Christmas Eve services were held in Saint Antoine Church in Istanbul, the Greek Orthodox Church in the southern province of Mersin, and the Orthodox and Catholic churches in the southern provinces of Hatay on December 24, which is regarded as the birthday of Jesus Christ.
At the Christmas Mass held at the Saint Antoine Church on Istiklal Street, Christians from all around Istanbul gathered. Tourists from home and abroad were very interested in the occasion, and before the mass, many lighted lights and prayed.
At nine o'clock in the evening, the Christmas Mass started after the hymn recital. The ceremony included readings from the Bible that detailed Jesus' birth.
The service was conducted in the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in the Fatih neighborhood under the direction of Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos.
The ceremony got started at nine o'clock in the Hagia Yorgi Church inside the Fener Greek Patriarchate. People who attended the mass lit lights and prayed near the church's entrance there.
The ceremony is attended by a sizable number of foreign tourists in addition to the Greeks who reside in Türkiye. One of the guests at the mass, Tea Hadelia, stated, "I am very delighted and excited today. In our church, we commemorate Jesus' birthday. We have faith in God that Jesus will come back.
In addition to Istanbul, the masses in other churches in the historically Christian districts of Mersin and Hatay also grabbed the attention of local Christians.
Priest Dimitri Yildirim greeted those who celebrate Christmas and wished that Christmas would bring peace, unity, and brotherhood to the entire world during a speech at the service in the Iskenderun Orthodox Church.
One of the churches where the nation's Christmas mass was celebrated was the Sveti Georgi Bulgarian Orthodox church in the northwest's Edirne region.
During the event, Orthodox believers from Bulgaria and Edirne listened to priest Aleksandr Krak recite Bible hymns and prayers about Jesus.
After the prayer, the antidoron, or blessed bread, was distributed to mark the end of the rite.
Krk remarked, "I wish you all a nice and blessed Christmas. We hope for happiness, brotherhood, and peace. In Edirne, there is a lovely spirit of fraternity and friendship.
The priest said, "I hope I will serve here until I die as much as I can."
Pope Francis presided during the Christmas Eve Mass in Saint Peter's.
The Christmas Mass was attended by over 7,000 people this year after having only a few individuals attend it the previous two years owing to the outbreak.
In his lecture, the Pope warned against consumerist greed and claimed that people have abused their brothers and neighbors because of their desire for wealth and power.
The Pope emphasized the importance of remembering those in need throughout the holiday season and emphasized that all of mankind bears some responsibility for the plight of war-victimized children.
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