VIII International Educational Pokrov Readings dedicated to the centenary of election of Patriarch Tikhon take place in Helsinki
The VIII International Educational Pokrov Readings took place in the capital of Finland on October 13-16, 2017. The Readings are held each October timed to the dedication day of the Church of the Intercession. This year the Readings are called “The Pillar and Ground of the Truth. The 100th anniversary of the election of St. Tikhon to the Moscow Patriarchal Throne.”
The festivities began with the evening service in the Church of the Intercession on October 13. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated on the feast day, Octo0ber 14, followed by the blessing of the waters and procession with the cross to the shore of the Finnish Bay.
Officiating at the divine services was Bishop Feodorit of Skopino and Shatsk with the blessing of His Holiness Patrioarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Concelebrating were Archpriest Viktor Lyutik, rector of the Church of the Intercession and ordained guests and participants in the Readings from the Russian and Finnish Orthodox Churches.
Attending the service were representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. After the service Bishop Feodorit distributed small icons among the worshippers.
The Readings were opened after the Divine Liturgy on October 15 at the Church of the Intercession. The first report, “The first years of St. Tikhon as Patriarch and Orthodoxy in Finland” was presented by Bishop Feodorit.
The conference continued its work on October 16 at premises of the Russian Centre of Science and Culture in Helsinki. Taking part in the conference, which working languages were Russian and Finnish, were seventeen speakers – scholars and theologians from Russia, Ukraine and Finland.