[www.keralites.net] Christians round the world take part in mesmerising celebrations

 

Christians round the world take part in mesmerising celebrations
 

 

Millions of devout Christians around the world have been commemorating the final days of Jesus Christ by taking part in awe-inspiring and shocking Holy Week celebrations.

The festival, which marks the trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus culminating in Easter Sunday, has been met with mesmerising religious parades across five continents.

In a diverse display of traditions, thousands of penitents have marched through streets in hooded cloaks while others have performed alarming religious self-flagellation in demonstrations of commitment to their faith.

In northern Philippines, bare-footed men with bloodied backs lie on roads being beaten with sticks and whips in a divisive tradition thought to stem from 13th century Roman Catholics.

Impressive effigies to Jesus Christ were erected in the Philippines, Belarus and in Venezuela - where crowds of penitents, some wearing crowns of thorns, gathered for mass at the Santa Teresa's Basilica in the capital city Caracas. 

In Spain, the week of celebration has seen thousands of haunting, hooded figures take part in entrancing marches through the streets of Seville in Andalucia and Zamora, in the north-west of the country.

 

In Zamora, in the region of Castile and Leon, penitents from 16 Christian brotherhoods were pictured during an enthralling nighttime procession through the town's streets.

Fraternities, wearing robes and conical hoods to maintain anonymity, were also seen beating drums in a spellbinding ceremony in Santander.

 

 

Alarming display: A man uses a stick to whip a penitent in front of a chapel during a ritual in Angeles city, northern Philippines today

Reenactment: Acting the part of Jesus in the final march of his life, a man carries a cross through Manila in the Philippines today
 

Penance: Among a crowd attending a mass at the Santa Teresa's Basilica in Caracas, Venezuela yesterday, a devotee dons a crown of thorns
 

Dramatic: A procession of haunting figures wearing cloaks and conical hats beat drums while marching through Santander in Spain this week
 

Beaten bloody: A flagellant prays by the San Fernando Cathedral in the town of San Fernando, Pampanga in the Philippines yesterday
 

Religious self-harm: A flagellant covered in blood kneels in front of the San Fernando Cathedral in the Philippines yesterday 
 

Red flares burn while penitents of the Cristo de Viga brotherhood carrying a float with a cross in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain this week
 

 

Penitents from 'Las Siete Palabras (Seven words)' brotherhood wait for their turn to leave a church in Zamora, Spain yesterday

Shocking display: Filipino flagellants whip their back along a street in Mabalacat city, Pampanga Province, in the Philippines today
 

Tradition: Flagellation is a form of religious discipline observed every lenten season by Catholic devotees in the Philippines
 

 

Divisive: The Catholic Church has previously expressed disapproval of the gory ritual which takes place in the Philippines every year

 

Contemplation: A group of penitents gather in front of a portrait of Jesus Christ prior to flagellating themselves in Manila today

Painful: A man with a hooded face swings a rope attached to chains while flagellating himself in a show of religious commitment in Manila
 

Central America: Children carry a platform holding a small statue of Jesus during a Holy Week procession in Antigua, Guatemala yesterday
 

Performance: Students perform the Stations of the Cross procession as part of the Holy Week celebrations in Luque, Paraguay yesterday
 

Global event: An actor wearing a crown of thorns portrays Jesus during a performance in Luque, Paraguay yesterday
 

Leading commemorations: Pope Francis blesses the Holy Chrism during the Chrism Mass at St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican today
 

 

The Argentine pontiff was pictured during the traditional Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican this morning
 

Dedication: Filipino nuns carry wooden crosses as they make the Stations of the Cross at the Philippine Center of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina
 

Mesmerising: Hundreds of hooded penitents march during the Holy Week procession in Santander, Spain, pictured on Tuesday
 

Holy Week: The ceremonial displays in Santander have also been seen across Spain with notable marches in Sevilla and Zamora
 

Penitents take part in a ceremonial Holy Week display inside a chapel in Arcos de la Frontera, Spain on Tuesday
 

Gathering: Catholic faithful attend a mass held at St. Teresa church during Holy Week celebrations in Caracas, Venezuela yesterday
 

Tribute: An effigy of Jesus on the cross is held up during the Cristo de la Fe parade during a Holy Week procession in Alicante, Spain
 

Members of the Catholic clergy at the Washing of the Feet ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem today
 

Passion of Christ: Belarussian Catholics re-enact some of the final moments of Jesus Christ near a Catholic church in Minsk yesterday
 

 

Actors yell during a 'Via Crucis' in a free interpretation performance of the catholic tradition at the Carlos Antonio Lopez park in Paraguay

A number of male and female actors were pictured during the spectacular display in Carlos Antonio Lopez park in Asuncion, Paraguay
 

Penitents of the Via Crucis Brotherhood carry a sculpture of Jesus Christ during the Holy Monday procession in Cordoba, Andalucia
 

 

Focused: Filipino flagellants carry a wooden cross on their back along a street in Pampanga Province, north of Manila today

 

A penitent dressed as a Roman soldier takes part in celebrations in Arcos de la Frontera, Spain on Tuesday

Penitents take part in the 'Procesion del Silencio' in Zamora, Spain yesterday were thousands gathered to witness a nighttime procession
 

 

Penitents from 'Cristo de la Buena Muerte' or 'Good Dead Christ' brotherhood take part in a procession in Zamora on Tuesday night

A baby sucks a dummy while dressed in a ceremonial Holy Week cloak in in Zamora, Spain earlier this week
 

 

Members of a religious fraternity don cloaks and conical hats while marching through Zamora in northwest Spain on Tuesday night

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal washes the foot of a priest during the Catholic Washing of the Feet ceremony
 

 

A figure of Jesus is carried through the streets of Zamora in northwest Spain by penitents from Cristo de la Buena Muerte brotherhood

While the marches may appear sinister, they are a stunning celebration of emotion as brothers make their way to cathedrals in Zamora
 

 

Each confradia (or religious brotherhood) is represented by different coloured robes and masks, designed to protect anonymity 

 

Visitors and locals watch from balconies as the procession weaves its way through the cobblestone streets in Zamora

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