« Diocesan Court Established at the Meeting of the Diocesan Assembly »

A meeting of the Diocesan Assembly took place on Saturday 18th June at the Cathedral of the Diocese of Sourozh.  The meeting followed a hierarchical divine liturgy at which the clergy of the diocese and the wardens of the parishes of the diocese had been present. At the beginning of the meeting the members of the Assembly sang "Eternal Memory" to the ever-memorable Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom), whose birthday was celebrated on the following day.

The meeting continued with the participation of guests of the Assembly. One of the members of the delegation, Archpriest George Preobrazhensky, rector of the church of the Kazan icon of the Virgin in Vyritsa, presented the Cathedral with an icon of St. Seraphim of Vyritsan, and spoke of the life of the saint and his veneration in Russia. The Assembly expressed gratitude for the presentation to Fr George and the other members of the delegation: G A Muravyov - a relative of the saint, and Hierodeacon Job (Gibneru) - a representative of Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. The delegation was presented with an icon.

After dealing with procedural issues, the members of the Assembly heard the reportof Archbishop Elisey on the situation in the diocese and about the future prospects of diocesan life.

Pursuant to decisions of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2008 and 2011, the Assembly established a diocesan court, chaired by Archbishop Anatoly of Kerch, suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Sourozh. The membership of the diocesan court also included Archpriest Benedict Ramsden (deputy chairman), Archpriest Mikhail Dudko (secretary of the court) and two diocesan judges: Archpriest Daniel Joseph and Archpriest Gennady Andreev. The Members of the Diocesan Court will be sworn in at the meeting of the clergy the diocese, to be held on September 24th following the Diocesan Liturgy. 

The Assembly discussed the necessary preparations for marking the fiftieth anniversary of the diocese, which will be celebrated next year. Among the festivities will be the Divine Liturgy with the participation of guests from Russia and other countries, concerts, exhibitions, the publication of books and booklets on the history and present life of the diocese, together with many other projects.

The next meeting of the Diocesan Assembly will be held January 14th 2012.

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