« On the 31st Sunday after Pentecost, following the feast of the Nativity of Christ, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Divine Liturgy at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Dublin, Republic of Ireland »
12-01-2026 
On January 11, the 31st Sunday after Pentecost, after the Nativity of Christ, on the feast day of the righteous Joseph the Betrothed, David the King, and James the Brother of the Lord, the 14,000 infant martyrs slain by Herod in Bethlehem, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Divine Liturgy at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
Archpriest Mikhail Nasonov, Rector of the church, greeted His Grace Bishop Matthew with a bouquet of flowers at the entrance to the church.
His Grace was assisted at the Divine Liturgy by Archpriest Mikhail Nasonov, Dean of the Diocesan District of the Republic of Ireland and Rector of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Dublin; Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, Secretary of the Diocese of Sourozh; Archpriest Sergiy Ivanenko-Kolenda, a retired cleric of the Sumy Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate; and clergy of the Irish Deanery: Priest Sergiy Sokolov, Priest Ioann Kazadoev, Priest Grigory Oborochanu, Priest Ioann Chernelevsky, Deacon Sergiy Starovoitov, and Deacon Pavel Demyanovsky, a cleric of the Luhansk Diocese.
The liturgical hymns were performed by the choir of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Dublin, under the direction of Tamara Butkovskaya.
After the Litany of Fervent Supplication, Bishop Matthew offered a prayer for the granting of peace.
Following the Prayer before the ambo, a glorification of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ was performed.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Archpriest Mikhail Nasonov addressed His Grace with a welcoming speech. Father Mikhail warmly thanked Bishop Matthew for his archpastoral visit to the Irish Deanery during the Christmas holidays and, on behalf of the clergy and parishioners, presented him with a bouquet of flowers.
In turn, Bishop Matthew congratulated the clergy and parishioners on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, expressed gratitude for the warm welcome, and addressed those present with a sermon.
In recognition of their diligent work for the good of the Holy Church, church staff members Tatyana Prokopchuk and Galina Kanya were awarded Episcopal Certificates of Blessing.
Bishop Matthew especially recognised the pastoral labours of Priest Sergiy Sokolov, who is celebrating the 11th anniversary of his priestly ordination that day.
In memory of his visit, the hierarch presented a new edition of the analogion-style service book for the church altar, and the recently published Order of the Proskomedia was presented to all the clergy who concelebrated with Vladyka at the Liturgy.
Following the meal, a festive Nativity performance was held, featuring students and teachers from the parish school of St. Peter and Paul's Church in Dublin.