A monastery dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary will open in Germany. The first service in the monastery church took place on the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. The Divine Liturgy was served by an Orthodox parish in the name of St. Athanasius the Great from the city of Trier, writes orthodoxianewsagency.

“The host of clergymen served in the house, which, according to local legend, was built on the site of the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In addition, there was a monastery here in the 17th century. The building is also a monument of German cultural heritage. It miraculously ended up in the ownership of the Orthodox community,” the TV channel reports.

Priest Timothy Katnis, head of the pilgrimage center of the Apostle Thomas, rector of the parish of St. Athanasius the Great in Trier, said that earlier this building was put up for sale on the Internet, but the community could not buy it because of the high cost.

The owners of the building, having found out that the Orthodox Church was interested in it, got in touch themselves and offered “conditions that were really unusual in that situation,” the priest said.

It is planned that the monastery will be able to receive a large number of pilgrims. Already now there are 60 cells in the building. It is also notable for the fact that it stands in the way of the Apostle James, a medieval pilgrimage route.

The consecration of the church in honor of the celebration of the Nativity of the Queen of Heaven will take place on September 21 at 10 am local time. It will be headed by Metropolitan Jeanne of Dubna (Rennetau), administrator of the Archdiocese of the Western European parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church.