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Russia celebrates Easter
MOSCOW, May 5 (UPI) -- Worshippers throughout Russia celebrated Easter on Sunday with the central ceremony held in Moscow where Patriarch Alexiy II conducted a service in the church of Christ the Savior, NTV television network reported.
Late Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, were among more than 3,000 Muscovites who packed the church that came to symbolize the strength of the Russian people's faith after its restoration five years ago.
Other top Russian officials, including Federation Council chairman Sergei Mironov, Deputy Prime Minister Valentina Matviyenko, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, Constitutional Court head Marat Baglai and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov also attended.
In his address to the Russian Orthodox clergy and flock, the patriarch called for a joint effort aimed at achieving the world "governed by accord, self-sacrifice, truth and love."
"The one whose path is lit by the light of the resurrection of Christ shall carry his cross more easily, the cross borne by each of us following the Lord," the patriarch said. "It is the cross of our everyday worries, diseases, concerns and ordeals, the cross of our service to our neighbors."
Alexiy II also urged Palestinians and Israelis to prevent defilement and destruction of holy sites.
"We cannot forget that bloodshed isn't stopping on the soil upon which Jesus Christ walked," he said. "We have appealed several times to warring factions asking them to protect temples, church buildings, places of mass pilgrimage."
A spokesman for the Moscow police told reporters Sunday that over 90,000 Muscovites had attended Easter services throughout the city.
The police said that there were no incidents during and after the service as a 2,500-strong force monitored order at holy places and in nearby areas.
Inmates and staff at the Kresty prison in Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg received rare gifts Sunday as a local charity fund presented each of them with an Easter egg.
The Kresty fund's Vice President Karen Mkrtchan said that the ceremony was continuation of a 10-year tradition that has taken deep roots.
In his traditional Easter greeting to the patriarch, Putin praised the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the country's rebuilding process.
"It's with a feeling of great joy that I greet you on this wonderful day, Your Holiness," Putin said. "I'd like to express my gratitude for your understanding and vision of many important problems encountered by our nation and the world on the whole."
The president added that Russia highly valued the patriarch's "steadfast commitment to the cause of the Russian citizens' unification on the firm basis of spiritual and cultural values of our Fatherland."
Faith has been one of the chief driving forces aiming to consolidate Russian society after the Soviet Union's demise in 1991.
Democratic change guaranteed freedom of religious belief and encouraged projects to restore thousands of churches destroyed by the Soviets.
Private citizens and businesses made huge donations to rebuild or renovate church buildings across the nation.
Russian authorities welcomed the growing role of the church in everyday life as many government officials -- including both former President Boris Yeltsin and Putin -- made regular appearances at churches in stark contrast to the Soviet-era leaders.
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