Light amidst darkness: Thousands of candles are lit as 260 million Orthodox Christians mark Easter according to Julian calendar across the globe today
- Orthodox Christians around the globe are celebrating Easter this Sunday in line with the Julian calendar
- In Istanbul, Turkey, hundreds of worshippers attend a service the Church of Fener Orthodox Patriarchate
- Thousands marked the day across the globe, including President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukrainian cathedral
Orthodox Christians around the globe are celebrating Easter today, with thousands lighting candles at services in their community.
In Istanbul, Turkey, people attend an Easter Resurrection Service at the Church of Fener Orthodox Patriarchate.
The Patriarchate is the centre of Greek Orthodox Christianity, which has a religious population of around 260 million people worldwide.
A service at the the Patriarchal Church of St. George was conducted by Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, regarded as the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians.
Orthodox worshippers light candles during an Easter Resurrection Service in Istanbul, Turkey
The service at the Church of Fener Orthodox Patriarchate is conducted by Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
Ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, spiritual leader of Greek Orthodox world, officiates the Easter ceremony at the St. George Church
A woman lights a candle and places it in the sand during the service
Worshippers leave lit candles as part of the service, at the Church of Fener Orthodox Patriarchate
A woman wearing a headscarf stands illuminated by the candle she cradles, in a crowd in Istanbul
Crowds gather together with candles as they mark the religious day in the Julian calendar
Standing shoulder to shoulder, worshippers congregate for the Easter service
Based at the Church of Fener Orthodox Patriarchate, Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople conducts the service
Russia and Ukraine both marked Orthodox Easter today, with pictures showing Vladimir Putin in a Moscow church as his army’s missiles continued to rain down on Ukrainian civilians across the country.
The Russian strongman attended the midnight mass at the capital’s vast Christ the Saviour Cathedral, that sits close to the Kremlin.
Putin held a lit candle and when Patriarch Kirill – head of the Russian Orthodox Church – said ‘Christ has risen’, Putin joined other worshippers with the reply ‘Truly he is risen’.
Across the border, just 280 miles from Moscow, the same words were spoken by people in Ukraine as the embattled nation also marked Orthodox Easter, in some cases in the ruins of churches destroyed by Russian shells.
In the capital of Kyiv, prayers were held for those fighting on the front lines and others trapped beyond them in places like Mariupol.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed in an Easter message that no ‘wickedness’ will destroy the country and prayed that God returns happiness to children and brings solace to grieving mothers.
In a video address from one of the country’s best known landmarks, the 1,000-year-old Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine will overcome the darkness that Russia’s invasion had brought upon it.
‘Today, we still believe in the new victory of Ukraine and we are all convinced that we will not be destroyed by any horde or wickedness,’ said Zelensky.
‘We are overcoming dark times and on this day I – and most of us – are not in bright clothes, but we are fighting for a luminous idea.’
Ukraine’s St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral – also in Kyiv – was ringed by hundreds of worshipers with baskets to be blessed.
KYIV: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses Ukrainian people with Orthodox Easter message, as Russia’s attack continues, at the Saint Sophia cathedral, April 23
A Ukrainian soldier lights candles at the Volodymysky Cathedral during Easter celebration in Kyiv, Ukraine
People attend a service at the Volodymysky Cathedral during Easter celebration in Kyiv, Ukraine
Worshippers light candles at the Saint Volodymyr’s Cathedral during Orthodox Eastern celebrations in Kyiv, Ukraine
Local residents walk after the Orthodox Easter service next to The Nativity of the Holy Virgin Church damaged by shelling during Russia’s invasion in the village of Peremoha, in Kyiv region, Ukraine
An Orthodox priest Oleksandr conducts the Orthodox Easter service at the remains of Trinity church in the village of Hostroluchchia, in Kyiv region
What is Orthodox Easter and when does it fall?
Orthodox Christians base their Easter date on the Julian calendar. Designed by Julius Caesar in 45 BC – the calendar considers a year to be the time it takes the Sun to go around the Earth.
It has years that last either 365 days or leap years with 366 days, and slightly exceeds an astronomical year.
This means that the Julian calendar gains a day every 128 years. At the moment, it is 13 days behind the Gregorian Calendar.
Created in 1582 by Pope Gregory, the Gregorian Calendar changed a year from 365.25 days to 365.2425 days. Great Britain adopted this calendar in 1752.
With the Orthodox church split by the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, some worshippers hoped the holy day could inspire gestures of peace-making.
‘The church can help,’ said one man who gave only his first name, Serhii, as he came to a church in Kyiv under the Moscow Patriarchate.
He and others brought baskets to be blessed by priests for Easter, with flicks of a brush sprinkling holy water over offerings of home-dyed eggs, lighted candles and even bottles of Jack Daniels.
Residents of rural villages battered by the war approached the holiday with some defiance.
‘We’ll celebrate Easter no matter what, no matter much horror,’ said Kateryna Lazarenko, 68, in the northern village of Ivanivka outside Chernihiv, where ruined Russian tanks still littered the roads.
‘How do I feel? Very nervous, everyone is nervous,’ said another resident, Olena Koptyl, as she prepared her Easter bread.
‘The Easter holiday doesn’t bring any joy. I’m crying a lot. We cannot forget how we lived.’
She and 12 others spent a month sheltering from Russian soldiers in the basement of her home before the soldiers withdrew.
Away from Kyiv, under the rain at a military position in the eastern town of Lyman, on the frontline, soldiers traded the usual patriotic salutation of ‘Glory to Ukraine!’ for the ritual ‘Christ has risen!’
‘Truly risen!’ came the reply.
Worshipers stand next to their traditional cakes and painted eggs prepared for an Easter celebration during a religious service at a church in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Sunday
Olga Zhovtobrukh, 55, cries during an Easter religious service celebrated at a church in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on Sunday
A female Ukrainian soldier crosses herself during an Orthodox Easter service in St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral in Kyiv on April 24, 2022
An Orthodox priest Oleksandr conducts the Orthodox Easter service at the remains of Trinity church in the village of Hostroluchchia, in Kyiv region, Ukraine
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