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December’s photos of faith Images of religion from around the world.
Dec 29, 2011
Followers of Afro-Brazilian religion Umbanda carry a statue of Iemanja, the goddess of the sea, during a ceremony in Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro.
RICARDO MORAES
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REUTERS
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Dec 29, 2011
Government officials pour milk into the waters of the river Ganges as part of a prayer ceremony for a peaceful Magh Mela festival in the northern Indian city of Allahabad. The festival is an annual religious event held during the Hindu month of Magh, when thousands of Hindu devotees take a holy dip in the waters of the Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. The festival starts January 5 and runs until February 20.
JITENDRA PRAKASH
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REUTERS
Dec 28, 2011
A woman watches a waterfall after performing prayers at the temple of Baba Dhansal at Reasi, 75 km (47 miles) northwest of Jammu in Kashmir.
MUKESH GUPTA
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REUTERS
Dec 27, 2011
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish boy uses binoculars during a gathering with the Chief Rabbi of the Vishnitz Hasidic dynasty to celebrate Hanukkah, at a Vishnitz community center in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv.
NIR ELIAS
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REUTERS
Dec 26, 2011
Catholic faithful wear the typical dress of a "maruja", or woman mariner, during the annual procession for St. Benedict, who is also known in Brazil as the "black saint," in Braganca in the northeastern state of Para. The procession began in the 18th century when a group of black slaves were allowed by their owners to form the Fraternity of St. Benedict, and decided to dance through the streets as an expression of their gratitude.
PAULO SANTOS
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REUTERS
Dec 25, 2011
A Christian holds a cross while attending a mass on Christmas at St. Joseph Chaldean church in Baghdad.
SAAD SHALASH
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REUTERS
Dec 24, 2011
Pope Benedict XVI walks past a figurine of baby Jesus as he leads the Christmas mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.
MAX ROSSI
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REUTERS
Dec 23, 2011
North Korean defectors pray during their prayer meeting at Durihana church, which has helped the refugees escape and settle in South Korea, in Seoul. North Korea appears to be making an orderly transition after the death of leader Kim Jong-il last week, but the risk of collapse is higher than before and regional powers need to start discussing that contingency with China, diplomats and analysts say.
KIM KYUNG-HOON
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REUTERS
Dec 22, 2011
A woman looks on as she prays in the Church of the Nativity on in Bethlehem, West Bank. Every year pilgrims travel to the church at Christmas time where a gold star embedded in the floor, marks the spot where Jesus was believed to be born.
Uriel Sinai
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GETTY IMAGES
Dec 21, 2011
Visually impaired children participate in a performance depicting the birth of Jesus Christ during Christmas celebrations at Devnar School for the Blind in Hyderabad, India. Christians make up about 2 percent of India's 1 billion-plus population.
Mahesh Kumar A
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AP
Dec 20, 2011
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man holds a child as he lights a candle for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood. Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is one of the most important Jewish holidays and is celebrated by Jews worldwide.
BAZ RATNER
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REUTERS
Dec 18, 2011
Hector Chacon, a Guatemalan firefighter dressed as Santa Claus, rappels down the Belize bridge in Guatemala City to give toys to children living in the neighbourhoods under the bridge. Guatemalan firefighters have been giving toys in the Christmas period to children living in the very poor area of the city for 13 years, according to Chacon.
JORGE DAN LOPEZ
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REUTERS
Dec 18, 2011
Hector Chacon, a Guatemalan firefighter dressed as Santa Claus, hugs a girl after distributing toys to children living in the neighborhoods under the Belize bridge in Guatemala City.
JORGE DAN LOPEZ
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REUTERS
Dec 18, 2011
Pope Benedict XVI is greeted as he arrives for a pastoral visit at Rome's Rebibbia prison. Pope Benedict said during his visit to one of Italy's toughest prisons that overcrowding conditions in prison is like serving a "double sentence" and detainees should be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their offense.
OSSERVATORE ROMANO
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REUTERS
Dec 18, 2011
A member of India's tiny Zoroastrian community, also known as Parsis, looks on during the 50th anniversary celebrations of their fire temple in New Delhi, India. The religion was founded in ancient Persia about 3,000 years ago, according to some scholarly estimates, by Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, whom the faith considers a prophet. Fire plays a central role in worship as a symbol of truth and the spirit of God.
Mustafa Quraishi
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AP
Dec 17, 2011
Retired Episcopal bishop George E. Packard inside Duarte Square beckons other protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement to climb over a chain-link fence and join protestors inside the park in New York
ANDREW BURTON
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REUTERS
Dec 16, 2011
Amie Sofia Ahmad (front R) closes her eyes upon winning Malaysia's new Islamic reality TV show "Solehah" which was telecast live in Kuala Lumpur December 16, 2011. "Solehah," an Arabic word for "pious female," is an Islamic reality television show that aims to find the best women preachers and change conservative mindsets on the role of women in Muslim societies. The 13-episode prime time programme is a talent contest featuring charismatic young Muslim women who are judged on their religious knowledge as well as their oratory skills and personality.
BAZUKI MUHAMMAD
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REUTERS
Dec 16, 2011
A medium in a trance performs a traditional mask dance during the Khadgha Siddhi festival in Kathmandu December 16, 2011. The festival, held once in twelve years, is marked with traditional mask performances performed in various places of Kathmandu throughout the year.
NAVESH CHITRAKAR
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REUTERS
Dec 15, 2011
A Christian worshipper prays in the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem December 15, 2011, ahead of Christmas.
MOHAMAD TOROKMAN
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REUTERS
Dec 14, 2011
A person places a hand on the glass coffin containing a wax figure modeled after the late beatified Pope John Paul II in Morelos. Morelos is the last city as part of the four-month viewing tour of the figure across Mexico.
STRINGER/MEXICO
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REUTERS
Dec 13, 2011
Senior conservator Nick Teed cleans a section of stained glass from the East window of York Minster, one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Northern Europe, located in York, England.The east end of the Minster is undergoing a 20 million pound ($31 million) restoration, which includes the East Window, designed by John Thornton in the 1400's.
NIGEL RODDIS
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REUTERS
Dec 13, 2011
Copies of the Koran, Islam's holy book, sit on a bench as shadows of boys, looking into the Zakariya madrassa, fall onto a classroom wall in Karachi December 13, 2011. Police in the Pakistani city of Karachi have rescued 54 students from the basement of an Islamic seminary, or madrassa, where they said they were kept in chains by clerics, beaten and barely fed. Police raided the Zakariya madrassa late on Monday on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan's commercial hub. They were now investigating whether it had any links to violent militant groups, which often recruit from hardline religious schools.
ATHAR HUSSAIN
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REUTERS
Dec 12, 2011
Choristers of St Paul's Cathedral practice in the choir stalls at St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London December 12, 2011. The 30 choristers and eight probationers join twelve adult singers (the Vicars Choral) to form the Cathedral Choir.
TOBY MELVILLE
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REUTERS
Dec 11, 2011
Bulgarian Muslim bride Fatme Kichukova has her make-up applied during her wedding ceremony in the village of Ribnovo, in the Rhodope Mountains, some 210km (130miles) south of Sofia December 11, 2011. The remote mountain village of Ribnovo in southwest Bulgaria has kept its traditional winter marriage ceremony alive despite decades of Communist persecution, followed by poverty that forced many men to seek work abroad. The wedding ritual was resurrected with vigour among the Pomaks -- Slavs who converted to Islam under Ottoman rule. The highlight of the ceremony is the painting of the bride's face, where in a private rite open only to female in-laws, her face is covered in thick, chalky white paint and decorated with colourful sequins. Muslims currently make up 10 percent of Bulgaria's 7.4 million population.
STOYAN NENOV
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REUTERS
Dec 11, 2011
Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow prays near the endzone prior to their NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Denver December 11, 2011. Tebow led the Broncos to an overtime win after being down 10-0 in the fourth quarter.
RICK WILKING
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REUTERS
Dec 9, 2011
Pilgrims carry pictures of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Paso de Cortes December 9, 2011. Millions of Mexican Catholics travel to Mexico City to celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe Day on December 12.
STRINGER/MEXICO
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REUTERS
Dec 9, 2011
German Bundeswehr soldiers attend a Bible breakfast during camp day in the ISAF camp in Kunduz.
THOMAS PETER
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REUTERS
Dec 8, 2011
A girl holds a candle during her first communion, a Catholic sacrament, at Nuestra Senora de la Merced church in Lima, Peru on the Catholic Feast of the Immaculate Conception. On that holy day, thousands of children nationwide made their first communion.
Karel Navarro
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AP
Dec. 7, 2011
Pope Benedict XVI lights up one of the world's largest electronic Christmas trees in Gubbio using an iPad at the Vatican.
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Reuters
Dec. 6, 2011
Buddhist nuns attend a hearing for former Khmer Rouge leaders at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. The U.N.-backed tribunal in Cambodia resumed its second trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders against former president Khieu Samphan, former foreign minister Ieng Sary and "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, who are charged with war crimes and genocide.
Samrang Pring
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Reuters
Dec. 5, 2011
Revelers dressed as Saint Nicholas and a devil look at a child at the Old Town Square in Prague. The revelers approached children on the streets as part of a tradition to determine whether they had behaved well during the past year; depending on their answers, they would receive presents, sweets or coal.
David W. Cerny
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Reuters
Dec. 4, 2011
Adela Zamora, known as Santera Chuchita, holds a chicken that will be sacrificed in honor of Saint Barbara at her home during a ritual ceremony in Bahia Honda, Cuba. Through the island's syncretism blending European and African traditions, the Catholic martyr Saint Barbara is associated in the Santeria religion as Chango, the god of war. Cuban believers pay tribute to both Saint Barbara and Chango every Dec. 4 through offerings of flowers, fruit, burning candles, the beating of drums and blood from animal sacrifice.
Ismael Francisco
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AP
Dec. 3, 2011
Vice President Biden, accompanied by Archbishop Demetrios, fourth right, primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, is greeted by Orthodox priests upon his arrival at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul.
Murad Sezer
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Reuters
Dec. 2, 2011
A girl walks with her father during a Muharram procession ahead of Ashura in Jammu, India. Ashura commemorates the death of prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein in battle about 1,300 years ago.
Mukesh Gupta
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Reuters
Dec. 1, 2011
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pours water over a statue of Buddha at the Shwedegon Pagoda in Rangoon, Burma. Clinton offered Burma the first rewards for reform, saying the United States would back more aid for the reclusive country and consider returning an ambassador after an absence of some two decades.
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Reuters
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Animal views
Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.
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Section:/national/on-faith
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