The community of the parish of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary in Kemerovo, Siberia, solemnly began its jubilee year on the 15th anniversary of the consecration of the church. The Redemptorists of the Warsaw Province have been working there for almost 30 years.
The jubilee celebrations began with a concert performed by the “ACADEMY Music Theater” under the direction of Professor Inna Shorokhova. In the concert program, entitled “In praise of you, O Lord, we sing,” we heard songs on religious themes beautifully performed by students of the Kemerovo Institute of Culture.
Among the guests were: Bishop Joseph Werth of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Novosibirsk; Bishop Daniel, Auxiliary Bishop of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Kuzbas; a representative of the Kuzbas Spiritual Center of Muslims, Ruslan Mukhamedshin; pastors of the Protestant Church, Yuri Stolarev and Vladimir Arendarenko. Also present were members of the clergy of the Orthodox Church and friends of the parish.
On September 29, at 10:00 a.m., the solemn Holy Mass began, presided over by Bishop Joseph Werth. It was co-celebrated by Fr. Pawel Jurkowski CSsR, parish priest of the parish in Kemerovo, and Fr. Andrzej Lecieć CSsR, parish priest of the parish in Orenburg, who participated in the anniversary celebrations with his parishioners.
The Bishop emphasized the historical significance of this important date. In his homily, he said that many generations of believers have asked God for the gift of a church. The road to realizing the project of building a church has been long. The dream of a temple has been nurtured since the beginning of the community, when the first Redemptorists, Fr. Dariusz Lysakowski from the Warsaw Province and Fr. Anthony Branagan from the Dublin Province, began working in Kemerovo. These prayers were answered thanks to the efforts of the Redemptorist missionaries who worked in Kemerovo in those years: Frs. Zenon Gieniec, Grzegorz Lachowicz, Andrzej Legieć, Paweł Mroczek and Artur Wilczek.
On the occasion of the jubilee of the consecration of the church, congratulations and greetings were sent, among others, by the Apostolic Nuncio to Russia, Archbishop Giovanni d’Aniello, by the Metropolitan of Kuzbas Mons. Aristarchus, by the Chief Mufti of Kuzbas Tagir Khazrat Bikciantaev, by the Governor of Kuzbas Ilia Serediuk.
Today the parish in Kemerovo is a place of prayer for the local community. Under the guidance of the parish priest, in addition to the usual pastoral work, various projects are implemented in the parish.
Since 2017, the project “Music in Church” has been inviting people from the city and the province to get acquainted with the pearls of musical culture. The artists come from Russia and other parts of the world.
The MAGIS Choir, active in the parish for 5 years, has 80 members of various professions, ages, and faiths. The choir’s repertoire includes both spiritual and secular music.
The parish also has a children’s ensemble, FASOLKI, and organizes Christmas festivals, conferences, and meetings.
The parish also carries out charitable activities, such as the SARI solidarity “shop” project, which invites people to share with those in need. The parish also has an organ school for children and adults, language courses and, in the last year, we have started a project for a café open to all, the “Monastery Kitchen.”
With grateful hearts, we send you all our warmest greetings!
Fr. Paweł Jurkowski CSsR,
Parish Priest in Kemerovo, Siberia
(source: www.redemptor.pl)
