St. Matrona of Moscow Orthodox Church in Lima, Peru. Founded in 2013, it is a parish of the Diocese of Argentina and all South America under the Moscow Patriarchate. An older Orthodox Community existed in the city in the 1950s, which founded the Holy Trinity Church now under Antioch, but it ceased to be Russian over time as the Russians there dwindled. The parish was revived to support the Russian community in Lima, but has also drawn in an increasing number of Peruvian converts. At one point they met in a Roman Catholic church, but later switched to a rented room. Most recently the faithful have been meeting in the Holy Trinity Church, which was the original Russian Orthodox parish in Lima.
St. George Cathedral in Chicago, IL. Founded in 1915, it is a cathedral of the OCA Diocese of the Midwest. The current church was built in 1935, and attained cathedral statue when Met. Benjamin and Bp. Theodore resided there in the 1940s. The iconostasis was completed in 1955, with all of its icons being replicas of those found in St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Kiev. At some point the cathedral moved from ROCOR to the OCA, but to this day it continues to use a mix of English and Church Slavonic and serve on the Old Calendar. The rector, Fr. Nicholas, was ordained by the recently reposed Abp. Peter, expressing the unity that exists between Orthodox Christians of different jurisdictions.
This event is a blessing that demonstrates that the missionary labors of the Church are reaching their way back into Orthodox countries. In this way the Church is not found only in Greece or Russia, but in the whole world.
Orthodox Cross in Tsrancha, Bulgaria. This 60-foot cross was erected in 2022 on the territory of the Eparchy of Plovdiv under the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. This cross stands in the St. George the Victorious Park that is a key part of the village. Met. Nicholas of Plovdiv served the consecration, which was celebrated on the Feast of the Holy Archangels. Bp. Arseny of Znepol was also present, as well as clergy and mayors from nearby villages. The Church can glorify God in many ways, and planting crosses to bear witness of our faith is an important but often forgotten means of doing this.
