(Transcript from World News Radio)
Australian Christian leaders have used their Easter messages to call for greater compassion towards those in greatest need, including refugees and asylum-seekers.
Easter is one of the holiest times of the year for Christians - an annual celebration marking their belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In a rare event, Easter is celebrated this weekend by all Christians around the world, including Orthodox Christians.
The date usually differs because Eastern and Western churches use a different system for calculating the date of the vernal equinox and the first full moon.
Some Australian Christian leaders have used their annual Easter messages to call for a more humane treatment of asylum seekers in offshore processing centres.
Michael Kenny reports.
The Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Phillip Freier, says Easter is a time to reflect on the great example set by Jesus Christ, especially in his devotion to those on the margins of society.
"The crucifixion was God's great act of solidarity with all those who suffer and he continues to share the suffering and pain of millions today who suffer through poverty, persecution, violence and cruelty, including the millions of displaced people in the world. Syrian refugees and asylum-seekers in offshore detention. The list goes on. When we fail to respond to the cries of need among our brothers and sisters of whatever race, creed or background, we fall short of our full humanity to which Christ bore witness and to which God calls us."
At the Vatican, Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 elderly and disabled people, including a Libyan Muslim as part of Holy Thursday celebrations.
The washing of the feet is an annual part of the Holy Thursday service which Catholics believe commemorates Jesus Christ's washing of the feet of his 12 disciples before his Last Supper.
The Pontiff told those gathered he was performing the ritual to remind himself how to serve others.
In Australia, Catholic leaders have used their Easter messages to call for a greater commitment to Christian values in modern society.
The President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Dennis Hart, says Easter is above all a call for an end to conflict in the world.
"We are an Easter people. This means that we as people of faith are above all people of joy. If we are without this joy, we can be prone to conflict. Others can perceive a hostile streak in us. We can lack patience. When we are joyless, we find it nearly impossible to bestow kind words on others: we lack human warmth and seem to be angry at ourselves and the world."
In his Easter message, the Superintendent of Wesley Mission, Reverend Keith Garner, has called for a more spiritual and less consumer-driven society.
Reverend Garner says he is disturbed by the high levels of alcohol addiction in Australian society and believes the problem needs to be taken a lot more seriously by state and federal governments.
He has told Sky News he also believes Australian society has become too consumer-oriented, saying Easter is a good time to reflect on more spiritual goals in life.
"One of my comments about this is really drawn out by this whole debate about whether we should have (public) holidays- like Good Friday and Easter are very much holidays and some of the big businesses and it is the big businesses- it's not the small shops and retailers that are asking for this- and they are saying let's make all this commercial too. We only have four and a half days in the whole of our calendar when we shut the shops.I think we should keep them shut and not just because of consumerism, but because it's vital to family life."
