Maebashi, Japan, December 16, 2025
Photo: orthodoxjapan.jp
The parish community of the Church of the Equal-to-the-Apostles St. Nikolai of Japan in Maebashi, Japan, recently celebrated a major milestone as His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Tokyo visited the parish to mark 150 years since Orthodoxy was first brought to the city in 1875 by Catechist Matthew Niwa.
The visit, which took place November 15-16, also commemorated the 10th anniversary of the consecration of the current church building, the Japanese Church reports.
Met. Seraphim arrived at Takasaki Station on the afternoon of November 15. Upon arrival, he and his accompanying clergy were driven to the Maebashi Holy Orthodox Church cemetery, where they consecrated a newly constructed columbarium built as part of the 150th anniversary commemorations. Following the consecration, prayers were offered for all those buried in the church cemetery.
Photo: orthodoxjapan.jp
The group then proceeded to the church, where Met. Seraphim was greeted at the western gate with the traditional bread and salt. All-Night Vigil began shortly before 4:00 PM, celebrated by Archpriest Stephen Kuwabara with Deacon Gordy Matsui assisting.
On the morning of November 16, Met. Seraphim, celebrated the Divine Liturgy. The service, “in which hymns specific to hierarchical services that differ from the usual priestly services were interspersed throughout, was offered in an atmosphere of solemnity and unity.”
The sermon was delivered by Catechist Kikuchi, a native of the Ashikaga parish in the Northern Kanto region who graduated from seminary this past summer.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Met. Seraphim offered remarks noting that during the past year he had visited Sugawa, Takasaki, and Maebashi—all parishes in Gunma Prefecture—and observed how believers from neighboring churches gathered together for worship at each location. He encouraged the community to preserve this sense of unity going forward.
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History of Orthodoxy in Maebashi
Photo: Google Reviews
Missionary work in Maebashi began in 1875, and three years later a church was established by samurai class members. The following year, Archbishop Nikolai baptized former domain samurai, as well as workers from the silk reeling factories that were flourishing at the time. The icons for the iconostasis of the Nativity Cathedral built in 1878 were painted by Irina Yamashita, but were destroyed in wartime fires in 1945.
On November 19, 1972, the second Cathedral of the Holy Apostle and Equal-to-the-Apostles Archbishop Nikolai of Japan was rebuilt through the efforts of the faithful, and consecrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Theodosius (Nagashima).
Because this cathedral was the first to be built after the Orthodox Church in Japan received autonomous status, an iconostasis was created commemorating St. Nikolai of Japan, making it the only cathedral in Japan to bear this name. In 1985, the parish celebrated the centennial of Orthodoxy’s introduction to Maebashi.
In 2015, the third cathedral was completed and consecrated on November 3 by His Eminence Metropolitan Daniel and then-Archbishop Seraphim. The iconostasis that had been created at the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra in Russia for the 1972 church was relocated and restored for the new building.
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