Photo credit: unification.com
A solemn service and a festive dinner celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Russian church community parishioners of the Orthodox Pokrovsky Cathedral in Melbourne. The temple, which became one of Australia’s main Orthodox shrines, was founded 30 years ago, the Edinenie newspaper reports.
The uprise of the Orthodox community in Melbourne is associated with the large migration of Russian emigrants to Australia in the late 1940s. From the first days of the existence of the community, it was called Pokrovskaya. For about five years, worshippers met and prayed in rented premises, and in 1954 they bought the building of an empty church, where they remained for several decades.
The number of parishioners grew, and the community began to think about building a new large church. Only twenty years later, the Intercession Cathedral was laid on a plot of land acquired by the community. The temple was consecrated in 2006.
The celebration of the 70th anniversary of the community was attended by 250 people. The liturgy was attended by Bishop George of Canberra, rector of the Church Nikolay Karypov, Orthodox priests from other churches in Melbourne and Sydney. A gala dinner was held at the end of the service.
Russkiy Mir
