Torrevieja, Spain, March 27, 2018
Photo: pravoslavie.ru His Grace Bishop Nestor, administrator of the Diocese of Korsun, celebrated the Great Consecration of a new parish in the seaside city of Torrevieja, Spain on Sunday. The church, located less a quarter of a mile from the Mediterranean Sea, was consecrated in honor of the feast of the Nativity of Most Holy Theotokos, reports pravoslavie.ru.
The Diocese of Korsun ministers to Russian Orthodox parishes, monasteries, and communities in France, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland.
Relics of the Holy Unmercenaries Sts. Cosmas and Damian were placed in the altar during the consecration. Following a cross procession, Bp. Nestor, having anointed the holy relics with chrism, placed them together with his gramota of consecration in a small ark inside the altar table and sealed it up. The placing of relics into the altar table recalls that the Church was confirmed on the bones of the martyrs during times of persecution.
Then Vladyka Nestor celebrated the first Divine Liturgy in the newly-consecrated church, joined by the parish rector Archpriest Yaroslav Dybach and other area clergy.
Photo: pravoslavie.ru About 400 faithful made up the congregation, including parishioners, pilgrims, and visitors from various parishes in Spain.
Following the Divine Liturgy, Bp. Nestor addressed the congregation with a homily for the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt and congratulated the parish community with their newly-consecrated church building.
The purchase of the church building and adjacent 1,435-sq. yd. plot of land in the fall of 2017 was made possible by the active collection of funds by the clergy and parishioners of the Nativity of the Theotokos parish community.
The Russian Orthodox Church was also given two territories for liturgical usage in Portugal in January and February, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate also opened two parishes in Portugal in two months at the end of 2017.
