A panihida in memory of those killed during WWII was served at the Cross Shrine on the grounds of the Embassy of the Russian Federation Embassy to China.
The panihida was attended by the staff of the Embassy and Russian Commercial Representation to China and their family members, parishioners of the Orthodox community of the Dormition of the Theotokos. Archpriest Dionisy Pozdnyaev served the panihida.
The Cross Shrine was placed in the Embassy park on April 19, 1997 with the blessing of His Holiness Alexy, Patriarch of Moscow "in honor and memory of compatriots who died and were buried in this land".
Memorial prayers for warriors who lost their lives for the great motherland, traditionally opens the Russian Embassy's official Victory Day events. Representatives of the CIS countries and other guests arrive here on this day. Students of the embassy school prepared a solemn open-air concert drew a big audience. One of the central activities of the celebration was the grand opening of a new playground on the territory of the Embassy.
Tatiana Manakova The community of the parish of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Beijing
Photo: D. Pavlenko