Home page News
Easter liturgy celebrated in Harbin after long int…

Easter liturgy celebrated in Harbin after long interruption

[gallery]
Over one hundred Russian compatriots came to the church of the Protecting Veil in Harbin, China, on Easter Day, April 4, 2010, for the Easter matins and liturgy. Most of them made confession and took communion.

Divine services were resumed at this church in 1986 after they had to be interrupted during ‘the Cultural Revolution’. However, since the parish rector, Father Gregory Zhu Shipu of the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church died in 2000, the Orthodox community in Harbin was left without pastoral care and only the lay rite had to be used to carry out services.

The problem of observance for Russians who live in Harbin and assistance to the community of the Protecting Veil was repeatedly discussed in the dialogue between the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations and the Chinese State Directorate for Religious Affairs. This problem was considered in particular in the talk between DECR Chairman Archbishop (now Metropolitan) Hilarion of Volokolams and leaders of the Heilongjiang Province and Harbin Administrations for Religious Affairs on 19 November 2009 during the visit to China by a delegation of the Russian Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Organizations and the Department for External Church Relations led by His Eminence Hilarion. During that visit, His Eminence Hilarion came to the church of the Protecting Veil to meet with its parishioners.

The Heilongjiang Province Administration for Religious Affairs has granted a request from Orthodox Russians living in Harbin, supported by the Russian General Consulate in Shenyang, and has given permission for an Easter service at the church. It was celebrated by Hieromonk Stephan Igumnov who came to China with the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion. D. Petrovsky and Ms. D. Kochkina of the DECR, came to Harbin to help him with conducting the service. Among those who walked in the Easter procession with the cross was Ms. Liubov Shitova, warden of the Chinese Orthodox community in Harbin. The Paschal Message of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia was read out during the Divine Liturgy.

An icon of our Saviour was presented to the church and accepted by Ms. Shitova. All the worshippers were given icons of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Father Stephan conveyed to the Harbin administration for religious affairs a message of gratitude from the DECR chairman, Metropolitan Hilarion, for the assistance it had given to the parish.

After the Easter repast, Father Stephan and Orthodox compatriots visited the city cemetery in Harbin. They laid flowers at the memorial to Soviet soldiers and sang the troparion of the Resurrection. Then they said the lity for the dead according to the Easter rite and sang Easter hymns at the graves of Orthodox clergy.

Later that day, Mr. Petrovsky met with inspector Van Jangmin of the State Directorate for Religious Affairs and Yan Haisin, head of the Harbin administrations for religious affairs, to discuss problems involved in normalizing the status of Orthodoxy in China.

In the evening, the local administration for religious affairs gave a reception in honour of the DECR workers and Orthodox Russians in Harbin. During the reception, which was held in a festive and friendly atmosphere, it was noted that the service became a significant event in the life of the Orthodox community in Harbin and a contribution to the development of relations between Russia and China in the humanitarian sphere. Ms. Van Jangmin recalled with warmth her participation in the meetings of the State Directorate for Religious Affairs leaders with Patriarch Kirill who showed a special concern for the fate of Orthodox in China. Mr. Sergey Yeremin of the Orthodox community in Harbin expressed hope that Orthodox services would be held in the city on a regular basis.

Easter services were held this year in other cities in China as well. At the church of the Dormition in the territory of the Russian embassy in Beijing, the celebrations were led by Hegumen Melety Sokolov, assistant rector of Moscow Theological Academy, at the Russian General Consulate Rev. Alexy Kiselevich, at the Ukrainian embassy Archimandrite Kirill Govorun, vice-chairman of the ROC Education Committee. Holy Week and Easter services were also held in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

DECR Communication Service

Share:
Telephone conversation held between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Primate of the Malankara Church of India

01.11.2024

Address by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the VIII World Congress of Compatriots Living Abroad

30.10.2024

Order of Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow presented to Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk by Patriarch Kirill

24.10.2024

Primate of the Russian Church celebrates Divine Liturgy in the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius Lavra on the commemoration day of St. Sergius of Radonezh

09.10.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Little Vespers and Akathistos hymn to St. Sergius in the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius

07.10.2024

Message from the Primate of the Russian Church to His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia in connection with blasphemous act on the ruins of ancient Ulpiana

14.09.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates on the feast of the 300th anniversary of the transfer of relics of St.Alexander Nevsky to St. Petersburg

12.09.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates All-night Vigil at the Christ the Savior Cathedral on the eve of Transfiguration

18.08.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' met with the Ambassador of India to Russia

30.07.2024

Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Awa III: Ukrainian government’s support for schism and persecution of the major canonical Church is a religious pogrom against the faithful Orthodox Christians of that country

24.07.2024

Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrates the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in the city of Tver.

21.07.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Liturgy at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius on the commemoration day of the saint

18.07.2024

The Primate of the Russian Church celebrates All-night Vigil at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius

17.07.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Little Vespers at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius and reads akathist to the saint

17.07.2024

Patriarchal condolences on the death of Boris A. Nelyubov

14.07.2024

Telephone conversation held between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Primate of the Malankara Church of India

01.11.2024

DECR Chairman has begun his visit to India

31.10.2024

Work of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is declared successful

24.10.2024

Synod acknowledges importance of bilateral projects carried out in collaboration with Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

24.10.2024

Order of Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow presented to Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk by Patriarch Kirill

24.10.2024

DECR Chairman heads celebrations for the fifteenth anniversary of the consecration of the Dormition Church at the Russian embassy in Beijing.

19.10.2024

Saint Petersburg Theological Academy hosts conference on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) entitled ‘The Person of Metropolitan Nikodim in the History of the Church’.

16.10.2024

DECR Chairman meets with President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference

15.10.2024

Participants of the Divine Service at the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Presnya congratulated the DECR Chairman on his 40th birthday.

12.10.2024

Russian diplomat given Patriarchal award.

10.10.2024

DECR Chairman delivered a lecture to students of the Russian Orthodox University

09.10.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Little Vespers and Akathistos hymn to St. Sergius in the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius

07.10.2024

DECR Chairman takes part in festivities for the beginning of the academic year at the Saints Cyril and Methodius Postgraduate Institute.

03.10.2024

DECR chairman attends reception given by Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation

22.09.2024

Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk meets with delegation of Orthodox Church in America

16.09.2024

Metropolitan Hilarion: Many things in a person's life depend on faith

29.08.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Holy Spirit is the main treasure of the Christian soul

01.08.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: Holiness is a constant striving to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ

27.06.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: God does not want to condemn, but to save us

07.03.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Lord always grants to us the opportunity to display our talents

24.01.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Lord has imbued the waters of Jordan with his divine presence to wash away human sins

19.01.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: to repent means to change your way of life

17.01.2021

On commemoration day of St. Catherine, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk officiated at the Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr In-the-Fields  the representation of the Orthodox Church in America

07.12.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: We can always show compassion for people

29.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates on commemoration day of St. Varlaam of Khutyn at the church of ‘Joy to All the Afflicted’ icon of the Mother of God

19.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: We should remember that the life of each human being is in the hands of God

06.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: For God there is nothing impossible

25.10.2020

Metropoplitan Hilarion: The cross which was an instrument of dishonourable execution becomes the symbol of salvation for millions of people

27.09.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: Eucharist is the wedding feast, to which Lord Jesus Christ invites each of us

13.09.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: Faith alone is not enough for salvation

30.08.2020

Page is available in the following languages
Feedback

Fields marked by * are mandatory required

Send a message
Рус Укр Eng Deu Ελλ Fra Ita Бълг ქარ Срп Rom عرب