« On the Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral in London »
07-04-2026 
On April 7, 2026, Great Tuesday, the Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, the day of the repose of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow (1925), His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral in London.
His Grace was assisted by Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, Secretary of the Diocese of Sourozh; Archpriest Joseph Skinner, Dean of the Diocesan District of Southwest England; Hegumen Theophan (Willis), a cleric of the Archdiocese of Western European Parishes of the Russian Tradition; Archpriest Nikita Kozlov; Priest Vasily Gandzyuk; Priest Alexander Kapustin; Priest Sergiy Sokolovsky; Protodeacon Ioann Sylnik; Deacon Viktor Nikiforov; and Deacon Nektariy Baska.
The liturgical hymns were performed by the choir of the Dormition Cathedral under the direction of Dmitry Tugarinov.
Before the Liturgy, a reliquary containing great Christian relics—a particle of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, and particles of the holy relics of chosen saints of God—was brought from the altar to the center of the church.
During the Liturgy, Bishop Matthew ordained Deacon Nektariy Baska to the priesthood and Nikolai Makarov to the diaconate.
During the Little Entrance, for his zealous service to the Church of Christ on the feast of Holy Pascha, Bishop Matthew awarded Archpriest Joseph Skinner the Patriarchal liturgical award - the right to celebrate the Divine Liturgy with open Royal Doors until the Cherubic Hymn.
Following the prayer after the communion, the Archpastor and concelebrating clergy performed a prayerful hymn before the icon of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos.
At the conclusion of the service, Bishop Matthew greeted the newly ordained clergy and addressed the clergy and parishioners with words of sermon and spiritual edification. Archpriest Joseph Skinner provided the English translation.
Bishop Matthew warmly congratulated those celebrating their ordinations that day: Archpriest Maxim Nikolsky on his 36th anniversary as a priest and Protodeacon Ioann Sylnik on his fifth anniversary as a deacon, and presented them with bouquets of flowers.
In honor of his recent anniversary, Senior Subdeacon Vadim Polischuk was awarded the Patriarchal award, the medal "In Memory of the 100th Anniversary of the Restoration of the Patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church."