On February 17, 2016, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia visited the Bellingshausen Station on Waterloo Island in Antarctica.
On February 17, 2016, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia visited the Bellingshausen Station on Waterloo Island in Antarctica.
The first ever visit of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church to Antarctica took place at the invitation of the head of the Russian Antarctic Expedition, V. Lukin.
Patriarch Kirill led the congregation in prayer for the repose of the souls of ‘the dead servants of God who died in this place and worked here for the glory of our Motherland’. During the exploration of Antarctica, 64 Russian polar explorers died.
‘We are aware of how much time Your Holiness gives to the pastoral care of his flock both inside and outside Russia. Your prayers and pastoral word extend to the remotest parts of the planet where the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church eagerly await them. Having learnt about your intention to visit Latin America, we wholeheartedly invite you to visit, if possible, our Bellingshausen Station in which your compatriots have been on work watch since 1968. For us it is especially important in anticipation of the glorious jubilee of the Russian discoveries in Antarctica. We ask your Primatial prayers for all the Russian polar explorers who work in the land of Antarctica’, patriarch Kiril said.
Then His Holiness was taken on a tour of the station. In the common hall, he had a talk with the expedition members and numerous researchers of Chilean, Chinese and other expeditions, who came to meet the Primate of the Russian Church.