part of preparations for the traditional Good Friday procession in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A man harvests loquats from a tree in his garden in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Charbel Joseph Antoun, 37, has makeup applied before portraying Jesus in a Good Friday reenactment at the Maronite Church of St. George in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Rusty shackles rest on a tree stump as part of a Good Friday observance symbolizing Christ’s suffering and sacrifice in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Children look on with emotion while adults capture the moment on their phones during a Good Friday reenactment outside the Maronite Church of St. George in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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People watch with emotion from a window and among the crowd during a Good Friday procession outside the Saint Mary Greek Melkite Church, in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Charbel Joseph Antoun, 37, portraying Jesus, falls to the ground during a Good Friday reenactment of the crucifixion in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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A young woman portraying a biblical figure reacts emotionally during a Good Friday reenactment of the crucifixion in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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Charbel Joseph Antoun, 37, portrays Jesus as he carries a wooden cross while being whipped by a Roman soldier during a Good Friday reenactment in Quraye, near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

By HASSAN AMMAR and MARIAM FAM

QURAYE, Lebanon (AP) — 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.

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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.”

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This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.

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Fam reported from Cairo.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.