The Orthodox Christians in our monastery church

Our Orthodox sisters and brothers around the world celebrate the Feast of Orthodoxy on the first Sunday of Lent. The feast commemorates the restoration of icon veneration in Constantinople on 11 March 843 by the regent Theodora II and Patriarch Methodios I.

For the past year, the Romanian Orthodox congregation, led by their priest Ovidiu Cozma, has been praying once a month in our monastery church. Since February, the Greek Orthodox congregation, led by their priest Nebojsa Grdinic, has also been meeting twice a month in our church to celebrate the Divine Liturgy.

On 9 March 2025, the first Sunday of Lent, the two Orthodox communities celebrated the Divine Liturgy together. Parts of the Liturgy were prayed in Greek, Romanian, Serbian and German, as this gathering was very international. This was followed by a procession with the icons in our inner garden.

A sign of unity and a shining testimony that Orthodoxy transcends national borders and brings all Christians together wherever they gather in the name of Christ. We are delighted that they have found a place of prayer in the Catholic monastery of the Redemptoristines in Vorarlberg.

“May they all be one: just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:21)