Kyiv, Ukraine
AP
The sun came out as Ukrainians marked Orthodox Easter in the capital, Kyiv, on Sunday with prayers for those fighting on the front lines and others trapped beyond them in places like Mariupol.
St Volodymyr’s Cathedral in Kyiv was ringed by hundreds of worshippers with baskets to be blessed. Inside, a woman clutched the arm of a soldier, turning briefly to kiss his elbow. Other soldiers prayed, holding handfuls of candles, then crossed themselves. An older woman slowly made her way through the crowd and stands of flickering candles. One young woman held daffodils.
Worshippers light candles at the Saint Volodymyr’s Cathedral during Orthodox Eastern celebrations in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, 24th April.PICTURE: AP Photo/Francisco Seco.
POPE CALLS FOR ORTHODOX EASTER TRUCE IN UKRAINE WAR
Pope Francis called for halt to attacks in Ukraine on Sunday so aid can reach the exhausted population and urged leaders to “listen to the voice of the people”, who fear an escalation.
Speaking to tens of thousands of people in St Peter’s Square, he noted that the day most Eastern Christians, including Orthodox and Catholics in Ukraine and Russia, celebrate Easter coincided with the two month mark of the war.
“Instead of stopping, the war has become more harsh,” he said from the window of the official papal study.
“I renew an appeal for an Easter truce, the minimum and tangible sign of a willingness for peace. Stop the attacks in order to help the exhausted population. Stop,” Francis said.
Pope Francis presides over a Holy Mass to mark the feast of Divine Mercy at the Vatican, on 24th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Remo Casilli.
As Christians in Ukraine celebrated Orthodox Easter, there was no end in sight to a war that has killed thousands, uprooted millions more and reduced cities to rubble. Ukraine said two children were among those killed in shelling on Sunday.
Western Christians celebrated Easter last Sunday.
“It is sad that in these days that are the most holy and solemn for all Christians, the deadly sound of weapons is heard more than sound of bells that announce the resurrection. And it is sad that weapons are increasingly taking the place of words,” Francis said.
“Please, political leaders, listen to the voice of the people who want peace, not an escalation of the conflict,” Francis said.
– PHILIP PULLELLA/Reuters
Outside the cathedral, a soldier who gave only his first name, Mykhailo, used his helmet as an Easter basket. He said he didn’t have another.
“I hope I’ll only have to use the helmet for this,” he said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at a service elsewhere in Kyiv urged Ukrainians not to let anger at the war overwhelm them.
“All of us believe our sunrise will come soon,” he said.
The spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians called for the opening of humanitarian corridors in Ukraine, saying a “human tragedy” was unfolding in the country.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I spoke Saturday night in Istanbul during midnight Mass. He is considered first among equals among Eastern Orthodox patriarchs, which gives him prominence but not the power of a Catholic pope.
With the Orthodox church split by the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, some worshippers hoped the holy day could inspire gestures of peacemaking. “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 Daniel’s.
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.
An Orthodox Ukrainian priest blesses believers as they collect 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, 24th April. PICTURE: AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti.
In eastern Ukraine, the scene of Russia’s latest offensive, worshippers expressed unease along with hope for negotiations.
“God will make them understand and they will reach an agreement, because this should be stopped,” said Aleksandra Papravkina in Bakhmut. “Otherwise, Ukraine will not exist.”
Ukraine, meanwhile, prepared for the first high-level US trip to Kyiv since before the war began on 24th February after Zelenskiy announced he would meet in Kyiv on Sunday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Zelenskiy in a news conference Saturday night gave few details but said he expected results – “not just presents or some kind of cakes, we are expecting specific things and specific weapons”.
– With OLEKSANDR STASHEVSKY in Ivanivka.
