JERUSALEM: March 10, 2016
The President of Romania Visits Ascension of the Lord Convent on the Mt of Olives

On Wednesday, March 9, 2016, Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), Chief of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, and Abbess Moisseia of Ascension of the Lord Convent on the Mt of Olives, Jerusalem, along with the nuns, greeted Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the gates of the convent. President Iohannis is currently on a state visit to Israel.

During the pilgrimage portion of his trip, the Romanian President visited holy sites including the Mt of Olives. Here, under the grand pealing of the bells of the “Russian Candle,” the tallest bell tower in the area, Fr Roman welcomed the esteemed guest, wishing him Divine aid in his service to the Orthodox Christians of Romania. Then, under the singing of the troparion of the Ascension, President Iohannis venerated the holy relics of the cathedral, where Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) is buried, at the Chapel of the Finding of the Honorable Head of St John the Forerunner, after which he expressed the desire to ascend the bell tower.

The President then met with the convent’s nuns, some of whom are Romanian by birth. After an exchange of gifts, President Iohannis bade farewell to Fr Roman, Mother Moisseia and the sisters and continued his pilgrimage in the Holy Land.