New church of St. Paisios the Athonite consecrated in Syria

A new church dedicated to St. Paisios the Athonite was consecrated in Syria on July 11, on the eve of his feast. The church is located in the Monastery of the Lifegiving Spring of the Theotokos in the Syrian province of Latakia, reports Romfea.

A monastic tonsure was celebrated by Metropolitan John of Laodicea during the evening services, with Novice Keenan taking the name of Monk Paisios in honor of the great Athonite father.

The consecration of the church was celebrated by the protosinghel Archimandrite Alexios and the abbot of the Monastery of the Lifegiving Spring Fr. Michael (Yakub).

St. Paisios the Athonite was canonized just two years ago in 2015, but there are already a number of churches dedicated to him in various Orthodox countries. Another church in the Syrian city of Jaramana was consecrated by His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East in honor of St. Paisios on February 13 of this year. A chapel in honor of St. Paisios was built in the courtyard of the Church of St. Nicholas in Patras of the Peloponnese even before the saint was canonized, awaiting his canonization. His canonization was announced only a day after the chapel was opened.  

The Church of Sts. Arsenios the Cappadocian and Paisios the Athonite was opened in Ekale, Limassol, Cyprus in February 2015, and it was announced in March 2015 that another church in honor of the Athonite would be built in Chania, Crete. Servicemen of the small Greek town of Ambelonas (Thessaly administrative region) started construction on a church in honor of the then-newly-canonized saint in October 2015. Another church in Patras was consecrated to St. Paisios in March 2016.

Construction on the first Russian church in honor of St. Paisios began this summer in Crimea, although, while the Crimean temple will be the first built in honor of St. Paisios in Russia, an altar was consecrated to St. Paisios in March in the Church of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Vladimir in the northwestern Moscow district of Mitino, and the foundation stone of the first Belarusian church in honor of St. Paisios was blessed on October 2, 2016 in Slutsk in central Belarus.

Source: Orthochristian.com