On April 16, on the day of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, the Easter Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the church of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Elena, located on the territory of the summer residence of the Consulate General of Russia in Istanbul. The divine service was led by the priest Georgy Sergeyev, responsible for organizing the care of the flock of the Russian Orthodox Church in the territory of the Republic of Turkey.
Believers of the Moscow Patriarchate living in the cities of Bursa and Kocaeli also arrived in Istanbul for the festive service. More than 220 people attended the Liturgy. At a special litany, special prayer petitions were announced and a prayer for Holy Russia was read.
At the end of the service, Father George read out the Easter Message of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, and then addressed the audience with a welcoming speech. After the service, those present in the church were invited to a festive meal.
On April 15 and 16, the services of Great Saturday and the Bright Resurrection of Christ were held for the first time at the Russian House in Ankara. With the blessing of Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, the services were performed by the cleric of the Kolomna Diocese, Priest Yevgeny Dolya, they were visited by more than 130 compatriots, as well as the director of the Russian House in Ankara, A. Sotnichenko, and employees of the Russian diplomatic mission. More than 80 people took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. After the Easter Service, the parishioners gathered for a festive meal in the courtyard of the cultural center.
On the Easter holiday, a divine service was also held for believers living in the Turkish city of Antalya. More than 150 people gathered for the Liturgy, which was performed by Priest Alexy Golovin, who was responsible for the care of the Russian-speaking flock in this city; parishioners of the community who came from Marmaris were also present.
In the Antalya city of Alanya, the Easter service was performed by the priest Dimitri Bogatyr, responsible for the care of the Russian-speaking flock. More than 130 people took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
With the blessing of the DECR Chairman Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Priest Vladislav Ratnikov, a postgraduate student at the Sretensky Theological Academy, was sent to perform the Easter Service in Izmir. The service was organized with the assistance of the chairman of the Russian Society. Solzhenitsyn in Izmir by A. Ponomarev. The Easter Liturgy was celebrated in the church of St. Vukol of Smyrna, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey. Compatriots who live in Izmir, as well as in the city of Kusadasi located a hundred kilometers away from it, came to the festive service. There were more than 80 Russian-speaking believers from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia.
Hieromonk Palladiy (Bystrov), a resident of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, officiated for the employees of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant under construction on Easter Night. More than 150 people prayed at the Divine Liturgy.
On April 20, the Thursday of Holy Week, Priest Georgy Sergeyev celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate living in the city of Eskisehir, which is located in the central part of Turkey.
The next day, on the Friday of Holy Week, an Easter service was held in the city of Samsun, located on the Black Sea coast of Turkey. The Divine Liturgy was served by the priest Georgy Sergeyev. About 40 people attended the divine services these days, most of whom took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.