The visit will mark the 300th anniversary of Russian Orthodox Church presence on the British Isles and will become the first visit by a Russian patriarch to the country. The Orthodox Assumption parish was founded in 1716 by the Russian imperial mission. The Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh, which is the largest organization representing Russian Orthodoxy in the United Kingdom, currently centers on the Dormition Cathedral in London.
"The consecration of the cathedral dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God and All saints in London and a divine liturgy in the cathedral, as well as a prayer in the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and the Royal Martyrs will be the key events of the visit," Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk told RIA Novosti.
The Orthodox leader will also visit an event at the Royal Geographical Society, according to Hilarion.