Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
Orthodox Christians observe Good Friday celebrations in and around the famed monolithic rock-cut churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia on May 3.
Jerome Delay / AP
A Kenyan woman walks through the African Inland Church in the Kibera Slum of Nairobi, Kenya, on March 10, one day after Uhuru Kenyatta was declared winner in the Kenyan presidential elections.
One morning in January 2008, more than 200 young men armed with crude weapons stormed the Africa Inland Church in the Kibera Slum of Nairobi, Kenya, and seized a generator that they then set on fire. The explosion tore through the roof, creating one of the most visible scenes of post-election violence after Kenya's disputed election of 2007.
The dark spot is a constant reminder of the church's vulnerability during national elections. But for Rev. Joshua Kimuyu there was no question of keeping its doors shut this Sunday, the day after Kenya's election commission announced the winner of the East African country's fiercely contested presidential election. This time, Kimuyu said, there was nothing to fear after the two leading candidates -winner Uhuru Kenyatta and loser Raila Odinga -pleaded for calm and unity. Continue reading.
--The Associated Press
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
Five years after more than 1,200 people were killed in election-related violence, Kenyans went to the polls in a nationwide election seen as the most important in the country's 50-year history since independence.
Previously on PhotoBlog:
Oli Scarff / Getty Images
Clowns in full costume sing during the annual Clowns Church Service at Holy Trinity Church in Dalston on Feb. 3, in London, England.
Clowns attend the annual Clowns Church Service at Holy Trinity Church service in memory of Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837), the most celebrated English clown who was born in London. The service has been an annual tradition since 1946 with the attending clowns usually performing for the public afterwards.
-- Getty Images
Oli Scarff / Getty Images
A clown carries a cake during the annual Clowns Church Service at Holy Trinity Church in Dalston on Feb. 3, in London, England.
Oli Scarff / Getty Images
Clowns in full costume attend the annual Clowns Church Service at Holy Trinity Church in Dalston on Feb. 3, in London, England.
Oli Scarff / Getty Images
Clowns in full costume attend the annual Clowns Church Service at Holy Trinity Church in Dalston on Feb. 3, in London, England.
Karel Prinsloo / EPA
A clown hugs a woman as they attend a service at the Holy Trinity Church in London, Britain, on Feb 3.
Julio Cortez / AP
A statue of Jesus Christ lays on its side on top of the St. John's School building following a high wind storm, Sept. 19, in Orange, N.J.
Julio Cortez / AP
Sergio Mendoza works on securing a strap around a statue of Jesus Christ on the roof of the St. John's School building after it toppled during a high wind storm, Sept. 19, in Orange, N.J.
Julio Cortez / AP
A statue of Jesus Christ is lowered off the roof of the St. John's School building by a crane after it toppled during a high wind storm on Sept. 19 in Orange, N.J.
A 25-year-old statue of Jesus Christ was toppled from it's base on the rooftop of St. John's School in Orange, N.J. during a storm that rolled through the region.
"You don’t see the Lord leaning at 90 degrees too much," said the city’s construction official, John Buonanno in an interview with the Newark Star-Ledger. "This statue is sitting there precariously."
The Newark Archdiocese spokesman James Goodness said the statue was a replacement for the school's original statue, which also was toppled in a storm.
Julio Cortez / AP
A statue of Jesus Christ lays on its side on near the St. John's School building after workers removed it from the roof after it toppled duirng a high wind storm.
Siegfried Modola / Reuters
Siegfried Modola / Reuters
Orthodox Christian pilgrims pray at Bet Medhane Alem, a rock-cut church, in Lalibela, Ethiopia, Aug. 19. These pictures were made available to NBCNews.com on Aug. 21. View more photos of churches on PhotoBlog.
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Kay Nietfeld / AFP - Getty Images
Industrial climbers clean window elements of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on April 19, in Berlin.
Kay Nietfeld / AFP - Getty Images
Cleaners work on window elements of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on April 19, in Berlin.
To restore the original luminance of the windows of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, more than 16,000 glass mosaics are being washed with hot water high-pressure cleaners. The old church, built between 1891 and 1895, was damaged and destroyed during air-raids in 1943. A new church, whose windows are being cleaned now, was constructed between 1959 and 1963 after plans of Egon Eiermann. Parts of the old church were conserved and serve as a war memorial.
Fred Ramage / Keystone Features via Getty Images, file
The ruins of the famous Tauenzien Strasse and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin on July 20, 1945, following Hitler's defeat in World War II.
Andreas Rentz / Getty Images, file
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Oct. 22, 2010 in Berlin, before it underwent a much-needed renovation.
Johannes Simon / Getty Images
Visitors stand outside a church made entirely of snow and ice in southern Bavaria on Jan. 14, in Mitterfirmiansreut, Germany.
Local enthusiasts built the church at the end of December in an effort to relive a tradition dating back over 100 years.
In 1910 the residents of Mitterfirminsreut were cut off from their local parish by a heavy snowstorm, and since the village was without its own church, they were unable to attend Christmas mass.
Then in January of 1911, in an act meant in protest against local authorities whom they felt had forgotten them, the residents built their own church out of the material they had most in abundance at the time: snow.
This year the snow church, backed by a local association, is scheduled to stand through February and has quickly become a local tourist attraction.
Related content:
Sheng Li / Reuters
Winter is embraced at the annual festival in northeastern China, which opened on Jan. 5, 2012.
Detroit's struggles with a declining population and the near-death of the U.S. auto industry are well documented, but less well known are the travails of the local Catholic church, the latest institution in this failing city to face up to downsizing.
Reuters photographer Mark Blinch and reporter John Stoll visited two churches in the run-up to Christmas, one abandoned, another under threat of closure.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
The inside of the Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Church, which closed in 2006, is seen in Detroit on Dec. 18, 2011. When a Catholic church closes, the land and buildings go back to the archdiocese. The neighboring parishes can come and take their pick of relics or ecclesiastical equipment. If a new tenant doesn't materialize, criminals sometimes do. Thieves often strip the building of copper or pluck out stained glass.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
A damaged organ at the abandoned Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Church.
The Martyrs of Uganda church, closed by the archdiocese in 2006, is today littered with rubble, collapsed confessionals and a broken organ. Moss grows on its floors. The windows are gone and support pillars are crumbling because stones have been removed.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
Chris Mitchell walks up the stairs at the St. Leo Catholic Church, which was built more than 120 years ago.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
People stand as they take part in the Sunday mass at the St. Leo Catholic Church in Detroit on Dec. 18, 2011. St. Leo, located in one of the most abandoned pockets of the nation's most depressed city, is operating on life support.
The second church they visited, St. Leo, is on life support. It remains an integral part of the community, helping to keep its neighborhood afloat with a soup kitchen as well as free medical and dental care for local residents. But it is among nine parishes earmarked for closure in the Detroit area within the next few years.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
Larry Finklea eats his lunch at the soup kitchen in the basement of the St. Leo Catholic Church.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
Jerry McCullough, left, gets a check up by Dr. Ed Jelonek, who is working on his own free time, at the Order of Malta Medical and Dental Clinic for low income Michigan residents in the basement of St. Leo Catholic Church.
The archdiocese has cut its parish count in Detroit's city limits to 59, down from 79 in 2000. The man in charge of the downsizing is Archbishop Allen Vigneron, who says he understands what's on the line at St. Leo and other churches.
"I am very attentive to the good work that the Holy Spirit has already got us doing ... it's not my job to rip that apart, it's my job to keep these good things going in the future," he said.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
A woman walks past the St. Leo Catholic Church, which is among nine parishes earmarked for closure in the Detroit area within the next few years.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
A woman prays during the Sunday mass at the St. Leo Catholic Church.
Read John Stoll's full report, Dark holiday in Detroit as church downsizes, and see more of Mark Blinch's pictures at Reuters' Photographers Blog.
Petr Josek / Reuters
People work at the construction site of a Catholic church made of snow in the Bavarian village of Mitterfirmiansreut, near the German-Czech border on . The snow church is to be unveiled during a ceremony on Wednesday and is likely to become a tourist attraction till the beginning of spring.
Petr Josek / Reuters
People work inside a Catholic church made of snow in the Bavarian village of Mitterfirmiansreut, near the German-Czech border on Tuesday.
Petr Josek / Reuters
People work at the construction site of a Catholic church made of snow in the Bavarian village of Mitterfirmiansreut, near the German-Czech border
Read more about the church here.
Toby Melville / Reuters
Choristers of St. Paul's Cathedral practice in the choir stalls at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on Monday, Dec. 12. The 30 choristers and eight probationers join twelve adult singers comprising the Vicars Choral to form the Cathedral Choir.
Cities across the world are decking the halls for the holidays. From New York to Paris to Berlin, see how folks are showcasing their festive seasonal displays in our slideshow.
Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI waves from the pope-mobile as he leaves the Cathedral in Cotonou during his pastoral visit in Benin on Nov. 18, 2011. Pope Benedict urged African nations to resist the temptation to surrender to market forces as they grow and modernise.
COTONOU, Benin -- Pope Benedict's first trip to Africa two years ago was overshadowed by his controversial comments, when he drew criticism on this continent ravaged by HIV/AIDS for saying that condom distribution was increasing the problem. This time the pope is hoping to present a document on how church doctrine can be used to solve the continent's ills, drawing on ideas provided by African bishops themselves.
"May this document fall into the ground and take root, grow and bear much fruit," the pope said upon arrival. Read more…
Issouf Sanogo / AFP - Getty Images
Women dance during Pope Benedict XVI's welcoming ceremony at the Bernadin Gantin airport in Benin.
Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters
People wave as Pope Benedict XVI passes on the street in Benin's main city Cotonou.
Related story: Don’t put all trust in markets, Pope Benedict tells Africa
Shakh Aivazov/AP
A boy jumps between roof domes as he plays during the annual Tbilisoba City Day celebration in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 8, with Metekhi Church, built in 13th century, seen in the background.
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