From Diocese of Sourozh

A midnight Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Sourozh Cathedral on New Year’s Eve

3rd January 2008

The Hours before the liturgy having been read in good time, the service itself began exactly at midnight. The Liturgy was celebrated by Bishop Elisey of Sourozh and was prayerfully attended by Archbishop Anatoly of Kerch. Approximately sixty worshippers had gathered in the Cathedral in order to see in the New Year 2008, of whom twenty received the Holy Gifts.

In his sermon, at the conclusion of the Liturgy, Bishop Elisey thanked the congregation for joining in with this collective service of prayer, and emphasised the need to spend the last few days of the advent fast, not in pursuit of worldly entertainments, but by keeping watch and maintaining a prayerful presence before God.

The coming of the New Year was also marked by a moleben, attended by all of the Cathedral clergy.