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Russia’s Christians of Western denominations marking Christmas

The nighttime vigil has been held in Moscow’s Metropolitan Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, December 25 (Itar-Tass) – Disciples of Western denominations of Christianity living in Russia mark Christmas Sunday.

The nighttime vigil has been held in Moscow’s Metropolitan Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street. It was led by the Archbishop of the Roman Catholics of Moscow and Central Russia, Paolo Pezzi.

The traditional Christmas crib has been installed by the entrance to the cathedral. The composition depicts the nativity cavern, the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the magi, and the shepherds.

Thanks to the Year of Italy in Russia, a whole collection of cribs has been brought to Moscow this year. They are put up for display in the exhibition center of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Savior in downtown Moscow.

Apart from the Roman Catholics, marking Christmas December 25 under the Gregorian calendar are the Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodist, the Pentecostal Christians, as well as some sections of Eastern Orthodoxy.

The Eastern Orthodox Churches in Russia, Serbia, Georgia, and Jerusalem, the liturgical cycle of which is pegged to the Biblical-era Julian calendar, will mark Christmas January 7.

In the 21st century, the Julian calendar is fourteen days behind the Gregorian calendar.

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