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

On September 11, 2023, on the day of the Beheading of the Prophet John, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral in London.

Concelebrating with His Grace were Archpriest Maxim Nikolsky, Dean of the Diocesan District of South-East England Archpriest Vitaly Polishchuk, Secretary of the Sourozh Diocese Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, clergy of the UOC temporarily staying on the territory of the Sourozh Diocese and Protodeacon Vadim Santsevitch.

Liturgical hymns were performed by the choir of the Dormition Cathedral under the direction of Dmitry Tugarinov.

Before the start of the Liturgy, an ark with great Christian shrines (a particle of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, the belt of the Most Holy Mother of God and particles of the holy relics of God's chosen saints) was carried from the altar to the middle of the Cathedral.

At the augmented litany, special petitions were offered for the healing of those possessed by the destructive passion of wine drinking and drug addiction.

After the communion verse, the Address of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the occasion of Sobriety Day was read in both Russian and English.

At the end of the Liturgy, a prayer of glorification was offered to St. John, the Baptist of the Lord, after which the Archpastor addressed those present with a sermon on the theme of the feast.

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