Photos of the Week
(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s gallery includes Orthodox Christmas, Epiphany celebrations, and the annual procession of the Black Nazarene in the Philippines.
Bulgarians sing, play bagpipes and chain dance in the icy waters of the Tundzha river during Epiphany, in Kalofer, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. Thousands of Orthodox Christian worshippers plunged into the icy waters of rivers and lakes across Bulgaria on Monday to retrieve crucifixes tossed by priests in ceremonies commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ. In the mountain city of Kalofer, in central Bulgaria, men dressed in white embroidered shirts waded into the frigid Tundzha River waving national flags and singing folk songs. (AP Photo)
Military divers push a boat carrying Romanian Orthodox Archbishop Teodosie during an Epiphany religious service in Constanta, Romania, Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. More than 200,000 bottles were filled with holy water in the Black Sea port of Constanta as Orthodox Romanians celebrate epiphany. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Revelers of the Estrela Dalva Folia de Reis group perform during Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, in the city of Planaltina, Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. Folia de Reis is a Brazilian procession that depicts the Biblical journey of the three biblical magi Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar to visit baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Nepalese Hindu devotees perform rituals during Madhav Narayan festival in Sankhu, northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. During the festival, devotees recite holy scriptures dedicated to Hindu goddess Swasthani and Lord Shiva. Unmarried women pray for a good husband while married women pray for the longevity of their husbands by observing a month-long fast. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Devotees try to climb the carriage of the Black Nazarene during a raucous procession to celebrate the figure’s feast day Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Manila, Philippines. A mammoth crowd of mostly barefoot Filipino Catholics prayed for peace in the increasingly volatile Middle East at the start of the annual procession of a centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ in one of Asia’s biggest religious events. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A devotee rests after joining a raucous procession to celebrate the feast day of the Black Nazarene on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 in Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People hold Serbian church flags during a rally in central Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. Thousands of Serbs answered a call by the Serbian Orthodox Church to stage a protest against alleged suppression of religious and other rights of minority Serbs in neighboring countries. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Children break traditional Christmas bread to mark the Orthodox Christmas Day festivities in Banja Luka, Bosnia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. Children traditionally scramble for a piece of the bread, searching for a gold coin hidden inside. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)
Palestinian worshippers from the Greek Orthodox community pray during a Christmas Eve midnight Mass at St. Porphyrios Church in Gaza City, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Georgians take a part in a religious procession to mark Orthodox Christmas in Tbilisi, Georgia, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. Christmas falls on Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians that use the old Julian calendar instead of the 16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholics and Protestants and commonly used in secular life around the world. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
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