The Palm Sunday, which is celebrated in certain cities of Turkey on Sunday, began with the decoration of the olive branches in the early hours of Altınözü Greek Orthodox Church (Şağnini) located in the town of Altinözü in Antioch. After the mass, the weather was rainy and the celebrations continued under the tent provided by the Metropolitan Municipality.
At the Church of Jesus Christ in Altınöze, the entrance of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem was remembered with preaching, drama and the carols. On this special day, where intense security measures against any attack were taken, the security officers took control inside and around the church until the end of the celebration.
Day of Resurrection (Azari) of Lazar celebrated with carols
The feast of Azari which is the day of the resurrection of Lazar by Jesus Christ was celebrated on Saturday, April 8th. This day the young faithful continued the tradition of visiting the Christian houses with hymns. They sung the particular song of Al-Azari in Arabic for the resurrection of Lazar.
For the occasion of the Christian neighbors are visited by the young faithful, they were given olive oil and eggs as gift to the church like every year.
Donated eggs will be painted colorfully by the community of St. Circos Orthodox Church on Easter Sunday, which will be celebrated on Sunday, April 16th. The colored eggs will be distributed to the community after the worship and egg tapping will be played in the church garden.
Image: Edward Balıkçıoğlu / Hatay-Altınözü
