Europe, March 11, 2026
Bp. Peter of Kafa. Photo: mospat.ru
The Orthodox Church has seen notable expansion across Western Europe in recent years, with several examples of new parishes being reported in the past week.
According to an announcement from His Grace Bishop Irenei, the Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has seen many parishes more than double in size in recent years, with ten new parishes and missions having opened and additional parishes in the process of being formed.
In response to this growth, the diocese has been divided into four deaneries to assist with pastoral care and administration. Bp. Irenei said: “As we begin this new phase in our growth, I am grateful to God for the faithful missionary spirit of all of you, and this sign of the growth of our Orthodox life across Europe and the British Isles.”
In Portugal, the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated on March 7 in the city of Tavira in the Algarve Region. The service was led by His Grace Bishop Peter of Kafa of the Russian Church’s Exarchate of Western Europe, with clergy of the Spanish-Portuguese.
Prior to the Liturgy, a protocol was signed transferring the local Catholic diocese’s Chapel of St. Margaret for use by the Russian diocese for a period of 25 years.
Met. Athenagoras of Belgium. Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
Also on March 7, the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated in a newly established parish of the Honorable Belt of the Theotokos in the Dutch city of Maastricht.
The service was presided over by Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The parish will be hosted in a chapel of the Basilica of St. Servatius, the 4th-century missionary bishop considered the first Bishop of Maastricht, whose tomb in the basilica has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries.
A large number of faithful attended from Maastricht, the surrounding area, and neighboring Belgium.
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