1943 1947 1950 1958 1961 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

1943    The Orthodox Christian community of believers in the settlement known as Saraktash was registered by the authorities in 1943. Church services were held at temporary premises (in a house located at Sverdlov Street, 25, a half of which the owner rented to the community of the faithful.)
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1947    On August 8 the district council allotted a plot of land (Lenin Street, 69) to the Orthodox Christian Community for the construction of a building devoted to prayer. Local authorities established the time period within which all construction had to be completed: one year and three months. Faithful adherents to the Orthodox Christian faith unselfishly donated all they could afford (even to their last means of support during the very difficult, economically impoverished post-war years) for the construction of the prayer building. Nevertheless, since they had failed to meet the deadline, an order (#101) dated June 1, 1949, was duly issued by A. Berezin, the representative for Peoples Affairs, a sub-division of the U.S.S.R. Council of Ministers in the Chkalov region. It declared that: "The incomplete cult building is to be removed from the Orthodox community's control and is to be given to the Saraktash local council of People's Deputies to be re-equiped as a school."

After a period of time had elapsed, the Orthodox Christian faithful were granted permission to construct a church building at Pobeda Street, 43, on a plot of land then serving as a kitchen garden near a priest's house. While construction was underway, church services were held in a prayer house on Pushkin Street.
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1950     In early 1950 it was decided that the name of both the Orthodox community and the church would be in honor of the especially venerated saint of the Near Urals - the Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura. On May 31 (O.S.) / June 13 (N.S.) Bishop Boris (Vic) of Chkalov consecrated the altar for the celebration of divine services.
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1958    Orthodox Christian believers suffered numerous afflictions and calmly accepted vicious insults during the construction phase of the church building. At this very time hundreds of church buildings in both distant and nearby villages and towns were closed and subsequently either used for other secular purposes, or entirely destroyed.

By God's will, however, the magnificent temple honoring the Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura was finally completed. It was designed and later constructed in the ecclesiastically traditional style of a ship - a haven, a heavenly refuge from the tumultous seas of our earthly existence. The long-awaited consecration of the newly built church building was celebrated by Bishop Mikhail (Voskrensensky) of Orenburg and Buzuluk.
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1961    During the sixties Russia once again suffered from a maliciously-planned, ferociously-driven wave of theomachism. Both the church community of Saratash and the Church of the Righteous Saint Simeon were most definitely not spared. Days immediately preceding the celebration of the great and holy feast of Pentecost in A.D. 1961, the most beautiful temple and its protectors were ruthlessly attacked in broad daylight.

To prevent Orthodox Christian parishioners from protecting both the church building and its holy images (and relics), firemen brutally attacked the believers and left them lying beaten on the ground.

Finally, godless men using tractors pulled down the church building's onion-shaped dome, a symbol which til today represents the unremitting, flaming love in men's hearts for our Creator and His creation.

Deprived of any Christian symbols that at one time had testified man's love for the One, true God, the now empty and desolate building was converted into a children's day nursery. Because of the lack of appropriate and most necessay accommodations such as water and water drains, and due to the poor maintenance of these premises which produced less than adequate heating and was plagued by frequent drafts, children were very often ill.
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1989    Following numerous years of brutal suppression by atheistic rule, the Orthodox Christian faithful were once again permitted to organize a church community in the Saraktash settlement, in the Orenburg region.

In an extremely dilapidated state, the church building at Lenin Street, 69, which had never been completed and had at one time in 1949 been withdrawn by atheistic authorities from the Orthodox community, was returned to the Orhodox Christian faithful.
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1990     In early April Archbishop Leontiy, of Orenburg and Buzuluk appointed Priest Nikolai Stremsky to the Saraktash diocese. On April 7 on the very day of the celebration of the Annunciation and thirty years following the destruction of the Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura Church, the first Holy Liturgy was celebrated in the temporarily arranged Pokrovsky prayer house in Saraktash.

This first Holy Liturgy in the Pokrovsky prayer house was held on a mobile alter within a poorly-maintained and dimly lit room. Dark blue walls were adorned with lithographed icons which had darkened in the course of time. The only exterior decoration was an iron cross perched on the roof.

Nevertheless, an extraordinary event occurred in April, 1990: a miraculous renewal of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The icon had originally been typographically printed most probably at the end of the nineteenth, or the beginning of the twentieth century. By the time that the prayer house was permitted to open once again, this icon had so darkened that the image of the Theotokos was hardly recognizable. It was therefore decided to remove it from the wall where it had been hanging many years prior to the reopening of the prayer house. Some days following this decision when people arrived at the prayer house and more closely scrutinized the icon, they were greatly surprised to see that the icon had brightened up; one could very easily see the images of the Virgin and the Saviour. In the course of time the icon gradually became more and more luminous. This very icon is currently in the Church of the Epiphany.

While the confiscated church building (i.e. the former Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura Church) hadn't been serving for thirty years, the purpose for which it had originally been constructed, the Orthodox Christian faithful often submitted appeals to the Saraktash district and Orenburg regional Councils of People's Deputies for the return of the church building. Batches of letters had during this period been forwarded to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. in Moscow.

It was only as late as 1990 that Moscow granted permission. A telegram from the Chairman of the Committee of the Supreme of RSFSR ("responsible" for the freedom of conscience and creeds) dated October 4 offered the authorities of the regional council the opportunity "...to positively consider the petition of Orthodox believers concerning the return of the church on Pushkin Street in Saraktash within which a kindergarten had been occupying the church, an appropriate premise...".

In November of 1990 an Orthodox Christian church school began to operate. Initially catechism was taught in the old prayer house; children aquired an active interest concerning the creation of the world and the Church's holy feast days. Only when the Church of the Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura building was returned to the community was the decision made to build a new ediface for the church school.

Students of the church school have periodically visited the Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra. A number of church school graduates have been admitted to theological institutions, others have become chanters, and others sisters of charity.
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1991    On April 17 the parish council decided to found the House of Mercy as an integral and necessary unit under the direction of the Holy Protecting Veil (of the Intercession) parish. The first inhabitants, elderly, destitute persons who had absolutely no means of family support, and thus, requiring permanent care, were housed in a rather small house close to the church.

During this same month inhabitants of the settlement rejoiced when the building (once a ruined church and later a daycare/kindergarten establishment) at Pushkin Street, 77 was turned over to the Orthodox Christian parish for renovation.
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1992    By the summer of 1992 the construction of the primary theological-parish school was completed. Each lesson in the theological-parish school always begins with a prayer. Along with the regular educational curriculum, Church law, hagiography (lives of saints), the ecclesiastical Slavonic language, and church singing are also taught to the school's students.

The temple building of the Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura was reconstructed and soon consecrated on September 25, the patron saint's feast day.

In His infinite wisdom, God granted Father Nikolai Stremsky and his Matushka Galina a special kind of family. In 1992 fifteen young orphans ranging in ages from one and a half to seven years who had absolutely no guardianship of any kind were adopted into the family. The family has since gradually grown.
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1993    Construction of the House of Mercy took place during the 1993-94 time period. Then, in the autumn of 1994 Archbishop Leontiy consecrated the House of Mercy in honor of Saint Nicholas the Confessor, and Saint Panteleimon the Healer.
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1995    The construction of the a children's residential building (within which a home church in honor of Saint Nicholas the Wonder Worker would be established) was begun.

In this very same year a small bakery, a sewing workshop, and a small farm were established in the same complex housing the elderly.
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1996    The theological-parish school was elevated in status to that of an Orthodox gymnasium and named in honor of Saint Sergiy of Radonezh. The Board of Education for the Orenburg region granted the school the license to perform all necessary educational activities in preparation for government-approved certificates of graduation.

In the spring of 1996 a commemorative cross (on the bottom of which marble tablets were placed and inscribed with the names of clerics, monks, and laity who had been martyred during the years the Soviets were in power) was erected in the cloister.

September 6 will always be remembered in Saraktash as the day Alexsey, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia visited the cloister's clerics and parishioners, and the residents of the House of Mercy.

With Archbishop Leontiy's blessing, a community consisting of sisters of charity was created within the charitable House of Mercy complex. These sisters fulfill various obediences such as care for the sick, elderly, and children, and laundry and kitchen work.

The Church of the Theophany was consecrated by Archbisop Leontiy on December 16. In the center of the church there currently is a large baptistry to enble adults to be fully immersed during the Holy Mystery of Bapism. Both a library and a bookstore have been established at the entrance of the temple to enable parishioners and visitors to purchase religious books, videos, and tapes.
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1997    On August 31, 1997, a three-storied building housing an Orthodox gymnasium for 120 students was consecrated by Metropolitan Leontiy of Orenburg and Buzuluk.
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1998    On September 8 Metropolitan Leontiy also consecrated a residential building (the construction of which had been underway since 1995) for the Stremsky children, and the residential building's home church named in honor of Saint Nicholas

The inscription, "For merits and assistance offered at the Cloister of Mercy in Saraktash settlement" was inscribed on a commemorative medal and released to the public in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Church of the Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura's founding. The medal has the image of the Holy Trinity and Saint Nicholas on one side, and the image of the Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura on its reverse side.
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1999    On August 28 the first two women were tonsured in the Cloister of Mercy. Having arrived from the Holy Trinity-Saint Sergiy Lavra, Hegumen Vissarion (Ostapenko) admitted Stremskaya Maria Stepanovna to the veil giving her the monastic name Margarita, and Shchepeleva Valentina Evgenyevna giving the name Valeria.

In September of 1999 Archbishop Valentin of Orenburg and Buzuluk blessed the establishment of Orthodox eparchial courses at the Holy Trinity Cloister of Mercy.

On September 30, 1999, the Veil of the Holy Protection (of the Intercession) parish in the Saraktash settlement was established as part of the Holy Trinity Orthodox charitable Cloister of Mercy.
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2000    On April 15 the Pokrovsky Prayer House was consecrated by Archbishop Valentin of Orenburg and Buzuluk.

Under the presidency of the Patriarch of Moscow, Aleksey II, the Holy Synod approved the Orenburg Eparchical Theological School as an accredited educational institution on July 19. Later in the year on September 26 the Board for the Administration of Vocational Education in the Orenburg region (a department under the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation) granted a license to the school to begin functioning as a secondary vocational school.
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2001    ; In the month of June twelve students became the first graduates of Saint Sergiy of Radonezh Orthodox Gymnasium to receive certificates of both a secondary education and Orthodox Christian instruction.

During this same year a building commission consisting of representatives of the Council (of the Cloister of Mercy), parishioners, and the Orenburg architect who had originally designed the building housing the Cloister of Mercy was organized to examine the deteriorating structural condition of the Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura Church. The commission concluded that it was more practical to dismantle the church building rather than to restore it. The Church of Righteous Saint of Verkhotura at the Cloister of Mercy in the Saraktash settlement was demolished in accordance with the decision of the commission, and with Valentin's (Archbishop of Orenburg and Buzuluk) blessing.

On August 21 the service of the laying of the foundation stone for the newly named Holy Trinity Cathedral was performed in the Cloister of Mercy at the same location upon which the Church of Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura had previously stood.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral (a smaller version of the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Orenburg that was blown up by communist authorities in 1932) will, when completed, have two floors: the lower temple with the central altar dedicated to Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura, the right chapel dedicated to passion bearers Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra and their children martyrs, and the left chapel dedicated to Martyr Makariy of Orenburg; the upper temple with the central alter dedicated to the Holy Trinity, the right chapel dedicated to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, and the left chapel dedicated to Saint Sergiy of Radonezh.
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2002    While still under construction a public prayer ceremony in commemoration of the first anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone for the Holy Trinity Cathedral was held on August 21 in the lower temple (Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura).

On September 25 the first Divine Liturgy in the lower temple was celebrated on the saint's feast day, celebrating the first transference of the holy relics of Righteous Saint Simeon of Verkhotura the Wonder Worker. This holy day was especially bright and joyous for our Orthodox Christian community since Archbishop Valentin of Orenburg and Buzuluk and many other clergy who served with him were in attendence.

On December 16 the very first radio broadcast of the radio magazine Bulletin of Orthodox Spirituality for Saraktash's Spiritual District was aired. Radio listeners in both Saraktash and nearby communities at long last had the opportunity to listen to priests' sermons, enjoy Orthodox Christian music and psalmody, learn more about our faith's feast days, and to pose questions and immediately receive answers over the air. The radio magazine is broadcast by the All-Russia Orthodox Radio Station Radonezh.
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2003    The first graduation ceremony of senior students of the Saint Sergiy of Radonezh Orthodox Gymnasium took place. Elena Zernova received the first silver medal.
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2004    Metropolitan Valentin of Orenburg and Buzuluk handed out awards to the clergy of Saraktash's Orthodox Christian community following the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on Thursday of Bright week.
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2005    On the night from January 30 to January 31 a short circuit caused fire on the husbandry farm belonging to the House of mercy.

On March 3, 2005 a memorable event took place at the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy: the first domes with crosses were consecrated and mounted on the Holy Trinity church under construction.

On April 24, 2005 the largest bell in the Orenburg eparchy was consecrated and mounted on April 25 at the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy.

On June 20, 2005 the solemn graduation ceremony was held at the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy, in the Orenburg eparchial ecclesiastical school and in the Orthodox St.Sergius gymnasia.

On July 1, 2005 on the Seventh Friday after Easter the religious procession with cross and banners took place. The replicas of the icon of Our Lady of Tabyn worshipped in our region were carried towards the Poklonny cross near the House of Soviets. Cossaks of the Spassky cossak community participated on the ceremony.

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2006    On January 7-8, 2006 three festive Christmas concerts were held: at the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy and at the former pottery plant.

On February 5, 2006 a fragment of the relic of St.Alexander Nevsky arrived from Belyayevka.

In February 2006 at the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy bells were mounted on the belfry on the Holy Trinity church under construction.

On April 6, 2006 the St.Sergius orthodox gymnasia of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy was visited by the participants of the regional seminar "The development of the system of quality soicial services in upbringing and providing additional education for children.

On April 9, 2006 the lower temple of the Holy Trinity church under construction was consecrated at the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy. This is a temple named after St. Simeon of Verkhotursk, the miracle-worker, whose name was given to another church which had existed earlier in Saraktash and had become dilapidated. In the temple under construction, consecrated by his grace Valentin, the Metropolitan of Orenburg and Buzuluk, he ordained at the blessing of the Patriarch, with the order of archpriest the priest of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy Alexander Mikhailov.

April 23, 2006, our Lord's Resurrection, the Easter. Divine services were held at five temples of the Cloister of Mercy: Epiphany church, St.Simeon church, St.Nicholas church, Pokrovsky church (Saraktash settlement), Kazan church (village of Tcherkassy), Archangel Michael church (village of Zholtoye).

April 27, 2006 On Thursday of the Seven Days the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy was visited by his Grace the Metropolitan of Orenburg and Buzuluk Valentin.

On May 7, 2006 the St.Sergius chapel of the lower St.Simeon temple of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy was consecrated.

On May 12, 2006 with the blessing of the Metropolitan Valentin as a gift to the cloister of mercy the myrrh replica of the miraculous icon of Our Lady "Skoroposlushnitsa" was taken to the cloister. This wonder-working icon was presented to the cloister by the parish of the village of Verkhnyaya Platovka of the Novosergiyevka district. The icon is now exhibited to the right of the iconostasis of the central chapel of the St. Simeon church of the Holy Trinity cloister.

On May 21, the day of celebrating the memory of the saint apostle evangelist John at the St.John church of the village of Tcherny Otrog after the divine liturgy His Grace Agafangel, the Metropolitan of Odessa and Izmail ordained with the order of archpriest the deacon of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy Vassily Tchernov.

On June 18, 2006 the graduation ceremony tool place at the Orthodox St. Sergius gymnasia and the Orenburg eparchial ecclesiastical school in the setllement of Saraktash. Three graduates were trained by the gymnasia and the ecclesiastical school trained six priests and two regents. At the St.Simeon church of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy following the divine liturgy public prayer devoted to the graduation was held.

On July 9, 2006 the shrine with a fragment of the relic of St.Nicholas was delivered to theHoly Trinity cloister of Mercy. The shrine with this relic of the saint particularly revered in Russia and the whole - not only orthodox world - is permanently preserved in the St.Nicholas cathedral of Orenburg. At the blessong of Valentin, the Metropolitan of Orenburg and Buzuluk, the priest Alexander Azarenkov - prior of St.Dmitry Solunsky church of the village of Belyayevka of Saraktash district in early july for five days made missionary trips with this shrine to a number of towns, setllements and penitentiary institutions of the Orenburg region. The shrine was delivered to Saraktash, too.

July 12, 2006 - the commemoration of St. Peter and Paul, the end of the Peter fast. The divine service was held in St.Simeon and St. Nicholas churches at the Cloister of Mercy.

July 25, 2006 - the 30th anniversay of the elevation to the order of bishop of the ruling bishop of Orenburg and Buzuluk eparchies of the Metropolitan Valentin (Mishchuk). On the Orenburg pulpit since 19.07.1999.

On August 17, 2006 taking monastic vows occurred at the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy. At the blessing of the Metropolitan of Orenburg and Buzuluk Valentin the ceremony was conducted by Father-Superior Simeon (Kholodkov), the prior of the St. Peter and Paul church of Novotroitsk, in the lower St. Simeon temple of the Holy Trinity cathedral of the cloister of Mercy.

On August 31, 2006 at the St.simeon church of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy after the divine liturgy there was public praying devoted to the beginning of the new academic year.

On September 19, 2006 at the palace of culture "Russia" of the Orenburg state university the traditional Sixth september concert of quoirs of orthodoc churches in the Orenburg and Buzuluk eparchy took place, it was devoted to the birth of Our Lady.

December 19, 2006. The patronal festival of St.Nicholas in the home St.Nicholas church.

December 29, 2006. At the blessing of the Metropolitan of Orenburg and Buzuluk Valentin in the village of Pervaya Alexandrovka the consecration of the cross for the dome of the St.Makary of Orenburg church under construction was conducted.

December 29, 2006. The general annual assembly of the staff of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy took place. the prior of the cloister archpriest Nikolay Stremsky adressed those present with a preach, where, for instance, he summed up the results of the expiring year and expounded plans for 2007. He particularly stressed the necessity of spiritual development of the staff of the cloister.

December 31, 2006. The patronal festival at the cloister of Mercy - celebrating St.Simeon of Verkhotursk (1694) whose name was given to the lower temple of the Holy Trinity church of the cloister. On the eve and on the very day of the festival with the participation of many people divne services in the St.Simeon of Verkhotursk church was conducted by the prior of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy the archpriest Nikolay Stremsky with the whole clergy of the cloister.

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2007    On January 1, 2007 with the blessing of the Metropolitan of Orenburg and Buzuluk Valentin. the priests of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy headed by the prior Nikolay Stremsky held the first evening divine service in St.John of Kronshtadt church of the Orenburg eparchial ecclesiastical schoolon the premises of the former faience factory. The priests of the Cloister of Mercy, students and collaborators of the Orenburg ecclesiastical school hope that in the near future the consecration of the church will take place with the participation of the Metropolitan Valentin.

On January 2, 2007, the very day of commemorating St. John of Kronshtadt, the wonder-worker (1908), in the church of the Orenburg eparchial ecclesiastical school the first divine liturgy took place. It was conducted by the prior of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy archpriest Nikolay Stremsky assisted by the clergimen of the Cloister.

During the night from the 6th to the 7th of January in all the churches of the Cloister of Mercy festive public worship took place.

On January 8, 2007 at the orthodox St. Sergius of Radonezh gymnasia a matinee for young children and a concert for the students of the gymnasia were held.

On January 18, 2007 the Great consecration of water on the eve of the Epiphany was conducted at the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy.

At the Holy Trinity cathedral under construction the painting of murals was started. The work is being carried out by a team of icon-painters headed by Pavel Nikulin from the Holy Trinity Sergius monastery from Sergiev Posad of the Moscow region.

On February, 16, 2007 the exhibition "The Apostle of Japan" dedicated to the 170th anniversary of St. Nicolas of Japan was inaugurated in the Orenburg regional museum of local lore.

On February 17, 2007 in the Orenburg Palace of culture "Rossiya" the Day of the young orthodox christians of Orenburg was held. By the blessing of the prior of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy the archpriest Nikolay Stremsky the vice-rector of the Orenburg ecclesiastical school Alexander Romanenko and all the students took part in the festivities.

February, 21, 2007. The penance canon of St. Andrew of Cretes at the evening sermon in the church of St. Simeon of Verkhotursk is read by the prior of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy Nikolay Stremsky and the priests of the cloister.

In February 2007 the premises of the administrative building at the former pottery plant were started to be transformed into housing facilities for the students of the Orenburg ecclesiastical school.

In March 2007 one of the shops at the former pottery plant was transformed into a sports and fintness hall.

In March, 2007 the web site of the Orenburg eparchial ecclesiastical school was opened: oedy.stobitel.ru

On March 25 2007, at the blessing of the Metropolitan of Orenburg and Buzuluk Valentin the ceremony of taking the veil took place. It was carried out by the celibate priest Nikodim (Martynov). The sister of the nunnery of the cloister of Mercy Lyudmila Vladimirovna Alekseyeva wore a cassok and the dweller of the House of mercy Valentina Filippovna Afstakhova took the veil under the name of Varvara. It is noteworthy that the ceremony was held on the day of her 70th anniversary.

On March 25, 2007, the Metropolitan of Orenburg and Buzuluk Valentin visited the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy. In the morning, assisted by the clergy of the cloister, he conducted the divine liturgy in the church of St. Simeon of Verkhotursk, and in the evening, in the same church, he served vespers.

On March 29, 2007, in the village of First Alexandrovka of the Saraktash district the consecration of bells and icons took place.The bells were mounted on the belfry of the church and from now on they will call the villagers to the mass.

The mural painting of the upper temple of the Holy Trinity church under construction is going on.

April 8, 2007, our Lord's resurrection, Easter. Solemn divine services were held in the churches of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy. In the temple of St.Makary of Orenburg located in the village of First Alexandrovka of the Saraktash district the festive divine liturgy was held at the field altar.

On April 12, 2007, the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy was visited by the Metropolitan of Orenburg and Buzuluk Valentin.

On April 15, 2007, at the Orenburg drama theatre the 6th traditional Easter charity concert was held with the participation of the girls' choir of the family of the prior of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy archpriest Nikolay Stremsky and matushka (mother) Galina Stremskaya and the psaltery player Denis Stremsky.

On April 23, 2007, their Graces Metropolitans Kirill and Valentin, accompanied by the governor of the region Aleksey Tchernyshev paid a visit to the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy.

On May 2-3, 2007, a conference of rectors of Ecclesiastical schools of the Russian orthodox church was held in Yekaterinburg. The Orenburg ecclesiastical school was represented by its rector archpriest Nikalay Stremsky and the vice-rector for educational work the priest Alexander Romaneko. The organization of the conference was assured by the archbishop of Yekaterinburg and Verkhotursk.

May 9, 2007 Remembrance in prayer of warlords and warriors who sacrificed their lives on battlefields of the Great Patriotic war. Services for the dead were held in churches.

May 17, 2007, the festival of the Ascension of Our Lord. The divine service was held in the St.Simeon church of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy.

May 22, 2007 - the Transfer of the relic of St. Nicholas to Bar (1087). The patronal festival in the St.Nicholas home church.

May 27, 2007, Holy Trinity patronal festival of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy. The festive divine service took place in the lower temple of St. Simeon of Verkhotursk. The liturgy was conducted by the prior of the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy assisted by the clergy of the cloister.

On June 17, 2007 the graduation ceremony was held at the Orenburg eparchial ecclesiastical school and at St.Sergius orthodox gymnasium in Saraktash.

On July 5, the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy was visited by the participants of the conference "Christian-islamic dialogue and the challenges of the civilisation.

August 13, Monday of the 12th day, the eve of the festival of the Origin of honest wood of Our Lord's cross.

August 19, the Transfiguration our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ.

August 28, the Assumption of Our Lady.

September 1, a new academic year began at the Oenburg eparchial ecclesiastical school and at the St. Sergius orthodox gymnasium of Saraktash.

In the Nicholas home church and and in the Epiphany temple of the Holy trinity cloister of Mercy the first stage of murals was completed. The second stahe of mural painting - covering the surface with a protective layer - will be made approximately half a year after the completion of painting works.

On September 16, 2007 the Holy trinity cloister of Mercy was visited by His Grace Mark, the archbishop of Berlin and London (the Russiaan orthodox church abroad).

September 25, 2007 - the patronal festival at the Holy Trinity cloister of Mercy (the Day of the transfer of the relic of saint Simeon of Verkhotursk.

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The Holy Trinity Cloister of Mercy In Sarsktash settlement,Orenburg and Buzuluk Eparchy