Orthodox senior care facility opens in Florida

Clearwater, Florida, July 10, 2017

Photo: mospatusa.com

His Grace Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk visited a new Orthodox senior care facility in Florida on Sunday, July 9, celebrating the lesser consecration of the center’s chapel, reports the site of The Patriarchal Parishes in the USA (Moscow Patriarchate).

Following the Sunday Divine Liturgy, Bp. John visited the new “Most Holy Theotokos Rescuer of the Perishing” care facility in Clearwater. As the facility’s site reports, the hierarchical visit took place on the feast of the Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, which is the icon of the Theotokos on the iconostasis in the facility’s chapel. His Grace inspected the new senior care home with director Peter Schweitzer, after which he celebrated the lesser consecration of the Mother of God Rescuer of the Perishing chapel.

Most Holy Theotokos Rescuer of the Perishing is a pan-Orthodox assisted living facility for senior Orthodox Christians, which works with the established nursing care provider Magnolia Manor, with the mission to “care for the material and spiritual needs of the Orthodox faithful at the end of their lives.” The facility features an active service schedule, with Midnight Office, Matins, the Hours, Vespers, an Akathist, and Small Compline being celebrated in the chapel daily.

The chapel’s altar was donated to the new senior care facility by Gerontissa Agapia and the Annunciation of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Monastery in Reddick, Florida, along with handmade coverings and a table of oblation.

Bp. John presented the facility’s administrators with an icon of the American saints to commemorate the opening of the facility.