During the period of the Dormition Fast on the evening of Sunday August 9/22, а sister of the Holy Ascension Convent on the Mount of Olives, Kassiana (Soeoedor) was tonsured into the small schema. The Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky) performed the tonsure. The newly tonsured sister received the name Philoumena, in honor of the Holy Hieromartyr, St. Philoumenos of Sabaste, a member of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher who was viciously murdered at the well of Jacob in Nablus, Palestine in 1979.

After a word of edification, Fr. Roman entrusted the newly tonsured nun to the abbess of the convent, Abbess Barbara (Novikova) from whom shw received a blessing for the monastic path.

Mother Philoumena is of Estonian origen and was a spiritual daughter of the late Estonian nun, mother Ksenia (Salasoo) of the Mount of Olives.

 

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