« His Grace Bishop Agafangel of Norilsk and Turukhansk visited to St Nicholas Church in Oxford »
18-02-2019 
On Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th February, the Church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker in Oxford was visited by a group of pilgrims from Russia, led by His Grace Bishop Agafangel of Norilsk and Turukhansk. The pilgrims are visiting various Orthodox holy places in England. On Saturday, the group visited the shrine of St Frideswide of Oxford in Christ Church Cathedral, served a memorial litya at the grave of Archimandrite Nicholas (Gibbes), tutor to the Tsarevich Alexis, and venerated the relics of the British saints kept in the Oratory Church of St Aloysius, before praying at the Vigil service in St Nicholas’s church
On Sunday, the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, Bishop Agafangel presided at the Divine Liturgy, assisted by Archpriest Stephen Platt, rector of the parish, Fr Stephen Fretwell, Deacon Alexei Kostyanovsky and the members of the pilgrimage group in holy orders.
At the augmented litany, prayers were offered for concord and unity in the Orthodox Church, and for peace in Ukraine.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Bishop Agafangel preached on the need for humility, as illustrated by the gospel of the day. Fr Stephen then greeted Vladyka Agafangel and presented him with an icon of St Frideswide.
After the liturgy, the guests were offered lunch before continuing on to the next stage of their pilgrimage.