On October 27, the Orthodox Church of St. John Climacus in Cape Town, South Africa, held a Divine Liturgy celebrated by parish priest Fr. Nikolai Esterhuizen. The service coincided with the Feast of the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, and following the liturgy, a blessing ceremony was held for two newly completed icons of Christ the Savior and the Korsun Mother of God. These icons, created by parishioner and iconographer Xenia Zimmerman, were recently added to the church’s iconostasis.

Zimmerman, trained in iconography in both the Netherlands and Russia, worked for several months on the icons under the guidance of Fr. Nikolai and with support from the parish community. Last year, she completed a smaller dome icon of Christ Pantocrator for the church.

Founded through the efforts of Fr. Nikolai and the parish community, St. John Climacus Church celebrated its first liturgy in April 2023. Services are conducted in Church Slavonic, English, and Afrikaans, serving a diverse Orthodox congregation, which includes Russians, Ukrainians, Serbs, English, and Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch settlers.