Orthodox Christmas celebrated in Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM , West Bank, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Orthodox Christians celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Tuesday and Wednesday, centering on cold and snowy Bethlehem, West Bank. The date, Jan. 7, is Dec. 25 in the Julian calendar, which predates the commonly-used Gregorian calendar.

Despite the rare snowstorm, archbishops and patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox Church convened in Bethlehem. The Syrian Orthodox archbishop, the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, Ethiopian Orthodox archbishop and Coptic Orthodox archbishop each arrived in the town's Manger Square for services at the Church of the Nativity, regarded as Jesus' birthplace.

Patriarch Theophilus officiated at the midnight Mass, attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Similar ceremonies were conducted in cities with large Greek Orthodox populations, including Kiev, Ukraine. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko urged prayers for his country's troops, in a televised address, prior to services at St. Volodymyr's Cathedral. A Wednesday morning Mass in Moscow was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The date is regarded as Christmas Day for Orthodox Christians in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and across southeastern Europe and much of the Middle East, and by the Orthodox Church in America.