Madona, Latvia, July 17, 2024
Photo: pareizticiba.lv An Orthodox church in eastern Latvia has repaired and beautified the graves of the parents of the great Riga archpastor and New Martyr St. John of Riga (†1934).
The saint’s parents are buried in the Liseskalna cemetery, next to the Church of the Holy Trinity in Madona.
On Sunday, June 14, on the eve of the feast of the Uncovering of the Relics of St. John of Riga, His Eminence Archbishop Alexander of Riga and All Lativa celebrated the Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Church, after which he consecrated the new cross on the renovated tombstone of the parents of St. John, Andrei and Evdokia Pommer, reports the Latvian Orthodox Church.
The service was celebrated in Church Slavonic and Latvian, sung by antiphonal choirs.
Immediately following the Divine Liturgy, a memorial litiya was served for St. John’s parents. All the clergy and faithful then processed to their grave while singing hymns to St. John. Thanks to the donations of many faithful, a new granite monument with a cross, tombstones, and a fence was installed.
Abp. Alexander read a prayer of consecration for the renovated grave and sprinkled the cross with holy water. Then another memorial litiya was served.
Back in the church, Vladyka Alexander spoke about the parents of the Holy Martyr John of Riga, giving them as an example to all parents who nowadays, in most cases, strive to develop in their children primarily only the physical and mental, without paying due attention to the spiritual.
October 12 this year will mark the 90th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. John.
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