Israeli restrictions on ‘Holy Fire’ ignite Christian outrage
JerusalemAP Christians celebrated their “Holy Fire” ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Saturday against a backdrop of rising tensions with Israel, which imposed new restrictions on attendance this year that it said were needed for safety. Israel says it wants to prevent another disaster after a crowd stampede at a […]
Russian Patriarch prays for quick end to Ukraine conflict but avoids criticising it
Reuters The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose backing for Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has dismayed many fellow Christians, said on Saturday he hoped it would end quickly but again did not condemn it. At an outdoor service at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral on the eve of Orthodox Easter, Patriarch Kirill […]
Ukrainians return home from Poland for special Easter
Reuters Maria Verbyana, 19, moved to Warsaw to escape Lviv, Ukraine, a month ago amid the threat of Russian bombings. But, as Orthodox Easter approaches on Sunday, she could not imagine being away from her priest and family. Late on Thursday night, she boarded a bus back home, determined to spend her Easter volunteering to […]
COVID-themed candles on sale in Greece for Orthodox Easter
Athens, Greece AP Inside Greece’s Orthodox churches, candles are a symbol of faith and simplicity, slender and traditionally made of beeswax, and placed in large candleholders filled with sand. Outside, buyers are looking for a wow-factor to go with Easter gifts: They are sold with dolls, watches and karaoke microphones, or fashioned using dyes and […]
World Council of Churches urges Patriarch Kirill to lobby for Easter ceasefire
RNS The head of the World Council of Churches is urging Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, to call for a ceasefire in Ukraine as Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter this weekend. “People lost their trust and hope in politicians and in a possible peaceful negotiation and a ceasefire,” Rev Ioan […]
At Orthodox Easter, pandemic and war hit tourism in Lalibela, holy Ethiopian site
Lalibela, EthiopiaReuters As they have done for hundreds of years on the Orthodox Easter weekend, priests wrapped in traditional white robes read the Bible by candlelight on Saturday evening in the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia. The ancient ritual has been a tourist draw in recent years. Ethiopian Orthodox pilgrims attend the Easter […]