LONDON: 17 January 2022
The Nativity of Christ at Nativity of the Mother of God Cathedral in London

The Divine Services of the Great Feast of the Nativity of Christ were celebrated at the Diocesan Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God and the Holy Royal Martyrs in London by His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe. Co-served by the clergy of the Cathedral, Archpriests Peter Baulk, Vitaly Serapinas and Yaroslav Hudymenko, together with Deacons Andrei Borisas and Alexander Groves, His Grace headed the Divine Services of the Eve of the Feast and the Feast itself, accompanied by a large number of Altar servers and the Cathedral’s recently-expanded mixed-voice choir.

The Cathedral and its grounds were beautifully decorated for the Feast by the Sisterhood, which has itself undergone a great expansion during the present year and now brings together a very large number of women in the parish; together with children, who especially focussed on decorating the Cathedral courtyard and grounds. The interior of the temple was beautified with many flowers and greens, as well as the Cathedral’s traditional Christmas tree, which at last was illuminated at the Magnification of the festal Vigil.

Despite the challenges of the season and the need to adhere to the pandemic-related regulations currently in place, the faithful demonstrated that Orthodox piety cannot be halted by the hardships of the world, and the Divine Services of the feast were attended by enormous numbers of worshippers who came to venerate the birth of Christ into the world.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy of the Feast, Bishop Irenei greeted the faithful with the words of his nativity epistle, after which a festal meal was served by the Sisterhood in the Cathedral Hall.

On the third day of the Feast (Sunday), a children’s musical concert for the Nativity was held.

orthodox-europe.org