Orthodox church car sets off to Siberia and the Far East
9.08.2001 · English, Архив 2001
ORTHODOX CHURCH CAR SETS OFF TO SIBERIA AND THE FAR EAST
The Orthodox church car in Train No. 76 running from Moscow to Tynda set off from the Kazan Railway Station in Moscow on August 7, 2001, on a missionary trip to Siberia and the Far East.
It is already the third trip by the church on wheels which was consecrated on October 18, 2000, by Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and dedicated to the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, called Odygitria (“Guide”).
Heading for Krasnoyarsk region, Buryatia, Khakasia, Yakutia, and the regions of the Amur, Irkutsk, Kemerovo and Chita, the train will go through small settlements whose dwellers have no opportunity for participating on a regular basis in the divine services and sacraments of the Orthodox Church.
The trip of the mobile church was prepared by the Mission Department of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Foundation of St. Andrew the First-Called with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and support of the Railway Ministry.
Before the departure of the train, Metropolitan Pitirim of Volokolamsk and Yuryev, assisted by ordained staff members of the Mission Department, conducted a prayer for the travelers.
Bidding farewell to the missionaries, His Eminence Pitirim conveyed them a blessing from His Holiness the Patriarch and said: “Dear fathers, brothers and sisters, starting on your journey, remember what the narration about the preaching of Jesus Christ begins with: ‘And Jesus went about all Galilee, 
teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people’ (Mt. 4:23). You are to bring the good news of Christ not only through word but also through the power of prayer, for the way the Lord walked in Galilee still continues. May God help you! May God’s blessing be with you”.
The seeing-off ceremony was also attended by Ms. Belogubova, Deputy Presidential Envoy for the Central Region responsible for relations with religious and public organizations, Mr. Scheblygin, assistant to the Federation Council Chairman, and Mr. Melnik, president of the Foundation of St. Andrew the First-Called.
The missionary trip is headed by the rector of the church car, Archpriest Sergiy Popov of the Mission Department. The church car is expected back in Moscow on September 1.
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