WESTERN EUROPEAN DIOCESE: January 23, 2019
The first Liturgy by Bishop Alexander of Vevey is celebrated at Elevation of the Cross Cathedral in Geneva

On the feast day of St Emilian the Confessor, the first Liturgy was celebrated by newly-consecrated Bishop Alexander of Vevey, Vicar of the Western European Diocese, at Elevation of the Cross Cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland. Praying during the service was His Grace Bishop Irenei of Richmond and Western Europe. Clergymen from distant points of the diocese were present to congratulate the new hierarch, in particular Protopriest George Blatinsky from Florence, Italy, the oldest Russian Orthodox Church in Italy, recently received into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. The choir singing at the service was comprised of clergymen.

Vladyka Irenei congratulated Vladyka Alexander at the end of service on his first Eucharist as a bishop. His Grace hoped that his prayerful fervor that he sensed during the service would never cool over the many coming years of his archpastoral service.

Protopriest Emilian Pocinoc, Secretary of the diocese, was celebrating his namesday. Despite the fact that it was a weekday, many parishioners of the cathedral attended the service to congratulate Fr Emilian, wishing him continued fruitful and selfless service to the cathedral and Divine aid.

During the festal trapeza organized by the cathedral's sisterhood, Bishop Alexander gave Fr Emilian a gift of a pectoral cross dating back to 1797, during the reign of Emperor Paul I, which is known to have St Alexei of Yuzhinsk.

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