{"id":244589,"date":"2019-07-11T16:57:13","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T13:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=244589"},"modified":"2019-07-11T16:57:13","modified_gmt":"2019-07-11T13:57:13","slug":"first-church-of-st-luke-of-crimea-in-poland-consecrated-dedicated-to-victims-of-nazism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arhiva.basilica.ro\/en\/first-church-of-st-luke-of-crimea-in-poland-consecrated-dedicated-to-victims-of-nazism\/","title":{"rendered":"First church of St. Luke of Crimea in Poland consecrated, dedicated to victims of nazism"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. Luke of Crimea, known as the \u201cBlessed Surgeon,\u201d is loved and venerated throughout the Orthodox world, and churches dedicated in his honor have been built in a number of Orthodox countries. On June 22, the Polish Orthodox Church joined them, consecrating its first church to the great 20th-century saint in the village of \u0141a\u017anie in northeastern Poland.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new church, picturesquely situated in the Knyszyn Forest, in the Diocese of Bia\u0142ystok and Gda\u0144sk, is also dedicated to the memory of the 55 people who were killed by Nazis in \u0141a\u017anie in 1943.<\/p>\n

The consecration service was presided over by two hierarchs: His Eminence Archbishop Jakub of Bia\u0142ystok and Gda\u0144sk and His Grace Bishop Andrzej of Supra\u015bl.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s blessing upon the new church was already evident the night before, when a long-awaited rain poured forth at the end of the All-Night Vigil. \u201cThe joy of the faithful and the clergy increased at the appearance in the sky of a rainbow\u2014a symbol of the covenant between God and man,\u201d the Polish Church reports.<\/p>\n

The church was consecrated the next morning, with the walls being sprinkled with holy water and anointed with Chrism. The altar was also washed with rose water, wine, and holy Chrism. A particle of St. Luke\u2019s relics were also placed in the altar, according to tradition, and the first Divine Liturgy was then served on the newly-consecrated altar.<\/p>\n

The hierarchs were joined by clergy and pilgrims from the surrounding areas, as well as the fathers of Supra\u015bl Monastery.<\/p>\n

Following the service, Bp. Andrzej thanked all the donors who made the construction and furnishing of the church possible, many of whom were present, noting that the church is the first in Poland to be dedicated to the Blessed Surgeon.<\/p>\n

The church was built on land watered with the blood of those who were martyred by the Nazis in 1943, and its patron, St. Luke of Crimea, also suffered at the hands of both communists and Nazis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe church is a place of prayer for local residents and pilgrims seeking tranquility, God\u2019s help, and the intercession of the holy doctor,\u201d the Polish Church\u2019s report concludes.<\/p>\n