Coptic Christians attend Orthodox Christmas Eve Mass in the Cave Cathedral or St. Sama'ans Church on the Mokattam hills overlooking Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015. The Coptic Christian population are considered to be the largest Christian community in the Middle East and observe Christmas on January 7 according to the old, Julian calendar. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Ehsamy)
Republished January 06, 2015 - 9:58 PM
Original Publication Date January 06, 2015 - 9:25 PM
Across the world, Orthodox Christians are celebrating Christmas with Mass and prayers.
In Russia, both Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and President Vladimir Putin attended Christmas morning Mass early Wednesday.
At the Church of the Nativity, built over the West Bank grotto that Christians believe is the site of Jesus' birth, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attended Mass early Wednesday as well.
In Egypt, Coptic Christians celebrated on Tuesday night with Mass on Christmas Eve. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi attended one such Mass, escorted by Coptic Pope Tawadros II.
Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, in accordance with the Julian calendar. This was largely replaced in western Europe by the Gregorian calendar 500 years ago.
News from © The Associated Press, 2015