Archbishop elevated Abbot of Scotland's only Orthodox men's monastery

The Archbishop of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Atanasie, elevated the abbot of the country's only Orthodox male monastery to the rank of archimandrite during a pastoral visit to Scotland. Seraphim Aldea, superior of the Monastery of the "Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints of the Island of Iona," received the distinction in recognition of his long-standing pastoral and missionary work. This was reported by Basilica. The pastoral visit took place between January 28 and 30 on the islands of Iona and Mull, which are considered important centers of Orthodox monasticism in Scotland. During the Divine Liturgy in the church of Kilninian, Archbishop Atanasie also ordained the monk Donnán as deacon. The monastic communities on the islands are internationally diverse and unite religious members from several European countries as well as from North America.

The Orthodox monastic community was founded in 2010 when Father Seraphim took over the historic church of Kilninian on Mull, whose spiritual roots date back to the 6th century. A permanent Orthodox presence on the island of Iona has existed since 2022. In 2023, the monastery was officially recognized by the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis for Western and Southern Europe. Today the community comprises a women's monastery on Mull and the men's monastery on Iona.

Previously, UOJ reported that five adult baptisms took place in a ROCOR parish in England.

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