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14:24 GMT, Sunday, 19 April 2009 15:24 UK

In pictures: Orthodox Christian Easter

Greek Orthodox priest at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem

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Light shines on a Greek Orthodox priest as he conducts prayers Christianity's holiest shrine, Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as Orthodox Christians mark Easter Day.

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At the Jerusalem church, on the site where Jesus is said to have been buried, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theofilos III led ceremonies.

Orthodox Christian pilgrims in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday 18 April 2009

Orthodox Christian pilgrims in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday 18 April 2009

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Some 10,000 pilgrims in Jerusalem's Old City crammed into the church - which is shared by six Christian denominations - for the Holy Fire Ritual.

Orthodox Christian pilgrim in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday 18 April 2009

Orthodox Christian pilgrim in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday 18 April 2009

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This woman made it into the sacred site, but another 30,000 remained outside amid tight security by Israeli police.

Orthodox Easter liturgy in Belgrade on Sunday 19 April 2009

Orthodox Easter liturgy in Belgrade on Sunday 19 April 2009

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Greek Orthodox and other Eastern rite Christians this year mark Easter a week after Protestants and Catholics because the Orthodox Church follows a different calendar.

Ukrainian Orthodox believers at midnight Orthodox Easter service in Kiev on Sunday 19 April 2009

Ukrainian Orthodox believers at midnight Orthodox Easter service in Kiev on Sunday 19 April 2009

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Easter has been marked across the Orthodox world. In Kiev, Ukraine, a woman in white appears like a ghostly apparition during a candle-lit procession.

Orthodox Easter Mass in Tuzla, Bosnia

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Services were held across Eastern Europe, this one in Tuzla, Bosnia.

Egyptian women attend the Coptic Easter celebration Mass in Cairo on Sunday 19 April 2009

Egyptian women attend the Coptic Easter celebration Mass in Cairo on Sunday 19 April 2009

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In the Egyptian capital Cairo, Pope Shenouda III celebrated the Coptic Easter Mass. The Church of Alexandria in Egypt has an estimated 58 million members worldwide.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (centre), his wife Svetlana (left) and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (right) cross themselves during an Easter service in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow on Sunday 19 April 2009

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Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (C) and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (R) joined a service at this Moscow cathedral. Russia's Orthodox Church has grown in power since the Soviet Union fell.

A Georgian woman lights a candle celebrating the Orthodox Easter in the capital Tbilisi on Sunday 19 April 2009

A Georgian woman lights a candle celebrating the Orthodox Easter in the capital Tbilisi on Sunday 19 April 2009

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And in neighbouring Georgia a lady lights a candle in the capital Tbilisi, where President Mikhail Saakashvili also attended a service with his family.

Bulgarians walk with candles after an Easter service in Sofia on Sunday 19 April 2009

Bulgarians walk with candles after an Easter service in Sofia on Sunday 19 April 2009

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Easter marks the holiest feast in the Christian calendar. The candles in this photo of a procession outside a cathedral in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia look like neon streaks.

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