« Archbishop Elisey with a group of pilgrims of the Diocese of Sourozh visited the Holy Land »
08-11-2010 
From 1st to 8th November, a group of pilgrims of the Diocese of Sourozh leaded by Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh visited the Holy Land.
The pilgrims passed along the Way of the Cross, venerated the Holy Sepulcher, the place of the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem, and the Shrine of the Mother of God in Gethsemane; they visited the places glorified with the miracles the Lord had performed during His earthly life and the places where His Divine Glory was made evident to people. The group visited the churches built at the places of the Annunciation of the Mother of God, the Transfiguration and the Ascension of the Lord, took a dip in the waters of the Jordan, visited the places connected with the lives of Prophet Elijah, St John the Baptist, such ascetics as St Sabbas the Sanctifies, St Theodosius the Great, St Gerasim of Jordan and others.
The guide of the group was nun Nadezhda from the Gornensky Convent where the pilgrims were accommodated.
On 3rd November, Archbishop Elisey together with the pilgrims visited the Jerusalem Patriarchate. Vladyka greeted Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem on behalf of the clergy and the faithful of the Diocese of Sourozh of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland. His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus told the assembly about the meaning of the pilgrimage and blessed the pilgrims.
On 4th November, the Patronal Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God at the Gornensky Convent, Archbishop Elisey celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of All Saints who shone forth from the Land of Russia. Hegumeness Georgia, Prioress of the Gornensky Convent and the sisters of the Convent prayed at the service together with P.V. Stegny, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Israel, his spouse, parishioners and many guests of the Convent. A festive procession of the Cross took place after the Liturgy. Vladyka Elisey greeted the clergy and faithful with the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and addressed the congregation: "We gathered today at this holy place with reverential hearts, cordial feelings and prayerful sigh in order to perform the celebration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Being at the place which is blessed by the earthly life of the Mother of God, we have the possibility to touch the Gospel Events which happened 2000 years ago. And we became the participants of the meeting of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and the Righteous Elisabeth looking at the Icon of their meeting at this place. When we visit the holy places during the pilgrimage, love to the Grace God which we find at the holy places remains in our hearts. The pilgrimage reveals the deep truth that all our life is a way of pilgrimage, the way to God. I wish the deep feelings the pilgrims experience at the Holy Land change and improve our life making it the pilgrimage to the Heavenly Kingdom".
On Sunday 6th November, Archbishop John of Kherson and Tauride and Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh celebrated the Vigil at the Church of the Holy Trinity of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. Archimandrite Isidor, Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, together with the clergy of the Mission, Archpriest Mikhail Dudko and Archdeacon Dmitry Nedostupenko, clerics of the Diocese of Sourozh, and many other priests who came on pilgrimage to the Holy Land concelebrated with the Hierarchs.
On the night of 6th to 7th November, Archbishop Elisey and the pilgrims attended the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Sepulcher. Archbishop Doropheus of Avila, Archbishop John of Kherson and Tauride and Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh celebrated the service. Archbishop Tikhon of Novosibirsk and Berdsk prayed at the Liturgy and partook the Divine Mysteries. The clergy and pilgrims of the Jerusalem, Russian, Roumanian and other Orthodox Churches from different countries of the world. Archpriest Mikhail Dudko and Archdeacon Dmitry Nedostupenko represented the Diocese of Sourozh.