Today in the town of Midrand (the Republic of South Africa) a ceremony of Great consecration of the first Orthodox Church in South Africa took place.
Monday, March 03, 2003
Today in the town of Midrand (the Republic of South Africa) a ceremony of Great consecration of the first Orthodox Church in South Africa took place. Construction of this church was carried out during two years with the active financial support of OAO Stroytransgaz.
Several years ago a group of Russian countrymen residing permanently in the Republic of South Africa approached the management of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchy with a request to open in that country an Orthodox parish. For these people the Church is the spiritual medium which connects them with the far motherland and allows them to preserve the belief, language, culture and pass it all over to their children. Construction of the temple of the Saint Sergey of Radonezh was started in South Africa in December 2001. Based on the blessing of the Most Holy Patriarch Aleksy the Second and the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church a priest from Saint-Petersburg the archpriest Sergey Rasskazovsky was deputed to the Republic of South Africa for opening there a temporary house-temple of Saint Sergey of Radonezh. In July 2000 on the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church the celibate priest Filaret was appointed as a new senior priest of the Temple. The design of the building of the temple was elaborated by Yury Kirs, the architect from Saint-Petersburg. The domes of the Church built of white stones harmonize like picturesque decoration with south African architecture of the town of Midrand. At the ceremony of the consecration the Ambassadors of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belorussia, representatives of diplomatic corps, local social and religious figures, representatives of OAO Stroytransgaz were present. The Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill who performed the ceremony of Great consecration of the Temple expressed the words of gratitude to all those who participated in its construction and decoration and wished the Russian community in South Africa to keep spiritual unity based on their home belief. Revival of traditions of the Russian patronage and charity is one of the priority trends of the social policy of OAO Stroytransgaz. With the assistance of the Company the following temples and churches were restored in Russia: the Temple of Assumption of the Holy Blessed Virgin, the Cathedral of the Metropolitan Peter, the Church of Saint Nicolas at Bersenevka, the Temple of Saint Archbishop Nicolai in Zaiaitskoe, The Temple of Nativity of the Holy Blessed Virgin, the Temple of the Smolensk icon of the Holy Mother.
