Moscow, March 31, 2014
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will visit the Metropolia of St. Petersburg and the Diocese of Gatchina.
The visit will be timed to coincide with three remarkable dates: the 65th anniversary of the repose of St. Seraphim of Vyritsa, the 100th anniversary of foundation of the Cathedral of Protecting Veil of the Mother of God in Gatchina, and the100th anniversary since the consecration of the Church of the Kazan icon of the Mother of God in Vyritsa.
On April 3, 2014, head of the Russian Orthodox Church will celebrate a Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts at the Cathedral of Protecting Veil of the Mother of God in the town of Gatchina. On the same day in the village of Vyritsa, His Holiness will perform a prayer service in the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, near which the chapel above the final resting place of Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa is situated.
In the course of the visit His Holiness Patriarch Kirill is also expected to consecrate the site for laying of the foundation stone of the church in commemoration of the 700th anniversary since birth of Venerable Sergy of Radonezh in Gatchina, and to visit churches of the Diocese of Gatchina.
On April 2, head of the Russian Church will serve Matins with the reading of the Great Canon of Venerable Andrew of Crete and the life of Venerable Mary of Egypt ("Standing of Mary") at St. John's Stavropegic Convent on Karpovka.
