On the night of April 16th, in the city of Funchal on the island of Madeira, the Easter Vigil was celebrated. For the first time in many years, the parish was able to organize a nighttime service together with Midnight Office and Matins in the Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Santa Catarina Park in Funchal.
Over 60 people gathered for the service, including both island residents and tourists from Serbia, England, France, and Romania. The service was led by Father Pavel Sergiev, an extra-parochial clergyman of the Spanish-Portuguese Diocese assigned to temporary service on the island of Madeira.
After the service, Father Pavel blessed the Easter food.
Additionally, on Sunday, the Easter Vespers were celebrated at the Church of St. Spyridon of Trimythous in the village of Prezeresh.
Starting from the following Sunday, the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated weekly at 9:00 a.m. in the Church dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria. The parish also plans to organize meetings with the priest, study of the Holy Scriptures and liturgy, establish a folk choir, and fully develop the parish life. The parishioners express their gratitude to Archpriest Ioan, Hieromonk Nikolay, Bishop Peter, and all the clergy who served the divine services in this holy place and contributed to the development of the parish.
Presently, the Orthodox community on the island of Madeira consists of over 30 regular parishioners, and the parish has all the necessary items for the celebration of the services, including church utensils and liturgical literature.
