MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. On Saturday evening, Orthodox Christians will begin celebrating the main Christian holiday - Easter, or the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which falls on April 16 this year. Night-time Easter services and processions will be held in Russian Orthodox churches.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will celebrate Easter Vigil Liturgy at at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. According to the press service of Channel One, the live broadcast of the patriarchal service will begin at 11:30 Moscow time. The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church will first address the millions of believers of the Russian Orthodox Church from the altar of the main cathedral of Russia with an Easter greeting, which will also be broadcast on federal channels.

On Holy Saturday, one can already feel the approach of the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. During the morning service, the priests wear white vestments instead of dark robes, and the scripture readings and hymns sung carry the joyful message of Christ is Risen.

On the eve of Easter, it is customary for the faithful to consecrate cakes, Easter quarks, painted eggs, and other festive treats in churches. As a rule, this takes place after the end of the liturgy of Holy Saturday and continues throughout the day, until the evening. Patriarch Kirill usually makes a tour of the capital's churches during the day and consecrates Easter ‘snacks’.

The custom of preparing painted eggs for Easter dates back to the first century AD. The Easter egg symbolizes the birth of new life.

At 13:00 Moscow time, Channel One will also broadcast live the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire, which takes place every year on Holy Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Vakhtang Kipshidze, vice-chairman of the Synodal Department for Church's Relations with Society and Mass Media, earlier expressed the hope that the Holy Fire, which symbolizes "the joy of the resurrected Christ," would be brought from the Holy Land to churches and monasteries in Russia on Easter this year as well.

President’s plans

According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin will traditionally attend the Easter service at the Christ the Savior Cathedral. He also said that Putin would have Easter cakes and painted eggs on the holiday table, as all Christians do.·The head of state traditionally attends services during major church holidays. Putin usually celebrates Christmas in churches outside the Moscow Region, but on Easter, the president usually goes to the Christ the Savior Cathedral. Only twice has he attended Easter services outside the capital - in 2000 at St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg and in 2003 at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Dushanbe, where he was on a state visit. The head of state missed Easter service once, in 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic (but he did light a candle in the chapel in Novo-Ogaryovo). ·According to Putin, Easter unites Orthodox Christians and all Russian citizens who celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ around high moral ideals and values, and awakens in people the brightest feelings and faith in the triumph of life, goodness, and justice.