Orthodox Easter

People across Ukraine observed Orthodox Easter on Sunday with prayers for the troops defending the country from Russia's invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed on Sunday in an Orthodox Easter message that no "wickedness" will destroy the country and prayed that God ...

"Take care of our mothers, give endurance to those who are waiting for a son or daughter to return from the war," he added. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Soldiers and local residents gather at churches, with some praying for the U.S. and its Western allies to supply more heavy weapons.

On Sunday morning, Ukrainians flocked to St. Michael’s Gold-Domed Cathedral in central Kyiv to celebrate the holiday. You may cancel your subscription at anytime by calling Customer Service. Soldiers on leave mixed with local residents of the capital city, which the Russians tried and failed to take in the first weeks of the war.

By Pawel Florkiewicz, Michael Kahn and Riham Alkousaa WARSAW/PRAGUE/BERLIN (Reuters) - Ukrainian refugees filled churches across central Europe on Sun...

“It’s my first Easter celebration not in Ukraine. It’s sad and my heart hurts because so many people have died. “I would like to thank the Poles for helping Ukrainians so much. More than 369,000 Ukrainians have registered in Germany after fleeing the war. Inside the church, attendees crossed themselves while singing hymns as others silently took turns lighting candles. “I hope the next Easter holiday will be at home in Ukraine,” Dudka said. “When the war is over I will go back to Ukraine. I dream that I will be able to return so that I can celebrate Easter at my home and that my daughter will be with her family.”

A woman stands with her easter basket to be blessed by a priest during an Easter Sunday service outside a church in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

UN official urges stop to fighting in Mariupol, and Ukraine mourns death of journalist and her young child.

The United States and Nato allies have shown growing readiness to supply heavier equipment and more advanced weapons systems. An adviser to the Ukrainian president, Vlodomyr Zelenskiy, said on Sunday that Ukraine had invited Russia to talks near the Mariupol steel plant. You are in our hearts,” he wrote on social media. On Sunday her husband, Yury Glodan, shared a heartbreaking tribute to his wife and daughter. Glodan had posted on Instagram immediately before the invasion of her joy at the arrival of her baby girl. “We need a pause in fighting right now to save lives.” “These were the best 40 weeks ever,” she wrote on Twitter 11 weeks ago. She said Russian strikes killed four civilians in the Donetsk region and eight in the Luhansk region. “The war started when the child was a month old. “The Russian army continued to actively shell peaceful cities in Ukraine and kill civilians,” said Liudmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian parliament’s human rights ombudsman. “Try to grasp it,” he said. the situation is rapidly worsening,” Volyna said, speaking from his location at the plant.

A man prays during Easter church service at St. Michaels Golden-Domed Cathedral on April 24, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Orthodox Easter celebrations come as ...

A Ukrainian priest blesses believers as they collect traditional cakes and painted eggs prepared for an Easter celebration in the in Lviv, Ukraine, Saturday, ...

With the Orthodox church split by the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, some worshippers hoped the holy day could inspire gestures of peacemaking. We cannot forget how we lived." St. Volodymyr's Cathedral in Kyiv was ringed by hundreds of worshipers with baskets to be blessed. "The Easter holiday doesn't bring any joy. "How do I feel? Other soldiers prayed, holding handful of candles, then crossed themselves.

Today, we join people of Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic faith in Canada and around the world to celebrate Easter.

Today and every day, we reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine. May the renewal and peace that Easter symbolizes bring hope to all people around the world affected by conflict and those working to protect freedom, democracy, and human rights. To mark this special occasion, family and friends traditionally attend the Divine Liturgy, decorate eggs, and break the fast of Great Lent with festive meals. “Today, we join people of Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic faith in Canada and around the world to celebrate Easter.

By Parniyan Zemaryalai and Hamuda Hassan. KYIV/KRAMATORSK (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that light would defeat darkness and Kyiv ...

And today we are showing that it is impossible to scare us," said Mikhail, a worshipper in army uniform. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy. Below Kyiv's skyline of golden onion domes, hundreds of churchgoers gathered at Volodymyr Cathedral. Some shed tears and prayed for an end to the war. By mid-morning the governor of the eastern Donetsk region that is targeted by a new Russian offensive said that two children aged 5 and 14 had been killed in shelling on Sunday. Russia denies targeting civilians. For a few hours in the morning, Ukrainian television took a break from war coverage of death and destruction, airing emotional scenes of people praying, priests intoning and the churches that dot the country. Ukrainians flocked to churches on Sunday morning to mark what they call the Great Day after their centuries-old tradition of midnight Easter services was abandoned the night before over fears of Russian shelling and a nationwide curfew.

Along the front lines amid the war with Russia, in the capital, Kyiv, and in nearby countries where people have sought refuge, Ukrainians celebrated ...

President Biden spoke to individuals experiencing “the brutality of war” in his Sunday statement commemorating Orthodox Easter, as Russia's invasion of ...

We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. “During this sacred season, we hold in our prayers all those who are suffering from the brutality of war and persecution,” Biden said in a statement. “Protect those who protect us! The words of a great and united prayer. Great and Only God! Save our Ukraine!” Zelensky said. The day, which usually represents reflection and rebirth, comes as Ukrainians are battling to save their lives and territory against Russia’s offensive.

The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians called for the opening of humanitarian corridors in Ukraine. The leader said a "human tragedy" was ...

Pope Francis renewed his call for an Easter truce. With the Orthodox church split by the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, some worshippers hoped the holy day could inspire gestures of peacemaking. We cannot forget how we lived." St. Volodymyr's Cathedral in Kyiv was ringed by hundreds of worshippers with baskets to be blessed. "How do I feel? 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.

With fighting raging, Ukrainians marked a somber Orthodox Easter on Sunday ahead of a visit by a top-flight U.S. delegation to the capital, Kyiv.

“And the father cannot leave them and run away elsewhere.” They escaped from Kyrykova, a resort town on the Sea of Azov also now held by Russians. They circled the church carrying Easter baskets, filled with cakes, fruit and other goodies, each with its own candle. Zelensky issued an Easter message to his people. Speaking on Twitter early Sunday, he pleaded for an Easter cease-fire, humanitarian escape corridors for civilians and a “special round of negotiations” to exchange military prisoners. Thank God they didn’t do anything to us.” Approximately three-quarters of the city’s population has been evacuated. The Biden administration will be under pressure to follow suit. The meeting was confirmed by an aide to Zelensky, Oleksiy Arestovych, speaking to Ukrainian television. Still, he chose to stay. U.S. diplomats initially relocated to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv and then pulled out altogether to Poland. Several countries are also reestablishing their diplomatic missions in the capital — the latest being Britain — after having left ahead of the war.

Sunday marks Orthodox Easter for Orthodox Christians in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the holiest day on the Christian calendar.

Slavic countries often eat Kulich, a sweet bread made to celebrate Easter and the coming of spring. Celebrants also dye hard-boiled eggs red to celebrate the blood of Christ. This means the holiday typically falls later than Easter Sunday in Western Christian tradition. Here is more about the holy day observed by millions around the globe: Orthodox Christians in Europe, Africa and the Middle East celebrate Easter on the later date, determined by the older Julian calendar. Orthodox Christians in Europe, Africa and the Middle East celebrated Orthodox Easter on Sunday. But for those living in Ukraine, the holiest day on the Christian calendar was muted by a withering conflict this year.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Parishioners gathered at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in Springfield for a glorious celebration.

Thanks to a difference in calendars, some spent this weekend celebrating Easter. Orthodox churches worldwide commemorating the holiday with a week's worth ...

Father Volodymyr Yavorskyi, right, prays during divine liturgy at the Saint John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Portland in late February, just a ...

Sunday is Orthodox Easter. For Orthodox Christians, it’s their holiest day of the year — more than any other religious holiday. OPB first visited St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Portland’s Sellwood neighborhood in late February, shortly after the invasion began. Father Volodymyr Yavorskyi is pastor of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He offered us a prayer — in Ukrainian and English — for the Ukrainian people.

On Sunday, an outdoor Orthodox Easter observance at St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Silver Spring, Maryland, brought together a community at ...

So they were trying to get away from Russian imperialism.” “Like today, the Russians doing to other people in Ukraine and I’m crying, and I’m stressful, and I try to find the peace,” she said. “My parents were among that group.

The weight of the war is hitting hard for Ukrainian Americans in Massachusetts on one of their holiest holidays.

The celebration at the Saint Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral was bittersweet.

“So we might be in Washington, but we are directly impacted as a parish community by the war. “This is my first time being here, because I felt compelled to show my support,” said Zhitnikov, a nurse who lives in Virginia. “I have extended family in Russia and I have extended family in Ukraine.” Steliac made his way up a path where parishioners had lined up with their baskets, waiting for a blessing, the faint smell of incense wafting in the air. “They cannot go to church today because it is all the time bombing,” said Lana, who did not want to give her surname for fear of reprisals against family members in Ukraine. “They need to shelter all the time,” she said. “The Amazon truck arrives almost every 15 minutes making deliveries,” she said. Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion in both Ukraine and Russia, but the Ukrainian Orthodox Church split from its Russian counterpart three years ago after more than 300 years of being linked. The church has shipped 200 tons of humanitarian supplies, she said, adding that next week it is sending $6 million worth of medical supplies. Even many of those still in their homes were dissuaded from attending the celebration so integral to Ukrainian Orthodox Christians, said the Rev. Volodymyr Steliac, who led the Sunday morning service as well as a midnight service hours earlier. I say to my aunt, ‘Should I trust what you’re saying or my family in Ukraine who’s going through it?’ and she doesn’t want to hear that. Some friends in Russia have thanked him for his posts, even as they quickly delete them to protect themselves. The gathering was larger this year than is typical, church officials and parishioners said. To Solomiya Gorokhivska, 40, who brought her basket for Orthodox Easter celebration at Saint Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Silver Spring, Md., the moment felt bittersweet.

Ukrainians marked Orthodox Easter with heavy hearts Sunday, as their homeland's war with Russia rages on.

"You want to sleep somewhere where there are two walls protecting you." "I want to wish everyone peace and I hope this ends very soon," she said. Some in the crowd were Ukrainian refugees who made the long journey to Texas.

Many gathered at St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Sunday to celebrate Orthodox Easter. It's a longstanding tradition and dozens poured inside to worship.

“We are strong. People are coming here for many reasons and for some I think it's for what’s going on in Ukraine right now,” member Ed Bergey said. MILWAUKEE — This Sunday marks the celebration of Orthodox Easter. Many Ukrainians across the state gathered at churches to celebrate.

Pope Francis on Sunday called for a truce in Ukraine as Orthodox Christians and Eastern-rite Catholics celebrate Easter.

However, as time went by, the forces overtly considering Russia to be their enemy came close to its borders." Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing," Francis said last Sunday. Further details about how the aid was given were not immediately known. "I renew my appeal for an Easter truce, a minimal and tangible sign of a desire for peace. "Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter of war. May he fill with hope the good expectations of hearts.

Services this year in battle-worn areas were often sparse amid growing numbers of deaths, injuries and families fleeing their homes. VOA's Heather Murdock ...

This Orthodox Easter marks two months since Russia invaded Ukraine. While emotions were high, the festivities went on at St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in ...