Christian Orthodox Easter celebrations across the Mena region - in pictures

Worshippers attended church services in Beirut, Cairo, Erbil and Istanbul

A Greek Orthodox priest in Beirut carries the Holy Fire as he arrives at Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral from Jerusalem via Amman. Orthodox Christian believers use Holy Week to mark the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Eastern Orthodox world celebrates Easter according to the old Julian calendar. EPA

Greek Orthodox Christians light candles with the Holy Fire at Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in central Beirut, Lebanon. EPA

People gather as a Greek Orthodox priest adjusts a chandelier during the Easter night Mass at the ancient monastery of Our Lady of Hamatoura, built in the rocky hollow of a high cliff in the town of Karm Sadde which overlooks the holy valley of Qadisha, north of Beirut. AFP

A Greek Orthodox priest swings a censer as he celebrates Easter night Mass at the ancient monastery of Our Lady of Hamatoura, north of Beirut. AFP

A Greek Orthodox Christian priest carrying the Holy Fire makes his way through a crowd of believers as he arrives at Beirut's Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral from Jerusalem via Amman. EPA

Coptic Orthodox Christians pray during Easter Mass at Holy Cross Church in Cairo. AP Photo

Orthodox Christians in Egypt attend an Easter Mass at a church in Heliopolis, Cairo. The Mass is celebrated at the end of 40 days of fasting. The Christian community makes up about 10 per cent of the Egyptian population of 100 million people. EPA

Coptic Christians pray during Easter Mass at Holy Cross Church in Cairo. AP Photo

An Orthodox Christian priest leads an Easter Mass at a church in Heliopolis, Cairo. EPA

Coptic Orthodox priest Lucas Adel leads prayers during Easter Mass at Holy Cross Church in Cairo. AP

Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Mosul Mor Nicodemos Daoud Matti Sharaf, leads an Easter service at the Church of Um Al Noor in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. AFP

Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Mosul Mor Nicodemos Daoud Matti Sharaf leads an Easter service at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Um Al Noor in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. AFP

Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Mosul Mor Nicodemos Daoud Matti Sharaf (second left), leads an Easter service at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Um Al Noor in Erbil. AFP

Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Mosul Mor Nicodemos Daoud Matti Sharaf (second left), leads an Easter service at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Um Al Noor in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. AFP

Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Mosul Mor Nicodemos Daoud Matti Sharaf leads an Easter service at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Um Al Noor in Erbil, northern Iraq. AFP

Christian worshippers raise a Palestinian flag as they take part in the Holy Fire ceremony in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on the eve of Orthodox Easter. AFP

Christian worshippers take part in the Holy Fire ceremony in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on the eve of Orthodox Easter. AFP

Christians take part in the Holy Fire ceremony in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on the eve of Orthodox Easter. AFP

Head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Bethlehem Bishop Theofilactos, centre, attends the Holy Fire ceremony in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. AFP

Palestinians share the Holy Fire in the streets of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. AFP

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I leads an Easter service with limited attendance as part of measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, at the Patriarchal Church of St George in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, holds candles as he conducts an Easter service at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St George in Istanbul. AP

A boy holds a candle as he attends an Easter service with limited attendance as part of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St George in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters

Worshippers light candles before an Easter service at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I leads an Easter service with limited attendance as part of measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St George in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters

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