Orthodox Easter is here. The Orthodox Church is celebrating Easter this weekend, while most other Christians celebrated it last weekend. In Jerusalem, Orthodox Christians could be seen walking in processions holding brightly lit candles. They could also be heard exchanging the formal greeting, “Christ is Risen!”
For the Orthodox, 5th April 2026 was this year’s Palm Sunday, and today, 12th April, is Pascha. In between has been the Holy Week.
Is the Orthodox Pascha a Public Day?
Although there are an estimated 230 million members of the Orthodox Church worldwide, many countries do not recognize its calendar. Instead, they recognize the calendar used by the rest of Christians, who number more than two billion worldwide.
While most of the world follows the Gregorian calendar, the Orthodox Christian Church follows the Julian Calendar.
Which Countries Recognize the Orthodox Christian Calendar?
Countries that appreciate this weekend as Easter Weekend, and by extension, appreciate the Orthodox Christian Calendar, include Cyprus, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Lebanon, Montenegro, and Moldova.
In Africa, some countries have a significant number of Orthodox Christians. They include Ethiopia and Eritrea, which follow the Oriental Orthodox tradition, with Ethiopia’s population exceeding 36 million. The Orthodox Christian population is also growing rapidly in the East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania,
Egypt is another country where the Orthodox Church has roots. The Christian fraternity of Alexandria’s Coptic Orthodox Church constitutes 10% of the country’s population.
Holy Fire in Jerusalem
Jerusalem hosted a massive celebration yesterday, Saturday, with Orthodox Christians celebrating Holy Saturday. The celebration has taken place every Orthodox Holy Saturday for a thousand years.
Thousands of candles were lit and distributed among the Christians in attendance, and as people moved around in celebration, the scene became like one mammoth but controlled flame.