Department for External Church Relations
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Representatives of the Russian Church take part in the Immortal Regiment action in Turkish cities
DECR Communication Service, 10.05.2024.
On May 5, in advance of Victory Day, the Immortal Regiment action took place at the Russian Embassy in Ankara. Several hundred compatriots, employees of Russian foreign missions in Turkey and members of their families marched with portraits of their relatives who fought in the Great Patriotic War.
Rev. Yevgeniy Dolya, a cleric of the Kolomna diocese, took part in the procession with the blessing of Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, who has arrived in Ankara to celebrate Paschal services.
According to the Telegram channel of the Russian Embassy in Turkey, Ambassador Alexei Yerkhov of the Russian Federation addressed participants of the ceremony, saying that the action falls on Pascha this year, thus giving it a special meaning. “It is so good that we have gathered here again. The memory of our fathers and grandfathers who forged Great Victory unites us,” the diplomat added.
Fr Yevgeniy said in his welcoming speech: “Today we solemnly celebrate two victories of life over death. They are the victory of Christ over the devil, invisible hell and eternal death and the victory of the people of our country over visible hell and earthly death. These great events, so dear to our hearts, have historical and edifying aspects that remain relevant even today.”
On the same day, the annual Immortal Regiment action was held in the territory of the Russian Consulate General’s summer residence in Istanbul. Taking part in the march dedicated to the 79th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War were diplomats and Russian compatriots living in Istanbul, and parishioners of the church of Ss Constantine and Helen Equal-to-the-Apostles. Carrying flags and portraits of their relatives who fought in the war, they walked to the memorial to the crew of the Morzh submarine that was lost in combat at sea near Bosphorus in May 1917. Consul General Andrei Buravov in his address emphasized the importance of cherishing the memory of the heroic deeds performed by people during the Great Patriotic War.
On May 9, Rev. Georgy Sergeyev, who takes care of the flock of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Turkey, celebrated a thanksgiving to the Lord God in the church of Ss Constantine and Helen Equal-to-the-Apostles in Istanbul for granting victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
On Victory Day, celebrations took place in Antalya as well. The Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Antalya together with communities of the Russian Orthodox Church organized large-scale events in the territory of the Garden of Religions. More than five hundred compatriots attended. A thanksgiving prayer service celebrated by Rev. Alexiy Golovin and Rev. Dimitriy Bogatyr was followed by the Immortal Regiment march, a festive concert and a thematic exhibition called “Faces of the Great Patriotic War.” The participants in the celebration saw short-length films about the events of 1941-1945 and heard an address of Russian Consul General Sergei Vetrik. The celebration was covered by the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
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