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

On April 21, 2026, Tuesday of the second 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 Polishchuk, Dean of the Diocesan District of South West England Archpriest Joseph Skinner, Secretary of the Diocese of Sourozh Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, Archpriest Nikita Kozlov, Hieromonk Gregory (Tucker), a cleric of the Archdiocese of Western European Parishes of the Russian Tradition, Protodeacon Vadim Santsevitch, Deacon Viktor Nikiforov, and Deacon Nikolai Makarov.

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

Following the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, His Grace the Archpastor and the clergy who assisted him served the panikhida.

At the end of the service, Bishop Matthew addressed the congregation with words of sermon and spiritual edification. The English translation was provided by Protodeacon deacon Vadim Santsevitch.

Radonitsa is a special day of commemoration of the departed, celebrated during the Easter holidays. After the Liturgy, a panikhida is served in the church, during which the funeral text is combined with the Paschal text. Radonitsa is the first panikhida after Great Thursday of the Holy Week: according to church regulations, memorial services are held only on certain days during Lent, and no panikhidas are held from the Great Thursday to Radonitsa. The name Radonitsa is believed to derive from the word "joy." On this day, the living share with the dead the joy of Pascha and the greeting "Christ is Risen!"

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