Celebrating Easter Sunday around Australia

Christians have gathered at churches across Australia to mark Easter Sunday and celebrate the story of the resurrection.

Performer Brendan Paul plays the part of Jesus Christ during a "Journey to the Cross" procession on Easter Good Friday in Sydney.

Performer Brendan Paul plays the part of Jesus Christ during a "Journey to the Cross" procession on Easter Good Friday in Sydney. Source: AAP

Australians have celebrated Easter Sunday with chocolate eggs, church services and shows across the country.

In Sydney, Catholics flocked to the imposing St Mary's Cathedral for services, while Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies preached at St Andrew's Cathedral near Town Hall.

Tens of thousands of people chose to spend the day at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, which had attracted 78,000 people by 4pm.

In Brisbane, religious leaders urged worshippers to stave off fear and absorb the hopeful message of the resurrection.

"(Easter is) about God launching a huge repair project in the world as we know it," Archbishop of Brisbane Phillip Aspinall said.

Watch: Pope blasts migrants' suffering in Easter prayer



"There's no shortage of suffering in the world. But Easter has a different message, it says that those things do not enslave us."

The Melbourne Easter Show is being held in the city's southeast suburb of Cranbourne, while the Big Goose farm and adventure park on the Mornington Peninsula is hosting huge "Easter egg scrambles" through to Monday.

St Paul's Cathedral, the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne ran services throughout the day and some of the city's Catholics attended St Patrick's Cathedral, where Archbishop Denis Hart held a solemn mass.

Australian political and religious leaders, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull praised the work of emergency service workers during cyclone Debbie and floods in their Easter messages.

On Sunday, Labor leader Bill Shorten paid tribute to the nation's battlers during a visit to a Melbourne nursing home, where he took part in an egg hunt with elderly residents.

"Easter is a great time to catch up with family and friends but I think it's also important to remember that so many of our fellow Australians are doing it tough," he told reporters.

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Published 16 April 2017 5:22pm
Updated 16 April 2017 6:40pm
Source: AAP


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