Easter Vigil

The festive opening hours start about 10 days before Easter

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios fulfilled a 10-year promise to mark Easter on the Turkish island of Imvros (Gokceada) where he was born.

In candle-lit masses held over three days, Vartholomaios presided over services that brought together Orthodox Christian believers from the island and abroad.

Easter has arrived for Catholics. In his homily on the resurrection of Christ, Pope Francis called for an end to all wars.

Millions of Orthodox Christians around the world, including in Bulgaria, are celebrating the greatest Christian holiday, Easter, the resurrection of Christ. Orthodox Christians traditionally mark Easter on a Sunday between April 04 and May 08.

Bulgarian worshippers flocked to churches Saturday night to hear the Holy Mass that celebrates the coming of Easter.

Tens of thousands of Orthodox Christians packed Jerusalem's ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday for the "Holy Fire" ceremony on the eve of Orthodox Easter. According to believers, the divine fire from heaven miraculously lights candles held by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch each year. The annual rite held there dates back to the 4th century.