On Sunday 21st July on the day of the apparition of the Kazan icon of Our Lady in the city of Kazan, the Divine Liturgy in the Church of Saint Sergius of Radonezh in Johannesburg in South Africa was celebrated by the rector of the parish of Saint Thomas the Apostle in Bloemfontein Father Ioann Rossou.
One special feature of this day was that for the first time in Johannesburg an Orthodox service was held in the Afrikaans language.
Singing at the Liturgy was the choir of the Saint Thomas parish which performed the church hymns in Afrikaans and Church Slavonic, helping those present in the best possible way to understand the text of the prayers. On this day in the church there were praying both parishioners of both parishes and those who had only begun to express an interest in the Orthodox faith.
The participants of this special service then continued socializing at a meal to celebrate the occasion.
As reported by the website of the Saint Sergius Church in Johannesburg, this joyful event helped to strengthen the fraternal ties between the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in South Africa.
Patriarchal exarchate of Africa
Translation: DECR Communication service
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