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Post by Admin on Jan 8, 2023 2:06:30 GMT
Orthodox Christians packed churches on Friday evening for Christmas Eve services, a holiday overshadowed for many by the conflict raging between Orthodox neighbours Russia and Ukraine. Patriarch Kirill, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, the world's largest Orthodox denomination, led elaborate services at Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral, with dozens of priests and officiants arrayed in rich vestments swinging smoking incense censers and chanting the liturgy. A day earlier, Kirill called for a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to but that Ukrainian officials scorned as an attempt to allow Russian forces to regroup. http://instagram.com/p/CnCf4LIqNEl Kyiv residents ventured out into a light dusting of snow to buy gifts, cakes and groceries for Christmas Eve family celebrations, hours after the cease-fire was supposed to have started. In a video message, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Ukrainians as “united as never before” and lamented that the conflict has forced many to abandon Christmas folk traditions that prohibit sewing and hunting. “It is forbidden to sew and knit, but we weave camouflage nets and sew bulletproof vests, overcoming evil. Our ancestors did not go hunting in these days, but we fight so that we do not become prey and to defeat the beast,” he said.
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Post by Admin on Jan 9, 2023 19:53:53 GMT
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Post by Admin on Jan 15, 2023 17:24:59 GMT
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