« The celebration of the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture took place in London »
22-05-2011 
On Sunday, 22 May, the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture, a distinctive festival of Europe’s culture, history and heritage, was held for the first time in London. The festival, initiated by the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland (the Diocese of Sourozh), took place in the Royal College of Music’s Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall. Hosted by Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh, the event was attended by many distinctive guests including diplomats of Slavic and Orthodox countries, and representatives of the clergy.
The festival started with singing of ‘Christ is Risen’ in the Church Slavonic language, the common heritage for the Slavs in Europe, invented by St Cyril and St Methodius in the IX century. The children’s theatrical play ‘St Cyril and St Methodius’ by the Parish School of the Cathedral of the Diocese of Sourozh and a concert by children’s folk groups from Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Serbian schools in London were key moments of the festival. The play told the public about the life and mission of Saint Brothers Cyril and Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles, the invention of Slavic writing and its expansion among the Slavs in Eastern and Central Europe. Then children performed national songs and dances in Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Serbian.
‘With commencing to celebrate the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture on the British Isles, we will encourage more cultural contacts among the peoples of Slavic and Orthodox Christians countries living here, as well as will contribute to multicultural diversity in the UK and Ireland,’ said Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh in his welcome address to those who came for the event.