Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos on Thursday confirmed that the holy light, which is also known as the holy fire, will arrive in Cyprus in advance of Easter, thanking his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis for helping to facilitate its arrival.

“On behalf of the Republic of Cyprus, I would like to express our warmest thanks to the Greek government, and more specifically to the foreign ministry and its minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, for the excellent cooperation regarding the transportation of the holy light from the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem,” he wrote in a post on social media.

The ceremony of the holy light occurs at the Church of the Resurrection, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on the Saturday before Easter, with a fire being lit at the shrine where the tomb of Jesus is believed to have been located.

Orthodox Christians believe that the fire is lit miraculously and that it is the blessed light of Christ. Once the fire is lit and the ceremony is held, it is distributed by air to various national Orthodox churches, including Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria, Russia and Serbia.

In Cyprus, the flame is typically welcomed at Larnaca airport by a bishop and a sitting minister.

It had been feared that the holy light may not make it to Cyprus this year, in light of aeronautical disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

However, with a fragile ceasefire seeming to hold, and with arrangements having been made with the government of Greece, it is expected that the holy light will land in Cyprus on Saturday.