Archbishop Amfilohiy of Ust-Kamenogorsk led the celebrations on the occasion of the patronal feast in the St. Nicholas Church in the city of Ridder

On May 22, 2024, on the day of the celebration of the transfer of the relics of the saint and wonderworker Nicholas from Myra in Lycia to Bar, Archbishop Amphilochius of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the St. Nicholas Church in the city of Ridder.

Concelebrating with the archpastor were: the dean of the Ust-Kamenogorsk church district, Hieromonk Siluan (Magilev), the rector of the St. Nicholas Church, Archpriest Igor Kopylov, the rector of the church in honor of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Unexpected Joy” of the city of Ridder, Priest Andrei Lebedinsky, the cleric of the St. Nicholas Church, Priest Dimitri Nekterov, the cleric of the Tobolsk Metropolis, Priest John Kazantsev, secretary of the diocese, Deacon Ilya Kvan, Protodeacon Andrey Dudnik.

The chants were performed by the parish choir under the direction of N. Novichenko.

Before the start of the Liturgy, a meeting took place with the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, called “Quick to Hear,” which was painted in the Athos monastery of Vatopedi specifically for the St. Nicholas Church. The image was delivered to Ridder by the President of the Russian Charitable Foundation “Energy of Life” A.V. Kholdin.

The sermon on the sacramental verse was delivered by Hieromonk Silouan (Magilev).

After the prayer behind the pulpit, Archbishop Amphilochius performed glorification to the Myralician hierarch, after which he congratulated the rector, clergy and parishioners on the patronal celebration and addressed those gathered with a lesson.

In his response, the rector of the church, Archpriest Igor Kopylov, thanked the bishop and A.V. Holdin for the joy of joint prayer and a valuable gift - the image of St. Nicholas created on the Holy Mountain, which, according to the shepherd, will become an adornment of the St. Nicholas Church and an important shrine for all believing citizens.