« The Paschal Services were celebrated at the London Dormition Cathedral »

On the night of Holy Pascha, 19th to 20th Apil, Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh led the celebration of the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ. As a result of the ongoing major refurbishment of the Cathedral, a special covered temporary altar was erected in the square in front of the Cathedral. 

The service began shortly before midnight with the celebration of the Midnight Office in the small church. The service was relayed to the worshippers in the square. To the singing of 'Thy Resurrection, O Christ Our Saviour, the angels in heaven sing ..' the procession of the clergy and choir made its way to the altar in the square. At midnight, Archbishop Elisey began Paschal Matins with the proclamation of the Resurrection. The service proceeded with the singing of the Paschal Canon composed by St John of Damascus and at the end of Matins Archbishop read the Easter Homily of St John Chrysostom.

At the Divine Liturgy, the Gospel was read in Church Slavonic, Greek,  Latin, German, Russian, Georgian, French, Italian, Ukrainian, Belorussian and English. Most of the Cathedral clergy concelebrated with the Archbishop.

A second Liturgy was celebrated at 10.00 am on Sunday morning for those who were unable to attend the midnight service. This too was attended by a large number of parishioners. 

In the evening, the Agape Vespers of Pascha was celebrated by Archbishop Elisey with the Cathedral clergy. The Easter messages of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and of His Eminence Archbishop Elisey were read in Russian and English.

Despite the unusual circumstances, and the inclement weather at the late Liturgy, the services were well attended and were marked by a particularly joyful atmosphere.

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