Moscow, July 4, 2017
Photo: RIA-Novosti A golden cross was elevated atop the Russian Orthodox Church being built in Strasbourg, France on Sunday, July 2, reports RIA-Novosti.
Head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s administration for foreign institutions Bishop Antony of Bogorodsk celebrated the Divine Liturgy before the placing of the cross in the already-opened Church of All Saints in the spiritual-cultural center. The church was filled with local faithful, and guests from Russia, France, neighboring Germany, and other countries. Bishop Antony blessed the church which was then lifted high in the sky above Strasbourg with two cranes and installed on the main dome of the church.
“The cross of Christ is a symbol of eternal life and great hope… The fact that an Orthodox cross now shines above the city which can rightly be called the heart of Europe is especially noteworthy. We all hope very much that ‘the sign of our victory’—as the Church calls the Cross of the Lord—will be a reminder to all people of Europe of those Christian values which lie at the foundation of European civilization. May it remind of the Gospel ideals which should lie at the foundation of our modern life,” said Bp. Antony.
The Church of All Saints is situated in a picturesque district of Strasbourg where the Ill River and the Marne Canal conflow, at a ten-minute’s walk from the most important European institutions—the European Council, the Strasbourg Council for Human Rights, and the European Parliament. “The representation of the Russian Orthodox to these international organizations is located in Strasbourg, doing very significant work, primarily in advocating for Christian values, which, as you know, are subject to a definite devaluation in modern Europe. This work is multifaceted, requiring premises for it, where a church also could be situated,” noted Bp. Antony.
According to the prelate, every parish of the Russian Orthodox Church is “a place of testimony to the beauty of the Orthodox tradition,” of which the church newly-consecrated by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill in Parish is a fresh example. “Hundreds of people come to this church every day, knowing there are regular Divine services celebrated there, and that there is a spiritual-cultural center there, asking many questions. This mission of witnessing to Orthodoxy exists in all our parishes and parishioners. Our parishes are in many ways a bridge allowing civilizations and cultures to get to know one another better, to be closer, and not fight with one another,” the Bogorodsk hierarch emphasized.
The All Saints community unites about 1,000 people coming from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and other countries of the former Soviet Union. Also among the parishioners are Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Albanians, and Frenchmen who have converted to Orthodoxy. Among them are diplomats, representatives of Orthodox countries to the Council of Europe, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, teachers and students of the University of Strasbourg. The church is constantly attracting more and more Orthodox believers who live in Alsace, Lorraine and Champagne (France), in the border regions of Germany (Baden-Württemberg) and in Switzerland (cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landscape).
