Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Province, Russia, April 25, 2025
Photo: kdeparh.ru
The 40th anniversary of Orthodoxy in Kaliningrad was festively celebrated on Wednesday, April 23, with the Divine Liturgy in Christ the Savior Cathedral, presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of the Baltic and His Grace Bishop Nikolai of Chernyakhovsk.
The hierarchs were joined by all the clergy of the Kaliningrad Metropolis—more than 100 priests in all, the Kaliningrad Diocese reports.
Kaliningrad became part of the Soviet Union in 1945, and it wasn’t until 1985 that permission was granted to open a parish, as Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia notes in his greeting that was read out by Met. Seraphim.
Photo: kdeparh.ru
The Russian primate writes:
In the distant year of 1985, Kaliningrad residents, languishing with spiritual thirst, were finally allowed to open an Orthodox parish, and subsequently, the ancient dilapidated building of the Juditten Church became a splendid temple in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra.
I remember with what joy the believers received the authorities’ decision, with what enthusiasm they worked on the restoration of this church, with what trepidation they awaited its consecration. This significant event marked the beginning of a new era in the spiritual life of the westernmost region of our Fatherland.
Today, by God’s mercy, cupolas of numerous churches rise in the Kaliningrad Metropolis, and strong parish communities operate.
Photo: kdeparh.ru
Over 40 years, more than 200 churches and chapels, three monasteries, two Orthodox kindergartens and an Orthodox school have been founded. Numerous cultural heritage monuments have been restored, restoration and construction of new churches continue, and educational and social activities are developing.
After the first parish was founded in 1985, Pat. Kirill, then the Archbishop of Smolensk and Vyazma, was appointed administrator of the Kaliningrad parishes in 1986. In 1988, he was named Archbishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.
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