Easter

On Great and Holy Saturday the Orthodox Church commemorates the burial of Christ and His descent into Hades. It is the day between the Crucifixion of our Lord and His glorious Resurrection. The Matins of Holy Saturday is conducted on Friday evening, and while many elements of the service represent mourning at the death and burial of Christ, the service itself is one of watchful expectation.

Prime Minister Florin Citu met with representatives of religious denominations on Wednesday, to whom he conveyed that no additional measures are being considered on the occasion of Easter and the religious holiday specific to Ramadan, stating that the movement of persons on the night of the Resurrection, respectively May 1 - May 2, as well as on the night of May 8 - May 9 will be allowed.

In the town of Rakovski (southern Bulgaria), where the largest Catholic community in the country lives, today they celebrate Easter and will exercise their right of vote.

Citizens will first celebrate the holiday in the largest Catholic church in Bulgaria "Sacred Heart Of Jesus", then head to the polls.

Pope Francis, leading an Easter vigil service scaled down due to COVID-19, said on Saturday he hoped the dark times of the pandemic would end and that people could rediscover "the grace of everyday life".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 3 released a message marking the Christian holiday of Easter.

"I congratulate with my sincerest feelings our Christian citizens of various churches and groups on Easter, one of their most important feasts," said Erdoğan, according to a statement from Turkey's Communications Directorate.

Ljubljana – The Ljubljana Stock Exchange has suspended its operations on Friday for Easter holidays. Due to the suspension of the European TARGET2 payment system, banks in the euro zone will not conduct interbank transactions until after Easter Monday.

Catholic believers celebrate Palm Sunday, a day of reminiscent of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where he was greeted by crowds carrying palm branches. "Traditionally, on Palm Sunday, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest organizes a procession on the streets of Bucharest, which this year, for the second time, cannot take place due to the pandemic.

Catholic faithful this weekend celebrate Palm Sunday, a feast that commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where he was greeted by crowds that strewed palm branches before Him. "The traditional Palm Sunday procession organized by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest on the city streets had to be canceled for the second year in a row because of the pandemic.

They are the annual journeys of late winter and early spring: Factory workers in China heading home for the Lunar New Year; American college students going on road trips and hitting the beach over spring break; Germans and Britons fleeing drab skies for some Mediterranean sun over Easter.

All of it canceled, in doubt or under pressure because of the coronavirus.

No virus can harm one's faith or customs. Nor is the exigency for health-protecting measures a blow to religious freedom.
We celebrated Easter with empty churches. Now, August 15 (one of Greece's biggest religious holidays) presents an even greater challenge: There is no blanket ban, meaning that adhering to the rules is up to the faithful.