Christians should resist persecution without violence, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said in his Easter Sunday sermon.
He talked of those who have died for their faith, including the Coptic Christians killed in Libya last month.
The Queen, Prince Philip, and members of the Royal Family attended an Easter service at Windsor Castle.
During his Easter message, Pope Francis called for an end to persecution of Christians around the world.
In his "Urbi et Orbi" message he prayed for the students killed in Garissa in Kenya and called for more action to halt what he said was a "humanitarian tragedy" in Syria and Iraq.
Three days of national mourning are being held in Kenya for nearly one hundred and fifty people, many of them Christian, who were killed by Islamist militants last week.
Analysis: Caroline Wyatt, BBC religious affairs correspondent
It is an Easter of suffering for many Christians around the world, a fact highlighted by the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury, as well as the Archbishop of York, in their Easter homilies.
Much of the news in the months leading up to Easter 2015 has been dominated by the killing of Christians, most recently the students in Kenya - many explicitly because they were Christian - and earlier in Libya, Syria and Iraq by Islamic State (IS) militants, who appear determined to drive those of other faiths from the areas they control, including other Muslims who do not subscribe to their extreme interpretation of Islam.
There is growing concern among Christian leaders over the murder of Christians by Islamist militants in many parts of the world, as the ideology of IS, Boko Haram and al Shabab and others spreads its message of death and hatred.
While the Pope and the archbishop have called on Christians to listen to the Easter message of the risen Christ today and forgive their persecutors, Pope Francis has made it clear for some time that he believes military force is justified to halt the advance of IS militants.
Christian support
The three main UK party leaders have been highlighting the persecution of Christians abroad as they take a take a break from election campaigning to mark Easter.
Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha attended a church service in Oxfordshire.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said Christians are the victims of religious discrimination in the world: "In the midst of the Easter celebrations our hearts go out to those who face difficult times both overseas and closer to home.
"My thoughts are particularly with Christians in Syria, Iraq and other countries where the church suffers terrible persecution."
The Archbishop of Canterbury said Christians must support persecuted communities, with "love and goodness and generosity".
The archbishop spoke of the need for all Christians to bear witness to Jesus Christ and the resurrection and stated that age, gender, politics and sexuality were irrelevant.
The archbishop said: "Witnesses are those people who know Christ - lay or ordained, old or young, gender, politics, sexuality or whatever irrelevant - all are equally witnesses. To witness is to be a martyr.
"I am told by the Coptic Bishop in England that the Coptic Christians murdered in Libya last month died proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord.
"They are martyrs, a word that means both one that dies for their faith and one that witnesses to faith.
"There have been so many martyrs in the last year. On Maundy Thursday, three days ago, around 150 Kenyans were killed because of being Christian.
"They are witnesses, unwilling, unjustly, wickedly, and they are martyrs in both senses of the word."
This view was echoed by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, who said that Christians were at greater risk in many parts of the world because "they follow Jesus Christ".
In an article in the Mail on Sunday he also urged Christians to be politically involved, calling on people to "engage and vote."
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