Serbian Orthodox Christians attend Easter service

Serbian Christians celebrated Orthodox Easter on Sunday with dozens of worshippers attending mass in St. Sava Church in Belgrade, gathering inside an ornate temple embellished with Orthodox style icons and chandeliers.

Although the choir wore face masks as they performed, many in the congregation did not and stood side by side during the service in the Serbian capital.

After vaccinating some 1.5 million people, Serbia has eased measures against the coronavirus despite high numbers of infections and a slowdown in vaccination.

Patriarch Porfirije, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, led the morning mass.

Last year, 90-year-old Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej died after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Irinej was hospitalised with the virus early in November, soon after attending the funeral of the head of the Orthodox Church in Montenegro, Bishop Amfilohije, who also died from the virus.

Easter represents a period of hope for Orthodox Christians - a time when, nearly two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ was said to have risen from the grave after dying for the sins of humanity.