The rite of the great consecration of the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), was performed in Limassol, Cyprus, a TASS correspondent reports. This event brought together a huge number of Orthodox believers of the Russian-speaking community of the island, for whom the consecration of the temple became a long-awaited holiday. The consecration ceremony was performed by the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk.
The consecration was attended by Metropolitan Athanasius of Limassol and the exarch of the All-Holy Sepulchre in Cyprus, Metropolitan Timothy of Vostra, and Archpriest Pavel Povalyaev, rector of St. Nicholas Church. The Divine Liturgy was held in the newly consecrated church. By decree of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, awards were presented to prominent representatives of the Russian-speaking community of the island and citizens of Cyprus for their participation and assistance in the construction of the temple.
"There are now more than 120 thousand Russians living in Cyprus, many of whom are Orthodox," Murat Zyazikov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Cyprus, said at the ceremony. According to him, the church of the Russian Orthodox Church in Limassol gives them a much-needed opportunity to maintain and maintain a spiritual connection with their homeland. Russian Russian Ambassador stressed that "with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the foundation was laid and the construction of the temple, a symbol of the great Orthodox faith, was carried out, where our compatriots and all those who are close to Russian culture and the Russian world can come at any time."