Bishop Nestor of Chersonese leads meeting of Spanish Orthodox youth
On 11-13 November 2016, a meeting of the Spanish Orthodox youth took place at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Equal-to-the-Apostles, in Madrid with the blessing of Bishop Nestor of Chersonese. It brought together over 40 people from the continental and insular Spanish parishes. Among those who took part in the meeting were also archpriest Andrei Kordochkin, rector of the Church of St Mary Magdalene; Rev. Adam Kondratyuk, rector of the parish of St Seraphim of Sarov in Benidorm; and Rev. Yaroslav Pirkovsky, rector of the Church of the Holy Archangel Michael in Altea.
On November 11, after a thanksgiving prayer, the young people met with archpriest Dimitry Klimov, rector of St Nicholas Cathedral in the Russian town Kalach-on-Don. Fr. Dimitry spoke on the theme “Loneliness, Friendship, Love – Young People’ Milieu.” The meeting was followed by a concert.
The next day began with a trip to the mountains. In the evening the young people prayed at the All-Night Vigil. During the dinner that followed the service Bishop Nestor, who had arrived in Madrid the day before, answered numerous questions from the participants in the meeting and awarded them with certificates to commemorate this special occasion.
On November 13, Bishop Nestor celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of St Mary Magdalene. Concelebrating with the archpastor were local clerics and archpriest Dimitry Klimov.
With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Bishop Nestor presented archpriest Andrei Kordochkin with the Order of St Seraphim of Sarov, 3rd class, in consideration of his contribution to the construction of the church.
After the divine service, the participants in the meeting went to the Buen Retiro Park to take part in a quest, whose theme was “hymn of love” from St Pauls’ First Letter to the Corinthians. To conclude the meeting, archpriest Andrei Kordochkin addressed the young people, explaining to them the meaning of the phrase “when you come together as a church” (1 Kor 11:18), and giving to them his pastoral blessing, website of the diocese of Chersonese reports.
DECR Communication Service