« On the feast day of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Parish of St. Patrick of Ireland in Waterford, Ireland »
10-11-2025 
On November 8, 2025, the feast day of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, while on an archpastoral visit to the diocesan district of the Republic of Ireland, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Parish of St. Patrick of Ireland in Waterford, located in the south of the country.
At the entrance to the church, His Grace was greeted by Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, Secretary of the Diocese of Sourozh, churchwarden Inna Kuzmenko and young parishioners, who offered to Vladyka bread and salt, and flowers.
His Grace was assisted at the Divine Liturgy by Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, Secretary of the Diocese of Sourozh; Priest Gregory Oboroceanu, Rector of the parish; Deacon Sergiy Starovoitov, Cleric of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Dublin; and Deacon Pavel Demyanovsky.
The parish choir, under the direction of Emilia Oboroceanu, performed the liturgical hymns.
At the Little Entrance, in recognition of his zealous pastoral labours, Priest Gregory Oboroceanu, Rector of the parish, was awarded the right to wear a gold pectoral cross.
After the Augmented Litany, Bishop Matthew offered a prayer for the granting of peace.
Following the Liturgy, the Archpastor and concelebrating clergy performed a prayerful hymn to the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki.
Parish Rector Priest Gregory Oboroceanu warmly welcomed Bishop Matthew, thanked him for the long-awaited visit and the joy of their shared prayer, and presented him with a bouquet of flowers and a commemorative gift on behalf of the parishioners.
In turn, Bishop Matthew expressed gratitude to Father Gregory for his pastoral service and care for the Orthodox believers of Waterfor and the surrounding area and addressed the clergy and parishioners with words of sermon and spiritual edification.
In recognition of their diligent work for the good of the Holy Church, the church's choirmaster, Emilia Oboroceanu, and active parishioners, Dimitry Nosatenko and Elena Bogolepova, were awarded blessed episcopal certificates.
The Archpastor warmly congratulated Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, Secretary of the Diocese of Sourozh, who was celebrating the 10th anniversary of his priestly ordination that day, and presented Father Dimitry with a commemorative cross with decorations.
Vladyka also greeted Nun Martha (Persianinova), the senior sister of the Bishop's Metochion of St. Elizabeth in Rosksfarm, who, while on a pilgrimage to Ireland with a small group of parishioners, attended the service in Waterford.
All participants in the Liturgy were given icons of the recently glorified Saint Olga of Kwethluk (Alaska), whose glorification celebrations were hosted by Bishop Matthew from June 18 to 22, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Saint Olga is commemorated in the Orthodox Church in America on October 27/November 9, the day after her blessed repose, as the day of her repose is also the feast day of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki. By decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on October 30, 2025 (Journal No. 102), the name of Saint Olga of Alaska was included in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church.
As a memento of his visit, Vladyka presented the church with a liturgical Gospel, published in English by the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House with the assistance of the Diocese of Sourozh.
After the service, His Grace Vladyka spoke with the clergy and parishioners over a shared meal.