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Easter

Lebanese Maronite Christian worshippers pray during the Easter Sunday service at the Saint Antoine Church in Beirut on April 5, 2026. (Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP)
April 6, 2026, 3:08 am
Lebanon’s Christians mark Easter by praying for southern villages hit by war
Worshipers in Beirut struggle to raise their voices over roar of Israeli fighter jets, express solidarity with those suffering from war, caught between Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group and IDF
By AFP
Pope Leo XIV sprinkles holy water with a bunch of hyssop sprigs as he presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
April 5, 2026, 3:49 pm
Pope urges peace in his first Easter mass: ‘Let those who have weapons lay them down’
Leo XIV departs from tradition of listing world’s conflict by name in the Urbi et Orbi blessing at St. Peter’s Basilica, where he greets crowd in 10 languages
By Colleen Barry and Paolo Santalucia
Jewish worshippers take part in the traditional Priestly Blessing during the Passover holiday in an indoor section along the Western Wall in Jerusalem, after prayers were limited to 50 participants due to the ongoing war, April 5, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
April 5, 2026, 2:43 pm
Limited Passover and Easter ceremonies held at Jerusalem holy sites amid war restrictions
Old City largely desolate as just a handful of clergy allowed to perform Passover priestly blessing at the Western Wall and Easter Sunday services at Church of Holy Sepulchre
By Rossella Tercatin, ToI Staff and Agencies
Catholic clergymen attend a Good Friday procession along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
April 3, 2026, 10:11 pm
Christians mark subdued Good Friday in Jerusalem, wider region amid Iran war
From Jerusalem to Dubai, wartime fears halt pilgrimages and force churches to cancel or livestream services during one of Christianity’s holiest days
By ToI Staff and Agencies
A man sits beside a locked door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and shuttered shops in Jerusalem’s Old City, which remains off limits to visitors amid the war with Iran, on March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
March 29, 2026, 3:02 pm
Under shadow of war with Iran, Jerusalem heads into subdued Passover and Easter
Celebrations canceled and shops shuttered after missile fragments fell in Old City; Home Front Command limits religious gatherings to 50 people
By Melanie Lidman
Pope Francis tours St. Peter's Square in his popemobile after bestowing the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and to the world) blessing at the end of the Easter mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 20, 2025.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
April 20, 2025, 3:48 pm
Pope makes Easter appearance, deplores rising world antisemitism and deaths in Gaza
Emerging from convalescence, pontiff, who missed most Holy Week events, sits in wheelchair on balcony of St. Peters Basilica as traditional Urbi et Orbi is instead read by archbishop
By AFP and ToI Staff
In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, April 18, 2025, Russian soldiers launch a Supercam intelligence unmanned aerial vehicle towards Ukrainian positions in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
April 19, 2025, 7:08 pm
Putin declares temporary unilateral Easter truce in war against Ukraine
Kremlin says ceasefire to continue until midnight after Christian holiday; Zelensky says Russian leader trying ‘to play with human lives,’ notes Iranian attack drones still active
By Agencies
Christian pilgrims light candles during the Holy Fire ceremony, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in Jerusalem's Old City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
April 19, 2025, 5:33 pm
Orthodox Christian pilgrims gather in Jerusalem for annual Holy Fire ceremony
Masses convene the day before Easter at Church of Holy Sepulchre to witness ritual ignition of candles at traditional site of Jesus’s tomb
By ToI Staff
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he arrives at France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for high-level talks to discuss Ukraine and its security in Paris, April 17, 2025. (Julien de Rosa, Pool via AP)
April 19, 2025, 2:59 pm
Rubio: All nations should respect Christians’ right to declare Christ is king
Easter tweet follows demand for US State Department employees to report incidents of alleged anti-Christian bias during the Biden administration
By ToI Staff and Jacob Magid
Jesus and his disciples in a still from Season 2 of 'The Chosen.' (Courtesy)
March 28, 2025, 1:22 am
Just in time for Passover, Jesus biopic ‘The Chosen’ premieres Season 5 in US cinemas
Launching March 28, hit show doesn’t downplay Christ’s Jewish roots but takes advice from a Messianic rabbi. Season Five: Last Supper to see a theatrical run before heading to streaming
By Rich Tenorio
Senator Jeff Merkley at the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies hearing, May 3, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
April 1, 2024, 10:15 pm
US senator accused of invoking blood libel in Easter post about IDF in Gaza
Jeff Merkley references Christian holiday celebrating resurrection of Jesus in tweet calling on US to stop supplying Israel with bombs
By Ron Kampeas
Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at the Catholic Holy Family Church in Gaza City, on March 31, 2024. (AFP)
March 31, 2024, 8:41 pm
Palestinian Christians mark muted Easter in Gaza and Jerusalem
Small gathering held in Holy Family Church in Gaza City near Shifa Hospital, while main service at capital’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre draws only a modest crowd
By AFP and ToI Staff
Maronite Christians attend a Good Friday procession in Haifa on March 29, 2024. (Canaan Lidor/Times of Israel)
March 31, 2024, 5:04 pm
Haifa Christians stage solemn Good Friday march in Hezbollah’s crosshairs
The threat of rockets has caused northern worshipers to alter their plans on a holiday weekend that they are nonetheless determined to observe
By Canaan Lidor
Bella Simanjuntak, left, and Hannah Benyamin walk up Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem on March 31, 2024. (Canaan Lidor/Times of Israel)
March 31, 2024, 5:04 pm
In a still Jerusalem Old City, Easter pilgrims pray for peace amid fears of war
Undeterred by the conflict keeping most away, a few hardy Christian worshipers from Israel and abroad experience the holiday under unusual circumstances
By Canaan Lidor
Exterior of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, March 2024. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
March 30, 2024, 7:06 am
An Easter visit to Mount Precipice and Jesus’s hometown of Nazareth
Despite wartime drop in tourism, the churches, basilica, White Mosque and charming old town, with spice shops, fashion and superb eateries, bustle with locals, are stunning as ever
By Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am
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