The Divine Liturgy was celebrated for the first time in the Koirankangas tracttranslated

On July 4, in the Koirankangas tract on the territory of the Rzhev training ground, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated for the first time at the site of mass executions of victims of Soviet persecution.

The cathedral service was performed by clergy from all deaneries of the Vyborg diocese. The liturgy at the execution pits was led by the dean of the Vsevolozhsk district, Priest Dimitry Chuev.

At the end of the Liturgy, the chairman of the diocesan commission for preserving the memory of the new martyrs, confessors and all innocent victims during the years of persecution, Priest Anthony Bykov, led a memorial service for all “the servants of God who were killed in this place.”

Addressing the participants in the service, Father Anthony noted: “We are witnesses and participants in the miracle of God’s mercy, which for the first time made it possible to consecrate this place of the former triumph of evil with a bloodless sacrifice. The executioners tried to destroy not only people, but also the memory of them, but the Lord showed that not only the dead are alive in Him, but He Himself also preserves and manifests remembrance.”

During the commemorative event, a new information stand was presented with the names of people executed at the firing range in 1920. This information was recently established through archival research. Until recently, found here...