The Orthodox churches in Ireland celebrated Easter with lengthy ceremonies at the weekend.
At the Russian Orthodox Church in Harolds Cross, Dublin, an estimated 1,000 people attended the Easter vigil on Saturday night. They began at midnight and continued until 4am yesterday.
The vigil in the Greek Orthodox Church, attended by hundreds, began at 10pm on Saturday and ended at about 1.30am yesterday.
Vespers were said in both churches yesterday.
There are an estimated 10,000 Orthodox adherents in the Republic, with Russian Orthodox parishes in Cork, Galway and Monaghan, as well as Dublin.
Ninety per cent are skilled workers and professional people of eastern European origin.
It is estimated that in the Dublin Russian Orthodox parish they have 13 nationalities, most from new EU states.
Executive secretary of the Irish Inter-Church Meeting Michael Earle extended Easter greetings "to our Christian brothers and sisters within the Irish membership of the Orthodox churches".
On behalf of the IICM's 15 member churches, Mr Earle said: "Our ecumenical family may be divided by human calendars but we remain committed to each other in following God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and witnessing together to being signs of Christ's love, peace, justice and hope in this divided island.
"Our prayers are with you and the congregations that you serve this weekend."
EASTER: Orthodox churches follow Julian calendar
Normally Easter is celebrated on much closer dates in Orthodox and western churches but in 2005 there is a five-week difference. This is because Orthodox Christians follow the Julian calendar when setting a date for Easter. The Gregorian calendar is used by western churches.
The first general council of the Christian church at Nicaea (modern Iznik, Turkey) in AD325 formally sanctioned as the universal norm for Christians the custom of celebrating Easter on the Sunday following the full moon after the spring equinox.
The world at the time followed the Julian calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar in 45BC. It was based on an average year of 365.25 days, with leap years every fourth year and in every centenary year. Throughout the Middle Ages it was known the length of the year was less than allowed for in the Julian calendar. It was becoming progressively out of step with the seasons.
When Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new (Gregorian) calendar in 1582, 10 days were dropped from that year as a once-off measure.
The Orthodox churches held that when the Council of Nicaea declared how the date of Easter was to be determined it was in accordance with the Julian calendar and they would continue to use it. They only use the Julian calendar for Easter. Otherwise they follow the Gregorian calendar.
