2/9/2010

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad (C) addresses a meeting to discuss repairing the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank biblical town of Bethlehem on September 2, 2010, during which the Palestinian Authority and Christian leaders signed an accord to restore the historic church built on the traditional site of Jesus’s birth. From L to R: Armenian Orthodox Archbishop to Jerusalem Nourhan Manougian, Father Pier Battista Pizzaballa, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, Palestinian Premier Salam Fayyad, former cabinet minister Ziad al-Bandar, who heads the presidential commission supervising the work, international expert Remigio Rossi, in charge of the international team working on the restoration of the church, and the Palestinian mayor of Bethlehem Victor Hanna Batarssah.

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Bulgaria's Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov, centre, and minister without portfolio Bozhidar Dimitrov at an August 5 2010 ceremony in Sozopol, venerating what its finders claim are relics of John the Baptist.

1/9/2010

Bulgaria’s Cabinet announced on September 1 2010 that it was giving 420 000 leva (about 210 000 euro) to the church in the Black Sea town of Sozopol that, according to claims among some Bulgarian Orthodox Church leaders, an archeologist and a Cabinet minister, holds relics of John the Baptist.

The plan to vote the money for the restoration of the church was announced in mid-August, a few weeks after the purported find.

Earlier, during a visit to Sozopol, Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov announced an increase in funding for archeological projects in the area.

The discovery was announced at the end of July 2010, when a team of archeologists headed by Sofia University professor Kazimir Popkonstantinov found the supposed relics, which were inside an alabaster reliquary and consisted of a tooth stuck to a fragment of jaw, pieces of hand bones and a piece of the facial part of the skull.

The reliquary, said to date from the fifth century CE, has an inscription saying that “Thomas” carried the relics, which were found on Saint Ivan island, site of a monastery off the coast of Sozopol.

The story attracted international media attention, and minister without portfolio Bozhidar Dimitrov has been a leading proponent of claims about the relics, saying that the find would make Sozopol a “second Jerusalem” and more recently claiming that the relics had “worked their first miracles”.

In the third week of August, Bulgarian National Radio reported that at the church where the fragments of bone were being kept (now held in a precious-metal container donated by Prime Minister Boiko Borissov) “the line of worshippers and curious tourists…never ends despite the scorching summer heat”.

Local media have reported that a stop at the church has become a favourite among tourists from Russia and Ukraine who are members of their countries’ Orthodox Christian churches.

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2/9/2010

Kosovo has been the main topic of talks on the Serbian and international political scene. The Serbian Orthodox Church is concerned over the fate of Kosmet Serbs and their heritage. More from Ljiljana Sinđelić Nikolić.

The Serbian Orthodox Church bishop of Lipljan and prior of Decani, Teodosije, received, in the monastery of Gračanica in late August, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. He told his guest that eleven years after the armed conflicts two thirds of Kosmet Serbs are still displaced and only elderly Serbs have remained in towns, which is a result of years-long violence and ethnic discrimination exerted by Kosovo Albanians against Serbs.

His words become visibly clear when one visits the town of Prizren, formerly inhabited by ten thousand Serbs. There are only 19 Serbs there now and just one Serb child, a five-year-old girl, Milica, whose only company are her parents and several monks. It is necessary to enable displaced Serbs to return, to lead a peaceful life and to exercise their rights, said the bishop. The German minister stressed that minority protection should mean that minorities have security and that their identity is protected. However, in the Kosmet town of Đakovica, it was only last year that the first Serbs returned after the violent attacks mounted by Kosovo Albanians on Serbs in March 2004. The first Serbs that have returned are two elderly ladies, who are now living in a churchyard, as their houses have been destroyed. In mid-August, some unknown persons demolished three houses that were being built for Serbs in the village of Žač, near Istok, although the area is supposed to be guarded by the Kosovo police.

Bishop Teodosije also spoke about the need of the restoration of many Serbian Orthodox sanctities that have been levelled to the ground by Kosovo Albanians since 1999. For instance, in two days alone in March 2004, Kosovo Albanians destroyed 30 Serbian churches and two monasteries. No perpetrators of those criminal acts have been brought to justice, nor have the perpetrators of crimes committed against Serb children in Goraždevac, or of crimes committed against Serb reapers in Staro Gracko or passengers on a Serbian bus. The Serbian Orthodox Church is very concerned over the decision of NATO to, in these difficult moments, where there is no trace of stability in the region, entrust the delicate issue of the preservation of sanctities of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the Kosovo police.

The German minister said his government would remain actively engaged in resolving the current issue and enabling normal and peaceful life for all and the protection of all the churches and monasteries.

Political talks and meetings at various levels are held daily and promises are given daily as well. The fact is that Serb children in Kosovo cannot go to school, as they are not safe, that their parents have been rendered jobless, that there are no available hospitals and that everyone can attack them without bearing any consequences, without being brought to justice and without any investigation being launched.

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Ayavukla Church will be used as a social and cultural center

30/8/2010

IZMIR – Anatolia News Agency

The sole Greek Orthodox church to survive a fire in the Aegean province of İzmir in 1922 has been restored, municipal officials announced Sunday.

The İzmir Metropolitan Municipality released a statement saying that the restoration of the historical Ayavukla Church, which was launched in 2008, was nearly completed.

“The church will be used as a social and cultural center after the renovation,” the statement said.

With the restoration, the Jesus Christ figure, which had been painted over, as well as frescoes depicting St. John and angels Michael and Gabriel, has been renewed.

The Ayavukla Church is in the Basmane neighborhood and was constructed by the Greek Orthodox community in the second half of the 19th century.

It was the only Greek Orthodox church to survive the fire of 1922, a major event in İzmir’s history.

The building served as a museum on orders from Ataturk in 1924. It was later used as an opera rehearsal hall.

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Jeff Barker
Daily News

2/9/2010

MARY ESTHER — Two recent overnight break-ins at Saints Markella and Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church have left members feeling violated, outraged and at a loss for an explanation.

The first burglary in mid-August was “psychologically pretty harmful,” said Parish Council President Tim Boolos. Nothing was taken, but a hole was cut in the roof of the church hall.

Two weeks later, someone “strong-armed” the door and swiped a computer.

“We’re just bewildered and wonder why we’re targeted, but obviously we were targeted. We had two break-ins,” Boolos said.

The first break-in was discovered Aug. 15. A parish pastor walked into the church hall about 7 a.m. to get ready for Sunday services and found a crowbar, roofing, insulation and plasterboard on the floor, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office report.

“They tore the shingles off and took off the plywood with a crowbar,” Boolos said.

Scuff marks on the interior wall indicated someone began to drop down into the room, but stopped short of triggering the alarm system’s motion detectors, the report said. Damage was estimated at $2,000.

About 9:45 a.m. Aug. 28, a church member approached the hall and saw light coming through the cracks of the doors, according to a Sheriff’s Office report. Power at the church went out the previous day after construction equipment pulled down utility lines. The alarm was not active that night.

The burglar or burglars forced open an outside door and then kicked in the door to the secretary’s office. They stole two monitors and a computer which contained bulletins, records and church members’ names and contact information, Boolos said.

Damage was estimated at $600.

The incidents left Boolos to wonder why someone would go to the trouble of damaging a church and making off with so little.

“We don’t keep money here,” Boolos said. “It wasn’t even a nice computer.”

The Sheriff’s Office said there were no known suspects. The second case was “inactivated” pending more information.

Boolos said he wanted to warn other churches.

“We don’t know if we were the only ones targeted or if they just had a grudge against us,” Boolos said.

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3/9/2010
John Daniszewsk

Media outlets not approved by the Russian Orthodox Church will not be allowed into its distribution system starting next September, the Moscow Patriarchate said Thursday.

Media interested in distribution via the church-owned newspaper stands should apply for authorization with the church’s Synodal information department, it said on its web site.

To be authorized, a media outlet must “not corrupt the Orthodox Christian creed, not contradict the church’s official stance, and provide no inaccurate and ethically unacceptable information,” the statement said.

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01/09/2010

The Mother of See of Holy Etchmiadzin sends two clergymen – Bishop Markos Hovhannisyan and Archimandrite Komitas Hovnanian to attend the Surb Khach church Divine Liturgy on Aghtamar Island on September 19, spokesman for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Vahram Melikyan told panorama.am.

The clergymen will attend the Divine Liturgy and read the message of Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

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The Armenian Heritage Park

1/9/2010

Karekin II, Governor Deval L. Patrick, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and Other Civic and Community Leaders to Participate

BOSTON, Mass.—The Board of the Armenian Heritage Foundation and its benefactors are pleased to invite the entire Armenian American community of Massachusetts to the ground breaking ceremony and blessing service for the Armenian Heritage Park, which will take place on Thurs., Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. on parcel 13 of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in Boston. The ceremonial ground breaking will usher in the long awaited construction of the park, scheduled to begin this fall.

His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, will preside over the ground blessing and memorial service in honor of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. In addition to all Massachusetts clergy, Archbishops Khajag Barsamian, the primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church (Eastern), Oshagan Choloyan, the prelate of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, and Vicken Aykazian, legate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) and past president of the National Council of Churches, will also participate.

“We are very blessed that His Holiness and so many high-ranking clergy of the Armenian Church will grace us on this historic occasion. It will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for our entire community to come together in celebration of the beginning of construction of Armenian Heritage Park,” said James M. Kalustian, the president of the Armenian Heritage Foundation.

Representative Peter Koutoujian, the honorary co-chair of the Armenian Heritage Foundation, will serve as master of ceremonies. Remarks will be offered by Deval L. Patrick, the governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Thomas M. Menino, the mayor of the City of Boston. “It is appropriate that both Governor Patrick and Mayor Menino will be with for the ground breaking as they were both instrumental in helping our community secure its place on the Greenway,” offered Koutoujian.

The ceremony and services will begin promptly at 2 p.m. and will conclude by 3 p.m. Limited seating will be available, with priority given to our senior citizens. A brief reception will take place immediately following the program at Joe’s All American Restaurant along the waterfront and adjacent to Christopher Columbus Park. The public is cordially invited to attend.

The Armenian Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization with representatives from 37 Armenian American parishes and organizations within Massachusetts, was founded in 2004 to design, secure designation, and raise funds to construct and maintain the Armenian Heritage Park on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. A gift to the City of Boston and Commonwealth, the Armenian Heritage Park celebrates the immigrant experience and commemorates the lives lost during the 1915 Armenian Genocide and all genocides that have followed. Endowed funds support the park’s annual care, the reconfiguration of the sculpture, and endowed public programs, including the K. George and Carolann S. Najarian, M.D. annual lecture on human rights in partnership with the Bostonian Society.

For more information, visit www.ArmenianHeritagePark.net.

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Moscow, August 31, Interfax – A well-known Swiss theologian, hieromonk Gabriel (Bunge) became an Orthodox before the divine service at the church of the “Joy to All the Afflicted” Icon on Bolshaya Ordynka Street in Moscow.

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations cordially greeted Fr. Gabriel who has lived a solitary life in the Swiss mountains for over thirty years, the DECR website reports.

“Your have been a Catholic, but an Orthodox deep in your heart. Today, before the All-Night Vigil, you have become an Orthodox, thus naturally completing a long spiritual way,” Metropolitan Hilarion said.

While congratulating Fr. Gabriel on this move, Metropolitan Hilarion presented him with an icon of the Mother of God called “Joy of All the Afflicted” to which the church in which Fr. Gabriel joined the Orthodox Church is dedicated.

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Tbilisi, August 30, Interfax – Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II has come up with the initiative of sharing the lands of the Orthodox Church with the population and building special communities on them.

“The Georgian Church has several thousand hectares of land at its disposal. I am ready to present all this land to people who will build villages of the 21st century there. I have spoken of that with the president and Cabinet members many times and they have demonstrated readiness to offer all possible support to this initiative,” the Patriarch said in his Sunday sermon in St. Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi.

He said that many parts of Georgia with fertile lands are deserted because people are moving to cities in search of jobs.

He named Israel’s kibbutzes as an example.

“The latest reports say that this year 11,000 young people failed to pass entrance examinations to colleges and universities. What will these young people do? We suggest setting up schools in Georgia in which young people could learn practical trades and evolve spiritually,” the Patriarch said.

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30/08/2010

PRISTINA, Kosovo — The Gracanica Monastery does not believe that Kosovo police can secure its premises and has therefore hired a private security company to guard it. The Raska-Prizren Dioceses has already placed a guardhouse on the grounds, just outside Pristina, media reported Saturday (August 28th).

Police took over security duties there from KFOR last week, in a move criticised by both diocese and Belgrade officials. Kosovo police say they are not aware of the church authorities’ initiative to provide private security, but added that the monastery has the right to establish rules inside its own walls. (Express – 29/08/10; Klan Kosova, Kohavision – 28/08/10)

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30/8/2010

İstanbul-based Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew said he is hopeful the Orthodox Church will survive and that he will not be the last “Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople,” despite the persistent problems surrounding his small and rapidly shrinking community.“We are not all in despair for the future of our church,” Bartholomew said. “It is not easy, but it is not impossible,” CNN reported in its special documentary aired on Friday. He dismissed rumors that his has no successors and said they trust in divine providence, and the guarantee given to them by the Lord himself, “that the church can survive.”

Ankara rejects Bartholomew’s use of the title “ecumenical,” or universal, arguing instead that the patriarch is merely the spiritual leader of İstanbul’s dwindling Orthodox community.

Nonetheless, Bartholomew’s optimism is apparently not baseless since recently Turkish officials disclosed that Turkey has offered citizenship to foreign archbishops to help in the election of the next patriarch.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has quietly led in the gesture to the Orthodox community, who face a shortage of candidates to succeed Bartholomew, who is 70 years old, and serve on the Holy Synod, which administers patriarchate affairs.

Turkish law requires the patriarch to be a citizen. But the Orthodox community in Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim country, has fallen to some 3,000 from 120,000 a half-century ago, drastically shrinking the pool of potential future patriarchs.
“The specific call Erdoğan made to give citizenship to those who will take up an official position at the patriarchate came in response to the problems they have,” İbrahim Kalın, Erdoğan’s chief foreign-policy adviser, said last month in an interview with Reuters news agency.

The European Union and the US have frequently criticized Turkey for not reopening a Greek Orthodox seminary closed in 1971 and failing to take measures to protect the patriarchate’s property rights. The patriarch has long complained about the status of the seminary, located on an island near İstanbul and property issues. The government says it has been assessing a number of legal options to reopen the Halki Seminary — which Bartholomew says is of vital importance for the survival of the Greek Orthodox clergy.

At the time, Kalın said the government’s gesture should demonstrate Turkey’s commitment to conform to norms on human rights in its bid to join the EU. “This is in line with Turkey’s EU membership goals. But we believe that it’s in our own interest to provide all rights and privileges to non-Muslim minorities who are Turkish citizens,” he said.

There are 14 Greek Orthodox archbishops, including Bartholomew, who are Turkish citizens.

Seventeen metropolitans from countries including Austria, France, the US and Greece have applied for passports, Rev. Dositheos Anagnostopoulos, the patriarchate spokesman, said last month. Another six may still apply, and the See hopes the first archbishops will receive their papers by Christmas, he said.

Erdoğan, himself a devout Muslim, personally proposed to Bartholomew during a meeting last year that foreign prelates apply for citizenship, both Kalın and Anagnostopoulos had stated. Diplomats have maintained the offer of citizenship could provide a lifeline for the 2,000-year-old faith in its ancient homeland.
“At this point, it’s just a matter of time before the institution dies out,” a European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters at the time. “With this step, you have a much larger pool of clerics, making the Church’s survival possible.”

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The Holy Monastery of the Great Martyr Saint Panteleimon the Healer is situated in the Christian quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, between the Patriarchate and David’s Gate (Jaffa Gate). 

In ancient times the Church was named in honour of Saint Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, the Catechist (351 AD); however, during recent times, it was renamed in honour of Saint Panteleimon, for the assistance of the Greek Community and for the treatment given to the infirm in the Patriarchate’s hospital which was situated across from the Church and housed on the first floor of what is now the Gloria Hotel.

The memory of Saint Panteleimon was panegyrically celebrated in this ornate Chapel of the Monastery, duly prepared and recently enriched with Byzantine hagiographies owing to the efforts of the Superior Sister Charitini.

In the evening Vespers were performed and, on the day of the feast on Monday 27th of July/ 9th of August 2010,  a resplendent and devout Holy Liturgy was held with His Eminence Theophanis Archbishop of Gerasa presiding, who also preached the divine word to the numerous pious believers who participated.

During the Holy Liturgy, His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III along with Archbishops, members of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, arrived at the Church to venerate and blessed the believers.

Chief Secretary’s Office.

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Jerusalem Patriarchate

On Friday  31st of July  /8th of August  2010 at the Patriarchate, His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III received the Community Council of Jaffa on the occasion of  the agreed settlement between the Community  Council and the Patriarchate, following a court dispute that had lasted twenty five years .  This is a significant achievement for the harmonious relations between the Patriarchate and its flock.

Within the framework of this visit matters concerning the flock were discussed. These included the construction of a new iconostasis for the Patriarchate’s Community Church of Saint George, better cooperation between the community and the Administrative management of the Patriarchate’s school operating in Jaffa and finally better collaboration between the community and its priest.

In His welcome His Beatitude congratulated the Council on the occasion of the agreement and signing of the settlement  giving a positive end to the long standing dispute  between the Patriarchate and its flock at Jaffa relating to administration issues of the Church and rights of ownership of its surrounding property, whilst urging the harmonious unity of  the members  of the community with the members of its institutions.

Chief Secretary’s Office.

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BAABDA PALACE, LEBANON: His Holiness Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas attended the Ifthar hosted by His Excellency, The President of Lebanon Michael Sulaiman at Baabda Palace on August 26, Thursday. Honourable Ministers of Lebanon and Syria, Church leaders and religious leaders from Muslim community attended the party.

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BERLIN: Sister Hatune Dogan of Syriac Orthodox Church honoured with Federal Cross of Merit. His Excellency, the President of Germany, Dr. Christian Wulff presented the Federal Cross of Merit, officially the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany, on, 26 Aug, at Berlin.

Sister Hatune is the Patron of Sister Hatune Foundation which does charity works in Iraq, Nepal, India and other parts of the world as well.

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To End With Session Of The Colloquy Of The International Academy Of Religious Sciences The Patriarch Of Romania Delivered The Speech “The Word Of God Conveyed By Means Of Mass Communication”

On, 28 August, the working session of the Colloquy of the International Academy of Religious Sciences came to an end. The meeting ended with the lecture of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, entitled “The Word of God Conveyed By Means Of Mass Communication”, informs Trinitas Radio station.

His Beatitude emphasised in his lecture the role of mass-media to bring the Gospel message to the houses of the sick helpless people who cannot go to the church. The Primate of our Church has also underlined the fact that the Christian Orthodox values of the Romanian people can be conveyed through the Basilica Press Centre of the Romanian Patriarchate.

This year, the meeting of the Academy members met over 20 famous theology professors from all over the world and had “The Word of God” as a theme. 12 lectures were delivered within the colloquy, which underlined the importance of the Christ’s theology in the present religious cultural context.

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On, 26 August 2010, the annual Colloquy of the International Academy of Religious Sciences began at the Patriarchal Palace. The discussions were focused on the theme “The Word of God” and would last for four days.

His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel spoke, in his blessing opening speech about the importance of the theme to be debated: “The theme of the “The Word of God” Colloquy is a central subject both for the theological reflection and for the church life. The twelve diversified speeches making this Colloquy show the richness, importance and topical character of the subject. The Word of God is the divine and eternal Logos, who reveals the Mystery of the One Trinitarian God and who has created the world in view of the eternal communion with Him. The Word of God is the Word who was made flesh in order to save us from the bondage of death and to give us the eternal life, peace and joy of the Holy Trinity. For this motivation, the content of the Bible is the Mystery of Jesus Christ, our Lord, the Son of God who was made Man so that the people should become sons of God according to the grace. This is why, for the Holy Fathers of the Church to ignore the Holy Scriptures means to ignore or not know Jesus Christ”.

The International Academy of Religious Sciences was set up in 1966 and has operated within the International Institute of Theoretical Sciences seated in Brussels. The Institution was created in view of establishing contacts between theologians of various Christian nationalities and traditions.

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On Sunday, August 29, 2010, His All Holiness presided over Great Vespers at the Monastery of Holy Trinity at Halki.

The service was followed by the official opening of the Art Exhibition entitled “Tracing Istanbul.”

In attendance were Mr. Paul Geroulanos, Greek Minister of Culture and Tourism, and Mr. Nikitas Kaklamanis, Mayor of Athens.

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Serbian Church

His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch served the Divine Liturgy on the feast day of Venerable Roman, on August 29,2010 in a monastery where the relics of this saint, healer and miracle-worker in Djunis. On the eve of the feast day a holiday vesper service was served and later Patriarch spoke at the dinner and in the courtyard of the monastery with monks and people. 

At the Divine Liturgy His Holiness was served by heugomen of the monastery of Poganovo f. Mardarije and heugomen of the monastery Sukovo f. Serafim and hieromonk f. Ignatije (Sestakov) from the Sretenje monastery in Russia, monks, priests and deacons of the Diocese of Nis.

After the cutting the slava cake there was a consecration of two drinking fountains at the springs of holy water in the vicinity of the monastery where pious people come.
Aftre the Divine Liturgy, Patriarch spent time with people at a great and opulent table of love.

In the evening, His Holiness served the vesper service and people waited in a prayerful silence to enter the church.

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