Orthodox Christmas services got under way Friday as worshippers across the world prepared to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. Many Orthodox Christians, including Russians, Greeks, Serbs and Montenegrins, celebrate Christmas on January 7, according to the Julian calendar.
Orthodox Christians Celebrate Christmas
Children in traditional costumes sing Christmas carols, known locally as "Kolyadki" as they celebrate Orthodox Christmas in Pustomity village near Lviv, Urkaine, January 7, 2012. (Reuters)
Armenian Orthodox pries Karekin II, center, conducts Christmas service in Echmiadzin about 24 km east of the capital Yerevan, Armenia, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. (AP)
A woman holds a child during an Orthodox Christmas Mass at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, January 7, 2012. Russia celebrates Christmas on January 7 according to the Julian calendar that is used by the country's Orthodox church. (Reuters)
Bosnian Serb children break the traditional Christmas bread to mark Orthodox Christmas Day festivities in Banja Luka ,140 kilometers northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. (AP)
Believers sing and dance in the river Tundzha, as they celebrate Epiphany day in the town of Kalofer, Bulgaria Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. Traditionally, an Eastern Orthodox priest throws a cross in the river and it is believed that the one who retrieves it w
Participants march with national flags during "Alilo", a religious procession, to celebrate the Orthodox Christmas in Tbilisi, January 7, 2012. (Reuters)
A boy leads a buffalo-drawn carriage during "Alilo", a religious procession, to celebrate the Orthodox Christmas in Tbilisi, Georgia, January 7, 2012. (Reuters)
People light candles in a church to mark the Orthodox Christmas in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra church in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. (AP)
In this Friday, Jan. 6, 2012 photo, Egyptians attend Christmas Eve mass at a Coptic church in Qena, Egypt. Egypt's Christians celebrated Saturday their first Christmas after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, amid tight security and a display of natio
Serbia's President Boris Tadic (L) and Orthodox Bishop Teodosije address the press after Christmas liturgy at the 14th century Orthodox monastery Visoki Decani in the western Kosovo town of Decani ,January 7, 2012. Kosovo Albanian protesters hurled stones
A Greek Orthodox priest officiates Christmas services at the Saint Porfirios church in Gaza City January 7, 2012. (Reuters)
Palestinian Greek Orthodox worshipers attend Christmas services at the Saint Porfirios church in Gaza City, January 7, 2012. (Reuters)
A child receives the sacraments during a Christmas liturgy in St. Clement Cathedral in Macedonia's capital Skopje, January 7, 2012. (Reuters)