How Orthodox Christmas is Observed Around the Globe
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His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during the Christmas service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Russia.
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His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during the Christmas service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Russia.
© AP Photo / Amr Nabil
A Coptic Christian peers out of a window during an Orthodox Christmas Eve Mass at the Church of Ava Bishoy and St. Karas the Anchorite in Cairo, Egypt.
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A Coptic Christian peers out of a window during an Orthodox Christmas Eve Mass at the Church of Ava Bishoy and St. Karas the Anchorite in Cairo, Egypt.
© AFP 2023 / Karen Minasyan
The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II (R), blesses members of the congregation during a service at Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, as the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas, in Yerevan, Armenia.
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The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II (R), blesses members of the congregation during a service at Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, as the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas, in Yerevan, Armenia.
© AFP 2023 / Andrej Isakovic
People gather during the annual ceremony of bonfire of dried oak branches, the Yule log symbol for the Orthodox Christmas eve according to the Julian calendar, at the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade, Serbia.
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People gather during the annual ceremony of bonfire of dried oak branches, the Yule log symbol for the Orthodox Christmas eve according to the Julian calendar, at the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade, Serbia.
© AFP 2023 / Robert Atanasovski
Children holding sticks decorated with stars sing religious songs during a religious service to celebrate Orthodox Christmas in St. Clement Cathedral in Skopje, North Macedonia.
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Children holding sticks decorated with stars sing religious songs during a religious service to celebrate Orthodox Christmas in St. Clement Cathedral in Skopje, North Macedonia.
© AP Photo / Mahmoud Illean
Orthodox priests walk outside the Nativity Church, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem, West Bank.
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Orthodox priests walk outside the Nativity Church, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem, West Bank.
© Sputnik / Ramil Sitdikov / Go to the mediabank
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during the Christmas service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Russia.
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His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during the Christmas service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Russia.
© AP Photo / Mindaugas Kulbis
Lithuanian Orthodox Church worshippers light candles before the liturgy on Orthodox Christmas Eve in the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
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Lithuanian Orthodox Church worshippers light candles before the liturgy on Orthodox Christmas Eve in the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
© VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO
Orthodox priests hold a Christmas service at a church in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
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Orthodox priests hold a Christmas service at a church in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
© Sputnik / POOL/Gavriil Grigorov / Go to the mediabank
Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Christmas service in the Church of Our Savior Not Made by Hands on the territory of the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Christmas service in the Church of Our Savior Not Made by Hands on the territory of the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence.
© AP Photo / Mahmoud Illean
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Teophilos III holds a mass in the Nativity Church, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem, West Bank.
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Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Teophilos III holds a mass in the Nativity Church, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem, West Bank.
© AFP 2023 / Elvis Barukcic
A man throws a branch into the fire as Sarajevo Orthodox Christians attend the annual bonfire of dried oak branches to mark the Orthodox Christmas Eve, at the Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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A man throws a branch into the fire as Sarajevo Orthodox Christians attend the annual bonfire of dried oak branches to mark the Orthodox Christmas Eve, at the Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
© AFP 2023 / Amanuel Sileshi
Ethiopian Orthodox worshippers hold candles as they gather to pray ahead of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christmas celebrations at the Bole Medhanialem Church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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Ethiopian Orthodox worshippers hold candles as they gather to pray ahead of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christmas celebrations at the Bole Medhanialem Church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
© AP Photo / Mahmoud Illean
Nuns visit the Grotto of the Nativity Church, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem, West Bank.
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Nuns visit the Grotto of the Nativity Church, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem, West Bank.
