Armenians celebrate Easter in Iran five weeks into the war – AP

Armenian Christians celebrated Easter at a church in Iran’s capital on Sunday, striving to maintain a sense of normality five weeks into the war, the Associated Press reports.

Families embraced and children exchanged painted eggs at the St. Sarkis Cathedral in central Tehran. Iran’s capital has been targeted by daily airstrikes since the United States and Israel launched the war on February 28.

Joanita Arakel, an English language teacher, said she was trying to maintain a sense of normality for the sake of her children.

Archbishop of the Armenian Saint Sarkis Cathedral, Sepuh Sargsyan said that his appeal was “first is to those who started the war to look up to the sky where love and mutual respect were given to us, whether through the birth of Jesus or the resurrection.”

The Islamic Republic, with a population of around 90 million, is home to some 300,000 Christians, mostly Armenians, and three seats in parliament are reserved for Christians.