In Pictures: Christians mark Good Friday with sombre ceremonies

An amateur actor performing as Jesus, centre, carries a cross during the Good Friday procession in Bensheim, Germany, Friday, April 7, 2023. Around 90 amateur actors and actresses in historical costumes parade through downtown Bensheim and re-enact the Stations of the Cross. The procession is organized by the association “Bensheim Italian Families and German Friends”. (AP Photo/Michael Probst

Christians around the world observed Good Friday rites as believers remembered the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ described in the Bible.

The start of the Easter weekend saw a sombre mood as the Passion of Jesus was re-enacted in various ways around the world.

Christians re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to mark Good Friday in Hyderabad, India (Mahesh Kuma/AP)

Rafael Haddad carries a cross while playing Jesus as members of the Wesley Mission church perform a modern-day interpretation of the crucifixion in Sydney (Rick Rycroft/AP)

A Good Friday service at St Joseph Cathedral in Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP)

Archbishop of Nairobi Philip Anyolo in central Nairobi, Kenya (Sayyid Abdul Azim/AP)

The Good Friday procession in Bensheim, Germany (Michael Probst/AP)

Nuns pause in a procession along the Via Dolorosa, a route that is believed to be the path Jesus walked to his crucifixion, in the Old City of Jerusalem (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, left, prays by a wooden cross in front of the Sacre-Coeur basilica in Paris (Michel Euler/AP)

In the Philippines, real-life non-fatal crucifixions took place despite church objections to the practice.

The Good Friday tradition has resumed in the Philippines after a three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic (Aaron Favila/AP)

Devotees and tourists gather for the re-enactment in the village of San Pedro in Pampanga province (Aaron Favila/AP)