On the 4th Sunday of Advent, December 18th, the Russian and Ukrainian speaking fellowship in the Mollardgasse celebrated a special occasion. The two leading couples, Iryna and Artsiom and Olga and Vladimir, were blessed and the two men were ordained. The ordination as “elders” follows the approach of the Network of Russian-Speaking Churches in the EBF and makes the two pastors who can now carry out all the official acts in their context.
Even if, as many pointed out, this ordination came rather late, it was still cause for celebration. Both Vladimir’s mentor and the pastor from the church in Kyiv were present, as well as Brother Gennadi from the Czech Republic, whose support was part of the initial founding of the Slavic Fellowship group in the Mollardgasse. Father Juri Kolasa, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Vienna for the Eastern Catholic Churches, who is a close friend of Vladimir, was also among the guests. Dietrich Fischer-Dörl, pastor of Mollardgasse Baptist Church and president of the Baptist Union passed on greetings on behalf of both his church and the Union. We rejoice with our brothers and sisters in the Slavic Church Fellowship and wish them God’s richest blessings.
