« On the eve of Great Saturday, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated Matins with the rite of burial in the Dormition Cathedral in London »

On the evening of April 18, 2025, on the eve of Great Saturday, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated Matins with the rite of burial of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Dormition Cathedral in London.

His Grace was assisted by Archpriest Maxim Nikolsky, Dean of the Diocesan District of South-East England Archpriest Vitaly Polischuk, Secretary of the Diocese of Sourozh Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, Archpriest Nikita Kozlov, Priest Alexander Kapustin, Protodeacon Vadim Santsevitch and Deacon Nektariy Baska.

The liturgical hymns were performed by the choir of the Dormition Cathedral under the direction of Dmitry Tugarinov.

At the matins of Great Saturday, the Right Reverend Archpastor and the concelebrating clergy read the 17th kathisma in Church Slavonic and English with "praises" - short hymns dedicated to the redemptive feat of the Savior. After the great doxology with the singing of the funeral "Holy God", a procession with the Holy Shroud was held.

Then the prophecy of the resurrection from the book of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek. 37:1-14) and the reading from the Apostle about the redemptive Sacrifice offered by Christ (1 Cor. 6:7-8) were read before the Shroud.  Bishop Matthew read the Gospel passage about the sealing of the Lord's tomb and the posting of a guard to it (Matthew 27:62-66).

At the end of the service, the archpastor addressed the clergy and parishioners with the words of a sermon.

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