Orthodox Easter - in pictures

Worshippers hold candles as they take part in the Christian Orthodox Holy Fire ceremony at the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's old city Photograph: Nir Elias/Reuters

Russian Orthodox believers celebrate Easter at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow Photograph: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

Worshippers walk with candles around the golden-domed Alexander Nevski Cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria Photograph: Tsvetelina Belutova /Reuters

Ethiopian Orthodox worshippers hold candles during the Holy Fire ceremony in the Ethiopian section of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's old city Photograph: Darren Whiteside/Reuters

Pakistani Christian Orthodox girls pray during an Orthodox Easter mass held at Saint Mary's Coptic Orthodox church in Islamabad, Pakistan Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP

A priest blesses worshippers during an Orthodox Easter service at Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine Photograph: Anatolii Stepanov /Reuters

Orthodox believers light candles as they celebrate Easter during a midnight mass at a church in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Photograph: Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP/Getty Images

An Orthodox priest blesses Easter cakes during an Easter service at a military base near the village of Okolitsa, Belarus Photograph: Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters

A candle is placed on Kulich cakes, traditional Russian Easter bread, during an Orthodox Easter service in the Voznesenskiy Cathedral in Almaty, Kazakhstan Photograph: Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters

Macedonian Orthodox priests attend a midnight Easter service in the St Dimitrija church in Skopje Photograph: Robert Atanasovski/AFP/Getty Images

Russian Orthodox church believers celebrate Easter at the Trinity Cathedral, Moscow Photograph: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images

Bulgarian Orthodox priests share the holy light with believers at the Easter service at the golden-domed Alexander Nevski Cathedral in Sofia Photograph: Nikolay Doychinov/AFP/Getty Images

A Christian Orthodox believer holds her candle after lighting it from the holy fire at the Ayios Neofytos (Saint Neofytos) Christian Orthodox church in Nicosia, Cyprus Photograph: Petros Karadjias/AP