10 stunning pictures of Orthodox Christians celebrating Easter

On May 1, Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter Sunday, just over month after Western Churches celebrated the day on March 27.

Here are 10 stunning pictures from the weekend:

Christian worshippers read prayers books during an Orthodox Easter service at Sioni cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia.

 Reuters

Believers attend an Orthodox Easter service at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, Russia.

 Reuters

A girl plays with a candle on the eve of the Orthodox Easter service, outside the Volodymysky Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine.

 Reuters

Ethiopian Orthodox faithful hold burning candles as they attend the Easter eve prayer session inside the Medhane-Alem Orthodox Church at Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

 Reuters

The Medhane-Alem Orthodox Church.

 Reuters

An Ethiopian Orthodox faithful holds a burning candle as he reads his Bible.

 Reuters

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Metropolitan Theophilos takes part in the Easter Sunday mass procession inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City.

 Reuters

Winners celebrate after the annual Lelo match in the village of Shukhuti, Georgia. The villagers of Zemo (upper) Shukhuti and Kvemo (lower) Shukhuti have played the game every Easter Sunday for generations, with each side trying to carry the 16-kilogram ball to their end of the neighbouring villages. 

 Reuters

Orthodox Christian worshippers carry an icon of the Virgin Mary during a parade marking Easter near Bachkovo monastery, Bulgaria.

 Reuters

An Orthodox monk takes part in the parade.

 Reuters
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