Department for External Church Relations
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Nativity services take place in the Trinity Cathedral of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem.
DECR Communication service, 08.01.2026.
On 7th January on the feast of the Nativity in the Flesh of Our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, the head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem archimandrite Vassian (Zmeyev) celebrated in the Trinity Cathedral of the Mission the Divine Liturgy. With him concelebrating were the clergy of the Russian Spiritual Mission.
On the eve of the feast on 6th January a festive All-Night Vigil with a short prayer service was celebrated in the Trinity Cathedral.
Praying at the services were the numerous faithful from Jerusalem and the surrounding towns. The hymns for the service were sung by the choir of graduates from the Sretensky Theological Seminary.
At the Liturgy the head of the Russian Spiritual Mission read the pray for the granting of peace and after the communion verse he read allowed the Nativity Message by His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and Of all Rus’ Kirill to the archpastors, pastors, deacons, monks and nuns and all the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy a short service of glorification dedicated to the feast day was held, reports the website of the Russian Spiritual Mission.
Then archimandrite Vassian was congratulated by representatives of the Eleon-2000 Orthodox society, who had sung Christmas carols and presented him with festive gifts. After this all of the pilgrims were invited to break the Nativity fast in the refectory of the Mission.
Nativity services in the Gorney Convent in Ein-Karem and at the various metochions of the Mission dedicated to the prophet Elijah in Haifa, Saint Tabitha in Jaffa, the Holy Fathers in Hebron and Saint John the Baptist at the site of the baptism of the Lord in Jordan were celebrated by the Mission’s clerics hieromonk Innokenty (Bespalov) and Father Viktor Klinshov, archpriest Miroslav Vitiv, archpriest Nikolai Zhdanov, hieromonk Amvrosy (Ignatov) and hieromonk Matfei (Kozlov).
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