On 20 and 21 September 2025, His Eminence Metropolitan John of Dubna made a pastoral visit to the monastery of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Klausen, Germany, on the occasion of the monastery’s patronal feast.
On Sunday, 21 September, Metropolitan John of Dubna presided at the service of consecration of the altar of the Church of the Theophany, the monastery’s second church, concelebrating with the clergy of the Deanery of Germany.
Before the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop John tonsured two readers for the community.
After the service, Metropolitan John presented an icon to the servants of God Alexei and Elisaveta Karmakovy, benefactors of the monastery, in gratitude for their support of this holy place of the presence of the Mother of God. For their part, Alexei and Elisaveta gave the monastery a reliquary containing a piece of the Virgin’s veil from Mount Athos.
Metropolitan John also thanked Mr Alois Meyer, Mayor of the town, for his friendship towards the monastery. In turn, the Mayor emphasised the important presence of Orthodox Christians in his town and thanked the Archbishop, as well as Father Timophey Kitnis and the Karmakovy family, for having given new life to this emblematic place, so important for the town and for the pilgrims visiting Klausen.
A generous table was offered to all the pilgrims who had come in large numbers for this feast by the Ukrainian refugee parishioners living at the monastery.
