Christians worldwide are marking Easter Sunday together this year, as both Catholic and Orthodox churches celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on the same day.
Christians across the globe are celebrating Easter, Christianity’s most significant holiday.
For over 400 years, Catholic and Orthodox churches have used different methods to calculate the date of Easter. But this Sunday marks a rare occasion as both traditions celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on the same day.
In Kyiv, residents attended Easter Mass from Saturday night into Sunday morning. Due to the city’s midnight curfew, worshippers remained inside the church until dawn. Ceremonies across Ukraine came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a temporary ceasefire lasting until midnight on Sunday.
In Moscow, hundreds gathered at Christ the Saviour Cathedral for Easter Mass led by Patriarch Kirill, which took place overnight from Saturday into Sunday.
On Chios Island, rival churches continued their annual Easter tradition of launching fireworks at each other's buildings in an effort to strike the opponent’s church bell. Worshippers from Panagia Erithiani and Saint Mark use handmade rockets crafted from sulphur and gunpowder, continuing a tradition that evolved from the use of heavy cannons to today’s less-harmful fireworks.
In North Bohemia, a village boy dressed in a hay suit led the traditional "Marching Judas" procession on Easter Saturday. Surviving in only a few eastern Czech villages, the eldest teenage boy becomes the "Straw Judas," symbolizing the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Children follow him door to door, singing and collecting sweets, eggs, and money in a cart pulled by Judas.
In Oruro, artists crafted large sand sculptures portraying biblical scenes and the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross. Nearly 200 artists from Bolivia, Argentina, and Peru turned the dunes into a massive canvas for the festival’s 19th edition, attracting crowds to admire the detailed sand creations.
In Jerusalem, Orthodox Christians gathered at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the Holy Fire ceremony, a tradition believed to symbolize Jesus’ resurrection. At 2 p.m. on Holy Saturday, a sunbeam is said to ignite a lamp inside the tomb, after which the Greek Orthodox Patriarch emerges with a lit candle. The flame is then shared among worshippers and passed to pilgrims waiting in the nearby streets.
While many observe Easter Sunday with traditional practices like prayer and mass, others embrace more secular customs — from colorful egg hunts and decorating to festive baskets and visits from the Easter Bunny.
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A large-scale drone attack has hit Russia's Samara region, damaging facilities and disrupting operations at an Ozon logistics complex, according to regional authorities and the company.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected calls for a wartime election, arguing that holding a vote while Russia's full-scale invasion continues would divide the country and undermine national unity.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was not ready to make what he called the "right deal" with Washington as tensions persisted over the war and the Strait of Hormuz.
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The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to receive 70,000 doses of the Ebola vaccine Ervebo as health authorities race to contain what has become the country's largest Ebola outbreak on record.
Kazakhstanis went to the polls on Sunday in a snap parliamentary election held under the country’s new constitutional system, which replaces the former two-chamber parliament with a single 145-seat legislature known as the Kurultai.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected calls for a wartime election, arguing that holding a vote while Russia's full-scale invasion continues would divide the country and undermine national unity.
Syria expects negotiations with Israel over a security agreement to resume soon despite deep mistrust between the two sides, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said in an interview with Reuters, urging Israel to seize an "historic opportunity" as the door for diplomacy is open.
India's Coast Guard and Navy continued search-and-rescue operations off the eastern coast on Sunday after a Panama-flagged cargo vessel carrying 24 crew sank, with two Chinese nationals rescued, a senior official said.
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