Memorial Service for Russian Sailors Celebrated in Beirut

DECR Communication Service, 13/07/2026

On 10^th July 2026, in the Anglo-American Cemetery in Furn el Chebbak, Beirut, Archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev), Representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ to the Patriarchal Throne of Antioch, celebrated a memorial service for Russian sailors buried in the Lebanese land.

Among those in attendance were Mr A.N. Rudakov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Lebanese Republic; Mr K.G. Melnikov, Counsellor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation; Mr S.A. Zakharenkov, Assistant to the Military Attaché at the Embassy of the Russian Federation; as well as staff members of the Russian military and diplomatic missions, representatives of Lebanese non-governmental organizations and Russian compatriots.

Prior to the service, Mr S.A. Zakharenkov lighted a memorial candle at the tomb of Midshipman Baron Gotthard Bistram. The candle had been taken from the frigate Oleg that had sunk in the Baltic Sea in the 1860s. In 1860-1861, the legendary frigate sailed near the Lebanese shores. Among its crew members was Midshipman Baron Gotthard Bistram, later buried in the Beirut cemetery.

In October 2025, restoration works were completed at the burial place of Baron Gotthard Bistram in the Anglo-American Cemetery, and a cenotaph commemorating Russian sailors buried in the Lebanese land was installed and blessed. The rite of its blessing was performed by Metropolitan Feodor of Volgograd and Kamyshin and Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis in con-celebration with the Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev). The initiative to restore the tomb and install the cenotaph had come from members of staff of the Russian military mission and the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Lebanon.

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Memorial Service for Russian Sailors Celebrated in Beirut

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons