Christians mark Easter holiday

Christians mark Easter holiday

BELGRADE -- All Christian churches are marking Good Friday on April 18, commemorating the day that Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified.

The day is considered a day of Christian mourning, and is the most significant during Holy Week.

On Sunday, April 20, Christians will celebrate the most important holiday of their faith - Easter, when they believe Christ, who died on the cross, was resurrected.

In Serbia, liturgies are not served on Good Friday in Orthodox churches, and instead parts of the Gospel are read out during what is known as Royal (Tsar) Hours.

Orthodox believers also fast on Good Friday, and in preparation of Easter, traditionally color cooked eggs red, as a symbol both of Christ's spilled blood, and of new life.

Easter is often celebrated on different dates by Eastern Orthodox and Western Christian denominations, however, this year, both Serbia's majority Orthodox and minority Catholic and Protestant believers mark the holiday on the same day.

Earlier in the week, Serbian Patriarch Irinej and Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade Stanislav Hočevar both sent their Easter messages.