President visits Church of the Nativity...
January 7, 2014
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, First Lady Shiranthi Wickremasinghe Rajapaksa, Palestinian President Dr. Mahmoud Abbas attended the Mass of the Christmas Eve at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Monday (January 6) with the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III. The vicinity of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, is illuminated for the celebration of the Eastern Orthodox Christmas, which takes place on Tuesday. Most Eastern Orthodox Christian denominations celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on January 7th, in contrast to the Western Christian tradition of celebrating on December 25. (Pic by Sudath Silva)
