Granada, Spain, January 27, 2021
Photo: orthodoxspain.com
On January 23, the official transfer of the 16th-century Catholic Church of St. Bartholomew in Granada, Spain to the use of the local Russian Orthodox community took place.
The festive service for the parish of the Holy Protection of the Mother of God was led by His Eminence Archbishop Nestor of Madrid and Lisbon, with the concelebration of local clergy, reports the Diocese of Spain and Portugal.
The service was attended by the Catholic Archbishop of Granada, Francisco Javier Martinez Fernández, who signed a contract together with Abp. Nestor for the transfer of the church, in accordance with the previously concluded agreement.
Addressing the parishioners and guests, Abp. Nestor expressed his deep gratitude to the Catholic Archbishop for his long-standing good relations with the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Orthodox community in Granada has existed since 2015, initially supported by a priest of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. After Constantinople’s invasion of Ukrainian Church territory in 2018, it was decided to transfer the parish to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.
In October, at the request of Abp. Nestor, the Archbishop of Granada decided to transfer the Church of St. Bartholomew to the Orthodox parish of the Holy Protection.
The church stands in the historical center of the city. Its construction was completed in 1574.
Many new Orthodox communities have developed in Spain and Portugal in recent years. The Ukrainian Church opened two parishes in two months in late 2017, and early the next year, the Russian Church was given territory in Portugal twice within a month.
In March 2018, a church was consecrated in the Spanish seaside city of Torrevieja, and in September that year, construction began on a church in Estepona, Spain.
In November 2019, the first Romanian Orthodox monastery was consecrated in Portugal, and in September of this year, the Moscow Patriarchate began building its first church in Portugal.
In October 2018, the feast of 200 saints of Spain and Portugal was celebrated for the first time by Romanian and Russian hierarchs in Spain, and in December of that year, the Russian Church added 80 of the Iberian saints to its calendar.
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