Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas around the world

Millions of Orthodox Christians across the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ on the night of January 6th, in accordance with the Julian calendar.

Worshippers across the Orthodox Christian world have begun Christmas celebrations, with clergy in Bethlehem, Cairo, Moscow, Kyiv and other Eastern Christian communities commemorating the biblical birth of Jesus.

In Bethlehem, which braced for a rare snowstorm, Syria's Orthodox archbishop joined his Greek and Coptic Orthodox counterparts for religious services at the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square.  Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordanian officials also were slated to attend Midnight Mass officiated by Jerusalem's Patriarch Theophilus.

In Moscow, worshippers braved bone-chilling temperatures of minus 25 degrees Celsius to attend Midnight Mass at Christ the Savior Cathedral.

Elsewhere, the head of Ukraine's Orthodox Church, Patriarch Filaret, prayed for peace at St. Volodymyr's Cathedral in central Kyiv.  Ahead of the service, President Petro Poroshenko delivered a nationally televised address urging Ukrainians to pray for troops battling pro-Russian separatists near the Russian border.

Greek Orthodox priests take part in the Christian Orthodox Christmas Eve celebrations at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Jan. 6, 2015.

January 7 is Christmas day for Orthodox Christians in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia.  The holiday also is commemorated January 7 in Syria, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Albania, Cyprus, Finland and by the Orthodox Church in America.

The Assyrian and Ethiopian churches also celebrate Christmas on the seventh, according to the Julian calendar.

In an unprecedented move, Egypt's President El-Sissi also briefly visited a Coptic cathedral on their Christmas Eve.

 

Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was welcomed by Coptic Pope Tawadros II at Saint Mark's Cathedral in Cairo. El-Sissi's appearance was a first visit to Christmas celebrations by an Egyptian president, local media reported.

"It was essential for me to come here to wish you the season's greetings", said el-Sissi in a brief address.

Source: dw.de, voanews.com (Jan. 6, 2015)