MOSCOW, April 15 Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday night, he will traditionally arrive at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior to celebrate Easter there — the main Christian holiday.
The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Easter in 2023 on 16 April.
Easter Service The Russian President usually attends an Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which is traditionally led by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.
Putin only twice missed the festive service in the main temple of the capital. In 2003, the head of state did not come to the Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church on Easter, as he was in Tajikistan. Then he attended the Easter service in the church of St. Nicholas in Dushanbe.
In 2020, for the first time in 17 years, Putin missed the Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior due to the threat of the spread of the coronavirus. The head of state then lit a candle in the evening in a small chapel, which is located on the territory of the presidential residence Novo-Ogaryovo.
Then the President of the Russian Federation recorded a video greeting for Orthodox Christians and all Russian citizens celebrating Easter. The head of state thanked those who are helping their neighbors in the midst of a pandemic, and also expressed confidence that the country will adequately pass «through the trials sent to us.»
Exchange of Gifts During the service, the President presents the head of the Russian Church, Patriarch Kirill, with a decorative Easter egg — a symbol of the Resurrection of Christ and the triumph of life. That was the case last year as well.
In 2018, Putin presented the Patriarch with the Resurrection of Christ egg. It was made of Ural jade in a single copy by craftsmen from Zlatoust and installed on a stand with gilding and semi-precious stones. In response, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church presented Putin with a traditional Easter egg.
In 2016, Patriarch Kirill presented Putin with decorative Easter eggs made by church jewelers. A similar gift from the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was received by the then Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (now Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation) and his wife Svetlana Medvedeva.
Orthodox Traditions Putin goes to church not only on Easter, but also on Christmas.
This year, on Christmas night, the head of state was in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. In 2022, he celebrated Christmas in the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands in Novo-Ogaryovo.
In 2021, Putin attended a Christmas service at St. Nicholas Church on Lipno Island in the Novgorod Region. He was there in 2016. The head of state also met Christmas more than once in the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
In addition, Putin has been taking part in Epiphany bathing for many years, only in 2022 he abandoned this tradition due to the pandemic.