MOSCOW, March 26 (RIA Novosti) - Catholics in Russia and across the world will start celebrating Easter tonight. Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz will conduct the Easter mass in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary on Malaya Gruzinskaya street.
"Many Easter traditions of Russian Catholics have much in common with those of Orthodox believers," said priest Igor Kovalevsky, Secretary General of the Conference of Russian Catholic Bishops.
Both Catholic and Orthodox Russians traditionally exchange eggs and other gifts on Easter Sunday.
State Duma deputies, representatives of the presidential staff, the government and Moscow City Hall are invited to attend the mass in the Cathedral on Malaya Gruzinskaya street.
According to Conference of Russian Catholic Bishops, there are about 600,000 Catholics in Russia, including 60,000 in Moscow.
The Russian Orthodox Church will celebrate Easter on May 1, 2005 in compliance with the Julian calendar.
