From Jerusalem to London. Olive oil The coronation ceremony of King Charles III is not complete without it

From occupied Jerusalem to London, Palestinian olive oil was transported at the beginning of last March in a golden bottle in the form of an eagle, to be painted by British King Charles III and his wife Camilla on Saturday during the upcoming coronation ceremony at Westminster Cathedral, after going through several stages and stations in Palestine.

The oil journey began after the olive harvest of the orchards of the churches of "Mary Magdalene" and "Deir al-Ascens" in the Mount of Olives in occupied Jerusalem, due to the holiness of the mountain as a Christian, and containing the finest and oldest olive trees, in addition to the proximity of the trees of the Church of Mary Magdalene to the grave of the king's grandmother to his father, Princess Alice Battenberg, who died in the United Kingdom in 1969, and the transfer of her remains to Jerusalem, where Charles visited her grave during an official visit for the first time in 2018.

The olive age in the city of Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem, close to the Church of the Nativity, which witnessed the birth of Christ, peace be upon him, according to Christian belief, and on March 4, he was transferred to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem to sanctify him, under the supervision of a group of patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem, headed by the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Patriarch Theophilos III, and the Archbishop of the Evangelical Episcopal Church, Bishop Hossam Naoum, after which it became the holy oil of "Meron".

The oil is extracted from the orchards of the churches of "Mary Magdalene" and "Deir al-Ascens" on the Mount of Olives in occupied Jerusalem (Al-Jazeera)

Why oil?

Father Abdullah July says that it is "oil that he prayed for blessing from God, in the great week before Easter, when the patriarch recites a special prayer for him." "Oil is a medium and a symbol for a person to feel blessed, just like the water that is sanctified and baptized by the believers, and oil in our traditions is anointed with it on the prophet, the king and the priest to consecrate and sanctify them," he added.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, July explained that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was chosen to be the place of sanctification of oil, because it is "the most important church in the world, and reminds Christians of the crucifixion of Christ and his resurrection on the third day from the dead, while Catholics and Eastern Orthodox believe that the tomb of Christ is in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre."

The fragrance of myron oil with sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, amber and orange flower, and its main formula is similar to the old recipe used to make the oil, at the time of the coronation of Charles III's mother, Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and her predecessors since 1066, in the same British cathedral.

A sacred moment

Issa Musleh, spokesman for the media of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, said, "Holy oil is one of the seven sacraments of the Church, where the priest draws the sign of the cross on the believer's forehead, face, beard, hands and chest, as will the Archbishop of Canterbury tomorrow, His Eminence Archbishop Justin Woelby."

He added a reformer to Al Jazeera Net that the king's fat will be hidden from behind the veil, continuing "because this historical moment is sacred between him and the Lord."

Father July: Holy oil used to sanctify kings, prophets and priests (island)

The importance of olives

As for the importance of the olive tree and its oil in Christianity, it is mentioned in 140 places in the Bible, whether within the Old or New Testament, and the olive branch in the Book of Genesis symbolizes the end of the flood during the reign of the Prophet Noah, and Christ was anointed with oil.

According to academic Haseeb Shehadeh, one of the meanings of the word "Messiah" - in Aramaic and Hebrew - means anointing with holy oil in the temple in order to bless and sanctify, and Shaul (Talut) was the first king anointed by divine command, and then the two kings David and Solomon.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, who would anoint Charles III with holy oil, said: "The coronation oil reflects the king's family's personal attachment to the Holy Land and his great interest in its people, since I started planning for the coronation, I wanted to produce new oil from the Mount of Olives, to illustrate the deep historical link between the coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land."

According to the British royal family's website, the Archbishop of Canterbury added: "From ancient times to the present day, kings have been anointed with oil from this holy place."