Met. Kirill Consecrates RO Church in The Kingdom of the Netherlands
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Russian Orthodox Church
Metropolitan Kirill Consecrated a Russian Orthodox Church - the First in the
History of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department
for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, was on a visit to
the Netherlands from June 18 to 21, 2004.
Metropolitan Kirill arrived to Amsterdam from Oslo on June 18. He was met at
the airport by the clergymen of the Hague and the Netherlands diocese:
Rector of St.Alexander Nevsky parish in Rotterdam and secretary of the
diocese Archpriest Grigory Krasnotsvetov; Rector of the Church of St.Mary
Magdalene in the Hague Archimandrite Nikon (Yakimov) and Priest Sergy Merks.
In the afternoon Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian
Federation in the Kingdom of the Netherlands K.G. Gevorgian gave dinner in
honour of Metropolitan Kirill. Attending the reception were Archpriest
Grigory Krasnotsvetov, Archimandrite Nikon, minister-counsellor A.Yu.Ivanov.
K.G.Gevorgian and Metropolitan Kirill expressed their satisfaction with the
state of relations between the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church of
the Moscow Patriarchate and representatives of the Russian State authorities
in Holland. Metropolitan Kirill emphasized a particular importance of the
religious factor for establishing and maintaining good relations among
nations. That same day the DECR MP Chairman visited the parish of St.Mary
Magdalene in the Hague, where he met with its clergymen and parishioners. On
June 19 Metropolitan Kirill celebrated the All-Night Vigil in the
St.Nicholas Church in Amsterdam. After the Divine service he met and talked
with the clergymen and parishioners. On June 20, the Russian Orthodox Church
dedicated to the Holy and Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky (the Hague
and the Netherlands diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate) was consecrated in
Rotterdam, which is the second in size city of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands and the largest port of Europe. The Office of the Great
Consecration and the Divine Liturgy were celebrated by Metropolitan Kirill
of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department for External Church
Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate together with His Eminence Simon,
Archbishop of Brussels and Belgium and temporarily of the Hague and the
Netherlands, Bishop Athenagoras of Synop
(Patriarchate of Constantinople), Rector of the church Archpriest Grigory
Krasnotsvetov, other clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church in Holland and
Belgium, Orthodox clergymen of other Local Orthodox Churches and ordained
guests from St.Petersburg.
Attending the celebration were the Mayor of Rotterdam Iva Opstelten,
representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches, Ambassadors Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Serbia
and Cyprus in the Netherlands, representatives of diplomatic missions of
other states, international organizations, different churches, Orthodox
parishes of Holland and Belgium, and hundreds of parishioners. Also
attending the Divine service were the builders of the church: Chairman of
the Board of Directors of the Baltic Construction Company (BCC) I.A.Naivalt,
General Director of the BCC Financial and Industrial Group
P.S.Chitipakhovian, General Director of the BCC-South Company A.D.Antipov.
On behalf of the Baltic Construction Company I.A.Naivalt presented the
Rector of the church with a large icon of St.Alexander Nevsky in icon case.
During the Office of the Consecration the altar was covered by a gilded
overlay - a blessed gift from the Cathedral Church of the Kazan Icon of the
Mother of God in St.Petersburg to the new church. At the Little Entrance
Metropolitan Kirill presented Archpriest Grigory Krasnotsvetov with a
Patriarchal award - the cross with jewels in 'consideration of his work done
for the construction of the church.'
Metropolitan Kirill also delivered Patriarchal awards to the constructors
and benefactors of the Alexander Nevsky church. The BCC General Director
P.S.Chitipakhovian, General Director of the BCC-South A.D.Antipov and Chief
specialist for special projects of the Rotterdam City Council Willem Lustig
were presented with the Order of St.Sergius of Radonezh. Archpriest Gennady
Zverev, Rector of St.Sophia Cathedral in the town of Pushkin, handed over an
icon of the Holy and Right-Believing Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky with a
particle of his relics - a gift to the church in Rotterdam from the
Alexandro-Nevskaya Lavra in St.Petersburg. The Rector Archpriest Grigory
Krasnotsvetov thanked all those present for common work, support and prayers
on behalf of the clergy and parishioners and expressed his hope that all
believers will with one accord devote themselves to prayer (Acts 1:14) at
the new stage of the parish life as they did in the years of construction of
this house of God. He presented the guests with the gifts from the parish -
wall plates of the Depft porcelain with a picture of the new church. After
the Liturgy Metropolitan Kirill presented the church with the
'Feodorovskaya' Icon of the Mother of God and addressed people with his
archpastoral homily. Metropolitan Kirill cordially congratulated all those
gathered on the remarkable event - the consecration of the church and
thanked all people who took part in its construction and decoration.
Metropolitan Kirill expressed his gratitude to the city authorities of
Rotterdam in the person of the Mayor for their invariable attention to the
needs and interests of the Russian Orthodox parishioners and for support
with the construction of the church. Metropolitan Kirill paid special
attention in his homily to common church prayers of the people of God and
noted its indisputable effectiveness, importance and power. Metropolitan
Kirill expressed his confidence in that the newly consecrated church will be
a genuine house of prayer for many compatriots, who on this or that ground
have found themselves in a foreign country.
Metropolitan Kirill handed over to Mayor I.Opstelten an album with colourful
illustrations of the holy shrines of the Holy Trinity and St.Sergius Laura.
'This church is the first Orthodox church in the Netherlands and one of the
first in Europe built by our Church after the end of the difficult time in
Russia, - Metropolitan Kirill said. - That is why the construction and
consecration is a symbol of the current events in Russia and Europe'. 'The
fact that the new Russian Orthodox churches are being built in Western
Europe is very important. This importance is not only religious', -
Metropolitan Kirill stressed. 'These new churches are not only a center of
spiritual life of the Russian diaspora, a place where people meet God and
people of the same faith, but also a kind of cultural and religious
representations of our country abroad. People living in the West would not
be surprised by the bridges, tunnels, towers or skyscrapers, while our
church architecture surprises and attracts them, because through the Russian
church buildings the foreigners come into contact with the great culture and
perceive its beauty, power and dignity', - the Metropolitan added.
Metropolitan Kirill expressed his hope for the newly-consecrated church to
be a place, where pastoral work will be done along with a wide social and
educational activities aimed at maintaining the national spiritual and
cultural self-consciousness of people who live now beyond the frontiers of
their Fatherland.' Mayor of Rotterdam Iva Opstelten said that the
consecration of the Orthodox church was an important event not only for the
Russian community and for people of other nationalities, who confess
Orthodoxy, but for the whole city, which the Russian church adorns now. This
event is no less important for the revealing of the distinctiveness of
different cultures and traditions and for promoting a dialogue among them.
In this case it concerns people of Russian origin and from other CIS
countries living in our city as well as people from other countries who
confess the Orthodox religion'.
'Last year, - the Mayor said, - I was lucky enough to attend the festivities
dedicated to the 300th anniversary of St.Petersburg. The Orthodox churches
of the city made a deep impression on me. I am happy that such a church is
now to be found in my native city.'
Mayor Iva Opstelten expressed his hope that the consecration of the Russian
Orthodox church will contribute to the strengthening of relations between
the twin-cities Rotterdam and St.Petersburg, as well between the Kingdom of
the Netherlands and the Russian Federation. There are five parishes of the
Russian Orthodox Church in the Netherlands now, but none of them had a
standard-type church building. Several generations of the Russian
parishioners have dreamed of an Orthodox church of their own in Rotterdam.
The emigrants of the first wave appeared here in the 1920s and 1930s, and
young women driven off from Russia by the Germans have found refuge in
Holland after the Second World War. For the last ten years the Orthodox
parish in Rotterdam has considerably increased in number, and the premises
for prayer in an apartment in the city, where the community has gathered
sine 1959, could no longer accommodate Orthodox Russians, Ukrainians,
Byelorussians and Moldavians. To realize the project of constructing a new
church, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia gave his
blessing for setting up 'Russian Orthodox church construction in Rotterdam
Foundation'. Money for the construction of the church was raised partly by
the parish and partly by the donors and benefactors. The church was built by
the Baltic Construction Company, and a gilded cupola was brought from
Russia. The iconostasis was made and painted by the students of the School
of Icon-painting at the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary in Sergiev
Posad under the leadership of Hegumen Luka (Golovkov). The one-dome Russian
Orthodox church was built in the centre of Rotterdam near the embankment of
the River Maas and the magnificent Erasmus of Rotterdam Bridge. By its
architecture the church resembles the famous 'Pokrov-na-Nerli' church.
Premises are provided for a library and a large hall, and a cultural centre
of the Russian-speaking community will be set up in the new church. After
the Divine service the sisterhood of the parish gave a festive reception for
the participants and guests of the celebration in the Alexander Nevsky
church. The next day Metropolitan Kirill visited the town of Saandam with
the house of Peter the Great and a famous monument 'Tsar the Carpenter'
donated to the town by Tsar Nicholas II the Passion-bearer.
Mass media in the Netherlands paid much attention to the consecration of the
Russian church. National TV channels showed a solemn ceremony in the
Alexander Nevsky church. The next day all major newspapers of the country
published photos of the consecration and articles about the event. On June
21 Metropolitan Kirill left for Moscow.
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john j
church !
digimortal
"john j" <JOH...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:27943-40F...@storefull-3136.bay.webtv.net...
Al@nopoopovspam.com AGG
entitled to have a parish church in which to worship?
And, how does your statement fly with the fact that two weeks ago, during
the Ecumenical Patriarch's visit to the Vatican, the pope gave a first
millenium church in Italy back to the Holy Orthodox Church?
"john j" <JOH...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:27943-40F...@storefull-3136.bay.webtv.net...
john j
If it was a Greek Orthodox church subject to Constantinople there would
be no objection.
Or almost any other Orthodox church.The ROC is a seperate case.
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grind against the Russian Church.
"john j" <JOH...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:1492-40F...@storefull-3134.bay.webtv.net...
john j
is reciprocity , or even playing field what ever you want to call it.
Most Orthodox churches do not interfere in where the Catholic church
builds churches to care for its people. At the same time Rome does
not care where these Orthodox churches build their churches. As noted
even assists them in getting churches in Catholic countries.
The ROC actively interferes in the activities of the Catholic church in
Russia,including the building of churches and eclesiastical
organization. So using the same basis the ROC uses in Russia .The
Catholic church could invoke in her eclesiastical territories.