Department for External Church Relations
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Great Consecration of the church of St. Tikhon takes place in the German city of Lippstadt
DECR Communication Service, 03.06.2024.
On May 31 and June 1, Archbishop Tikhon of Ruza, administrator of the Diocese of Berlin and Germany, paid an archpastoral visit to the city of Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He celebrated the great consecration of the church dedicated to St. Tikhon, Patriarch of All Russia, and presided over the Divine Liturgy in the newly consecrated church, the diocesan website reports.
On the evening of May 31, Archbishop Tikhon and the clergy prayed at the church during the evening service. As prescribed by the Statute, Vespers, Matins, the First Hour and prayer service for the blessing of the water were celebrated outside the sanctuary by archpriest Vladimir Neumann, the acting rector of the parish. He was assisted by deacon Michael Koch.
On the morning of June 1, Archbishop Tikhon performed the rite of great consecration of the church. Procession with the cross and with a particle of relics of the holy martyr Vladimir Chetverin (†1918) took place, after which the relics were placed in the altar of the newly consecrated church.
After the great consecration, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Archbishop Tikhon, archpriest Vladimir Neumann, rector of St. Tikhon church, and the diocesan clergy from Hamburg, Dortmund, Trier, Rostock, Hannover, Krefeld, and Nienburg.
Singing during the service was a mixed choir conducted by Pavel Lavreshchuk, precentor of the choir of the parish of St. Tamara, Queen of Georgia, in Aachen.
Attending the festive celebration were parishioners who arrived in Lippstadt from Düsseldorf, Hannover and Rostock.
At the end of the Liturgy, Archbishop Tikhon of Ruza addressed the worshippers with an archpastoral word. He greeted them with the consecration of the church and said: “May this holy church, which is meant to be a place for prayer, listening to the word of God, performance of sacraments, revive and sanctify human souls and lead them to God, who is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). Let the church be a place for the upbringing of children, consolation for those who mourn, and spiritual assistance to the elderly people. May God grant that the church, this school of piety, as the Holy Fathers called it, will strengthen our faith and be the gates to the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life.”
Archbishop Tikhon thanked archpriest Vladimir Neumann and members of the parish community for preparing the church for consecration. Also, he expressed special gratitude to the Catholic dean of Lippstadt, Thomas Wolf, for his help in purchasing the church and presented him with an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mr. Alexander Angolt received a Patriarchal certificate of appreciation; other parishioners were awarded bishop's certificates.
Archpriest Vladimir Neumann addressed the archpastor with the words of gratitude. He presented Archbishop Tikhon with an icon of the Right-believing Grand Prince Dimitry Donskoy who is commemorated on June 1. The icon was painted for the day of the consecration of the church.
Small icons of St. Tikhon were distributed to all those present in memory of the great consecration.
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The newly consecrated church of St. Tikhon was acquired into ownership by the Diocese of Berlin and Germany from the Catholic Archdiocese of Paderborn in 2022.
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