His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem attends patronal celebrations at St. Mary Magdalene Convent in Gethsemane

DECR Communication Service, 07/08/2026

On 4^th August 2026, commemoration day of the Holy Myrrh-Bearer Mary Magdalene, Equal of the Apostles, the Convent of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) celebrated its patronal feast.

Officiating at the Divine Liturgy on the feast day was Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany. Among his concelebrants were Bishop Job of Stuttgart, Vicar of the Diocese of Germany; Archimandrite Vassian (Zmeyev), Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem; Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission within the Russian Church Abroad; as well as clerics of St. Mary Magdalene Convent and ordained pilgrims.

Attending the celebrations was His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine, as well as Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth and clerics of the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Among those in attendance were also Mr Anatoly Viktorov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the State of Israel; Mother Elizabeth (Smelic), Abbess of St. Mary Magdalene Convent, with sisters; Mother Judith (Zastavskaya), Abbess of the Holy Ascension Convent on the Mount of Olives, with sisters; nuns of the Gornensky Convent; representatives of the Russian diplomatic corps; numerous parishioners and pilgrims.

The Liturgy was celebrated in the Church Slavonic language, website of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission reports. A choir of the Gethsemane sisters performed the liturgical hymns.

After the Dismissal, the hierarchs, clergy and nuns went in a procession of the cross around the convent’s main church, during which the feast-related Gospel pericope was read out and holy water was sprinkled on the worshippers.

After the service, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos delivered a homily, greeting the clergy, the sisters of St. Mary Magdalene Convent and pilgrims.

A festal repast followed, prepared by the nuns of the Gethsemane Convent. After the meal, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos, the ROCOR hierarchs, the heads of both Missions and Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov joined Mother Elizabeth in her chambers for a cup of coffee. There, in a warm and friendly atmosphere, His Beatitude extended felicitations to Mother Elizabeth on the occasion of the convent’s patronal feast.

Print publication

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem attends patronal celebrations at St. Mary Magdalene Convent in Gethsemane

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons