Christians around the world observed Good Friday on 29 March, marking the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. According to Christian beliefs, Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday.
The streets of Jerusalem thronged with hundreds of Christians walking through the Old City, carrying wooden crosses and chanting prayers, while elsewhere Christians staged re-enactments and prayed, with some events including real crucifixions.
In Jerusalem, pilgrims processed along the Via Dolorosa, re-tracing Jesus' steps and suffering on his way to be crucified. The pilgrims walked through his 14 stations, chanting prayers and ending at the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Slive.com reported.
Priests dressed in brown robes explained the different stations to the crowds through a megaphone. One of the priests, Leonard Mary, from Irondale in the American state of Alabama, was dressed as Jesus and carrying a cross while wearing a crown of thorns. Fake blood dripped from his chest to complete the image.
"The most perfect love that was ever seen in the world was when Jesus died for us. He showed us the perfection of love," the priest said.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Catholics carried out a re-enactment of the crucifixion, despite the pleas of local bishops for them to desist. Volunteers were crucified for 10 minutes at a time.
Check out photographs of Good Friday observed around the world, as preparations for Easter begin...
uben Enaje, 52, who is portraying Jesus Christ for the 27th time, is raised on a wooden cross by a group of men playing Roman soldiers after he was nailed to it during a Good Friday crucifixion re-enactment in San Pedro Cutud town, Pampanga province, north of Manila March 29, 2013. The Roman Catholic church frowns upon the gory spectacle held in the Philippine village of Cutud every Good Friday but does nothing to deter the faithful from emulating the suffering of Christ and taking a painful route to penitence. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/Romeo RanocoCatholic nuns attend the annual Good Friday "Stations of the Cross" procession in the gardens of the Montmartre's Sacre Coeur Basilica in Paris March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/Charles PlatiauA Pakistani Christian woman raises her hands as she attends a Good Friday service at Saint Anthony Church in Lahore March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/Mohsin Razaostaleros (men who carry a weighted structure of the Virgin), known traditionally as "paso", prepare their "costales" (head dresses) inside the brotherhood house before taking part in the Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno brotherhood procession during Holy Week in the Andalusian city of Ronda, near Malaga, southern Spain late March 28, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter. Picture taken March 28, 2013.REUTERS/Jon NazcaVilagers take part in an Easter Passion Play re-enacting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday at Gantang Village near Magelang, in the province of Central Java March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/Dwi ObloIllegal immigrants from Central America, who intend to travel to the U.S. border through Mexico, take part in the re-enactment of the Passion of Christ on a railway line in Huehuetoca March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/Edgard GarridoPenitents participate in a procession on Good Friday during Holy Week in central La Paz, March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/David MercadoA homeless man (front) cries during a procession to mark the death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday during Holy Week inside the Se Cathedral at downtown Sao Paulo March 29, 2013. Pope Francis on Thursday urged Catholic priests to devote themselves to helping the poor and suffering. Francis' homily at his first Holy Thursday service as Roman Catholic leader was the latest sign since his surprise election two weeks ago of his determination that the 1.2 billion-member Church should be closer to the poor.REUTERS/Nacho DoceGirls, dressed for the role of Saint Veronica, fix each other's veils between Good Friday religious ceremonies at the Morada de Talpa in Talpa, New Mexico March 29, 2013. A morada is an unsanctified chapel where the Hermanos, a centuries-old lay Catholic group of men in northern New Mexico, worship. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/Brian SnyderGirls from the Garifuna ethnic people are dressed in white while participating in a procession to mark the death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday during Holy Week in Livingston, 350 km (217 miles) north east Guatemala City March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter. Garifuna are descendants of Carib and Arawak indians and West African slaves who settled along the Atlantic coast of Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua and Honduras after the British deported them from St. Vincent in the 18th century.REUTERS/Jorge Dan LopezA female inmate prays at a chapel during a Via Crucis re-enactment on Good Friday at the women's prison facilities in San Salvador March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/Ulises RodriguezAn actor playing the role of Jesus Christ screams during a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at Playa Delfines (Dolphin Beach) on Good Friday in Cancun March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/Victor RuizWorshippers dressed in white tunics hold candles as they participate in the "Procession of the Souls", starting Good Friday and continuing through early Easter Saturday, in the city of Mariana in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, March 30, 2013. The procession re-enacts a legend of the city during Holy Week when the souls of dead people wander across the streets. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/Pilar OlivaresWorshippers dressed in white tunics hold candles as they participate in the "Procession of the Souls", starting Good Friday and continuing through early Easter Saturday, in the city of Mariana in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, March 30, 2013. The procession re-enacts a legend of the city during Holy Week when the souls of dead people wander across the streets. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/Pilar OlivaresFrank Simmonds, of the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, carries a cross on the Brooklyn Bridge during the 18th annual 'Way of the Cross Over the Brooklyn Bridge Ceremony' in New York City March 29, 2013. The ceremony, hosted yearly on the Christian holy day of Good Friday, includes walking from St. James Cathedral, over the Brooklyn Bridge to St. Peter's Church, in Manhattan. The event attracts approximately 2,000 people each year.REUTERS/Eduardo MunozMembers of the Nazarenos brotherhood rest inside a church during a Holy Week procession in Zipaquira March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/John VizcainoA boy dressed up as a Roman soldier takes part in a Good Friday procession in San Antonio de Escazu, near San Jose. March 29, 2013. Holy Week is celebrated in many Christian traditions during the week before Easter.REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate
