« On Wednesday of the Week of the Veneration of the Cross, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts at Dormition Cathedral in London »
18-03-2026 
On March 18, 2026, Wednesday of the 4th Week of Lent, the Veneration of the Cross, the feast of the uncovering of the relics of St. Luke the Confessor, Archbishop of Simferopol (1996), His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts at Dormition Cathedral in London.
His Grace was assisted by Archpriest Nikita Kozlov and Protodeacon Vadim Santsevitch.
The liturgical hymns were performed by the Dormition Cathedral Choir under the direction of Dmitry Tugarinov.
Following the dismissal of the Liturgy, a lithia was celebrated, during which Bishop Matthew offered a prayer for the repose of the soul of the newly departed His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia. The Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church departed to the Lord on March 17, 2026, at the age of 93.
At the conclusion of the service, Bishop Matthew addressed the clergy and parishioners with words of sermon and spiritual edification. Simultaneous translation into English was provided by Protodeacon deacon Vadim Santsevitch.