On Sunday 15th December, the Revd Canon Dr Arun John was licensed as the new chaplain of St Andrew's Anglican Church in Moscow, in a service led by the Archdeacon of the Eastern Archdeaconry, the Venerable Dr Leslie Nathaniel, acting as Bishop's Commissary

Canon John, who is originally from India, where he was ordained a priest in the Church of North India in 1977, was most recently chaplain of St Nicolas Anglican Church at the British Embassy in Ankara (Diocese in Europe) and previously served in England (Dioceses of Bradford, Blackburn & Leeds), South Africa and India

He was also licensed as Area Dean for Russia, meaning that he will also support the St Petersburg congregation, and the St Petersburg churchwarden, Maria Karyakina, attended the service, as did a representative from the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations

The service, streamed live on St Andrew's channel on YouTube, can be viewed here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf_hnXmOudA