The faithful gathered at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, waiting for clergymen to emerge with the Holy Fire from the Edicule, a chamber built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was buried and rose from the dead after being crucified.
The 25-minute livestreamed "Music for Hope" concert by the Italian tenor reached more than 2.8 million concurrent peak viewers in the largest simultaneous audience for a classical live stream in YouTube history, YouTube said on Wednesday.
At the climax of Holy Week for the planet's two billion-plus Christians, congregations were shuttered at home to avoid spreading Covid-19. Some US priests and pastors risked arrest by announcing they would hold public services in their churches.