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Orthodox service takes place in the ancient Church of Saint Radegund in Talmon.
Communications Service of the DECR, 23.08.2022.
On 19th August on the feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the secretary of the Chersonesus diocesan administration Father Maxim Politov celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the ancient Church of Saint Radegund (+555), queen of the Franks. The church stands on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean in the picturesque village of Talmon-sur-Gironde in the French province of Poitiers.
Concelebrating at the service were archpriest Innocent Vio, the rector of the communities of the Chersonesus diocese in Limoges, Doumerac and Pouy-Loubare. Praying at the Liturgy also was the rector of the Church of Saint Seraphim of Sarov in Bourdeaux Father Alexandre Brunet.
The hymns for the service were sung by the lesser choir of the Trinity Cathedral in Paris under the direction of Marina Politova.
The tradition of celebrating Orthodox services on the feast of the Transfiguration in Talmon was initiated more than fifty years ago by the Osorgin family, the renowned representatives of the first wave of Russian emigration. Earlier, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the open air on the shore of the ocean. A number of years ago the Roman Catholic diocese of the city of Rouen permitted Orthodox services for the Transfiguration in the ancient Church of Saint Radegund, which is a monument of twelfth-thirteenth century religious architecture in France.
Praying at the service were people fr om the Russian emigration in France, as well as parishioners from the Orthodox community in the nearby city of Rouen.
As reported by the diocesan site, after the Liturgy there was the traditional blessing for the feast of Transfiguration of fruits of the vine and other fruits from the new harvest.
The Church of Saint Radegund is a unique monument of religious architecture. A church was founded on this site at the end of the eleventh century by Benedictine monks wh ere Saint James had made one of his journeys. The building, which towers over the sea cliffs, combines elements of both the Romanesque and Gothic styles. In the twentieth century it was included in the list of France’s historical monuments.
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