« Primatial Visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the Diocese of Sourozh »
06-10-2016 
A Primatial visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the Diocese of Sourozh will take place from 15th to 18th October 2016. The visit marks 300 years of the presence of the Russian Church in Great Britain.
The opening in 1716 of a parish of the Russian Church associated with the Russian Embassy was the starting point for the development of Russian Orthodoxy in England. Beginning from the small embassy church the Russian Church spread over the whole of Great Britain and Ireland. The parishes in both countries are united in the Diocese of Sourozh, which was founded in 1962.
The Patriarchal visit is an historic event for Russian Orthodoxy in the British Isles and may serve as an occasion to assess the 300 year presence of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain.
The main event of the Primatial visit will be the consecration of the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God in London following a major refurbishment. The work which has been carried out in preparation for the anniversary celebrations has included internal reordering, the construction of a new iconostasis, painting of new icons and the installation of a new set of bells.
On Sunday 16th October, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill will perform the consecration of the refurbished church of the Dormition of the Mother of God and will head the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the newly-consecrated church. Representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches will take part in the service, together with the clergy of the Diocese of Sourozh and invited guests.
On the day of his arrival, Saturday 15th October, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill will visit 32 Welbeck Street, the building that was home to the Russian Orthodox parish for more than 100 years, and celebrate a moleben (prayer service). On the same day the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church will lead the Vigil service at the London church of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia.
The programme of the visit includes an event at the Royal Geographical Society, where there will be an exhibition devoted to the pastoral journeys of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and also to the history of the Russian Church on British soil.
His Holiness will also bless a new gravestone, specially prepared for the anniversary celebrations, at the grave of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh.
Before his departure Patriarch Kirill will visit Lambeth and Buckingham Palaces.
Press-service of the Diocese of Sourozh