The First-ever Evening Service in St. George’s Church in Kamenyuki, September 30, 2009
(You can read about the history of the church here)
The first-ever evening service in the newly-built Saint George’s Church in the village of Kamenyuki was scheduled for 5 PM on September 30, 2009. Local inhabitants started assembling near the church at the announced time…
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… However, the carpenters had not finished their work by the time the service was to begin, so the parishioners had to wait for some time and help with cleaning up of the church.
The shots below show carpenters and parishioners at work (1 and 2) and the dean of the church, archpriest Ioann issuing his final directions (3).
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The service began one hour after the announced time.
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At the close of the service, Father Ioann addressed the gathering with a speech congratulating them on the first service in the church and inviting them to attend the official opening ceremony on the next day. He thanked the attendees for their help and expressed hope that the Holy Ghost and the guardian angels would make the church their abode.
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(the dean of the church, archpriest Ioann) |
The decorations inside St. George’s Church at the time of its first service.
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The service was attended by a total of about forty people, almost all of them retired women who reside locally. The village’s population is 1,100 people.
(All materials and photographs by Heorhi Kazulka).
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Translated by Alexander Sukhoverkhov