On September 5, 2025, senior pastor of St. Mary’s Cathedral (St. Petersburg) Mikhail Ivanov baptized Darya. “This is what the Lord says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool'” (Isaiah 66:1). The believers experienced the power of these words with particular intensity, as the whole world became a church and the lake a baptismal font. Amidst nature, under a clear sky on an unexpectedly hot September day, they prayed for the blessing of Darya.

On September 7, Alexander joined the Annenkirche (St. Petersburg). At St. Mary’s Cathedral, the Confirmation of Irina and Ekaterina took place, and at St. Michael’s Church (St. Petersburg), the Confirmation of Nikita was held.

On September 14, when the Church celebrated Holy Cross Day, the Confirmation of Ilya and Sergei was held in Zelenogorsk. Also in the Kaukola congregation (Leningrad region), Vsevolod and Olesya were received as full members of the Church through the rite of Confirmation.

On September 18, at the Luga congregation (Leningrad region), the Confirmation of Evgeny and Svetlana took place during the evening liturgy.

On September 21, the Confirmation of Dmitry was held at St. Mary’s Cathedral. In Pushkin (a municipal town of St. Petersburg), when the Feast Day of the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew was celebrated, the Confirmation of Arina, Vitaly, Evgenia, and Igor took place.

On September 28, Natalya was baptized, and Olesya was confirmed at Annenkirche. At the Kazan congregation, the Confirmation of Leonid and Natalya was held. At Jaani Kirik (St. Petersburg), Umid, Alexander, and Taisiya were baptized, and Alexandra, Artyom, Valery, Ekaterina, and Maria were confirmed.

Special congratulations to infant Lev, the son of the dean of the Ural Deanery, pastor Artur Semyonov, and his wife Alina, on receiving the Holy Sacrament of Baptism at the Kazan congregation on September 7!