06-06-2026, Charleroi

Leave-taking of Pentecost at the Holy Trinity Church in Charleroi.

On the feast of the Leave-taking of Pentecost, Archbishop Simon of Brussels and Belgium celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Charleroi. Concelebrating with Archbishop Simon were Archpriest Pavel Nedosekin, rector of the church; Priest Adrian Alaoui, rector of the parish of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God in Brussels; Priest Andrei Popa, rector of the Church of Saint Righteous Anna in Laeken (Brussels); Priest Andrei Krayushkin, cleric of the Holy Trinity Church in Brussels; as well as Deacons Vladimir Gabernik, cleric of Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Brussels, Yaroslav Makal, Maxim Burla and Ilya Tonku, clerics of the Holy Trinity Church in Brussels.

After the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop Simon addressed the faithful with a word of edification, in which he spoke about the greatness of the feast of Pentecost, which is also called “the birthday of the Church”. Every Christian is called to experience this Pentecost inwardly, for when we invoke the Holy Spirit with the words “come and abide in us”, the human soul is spiritually transfigured.

The Archbishop also recalled the history of the church in Charleroi, which was founded more than one hundred years ago by Kornilov soldiers who had come to Belgium to work in the coal mines. Over the past century, the church also went through a period of decline: in the 1990s and 2000s, it was maintained by only two people, the married couple Anatoly and Claudia Kovaleni. At that time, the head of the Paris Metropolia on Rue Daru, Archbishop Sergius (Konovalov), having no priest available, appealed to Archbishop Simon with a request to send a cleric of the Diocese of Brussels and Belgium to Charleroi to assist the parish.

Today, the church is once again filled with faithful. The lamp of prayer in Charleroi continues to burn and to raise prayers to God. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated there every week.

After the service, all those present were offered a festive reception prepared by the faithful of the parish.