Orthodox believers celebrate Easter – the most important of Christian holidays. What happened on Easter night – see Russian media photo report.
Easter is a movable holiday, every year it is celebrated in the spring, but at different times, its occurrence is determined by the lunar calendar. This year, the feast fell on April 16 (Catholics and Lutherans celebrated it a week earlier). Easter, according to the Christian religion, marks the victory of Christ over sin and death, which means for every believing Christian the way of salvation.
In Russia, the main Easter service was held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. He was visited by the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, who showed up for the service together with the capital’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin. Congratulating believers, Patriarch Cyril noted that “today he prays especially for those who “carry the cross of confession courageously”, including in Ukraine.
A nun during an Easter service at the Cathedral Church of Christ the SaviourSergey Karpukhin/TASS
Parishioners pray at the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit in VilniusMindaugas Kulbis/AP
The priest blesses the faithful and traditional Easter cakes and colored eggs prepared for the celebration of Easter in St. PetersburgDmitri Lovetsky / AP
A cleric during an Easter service at the Nativity of Christ Cathedral Nikolai Mikhalchenko/TASS
Worshipers came to the service on the eve of Christ’s resurrection at St. Anthony Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo, EgyptAmr Nabil/AP
Priests during the procession before the start of the Easter service at the Ascension Cathedral in Novosibirsk. Kirill Kukhmar / TASS
Believers at an Easter service at the Ascension Cathedral in NovosibirskKirill Kukhmar/TASS
A woman decorates with flowers a wooden structure representing the tomb of Jesus Christ at the Armenian Cathedral in Bucharest, Romania, Andreea Alexandru / AP
Greek Orthodox priests take part in the Easter Vigil at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in IstanbulFrancisco Seco/AP
Orthodox believers carry lighted candles around a church during a midnight Easter service in St Petersburg. Dmitry Lovetsky/AP
Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porphyry celebrated the traditional Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Cathedral. Sava in BelgradeDarko Vojinovic/AP
Archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church Vladimir Vigilyansky takes part in the procession during the Easter service at the Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana in Moscow Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP
Lieutenant General Serhiy Naev shares an Easter meal with Ukrainian soldiers stationed at a defensive post in the Kiev regionBernat Armangue / AP
Parishioners light candles from the holy fire during an Easter service at Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in SofiaBorislav Troshev/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Vigil service at the Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana in Moscow Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP
Easter Service Procession of Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Epiphanius at the golden-domed Monastery of St. MichaelRoman Pilipey/Getty Images
Procession around Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, BulgariaBorislav Troshev/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin (left to right) during the Easter service in the Cathedral of Christ the SaviourSergey Karpukhin/TASS
Ethiopian Orthodox pilgrims walk past the Sacred FireMahmoud Illean/AP
Bonfire next to the Orthodox Church of Saint Paraskeva in the suburbs of the capital Nicosia. Cypriots across the country lit the traditional Easter bonfires, or lambragia. According to tradition, effigies of Judas were burned there. Petros Karadjias / AP
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