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On June 10, 2017, father Alexey Popkov served a Divine Liturgy in the city of Palmerston North, which is 150 km to the North of Wellington. During that service three boys were baptized: Dmitriy, Nikita and Maxim.

On that day about 20 people came to the Greek church of St. John the Baptist which was built in 1970s. Among them were not only Russian residents of the city but also people of other nationalities (Greek, Romanian). The priest and his family came together with several people from Wellington: two women singing in the church choir, and two men assisting father Alexey in the altar. The service was held in Old Slavonic language – the traditional language of Russian Orthodox church, but the excerpts from Holy Gospel were read in two languages: Russian and English.

After the service everyone was invited to the church hall to enjoy the treats prepared by the parishioners.

On the way to Wellington Alexey Kulikov suggested to visit a Greek monastery which is situated near the small town of Levin. In the monastery church father Alexey served a thanksgiving service.

After a visit to the monastery everyone went back to Wellington. Thank God for that beautiful day!

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