Bishop Matthew of Sourozh presented letters of gratitude to representatives of Russian schools in London »
17-02-2026 
On February 16, 2026, the feast day of St. Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop of Japan (1912), His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh met with the directors and teachers of Russian schools in London, who participated in the Third Diocesan Exhibition of Children's Art, "Land of the Rising Sun," at the Dormition Cathedral in London.
Opening the meeting, E.N. Poplavskaya, Director of the Parish School of the Dormition Cathedral, spoke about the preparation and implementation of the exhibition, noting the importance of the event, which fosters interest in the history of the abroad missionary work of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Bishop Matthew addressed those present with words of gratitude for their participation in the project and expressed hope for continued collaboration between the Sunday schools of the parishes of the Diocese of Sourozh and Russian language schools in various cities of Great Britain and Ireland. His Grace presented letters of gratitude and exhibition catalogs to the school representatives.
The meeting was attended by Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, Secretary of the Diocese of Sourozh, and Archpriest Maxim Nikolsky, spiritual director of the cathedral's parish school.
The exhibition, dedicated to the 190th anniversary of the birth of St. Nicholas (Kasatkin), Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop of Japan (1836-1912), was on display in the library of the Dormition Cathedral in London from November 4 to December 8, 2025. The exhibition featured works by students from parish schools of the Sourozh Diocese in London, Manchester, Oxford, Glasgow, and Dublin (Ireland), as well as from secular Russian language schools "Skazka," "Raduga," "Vishnevy Sad," and "Istok."
Following the exhibition's conclusions, it was decided to print a catalog of the young participants' works, several copies of which will be donated to the Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo (Nikolai-do), built by St. Nicholas of Japan in the late 19th century.