Photos of the Week: Orthodox Lent, Kashmiri Muslims

This week’s photo selection includes the start of Lent for Orthodox Christians, Kashmiri Muslims and more.

(RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo selection includes the start of Lent for Orthodox Christians, Kashmiri Muslims and more.

A family flies a kite in a field of flowers in Drapetsona, a suburb of Piraeus, near Athens, on Sunday, March 14, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground an annual kite-flying tradition, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Orthodox Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A family flies a kite in a field of flowers in Drapetsona, a suburb of Piraeus, near Athens, on Sunday, March 14, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Cyprus and Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground an annual kite-flying tradition, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Orthodox Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

People fly kites near the ancient Parthenon temple in Athens, background, on Clean Monday, March 15, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the annual kite-flying tradition, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Orthodox Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

People fly kites near the ancient Parthenon temple in Athens, background, on Clean Monday, March 15, 2021. The coronavirus pandemic, which hit Greece especially hard this winter, threatened to ground the annual kite-flying tradition, an essential part of the celebration of Clean Monday, the first day of Orthodox Lent. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)


A carnival float depicting a sleeping Cardinal, reading '11 years of relentless processing of cases of abuse' is set in front of the Cologne Cathedral to protest against the Catholic Church in Cologne, Germany, Thursday, March 18, 2021. Faced with accusations of trying to cover up sexual violence in Germany's most powerful Roman Catholic diocese, the archbishop of Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki will publish an independent investigation. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

A carnival float depicting a sleeping Cardinal, reading ’11 years of relentless processing of cases of abuse’ is set in front of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, Thursday, March 18, 2021. Faced with accusations of trying to cover up sexual violence in Germany’s most powerful Roman Catholic diocese, the archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, will publish an independent investigation. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Bangladeshi Muslims raise their footwear and shout slogans during a protest after Friday prayers, against the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, March 19, 2021. Hundreds of people including Muslim devotees and left-leaning student activists on Friday rallied in Bangladesh's capital to denounce the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the celebration of the country's 50th anniversary of independence. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)

Bangladeshi Muslims raise their footwear and shout slogans during a protest after Friday prayers against the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, March 19, 2021. Hundreds of people including Muslim devotees and left-leaning student activists on Friday rallied in Bangladesh’s capital to denounce the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the celebration of the country’s 50th anniversary of independence. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)

Children play ball with brooms during Maslenitsa (Shrovetide) holiday celebrations at the Izmailovsky Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Maslenitsa is an Orthodox Christian holiday celebrated in the last week before the Orthodox Lent. The festivities feature baking traditional pancakes, sleigh rides, sparring between groups of men and, finally burning the effigy of Maslenitsa. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Children play ball with brooms during Maslenitsa (Shrovetide) holiday celebrations at the Izmailovsky Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Maslenitsa is an Orthodox Christian holiday celebrated in the last week before the Orthodox Lent. The festivities feature baking traditional pancakes, sleigh rides, sparring between groups of men and, finally burning the effigy of Maslenitsa. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

People watch as an effigy of Lady Winter burns during Maslenitsa (Shrovetide) holiday celebrations at the Izmailovsky Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Maslenitsa is an Orthodox Christian holiday celebrated in the last week before the Orthodox Lent. The festivities feature baking traditional pancakes, sleigh rides, sparring between groups of men and, finally burning the effigy of Maslenitsa. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

People watch as an effigy of Lady Winter burns during Maslenitsa (Shrovetide) holiday celebrations at the Izmailovsky Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 13, 2021. Maslenitsa is an Orthodox Christian holiday celebrated in the last week before the Orthodox Lent. The festivities feature baking traditional pancakes, sleigh rides, sparring between groups of men and, finally burning the effigy of Maslenitsa. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Orthodox Christian Tigrayan refugees who fled the conflict in the Ethiopia's Tigray state pray in front of a church at Hamdeyat Transition Center near the Sudan-Ethiopia border, eastern Sudan, Tuesday March 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

Orthodox Christian Tigrayan refugees who fled the conflict in the Ethiopia’s Tigray state pray in front of a church at Hamdeyat Transition Center near the Sudan-Ethiopia border, eastern Sudan, Tuesday March 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

A Hindu priest receives a shot of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination for various religious leaders in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

A Hindu priest receives a shot of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination for various religious leaders in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)


Kashmiri Muslim devotees pray as the head cleric displays a relic believed to be a hair from the beard of Islam's Prophet Muhammad at the Hazratbal shrine on the Friday following Mehraj-u-Alam, believed to mark the ascension of Prophet Muhammad to heaven, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, March 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Kashmiri Muslim devotees pray as the head cleric displays a relic believed to be a hair from the beard of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad at the Hazratbal shrine on the Friday following Mehraj-u-Alam, believed to mark the ascension of Prophet Muhammad to heaven, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, March 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Kashmiri Muslim devotees pray as the head cleric displays a relic believed to be a hair from the beard of Islam's Prophet Muhammad at the Hazratbal shrine on the Friday following Mehraj-u-Alam, believed to mark the ascension of Prophet Muhammad to heaven, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, March 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Kashmiri Muslim devotees pray as the head cleric displays a relic believed to be a hair from the beard of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad at the Hazratbal shrine on the Friday following Mehraj-u-Alam, believed to mark the ascension of Prophet Muhammad to heaven, in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, March 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

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