25 July 2020 года

Nizhny Novgorod Diocese’s address with regards to the celebrations of the feast of Venerable Seraphim of Sarov in Diveyevo

Brothers and sisters,

On August 1, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the uncovering of relics of Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov. Traditionally, the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery accepts thousands of pilgrims from every corner of Russia and abroad. This year, due to a difficult epidemiological situation, the memorial days of Venerable Seraphim of Sarov will be held at the presence of a limited number of monastery guests and pilgrims.

Following the directive by Rospotrebnadzor, the quarantine was lifted in the village of Diveyevo on July 24. Even so, there still exists a danger of contagion given the presence in the same location of people from various parts of the country and other states. We ask you to exhibit Christian patience and sound judgment by following all sanitary and anti-epidemiological requirements set up for pilgrims during their visit to the village of Diveyevo and the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery during the festivities.

Taking into account the high risk of a new infection outbreak, the decision was made not to set up a tent camp for pilgrims in the village of Diveyevo. The pilgrims entering the village by any kind of transportation will have to go through a control checkpoint where they will have to submit a record of a COVID-19 test result and a booking confirmation at local hotels and hostels for stays longer than one day. During a visit to the territory of the monastery, it is required to use hand disinfectants, maintain social distancing rules, and wear face masks. The pilgrims will be able to follow the services live via large outdoor screens that will be installed at the monastery grounds.

For those who decide to stay home, live broadcast of the Vigil service on July 31 and the Divine Liturgy on August 1 will be available via such TV networks as NNTV, “Vremya N,” “Soyuz,” “Spas,” as well as online: at the Nizhny Novgorod’s diocesan website, Diveyevo monastery’s website, “Vremya N” website, and on “серафим.рф.”

Source: nne.ru