In honor of the feast, an icon of the Holy Trinity, presented by Russian President Vladimir Putin, was placed at the altar. President Putin visited the Holy Trinity Church on June 19 as part of his visit to North Korea.

The festive service was attended by Ambassador Alexander Matsegora and numerous diplomats and staff from the Russian Embassy in North Korea. After the service, a friendly tea party organized by the Committee for Orthodoxy in North Korea took place. The chairman of the committee, Yu Yong Ryong, delivered a welcoming speech. Ambassador Matsegora expressed gratitude for the diligent work in maintaining the church, a significant place for Russians living in Pyongyang. He also thanked Archbishop Theophanes for his inspiring sermon on the occasion of the feast, which motivated further spiritual efforts.

The Holy Trinity Church in Pyongyang was founded in 2003. The late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ordered the construction of an Orthodox church in Pyongyang after visiting the Church of Saint Innocent of Irkutsk in Khabarovsk during his trip to Russia's Far East in 2002. Korean builders completed the construction of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity Church in the summer of 2006. The church was consecrated on August 13, 2006, by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, who is now the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

Photo: Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia / exarchate.asia