Eastern Orthodoxy

At a small shrine in northern Greece, locals clutching icons of Greek Orthodox saints dance to lyres and drums in preparation for a ceremony in which they will walk on fire barefoot.

"Anastenaria", celebrated at the end of spring in the village of Mavrolefki, commemorates the day, centuries ago, when believers say a church burned down in the village of Kosti, in modern-day Bulgaria.

Orthodox Easter messages delivered by two senior clerics in North Macedonia and Serbia have sparked criticism, with Metropolitan Petar of the Prespa-Pelagonija eparchy of the Macedonian Orthodox Church causing particular outrage with his suggestion that gender equality is "blasphemous" and a "poisonous and perverted ideology" that threatens society.

Day 417 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Zakharova, commenting on Kyiv's plans to expel the clergy from the Pochayev Lavra, called it "a new stage in the religious war".
"The new phase of the religious war in Ukraine initiated by the Kyiv regime will, of course, not lead to anything good. The consequences will be tragic," she said at a briefing on Thursday.

In what is seen as a blow to Moscow, Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios stated on Tuesday that he will cooperate with Lithuanian authorities to establish a new branch in the Baltic country to ensure that people of faith are no longer only under the supervision of the Russian church.

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios said on Tuesday he would work with Lithuanian authorities to establish a new branch in the Baltic nation to ensure that believers are no longer under the sole supervision of Moscow.

The head of Cyprus' Orthodox Church Archbishop Georgios formally assumed his new duties Sunday following an enthronement ceremony evoking the splendor of centuries of Byzantine tradition before an audience of clergy from around the world with the notable exception of the Russian church.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Ukraine celebrates Christmas, the shelling does not stop

Ukraine celebrates Christmas, the first since the beginning of the war.

From the imposing monastery of Megiste Lavra to the Russian monastery, Mount Athos is a deeply mystifying place.

Iraqi actress Enas Taleb said she is suing British magazine The Economist for using a photo of her to illustrate a controversial article on obesity among Arab women.

The article, headlined "Why Women Are Fatter Than Men in the Arab World", was published last month with a picture of Taleb performing at Iraq's Babylon International Festival.