Russian Orthodox Church delegation attends consecration of new cathedral in Tirana
With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church visited the Albanian Orthodox Church from May 31 to June 2, 2014, for the consecration of a new cathedral of Tirana dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ. The delegation was led by Metropolitan Feodosy of Tambov and Rasskazovo. He was accompanied by Archpriest Vladimir Sergunin, first pro-rector of Tambov Seminary, and Rev. Mikhail Asmus of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations.
On May 31, the delegation was met at the Tirana airport by Russian Ambassador L. Abramov and representatives of the Archdiocese of Albania.
The consecration of the new cathedral took place on June 1, the 7th Sunday after Pascha. In the presence of a multitude of worshippers, the rite of the Great Consecration and the Divine Liturgy were celebrated by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, Patriarch Irenaeus of Serbia, Archbishop Chrysostom of Cyprus, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens, Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, Metropolitan Savva of Warsaw, as well as representatives of the Churches of Alexandria, Antioch, Russia, Georgia, Bulgaria, and the head of the Diocese of Albania of the Orthodox Church in America. The liturgical exclamations were made in Greek, Arabic, Church Slavonic, Romanian, Albanian and English. A mixed choir sang hymns by Russian religious composers translated into Albanian.
Present in the church were the President of Albania, the Chairman of the Albanian Parliament, ambassadors, representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and Albanian Muslims.
The head of the Russian delegation read out a message of greetings from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
The celebrations devoted to the consecration of the Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection concluded with a festive concert at the religious and cultural center of the Archdiocese of Albania, located in the cathedral’s crypt.
DECR Communication Service
Photos from the website of the Albanian Orthodox Church