Churches around the nation have held services and Mass to celebrate Easter.

The National Council of Churches in Korea and the Christian Council of Korea held Sunday a joint service on the theme of social unity and reconciliation among religions, with churches in 70 cities nationwide holding services simultaneously.

Seoul Archbishop Nicholas Cardinal Cheong Jin-suk (photo) presided over Mass at Myongdong Cathedral, sending a message of life and love and remembering the meaning of Jesus' resurrection.

He stressed in his Easter message the importance of respect for life, saying an anti-life culture is not unrelated to society's materialism-based values.