by Iuliia Zaitseva
Blagovest-info.ru, 13 December 2009
A celebration devoted to the tenth anniversary of the reconsecration of the Catholic cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the cathedral church of the archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, was held on 12 December on Malyi Gruzinskii street.
The festival mass was led by the ordinary of the Moscow archdiocese, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi. Concelebrating with him were the apostolic nuncio to the Russian federation, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, and Bishop Kirill Klimovich, the ordinary of the diocese of St. Joseph in Irkutsk, and also about fifty Catholic priests. The festival liturgy was attended by a representative of the Russian Orthodox church, secretary for inter-Christian relations of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate, Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov. On this festival day a multitude of laity and monastics worshiped in the cathedral church.
In his homily at the liturgy, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi referred to the dramatic fate of the church, which was subjected to desecration and damage in the 20th century. He said: "The cathedral church, built at the beginning of the last century, shared the fate of the majority of churches of Russia, falling under the yoke of militant atheism." Speaking of the repressions to which many clergy and laity were subjected, Paolo Pezzi recalled only three names which are inextricably associated with the church of the Immaculate Conception: these were its first rector, Fr Mikhail Tsakul (1885-1938), who was shot in the Butovo Polygon; Fr Leonid Fedorov, exarch of Catholics of the Eastern Rite, who "between a time of release and of imprisonment" served on Malyi Gruzinskii his last Easter service, and vice-exarch of Russian Catholics Fr Sergei Soloviev, grandson of the famous Russian historian S.M. Soloviev and nephew of the no less famous Russian religious philosopher Vladimir Soloviev. The memorial of the thousands of martyrs of the past century is always present in the daily celebration of the bloodless sacrifice throughout the world, Archbishop Pezzi noted.
He proposed remembering in prayer all those who built the church and regenerated it after many years of neglect, including Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, during whose time in the Moscow see the return and restoration of the cathedral occurred.
Metropolitan of Minsk and Mogilev Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz sent his own congratulations, read by the general secretary of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia, Fr Igor Kovalevskii. The letter writer recalled the celebration ten years back on the occasion of the reconsecration of the cathedral, which was performed by the papal legate, Vatican State Secretary Cardinal Angelo Sodano, with 35 bishops and 150 priests concelebrating and with an enormous crowd of people. According to Archbishop Kondrusiewicz, this event marked a new stage in the life of the regenerated Catholic community of Russia. "This decade has shown that the cathedral church has become not only the religious center of Catholic life in Russia, but also the center of a multiconfessional society and culture," Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz wrote from Rome.
"This church has synthesized, in its history of numerous sufferings which Christians of the Soviet Union experienced, the story of the martyrs and confessors of the twentieth century," the representative of the Holy See in Russia, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, said in his words of greeting. "Although the Catholic community in Russia is small, it can have great significance for the entirety of Russian society to the degree that it will preach the good news of Christ and witness to the universality of the Gospel," noted Archbishop Mennini. He conveyed to the bishops, priests, and laity assembled for this festive day in the cathedral the greetings and blessings of Pope Benedict XVI.
Bishop Kirill Klimovich gave words of greeting to those assembled, devoting his speech to the special intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom the cathedral church is consecrated. In reply, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi thanked everyone and turned also to the priest of the Russian Orthodox church Igor Vyzhanov, assessing his presence at the festive mass "as a sign of friendly relations which exist between our churches" and which will develop "for the sake of our common witness to Christ."
"We congratulate the Russian Catholic community for its tenth anniversary of the consecration of the Moscow cathedral church," Fr Vyzhanov said in an interview with "Blagovest-info." He told how ten years ago, when he was still a layman, he participated along with Fr Ilarion, the current chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of MP, in ceremonies on the occasion of the consecration of the Catholic cathedral church. At the time a great impression was made upon him by the fact that the church, which can accommodate 5,000 persons, was packed and that the celebration was attended by representatives of many states, the diaspora, which appeared under "curious" circumstances: "At the time I arrived late and I had to push through a wall of people, and complaints flooded upon me in many different languages. I then felt that this church has become a house of prayer for people of diverse nations," Fr Igor recalled with a smile. "The presence of such a place of worship of Catholics from Moscow, as a megalopolis on a world scale, is quite natural," he added. [. . .]
Information: The neo-Gothic cathedral, which can accommodate 5,000 worshippers, was built in 1901-1911 by architect F. Bogdanovich-Dvorzhentsky. The church was closed in 1938 and it was turned into a dormitory. The building suffered under bombardment by German aviation in the 1940s. In 1956 the church housed "Mosspetspromproekt." The building was completely reconstructed, and the main volume of the internal space was divided into four stories. In 1976 a new plan for the restoration of the building was devised with the intent of creating a hall for organ music, but this plan was never carried out.
The church was returned to the Catholic community in 1996. After extensive restoration work the church was reconsecrated on 12 December 1999 by the legate of Pope John Paul II, Vatican State Secretary Cardinal Angelo Sodano. The cathedral church in Moscow is the largest Catholic church in Russia. (tr. by PDS, posted 18 December 2009)
Blagovest-info.ru, 13 December 2009
A celebration devoted to the tenth anniversary of the reconsecration of the Catholic cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the cathedral church of the archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, was held on 12 December on Malyi Gruzinskii street.
The festival mass was led by the ordinary of the Moscow archdiocese, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi. Concelebrating with him were the apostolic nuncio to the Russian federation, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, and Bishop Kirill Klimovich, the ordinary of the diocese of St. Joseph in Irkutsk, and also about fifty Catholic priests. The festival liturgy was attended by a representative of the Russian Orthodox church, secretary for inter-Christian relations of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate, Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov. On this festival day a multitude of laity and monastics worshiped in the cathedral church.
In his homily at the liturgy, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi referred to the dramatic fate of the church, which was subjected to desecration and damage in the 20th century. He said: "The cathedral church, built at the beginning of the last century, shared the fate of the majority of churches of Russia, falling under the yoke of militant atheism." Speaking of the repressions to which many clergy and laity were subjected, Paolo Pezzi recalled only three names which are inextricably associated with the church of the Immaculate Conception: these were its first rector, Fr Mikhail Tsakul (1885-1938), who was shot in the Butovo Polygon; Fr Leonid Fedorov, exarch of Catholics of the Eastern Rite, who "between a time of release and of imprisonment" served on Malyi Gruzinskii his last Easter service, and vice-exarch of Russian Catholics Fr Sergei Soloviev, grandson of the famous Russian historian S.M. Soloviev and nephew of the no less famous Russian religious philosopher Vladimir Soloviev. The memorial of the thousands of martyrs of the past century is always present in the daily celebration of the bloodless sacrifice throughout the world, Archbishop Pezzi noted.
He proposed remembering in prayer all those who built the church and regenerated it after many years of neglect, including Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, during whose time in the Moscow see the return and restoration of the cathedral occurred.
Metropolitan of Minsk and Mogilev Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz sent his own congratulations, read by the general secretary of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia, Fr Igor Kovalevskii. The letter writer recalled the celebration ten years back on the occasion of the reconsecration of the cathedral, which was performed by the papal legate, Vatican State Secretary Cardinal Angelo Sodano, with 35 bishops and 150 priests concelebrating and with an enormous crowd of people. According to Archbishop Kondrusiewicz, this event marked a new stage in the life of the regenerated Catholic community of Russia. "This decade has shown that the cathedral church has become not only the religious center of Catholic life in Russia, but also the center of a multiconfessional society and culture," Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz wrote from Rome.
"This church has synthesized, in its history of numerous sufferings which Christians of the Soviet Union experienced, the story of the martyrs and confessors of the twentieth century," the representative of the Holy See in Russia, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, said in his words of greeting. "Although the Catholic community in Russia is small, it can have great significance for the entirety of Russian society to the degree that it will preach the good news of Christ and witness to the universality of the Gospel," noted Archbishop Mennini. He conveyed to the bishops, priests, and laity assembled for this festive day in the cathedral the greetings and blessings of Pope Benedict XVI.
Bishop Kirill Klimovich gave words of greeting to those assembled, devoting his speech to the special intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom the cathedral church is consecrated. In reply, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi thanked everyone and turned also to the priest of the Russian Orthodox church Igor Vyzhanov, assessing his presence at the festive mass "as a sign of friendly relations which exist between our churches" and which will develop "for the sake of our common witness to Christ."
"We congratulate the Russian Catholic community for its tenth anniversary of the consecration of the Moscow cathedral church," Fr Vyzhanov said in an interview with "Blagovest-info." He told how ten years ago, when he was still a layman, he participated along with Fr Ilarion, the current chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of MP, in ceremonies on the occasion of the consecration of the Catholic cathedral church. At the time a great impression was made upon him by the fact that the church, which can accommodate 5,000 persons, was packed and that the celebration was attended by representatives of many states, the diaspora, which appeared under "curious" circumstances: "At the time I arrived late and I had to push through a wall of people, and complaints flooded upon me in many different languages. I then felt that this church has become a house of prayer for people of diverse nations," Fr Igor recalled with a smile. "The presence of such a place of worship of Catholics from Moscow, as a megalopolis on a world scale, is quite natural," he added. [. . .]
Information: The neo-Gothic cathedral, which can accommodate 5,000 worshippers, was built in 1901-1911 by architect F. Bogdanovich-Dvorzhentsky. The church was closed in 1938 and it was turned into a dormitory. The building suffered under bombardment by German aviation in the 1940s. In 1956 the church housed "Mosspetspromproekt." The building was completely reconstructed, and the main volume of the internal space was divided into four stories. In 1976 a new plan for the restoration of the building was devised with the intent of creating a hall for organ music, but this plan was never carried out.
The church was returned to the Catholic community in 1996. After extensive restoration work the church was reconsecrated on 12 December 1999 by the legate of Pope John Paul II, Vatican State Secretary Cardinal Angelo Sodano. The cathedral church in Moscow is the largest Catholic church in Russia. (tr. by PDS, posted 18 December 2009)
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