Berlin, Apr. 24, (dpa/GNA) - The war in Ukraine weighed on the traditional midnight sermons for many Orthodox Christians as they celebrated Easter early on Sunday, but the feast was still marked around the world, even in war struck Ukraine and by its invader, Russia.

“We feel the pain, it tears our hearts apart,” said Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

Theodore II, the current Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa, found clearer words: ”Although God has shown people the way to peace, they remain divided by enmities and disputes,” he said.

Humanity was led into wars that drench the earth with blood. “We experience this image clearly today when we see with sorrow how our brothers in faith are killing each other in Ukraine,” he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a traditional Easter service in Moscow early on Sunday, handing Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill a richly adorned Easter egg in accordance with tradition, the state news agency TASS reported.

Kirill has always backed Putin’s policies. He has also blamed the West for the war in Ukraine.

The traditional Orthodox midnight services in Ukraine were banned due to a curfew imposed during the Orthodox Easter weekend, as President Volodymyr Zelensky reminded citizens in his daily address late on Saturday.

People were allowed to attend mass from 5 am on Sunday.

Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter later than their mostly Western counterparts, as the Orthodox festival is determined according to the Julian calendar, which dates back to the Roman Empire and differs from the Gregorian calendar, adopted in the 16th century.

They are the largest religious group in Ukraine.

Zelensky also tried to encourage his people, saying that it was only a matter of time before everyone in Ukraine would live safely in peace again. Russia seems to have been stuck for years in the day between crucifixion and resurrection, “when death triumphs and God seems to have disappeared,” Zelensky said. But life will conquer death, and evil will be punished, he added.

GNA

Berlin, Apr. 24, (dpa/GNA) - The war in Ukraine weighed on the traditional midnight sermons for many Orthodox Christians as they celebrated Easter early on Sunday, but the feast was still marked around the world, even in war struck Ukraine and by its invader, Russia.

“We feel the pain, it tears our hearts apart,” said Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

Theodore II, the current Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa, found clearer words: ”Although God has shown people the way to peace, they remain divided by enmities and disputes,” he said.

Humanity was led into wars that drench the earth with blood. “We experience this image clearly today when we see with sorrow how our brothers in faith are killing each other in Ukraine,” he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a traditional Easter service in Moscow early on Sunday, handing Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill a richly adorned Easter egg in accordance with tradition, the state news agency TASS reported.

Kirill has always backed Putin’s policies. He has also blamed the West for the war in Ukraine.

The traditional Orthodox midnight services in Ukraine were banned due to a curfew imposed during the Orthodox Easter weekend, as President Volodymyr Zelensky reminded citizens in his daily address late on Saturday.

People were allowed to attend mass from 5 am on Sunday.

Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter later than their mostly Western counterparts, as the Orthodox festival is determined according to the Julian calendar, which dates back to the Roman Empire and differs from the Gregorian calendar, adopted in the 16th century.

They are the largest religious group in Ukraine.

Zelensky also tried to encourage his people, saying that it was only a matter of time before everyone in Ukraine would live safely in peace again. Russia seems to have been stuck for years in the day between crucifixion and resurrection, “when death triumphs and God seems to have disappeared,” Zelensky said. But life will conquer death, and evil will be punished, he added.

GNA