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Religious and political leaders in the UK are highlighting the conflict in the Middle East in their Easter<\/a> messages, calling for \u201cpeace, justice and freedom\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n The archbishop of Canterbury will deliver her first Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday as the Church of England\u2019s top bishop. Dame Sarah Mullally<\/a> will call \u201cwith renewed urgency\u201d for peace in the Middle East and pray for \u201can end to the violence and destruction\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n The archbishop\u2019s plea comes as the war, launched by the US and Israel on Iran at the end of February, enters its sixth week<\/a>. The conflict has so far killed thousands and, beyond the region, has resulted in soaring fuel prices amid an effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz<\/a>, one of the world\u2019s most important shipping routes.<\/p>\n Mullally is expected to pray that \u201call people of the region receive the peace, justice and freedom they long for\u201d and will tell the cathedral\u2019s congregation: \u201cThis week, our gaze and our prayers have been turned towards the land where Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead. Today, as we shout with joy that Christ is risen, let us pray and call with renewed urgency for an end to the violence and destruction in the Middle East and the Gulf.<\/p>\n \u201cMay our Christian sisters and brothers know and celebrate the hope of the empty tomb \u2013 and may all people of the region receive the peace, justice and freedom they long for.\u201d<\/p>\n Mullally is also expected to pray for people dealing with personal struggles, from unemployment to bereavement, telling them: \u201cGod walks with you through that darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n She will say: \u201cPerhaps you are here today standing in your own version of the dark, perhaps with your own heart shattered \u2026 If you have been knocked off course by illness, bereavement, unemployment or any other human crisis \u2013 I pray you know that God walks with you through that darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n Mullally, a former chief nurse in England, will give special mention to those caring for others in society. She will say: \u201cLast night, in hospitals around the country, nurses tended to those who struggled to sleep. In hospices, carers and loved ones will have held someone\u2019s hand, letting them know they are not alone. Parents will have cradled their babies to sleep. This vigil of care is the work of remaining \u2013 of staying present in the quiet and the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n