Department for External Church Relations
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Rector of the Russian Orthodox parish in Reykjavík takes part in a flower‑laying ceremony on Defender of the Fatherland Day
DECR Communication Service, 25.02.2026.
On 23 February, a solemn ceremony of laying wreaths and flowers at the Hope memorial created in commemoration of the Arctic convoys sailors was held at the Fossvogur cemetery in Reykjavík. The event was timed to the Defender of the Fatherland Day.
The participants of the ceremony honoured the memory of a Soviet sailor Alexander Mallei and a Great Patriotic War veteran Ms. Maria A. Mitrofanova (1925–2019), who are buried at this cemetery. She was a native of Smolensk Hero City and the daughter of a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church who was repressed for his faith in 1937. Maria Mitrofanova received government awards for her personal bravery and courage in battles against the Nazi invaders.
Archpriest Timofei Zolotusky, rector of St Nicholas’ stavropegic parish of the Moscow Patriarchate in Reykjavík, celebrated a memorial litany for the fallen warriors who died in battles for the freedom of our Motherland.
The ceremony was attended by staff members of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Iceland, parishioners of St Nicholas’ parish, and Russian compatriots residing in the country, including Ms. Pochitayeva, the daughter of Maria Mitrofanova.
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