The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrates new churches and the foundation stone of a chapel under construction

THE PRIMATE OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH CONSECRATES NEW CHURCHES AND THE FOUNDATION STONE OF A CHAPEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

On 26 April 1998, which marked the 12th anniversary of the tragedy at the Chernobyl nuclear-power station, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and all Russia consecrated a foundation stone of the chapel of the icon of Our Lady ‘Joy to all Sorrows’ at Mitino cemetery in Moscow. The chapel is dedicated to the memory of those who died as heroes in the emergency situations and when defending the constitutional order of the Russian Federation. The memorial chapel is being constructed with the support of the President of RF Boris N. Yeltsin, the Mayor of Moscow Yu. M. Luzhkov, the government of the capital, the RF Ministry of civil defence, emergency situations and liquidation of the consequences of natural calamities and the Board of the ‘Consul’ Foundation. Donations to this good deed have come from the ‘Transfiguration’ Foundation, enterprises, banks and commercial structures.

On April 27, 1998, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy consecrated a newly-built church in the military garrison of the General Staff of strategic missiles forces in the village of Vlasikha near Moscow. The side-chapels of the church are consecrated in honour of St. Barbara the Great Martyr. The Russian missile personnel consider her their heavenly patroness, as December 17 – the Day of Strategic Missiles coincides with the feast day of St. Barbara and St. Ilya Muromets of the Kievan Laura of the Caves, who was a monk and a warrior and as such defended the frontiers of the Fatherland. Present at the consecration of the church were heads of the central staff of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation led by Russian defence minister Marshal Igor D. Sergeyev. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy congratulated the minister on his 60th birthday and awarded him with an Order of St. Orthodox Prince Daniel of Moscow, 2nd degree. The same award was conferred upon colonel-general V. N. Yakovlev, commander-in-chief of the strategic missiles forces. Church awards were also given to servicemen who took part in the construction of the church. At the moment there are some 80 Orthodox churches in the units of the Russian military forces and in military educational institutions.

On April 29 1998, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy consecrated the restored home chapel dedicated to the icon of Our Lady of Iberia at the premises of the former almshouse on Prospect Mira. In his short address after the Divine service His Holiness said: ‘There was an almshouse for blind people and a domestic chapel here. Its destiny was similar to that of many churches in the Russian land: it had been destroyed. In our time people who work in this building took the initiative in returning to the tradition of prayer in the domestic chapel in order to draw spiritual strength for their work’. His Holiness made a special note of spiritual ties between Russia and Holy Mount Athos, since a new replica of the icon of Our Lady of Iberia has become a major sacred object of this church. The icon was painted in St. Nicholas’ hermitage on the Holy Mount and brought to Moscow by a delegation of Athonite monks who thanked the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church for hospitality and expressed their joy over an opportunity to visit Holy Russia while accompanying the holy icon. Divine services in the church will be celebrated on a regular basis by monks of the Moscow Donskoy monastery.