St. Gregory Peradze, Priest and Martyr
Polish Orthodox Church
Karina Michaluk
07.12.2010
In the days of the liturgical memory of St. Nicholas – December 6, the Orthodox Church in Poland recalls the Georgian saint, an associated with our country professor of Orthodox Theology at Warsaw University – St. Archimandrite Gregory (Peradze). On December 6 in 1942, at 16.45 – according to the telegram sent by the commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp – a martyr’s death of Archimandrite Gregory took place (probably by firing squad) and on December 6 in Poland the Orthodox worship his memory.
Traditionally, the parish feast of the Orthodox Pastoral Point of St. Archimandrite Gregory (Peradze) in Warsaw was attended by many visitors from Georgia. They will also take part in the beginning yesterday IX Annuaal Caucasus Conference of St. Gregory Peradze at the Warsaw University.
On Sunday evening in the temporary headquarters of the Pastoral Point in 31 Wilcza St. in Warsaw, father Henryk Paprocki and father Arthur Aleksiejuk together with archimandrite Adam (Achaladze) of Georgia served the all-night vigil. Yesterday’s festive Divine Liturgy was presided by the Archbishop of Gori and Santavissi Andrew. During both services sang choir of the Pastoral Point enriched with voices of friends and visitors. At the end of the all-night vigil, participants gathered around the table, which featured the traditional Polish and Georgian meatless dishes. There were a variety of salads, cakes, fruits and Georgian chaczapuri or aczkaladze (hazelnuts in frozen grape juice) and the symbolic amount of Georgian home wine. There were endless discussions about the Polish-Georgian relationships, common meetings in the past and friendships that established between those attending the Pastoral Point in Wilcza St. and guests from Georgia.
It is worth mentioning that all services in the Orthodox Pastoral Point of St. Gregory (Peradze) in Warsaw are celebrated only in Polish, which undoubtedly facilitates active participation in them to the people of our country, as well as to an increasing number of Georgians living there. The emergence of community was totally grass-roots initiative of lay Orthodox worshippers. A few years ago a group of (mainly) students applied to the head of the Orthodox Church in Poland for a permit for the services in the Polish language. They prepared liturgical music (initially using the assistance of Wroclaw), several of them learned to conduct the choir, thay also manage to persuade to the idea first priests. The services take place in the lent by the Polish Catholic Church chapel, which is far too small to accommodate all who wish to participate in celebrations in the Polish language. In fact the parishioners expect to finish the space in Lelechowska Street in Warsaw, where the icon museum with the active chapel soon will take over the celebration.
Photo by Adam Góralczuk
