New UOC church dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene consecrated in Simferopol

A new UOC church dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene was consecrated in Simferopol. Photo: crimea-eparhia.ru

On October 8, 2019, a new church dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, Equal-to-the-Apostles, was consecrated in Simferopol, the press service of the Crimean Eparchy reports.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea, the rite of consecration and the Divine Liturgy were celebrated by Bishop Nestor of Yalta, vicar of the Simferopol and Crimean Eparchy.

Concelebrating with His Grace were Archpriest Bohdan Severin, dean of the First Simferopol Church District; Archpriest Volodymyr Chernetskyi, rector of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene; and visiting clergy.

At the conclusion of the service, Bishop Nestor congratulated those present on the feast day of St. Sergius of Radonezh. He also congratulated the rector and parishioners on a significant event in the life of the parish – the consecration of the church.

In his archpastoral address, the bishop recalled that when a church is built and consecrated, the love and mercy of Christ not only enter that church, but also gather people into the Church as they understand, recognize, and confess the words of Christ: “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them.”

“And here, in this place, where we have gathered consciously and soberly, filled with faith and trust in the words of Christ, in His name – the Lord is in our midst, together with the Mother of God, the archangels and angels, all the saints, St. Mary Magdalene, Equal-to-the-Apostles, St. Sergius, and a multitude of other saints.

“Some seek glory, others wealth, but there are also those who have come to love eternity, who have reached out toward the love of Christ and followed Christ with their entire lives. It is one thing to know that Christ exists, another to believe in Christ, and something else entirely to trust Christ – to trust Him with both mind and heart, and every day to strive toward and follow our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Orthodoxy always requires the effort of both mind and heart: we have come to love Christ and followed Christ; we have come to love the Church, and the Church is, first and foremost, also us ourselves. If you have come to love Christ and partake of His Body and Blood, then truly know who your Lord is. And then your heart will be filled with love, and your soul with the highest meaning.”

As UOJ previously reported, mass charity weddings were earlier held in the UOC Simferopol Eparchy.

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