In Pictures: Orthodox churches begin Christmas celebrations

The festivities come at a time of conflict for some nations with a strong Orthodox tradition.

Published Jan 7

Christmas is under way for Christians following Orthodox traditions.

In Ethiopia, crowds gathered to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ while Egypt’s Coptic Christians also went to church to mark the feast day.

Egypt borders Gaza, which has been the scene of fighting since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 2023.

Ethiopia Christmas — Ethiopian pilgrims pray during a mass for Ethiopian Christmas (AP)

Orthodox communities also celebrated in Lithuania and Serbia.

Lithuania Orthodox Christmas — Lithuanian Orthodox worshippers light candles (Mindaugas Kulbis/AP)

Serbia Orthodox Christmas — People burn dried oak branches, the Yule log symbol for Orthodox Christmas Eve, in front of St Sava temple in Belgrade (Darko Vojinovic/AP)

Egypt Coptic Christmas — Egyptian Coptic Orthodox worshippers attend prayers (Amr Nabil/AP)

Patriarch Kirill provided over the service at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour cathedral.

Russia Orthodox Christmas — Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, centre, delivers the Christmas service in Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow (Oleg Varov/AP)

There had been muted celebrations in December when western Christian traditions held their festivities, with the conflict in Gaza casting a long shadow.

Israel Palestinians Orthodox Cristmas — Orthodox priests walk outside the Nativity Church, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem in the West Bank (Mahmoud Illean/AP)