regional customs
Orthodox Christians: Easter under the sign of war
President of Russia Vladimir Putin attends the Orthodox Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow and holds a candle. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool AP/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
United despite the war: All over the world, Orthodox Christians come together for services and masses to celebrate Easter. In Ukraine, however, there was a curfew on Easter Vigil.
Millions of Orthodox Christians all over the world ushered in the Orthodox Easter festival on Sunday night with large midnight masses.
The war in Ukraine was discussed in many churches. “We feel the pain, it tears our hearts apart,” said Bartholomew I – the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria was even clearer: “Although God has shown people the way to peace, they remain divided by hostilities and disputes,” he said. Humanity will be led to wars that will drench the earth with blood. “We experience this picture very clearly today when we see with sadness how our fellow believers in Ukraine kill each other.”
Putin at Easter service
Russian President Vladimir Putin attended an Easter service in Moscow on Sunday night. According to tradition, he presented the Russian Orthodox Church leader, Patriarch Kirill, with a decorated Easter egg, the Tass news agency reported.
Patriarch Kirill is also firmly on the side of the Russian President in the war that Putin started on February 24. He also sees the actions there as a fight against the influence of liberal Western and democratic values in Ukraine. On Saturday, Kirill spoke of “bloodshed” in Ukraine – and of the hope that it would end soon.
With a view to his war against Ukraine, Putin also acknowledged the role of the church in social cohesion. Patriarch Kirill is developing “fruitful cooperation between state and church” and is making a “huge contribution” to the implementation of traditional values in society, praised Putin in his Easter message published by the Kremlin on Sunday.
The church is an important pillar of power for Putin. “In our difficult time, she takes care of strengthening consensus and understanding between people,” said the President.
“This great holiday unites Orthodox Christians, all citizens of Russia, who celebrate the resurrection of Christ,” Putin said. He had repeatedly celebrated Easter in the Cathedral of the Redeemer, but last year he stayed away because of the pandemic.
Curfew in Ukraine
In Ukraine, meanwhile, there was a curfew on the Orthodox Easter Vigil, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recalled in his evening video address. Worship services could be attended on Sundays from 5 a.m.
At the same time, Zelenskyi gave his compatriots hope of victory. It is only a matter of time before everyone in Ukraine will live safely in peace again. Russia seems stuck for years in the day between crucifixion and resurrection, “when death triumphs and God seems to have disappeared,” he said. But life will conquer death and evil will be punished.
Orthodox Christians also attended Easter masses in Germany, for example in the Christ-Transfiguration Church in Baden-Baden, where people prayed for peace in the world and in Ukraine. Because the Orthodox Churches are based on the Julian calendar, the dates of Easter are usually different: In the Julian calendar, spring begins 13 days later than in the Gregorian. For example, Orthodox Easter Sunday almost always falls later than in the rest of the Christian world.