A frail Pope John Paul II expressed hopes of peace in the Middle East and the Balkans in his Easter blessing pronounced before 100,000 faithful in St Peter's Square yesterday.
"This world of ours can change," he said. "Peace is possible even where for too long there has been fighting and death, as in the Holy Land and Jerusalem."
The Pope, 81 next month and looking fatigued after a strenuous Holy Week, said peace was "possible in the Balkans, no longer condemned to a worrying uncertainty that risks causing the failure of all proposals for agreement".
The main ceremony marking Christ's Resurrection was held during a Mass in which Pope John Paul delivered his traditional Urbi et Orbi (for Rome and for the world) blessing in 61 languages.
The Pope appealed to every continent to "place all research and all technical and social progress at the service of a better future for all".
Addressing Africa, "a continent tormented by conflicts constantly threatening," he appealed: "Raise your head confidently, trusting in the power of the Risen Christ."
Pope John Paul also voiced hope that Asia "can win the challenge of tolerance and solidarity", and that in Latin America faith will help people "find the capacity and courage needed for a development respectful of every human being".
"The Easter gift of light that scatters the darkness of fear and sadness is meant for everyone. All are offered the gift of peace of the Risen Christ, who breaks the chains of violence and hatred. Rediscover today with joy and wonder that the world is no longer a slave of the inevitable."
He urged men and women to draw from Christ "the strength needed to defeat the powers of evil and death".
The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, addressed young people: "We live in a world that dampens faith and can quickly diminish the joy and newness of the good news of Christ, a culture that seeks to sway you from the search for goodness." He appealed to young people to "swim against the tide of unbelief" to follow Christ and "open your hearts to receive God's unconditional love". He said: "Be courageous and persevere in your growth in holiness and in your efforts to build a better and more human world."
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, offered words of comfort in his Easter message to those hit by foot-and-mouth and the recent floods.
He urged them not to submit to that "familiar feeling of crises out of control" however overwhelming it may be.
The former Bishop of Edinburgh, Mr Richard Holloway, sparked an Easter storm as he compared gay rights campaigner Mr Peter Tatchell and Scottish Socialist MSP Mr Tommy Sheridan to Christ. Russian Orthodox joined Western Christians in celebrations yesterday, the first time in 11 years that Easter in the two traditions has fallen on the same date.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexis II, sent an Easter message of congratulations to federal troops serving in Chechnya. Russian soldiers were "protecting Chechens from the risk of being killed by criminals", he said during Mass in Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral.
The Easter vigil was the first held in the cathedral since it was rebuilt some 50 years after being destroyed on the orders of Stalin.
The Orthodox Church leader said he was convinced that, "as a reward for their great fortitude, Russians who suffered so much in the 2Oth century, deserve a better fate in the 21st".
The tone struck by the church was more congenial than a few weeks ago when the Patriarch criticised plans by Pope John Paul to visit Ukraine in June.
President Vladimir Putin, who used his own Easter address to Orthodox Russians to highlight the important role of the church, also issued a separate message to Russia's million Roman Catholics in which he called for "the development of an inter-faith dialogue".
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem made a thinly veiled attack on Israel in his Easter Sunday sermon, saluting "the soul of a people" who remain resilient faced with military might.