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Muscovites to taste giant 900-kilo cake on Orthodox Easter

The giant Easter cake will be offered on Pushkinskaya Square, a popular place for gatherings in Moscow

© Yegor Aleyev/TASS

MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. A culinary record will be set in downtown Moscow on Sunday as Muscovites will be treated to a giant 900-kilo cake on Orthodox Easter, the Moscow Trade and Services Department said.

The giant Easter cake will be offered on Pushkinskaya Square, a popular place for gatherings in Moscow.

"A total of 500 kilos of flour and over a thousand eggs were used to bake it. The Easter cake is 1.5 meters high and over 1.8 long in diameter," the department said.

The record Easter cake was baked as part of the Paschal Gift festival, which will last in Moscow through April 19. The cake was baked specially for the Easter by the best confectioners who decorated it with edible marzipan figures of Moscow’s famous landmarks, such as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Mayor’s Office building, Moscow State University, as well as with paschal eggs and flowers. After the Easter cake is blessed, it will be offered to thousands of people attending the Easter festival in downtown Moscow.

Russia celebrating Christianity's most important and joyful feast

Russia is celebrating Easter, Christianity's most important and joyful feast when the Church commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Tens of thousands of people flocked to the country's churches to attend solemn midnight processions with crosses and icons, as well as evening and night divine services throughout the country.

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Patriarch to hold Easter Vigil in Christ the Saviour Cathedral

More than 7,000 people gathered in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior early on Sunday for the Easter service. The head of Russia's Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, who conducted Sunday’s service, addressed the congregation in his Easter message. He also appealed in his speech for peace in Ukraine.

The Savior’s Resurrection symbolizes his victory over sin and death and the birth of a new world redeemed by his Passion.

After midnight and for the next 40 days after Easter Sunday, Orthodox Christians greet each other with the words "Christ is risen!" and the reply is "He is risen indeed!" followed by three kisses. They also exchange Easter eggs.

Preparations for Easter celebrations begin in the Russian Orthodox Church on Holy Saturday - the last day of Holy Week, also known in Russia as Passion Week. On that day, people come in great numbers to churches to have paschal cakes and eggs blessed by priests.

The Easter divine service starts shortly before midnight. At midnight, the solemn festive procession with crosses and icons begins, with priests and believers going around the church and glorifying the Resurrection. The procession is often attended by nonbelievers who are attracted by its splendor. The service lasts into the early hours of Sunday.

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