Komsomolsk-on-Amur, October 2, 2014
On September 29, 2014, the missionary train, “Holy Hierarch Innocent of Irkutsk”, arrived in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, reports the Amur and Chegdomyn Diocese’s press service. In this way the missionary tour over settlements of the east branch line of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) railroad was completed.
This time the missionaries were blessed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, who from September 16, made a patriarchal visit to Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
During the journey the missionaries visited 10 settlements with a population of between 500 and 15,000 people. Supplicatory prayer services were performed in all populated localities. Divine Liturgies were celebrated in three localities, including the Uktur village, which has no registered parish.
Nevertheless, at the Divine Liturgy, served at the village’s church, 17 people took Holy Communion. In all villages the Sacrament of Baptism was performed for all those who willing to be baptized. In various inhabited localities the number of those receiving Baptism ranged from 3 to 17 people. Over the course of the journey 78 people were baptized, and the number of adults and children among them was nearly equal.
A Church wedding ceremony was performed in one of the settlements.
In most of the villages the missionaries visited secondary schools where they gave talks to schoolchildren. In addition to this, the missionary group members were invited to visit several military units, where discussions with servicemen were held and premises and military hardware were sprinkled with holy water.
The main relic in the tour was the Icon of Saint Nicholas the Wonder-Worker of Myra in Lycia, with a depiction of his miracles, painted with an enamel painting technique. It was donated by Patriarch Kirill for a permanent stay in the coach-church of the missionary train.
The fact that this Icon of St. Nicholas accompanied the missionaries on the trip was, beyond doubt, providential, as two of three churches in the itinerary of the missionary train were dedicated to this great saint.
Now in October the missionaries are setting out on a new journey. This time the train itinerary will pass through the north branch line of BAM over the Solnechny and Verkhnebureinsk districts of the Khabarovsk territory.
