Christians Celebrate Easter in Azerbaijan
Compared to other countries that celebrate Easter, Azerbaijan doesn't have a huge celebration, yet they do celebrate it.
On Sunday, Orthodox Christians in Azerbaijan celebrated Holy Easter.
Churches across the country celebrated services to commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the primary figure of Christianity, on the night of April 23-24. At midnight, the faithful marched in jubilant processions, chanting hymns and participating in a liturgy until the morning.
The Holy Myrrhbearers Cathedral in Baku also had a celebratory congregation with hundreds of people in attendance. Several worshippers brought baskets filled with painted Easter eggs to represent the empty tomb discovered by Jesus' followers on the morning of the first Easter, as well as kulich, a traditional Easter bread. A priest blessed the egg and kuliche baskets after the service.
Fostering multi-religious coexistence is an essential aspect of Baku's effort to exhibit moderation, tolerance, and diversity in a country of 10 million people, over 97 percent of whom are Muslim.
Three percent of Azerbaijan's population is Christian, less than 0.2 percent is Jewish, and the remaining 0.2 percent is either unaffiliated or belongs to minority religious organisations. Presently, the Caspian area country has around 2,000 mosques, 14 churches, and seven synagogues.
Azerbaijan's remarkable religious tolerance enabled the country's Muslim majority to coexist peacefully with the country's more than 16,000 Jews and over 250,000 Christians.
With 120,000 believers, Russian Orthodox constitute the bulk of the country's Christian Community. Azerbaijan now has seven Orthodox Christian churches.
