On October 19, the day of the memory of the Apostle Thomas, in coordination with the Antiochian Patriarchate, the second church service in Church Slavonic for Russian-speaking believers took place in Mersin (Turkey).
According to the website of the churches and communities of the Moscow Patriarchate in the territory of the Turkish Republic, the Liturgy was celebrated by the cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church, Hieromonk Palladius (Bystrov), with the blessing of Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, who nurtures the faithful at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. A number of provinces in the southeastern part of modern Turkey are the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Antioch.
In the churches of the Patriarchate of Antioch, divine services are performed in Arabic or Turkish. The service of the Liturgy in the Church Slavonic language becomes a unique opportunity for Russian-speaking compatriots living in these places to pray in their native language.
The first such service was held in the Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (Patriarchate of Antioch) on July 7, 2024. At that time, more than 30 Russian-speaking believers living on the southeastern coast of Turkey in the cities of Mersin, Adana and Silifke prayed, confessed and took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
After the completion of the Divine Liturgy, all those present were invited to a joint meal and conversation, which took place in an atmosphere of goodwill and lively communication between representatives of Syrian and Russian cultures.