Karlovy Veri, Czech Republic, May 6, 2020
Photo: mospat.ru
A cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church was recently awarded the title of honorary citizen of the Czech city of Karlovy Veri, where the Moscow Patriarchate’s representation church is located.
The honor was bestowed upon Archpriest Nikolai Lischenyuk, the rector of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Karlovy Veri, for his activity in the field of culture and in promoting a positive image of the city amongst Orthodox believers and spiritual figures of the Orthodox Church, reports the Synodal Department of the Department for External Church Relations.
Additionally, Fr. Nikolai spearheaded major repairs on the church, from the domes to the foundation and the restoration of the iconography. His selfless and tireless work is greatly appreciated in the city.
He is the first Russian in the last three decades to become an honorary citizen of the city, where, according to existing tradition, the title is awarded annually one of the most prominent Czech or foreign figures in politics, culture, science, and sports.
The representation Church of Sts. Peter and Paul testifies to the historical connection between the Russian and Czech-Slovak Churches. Following the Second World War, the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia was revived under the Moscow Patriarchate, and it was the Moscow Patriarchate that granted it full and total autocephaly in 1951, though Constantinople refused to acknowledge its independence.
