Monday
Dec252023

« On the 29th Sunday after Pentecost, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Liturgy in the Church of St. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Oxford »

Date25-12-2023
On December 24, 2023, on the 29th Sunday after Pentecost, of the holy forefather, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Oxford.
Concelebrating with His Grace were Archpriest Stephen Platt, Dean of the diocesan district of Central England, Rector of the church, Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenkothe, Secretary of the Sourozh diocese, Protodeacon Vadim Santsevich, cleric of the Dormition Cathedral in London, and Deacon Alexy Kostyanovsky.
The liturgical hymns were performed by the parish choir under the direction of Anna Platt.
At the end of the divine service, Rector of the church, Archpriest Stephen Platt, addressed Vladyka Matthew with a welcoming speech.  Father Stephen warmly thanked His Grace for the long-awaited visit and the joy of prayerful communication and presented Vladyka with the Iberian Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God and calendars with modern church icons and with drawings by the children of the Sunday parish school.
His Grace, in turn, thanked Father Stephen for the greeting and addressed the parishioners with a word of sermon and spiritual edification in English.
In commemoration of their diligent work for the benefit of the Russian Orthodox Church and on the anniversary dates of their birth, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' awarded members of the parish council of the church the following church awards: churchwarden Marianna Colyer was awarded the medal of the Order of St. Euphrosyne, Grand Duchess of Moscow; treasurer of the church Simon Jennings was awarded medal of the Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov; medal "Patriarchal Gratitude" was awarded to Sergei Tochlin, Head of the Pilgrimage Department of the Sourozh Diocese.
Next, the clergy and parishioners took part in a common festive meal, during which students of the parochial school presented a musical and theatrical production based on the life of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.