Cascais, Portugal, July 21, 2020
Photo: cerkov-ru.com
On July 20, a prayerful foundation was laid for the future first Russian Orthodox church in Portugal.
During a pastoral visit to Portugal, the Patriarchal Exarch His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony of Korsun and Western Europe visited Cascais, where, together with His Eminence Archbishop Nestor of Madrid and Lisbon, he inspected a plot of land purchased by the parish community of St. John Chrysostom for the construction of a church, reports the press service of the Korsun Diocese.
The parish cleric, Igumen Peter (Pruteanu), presented the plans for the church complex to the bishops and told them about the progress of coordinating the construction with the city authorities.
Met. Anthony then celebrated a moleben on the site for the beginning of a good work and wishes the workers God’s help in the upcoming construction of the first Russian Orthodox Church on Portuguese soil.
A large plot of land in Cascais was previously leased to the Moscow Patriarchate for 50 years in February 2018. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church also opened two parishes in Portugal in late 2017.
In November last year, the first Romanian Orthodox monastery in Portugal was consecrated.
In January last year, the Russian Church officially added Spanish and Portuguese saints to its calendar, and in November, the Portugal deanery of the Russian Church published the first full service book for priests, choirs, and readers in Portuguese.
