Church premises of two new parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate consecrated in Spain
On 9 April 2016, during his archpastoral visit to Spanish parishes, Bishop Nestor of Chersonese celebrated the lesser consecration of church premises of a newly established parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the city of Alicante.
Concelebrating with the archpastor were Rev. Viktor Dorofeyev, rector of the parish; Rev. Yaroslav Pirkovsky, rector of the Church of Archangel Michael in Altea; and protodeacon Alexy Sobolev. Among those who prayed at the Liturgy celebrated by Bishop Nestor at the newly consecrated church were archpriest Yaroslav Dybach, rector of the Church of the “Quick to Hearken” Icon of the Mother of God; Rev. Adam Kondratyuk, rector of the parish of St Seraphim of Sarov in Benidorm; and pilgrims from the neighbouring Orthodox parishes.
After the service Bishop Nestor delivered a homily and presented the parish with icons of St Nicholas the Wonderworker and Archangel Michael.
On April 10, the 4th Sunday of Lent, Bishop Nestor of Chersonese visited the newly established parish of St Seraphim of Sarov in the city of Benidorm, where he celebrated the lesser consecration of church premises and the Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great. Concelebrating with him were Rev. Adam Kondratyuk, rector of the parish, protodeacon Alexy Sobolev, and deacon Vladimir Zhukov. Numerous pilgrims from different parishes of the Spanish Mediterranean coast attended the service.
After the Liturgy Bishop Nestor addressed the worshippers with his archpastoral homily, thanked the clergy and parishioners for their efforts to prepare the premises for the divine services, wished them God’s help in building the church, and presented the parish with icons of the Saviour, the Mother of God and St Seraphim of Sarov.
Later the archpastor led the procession with the cross to a plot of land allocated for the construction of the Orthodox church. There a thanksgiving was said and a memorial cross was blessed. The cross marks the place of the future church.
During his visit, Bishop Nestor also met with Msgr. Archbishop Juan José Omella Omella, Catholic Archbishop of Barcelona, appointed to the see of Barcelona in November 2015. The meeting took place at the archbishop’s residence at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St Eulalia, website of the diocese of Chersonese reports.
DECR Communication Service