« On Radonitsa Day, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh Celebrated the Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral in London »

On April 29, 2025, Tuesday of the 2nd week after Easter, the day of Radonitsa, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Divine Liturgy at 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 Sourozh Diocese Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, Archpriest Nikita Kozlov, Priest Vasily Gandzyuk, Protodeacon Vadim Santsevitch and Deacon Viktor Nikiforov.

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

After the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, the Right Reverend Archpastor and the clergy who served with him served a panikhida.

At the end of the divine service, Bishop Matthew addressed the congregation with words of sermon and spiritual edification.

Radonitsa is a special day of remembrance of the departed, which is held during Easter. After the Liturgy, a panikhida is served in the church, during which the funeral hymns are combined with the Easter ones. On Radonitsa, the first panikhida is served after the Great Thursday of Holy Week: according to the church charter, memorial services are held only on certain days during Lent, and from Great Thursday to Radonitsa, panikhidas are not served. It is believed that the name Radonitsa comes from the word "joy". On this day, the living share with the departed the Easter joy and the greeting "Christ is Risen!"

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