From a new church consecrated in a Russian village to missionary gatherings in Greece and a Bulgarian Patriarch praying at the Holy Places, this week the Orthodox world quietly built up the faith in many corners.
In the Siberian settlement of Bolshaya Murta, workers began pouring the foundation for a monument to Saint Luke Voino-Yasenetsky opposite the very hospital where the holy hierarch once labored in exile as a surgeon. The Russian Orthodox Church is thus giving visible honor to a bishop whose medical skill and fearless confession continue to inspire physicians and pastors alike. The same spirit of concrete faithfulness marked the week. A new church was solemnly consecrated in a small Russian village, a cross was blessed in a Romanian parish, missionary hearts were stirred in Greece, parish Bible circles gathered for encouragement, a Serbian metropolitan visited his American flocks, and the Patriarch of Bulgaria walked prayerfully through the Holy Land. Together the stories showed the Church quietly strengthening her houses, her people, and her witness.
Οι ιστορίες της εβδομάδας
Ρωσική Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία (Πατριαρχείο Μόσχας) · 21 Σεπ
Monument to Saint Luke Rises Near Siberian Hospital
In the Krasnoyarsk region settlement of Bolshaya Murta, construction has begun on a monument to Saint Luke Voino-Yasenetsky. The site chosen stands directly opposite the hospital building where the holy hierarch worked as a surgeon during his years of exile. At present the foundation for the monument is being prepared. The Russian Orthodox Church thereby honors the memory of the great confessor-physician whose relics and writings remain a living source of healing and courage for believers today.
Ρωσική Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία (Πατριαρχείο Μόσχας) · 26 Σεπ
Archbishop Thomas Consecrates Church in Botovo
On Saturday 26 September, the very day the Church renews the feast of the Resurrection Church in Jerusalem, Archbishop Thomas of Odintsovo and Krasnogorsk celebrated the great consecration of the Church of the Resurrection in the village of Botovo, Volokolamsk district. He then served the Divine Liturgy in the newly sanctified temple. The church was built in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and has now been fully restored. The Russian Orthodox Church rejoices at another house of God made ready for the faithful.
On 24 September, His Eminence Dr Irineu, Archbishop of Craiova and Metropolitan of Oltenia, blessed and sanctified a new troița (wayside cross) in the parish of Motoci, Craiova North deanery. Surrounded by a large concelebration of priests and deacons, the hierarch prayed for the protection of the village and its people. The Romanian Orthodox Church thus marked another quiet act of blessing that strengthens the faithful in their daily life.
Missionary Evening in Katerini Focuses on Tanzania
On the evening of 21 September a large crowd gathered at the Pierida family center in Katerini for the Missionary Archontariki organized by the Missionary House of Saint Dionysius in Olympus. The work of the Orthodox Mission in Tanzania stood at the center of attention. The Church of Greece continues to awaken hearts to the Church’s missionary calling through such evenings of testimony and prayer.
Bible Study Leaders Gather in Aetolia and Acarnania
Metropolitan Damaskinos of Aetolia and Acarnania convened a special gathering of leaders of parish Bible study circles on Friday 25 September at the Church of Saint Paraskevi in Agrinio. The meeting was devoted to the delicate ministry of helping ordinary believers encounter the word of God. The Church of Greece shows its care for the deepening of scriptural life in every parish.
From 17 to 21 September His Eminence Archbishop of Novo-Gracanica and Metropolitan of Midwestern America Longin made a pastoral visit to several parishes of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States. The journey began in Indianapolis, Indiana, and continued through Weatherby and Kansas City. Everywhere the metropolitan met clergy and faithful, strengthening the bonds of the Church on American soil.
On Saturday 26 September the peaceful pilgrimage of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Places continued for a second day. Accompanied by his entourage and representatives of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, the Patriarch prayed at the sacred shrines. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church thus renewed its living connection with the places where our salvation was accomplished.
The week carried both New and Old Calendar feasts. On the Gregorian calendar the Church remembered the Holy New Martyrs of Alaska and the Protomartyr Thecla, Equal-to-the-Apostles; the repose of Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, whose monastic labors shaped Russian spiritual life; and the repose of Saint John the Theologian, the beloved disciple who gave us the Gospel of love. On the Julian calendar the faithful kept the Nativity of the Most-Holy Theotokos, whose birth brought the dawn of salvation, and the Exaltation of the Precious Cross, when we venerate the wood on which Christ conquered death. These days quietly call every believer to live by the Cross and in the light of the Mother of God.
Τι ακολουθεί
Next week the Church will celebrate the memory of Venerable Chariton the Confessor and the Holy Prophet Baruch. On 1 October we shall keep the Protection of the Most-Holy Theotokos, when the faithful in many lands will seek her sheltering veil. The Sunday after the Elevation of the Cross also approaches.
May the quiet labors of this week strengthen every heart. Walk gently, dear reader, beneath the Cross and the protecting veil of the Mother of God.
Για τους περίεργους: οι αριθμοί της εβδομάδας
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Written by the editors of Orthodox House from the news of the Local Orthodox Churches published during the period; every story links to its source. Photographs belong to the source publications. · Όλες οι επισκοπήσεις · Article →
