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January 9, 2018 – the St. Sergius Methochion, which was opened in a solemn ceremony after the State of Israel transferred it to the Russian Federation for ownership only a half a year ago, launched a new project of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem – the Antoninian Readings.

The Readings – devoted to Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin), one of the most prominent and renowned builders of ‘the Russian Palestine’, a committed researcher of biblical antiquities, scholar and church diplomat – were renewed with the participation of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill in 1994, when the centenary of Archimandrite Antonin’s demise was marked.

From 2018 on, the renewed readings devoted to the memory of Archimandrite Antonin will be held under the aegis of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem (REM) on a regular basis.

The conference was opened by head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission Archimandrite Alexander (Yelisov). Papers were presented on ‘The Russian Orthodox Mission: 170 Years of Service of the Church’ by REM secretary Hegumen Hikon (Golovko); ‘Jaffa: the Russian Gate to the Holy Land’ by Archpriest Igor Pchelintsev, ecclesiarch of the Saint Peter and Righteous Tabitha Mission.

The presentation of papers was followed by a recital of Christmas hymns performed by the choir of students and graduates of Moscow and Kiev Theological Schools.

After the official part, all the participants in the reading were offered a Christmas repast generously hosted by the Imperial Palestine Society.

The readings were attended by members and clergy of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, Archimandrite Roman (Krasovsky), Russian Church Outside Russia REM head; sisters of the Gorneye convent, parishioners of the Trinity Cathedral in Jerusalem and the REM churches in the Holy Land, scholars and diplomats, representatives of broad circles of the Israeli public, among them prominent lawyers, jurists, architects and businessmen, the REM press service reports.

DECR Communication Service