Sunday
Sep122021

« On the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral in London »

Date12-09-2021
On September 11, 2021, on the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral in London.
His Grace was assisted by the Secretary of the Sourozh diocese, priest Dimitry Nedostupenko, and protodeacon Vadim Santsevitch.
The liturgical hymns were performed by the Cathedral choir under the direction of the choir master Dmitry Tugarinov.
On this day, the Russian Orthodox Church prays for those suffering from the ailment of alcohol drinking or drug addiction.  The Church-wide celebration of the Day of Sobriety on the day of commemoration of the Beheading of John the Baptist was first established by the Holy Governing Synod in 1913, and in 1914 it was decided to hold it annually.  Following the events of the revolution and the subsequent persecution of the Church, the tradition was interrupted.  The decision to restore the celebration was made by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2014.  At the augmented litany, special petitions were proclaimed, then His Grace Vladyka read a prayer from the moleben for those suffering from the ailments of alcohol drinking and drug addiction.
Following the after-communion verse, the message of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the occasion of the Day of Sobriety was read in Russian and English.
After the Liturgy, the Right Reverend Archpastor and the concelebrating clergy served a moleben for the beginning of the new academic year, which was attended by teachers and students of the parish school of the Dormition Cathedral in London.  The Right Reverend Vladyka distributed icons to the students as a blessing for them and wished God's help to the teachers in teaching parish school disciplines, and to the students - in gaining knowledge in the coming academic year.
The Liturgy was broadcast live on the diocesan page Life of Sourozh on the social network Facebook.