Moscow, May 26, 2011
On
24 May 2011, the commemoration day of Ss Cyril and
Methodius, Teachers of the Slavs, and the Day of
Slavonic Literature and Culture, His Holiness
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated
Divine Liturgy at the Patriarch Cathedral of the
Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin. May 24 is also the
Name Day of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox
Church.
Concelebrating with His Holiness were permanent members of
the Holy Synod: Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Slutsk,
Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus; Metropolitan Juvenaly
of Krutitsy and Kolomna; Metropolitan Varsonofiy of
Saransk and Mordovia, chancellor of the Moscow
Patriarchate; and Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk,
chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for
External Church Relations (DECR).
Taking part in the celebration were Metropolitan
Elpidiphorus of Prusa, head of the delegation of the
Patriarchate of Constantinople; Metropolitan Athanasios of
Kyrenaika, representative of the Patriarch of Alexandria
and All Africa to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia;
Metropolitan Kirill of Varna and Veliki Preslav (Bulgarian
Orthodox Church); the assembly of hierarchs of the Russian
Orthodox Church; Bishop Kyrillos of Abydos (patriarchate
of Constantinople); schema-archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin);
archimandrite Stephanos (Dispirakis), representative of
the Patriarch of Jerusalem to the Patriarch of Moscow and
All Russia; archimandrite Theoctist (Dimitrov),
representative of the Patriarch of Bulgaria to the
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; archimandrite
Zacchaeus (Wood), representative of the Orthodox Church in
America to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia;
archpriest Vladimir Divakov, Patriarch’s secretary
for Moscow; archpriest Mikhail Ryazantsev, sacristan of
the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour; archpriest Nikolai
Balashov, DECR deputy chairman; ordained embers of the
delegations of the Local Orthodox Churches, and clergymen
from Moscow and Moscow vicinity.
The choir of the Sretensky stavropegic monastery conducted
by Nikon Zhila sang at the divine service.
Present at the Cathedral of the Assumption were Alexander
Beglov, deputy head of Presidential Administration of the
Russian Federation; Sergei Popov, chairman of the State
Duma Committee for Public Associations and Religious
Organizations; representative of the Russian Federation
state authorities and of diplomatic mission from the
countries of Orthodox tradition; participants in the
celebration of the Day of Slavonic Literature and Culture;
and clergy and laity of the capital city.
After the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk
and Slutsk read out the congratulatory address from the
Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church to His Holiness
Kirill on his Name Day and presented the Patriarch with a
copy of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God.
Archpriest Leonid Roldugin, rector of the Church of the
Nativity of Christ in Izmailovo, congratulated the Primate
of the Russian Orthodox Church on behalf of Moscow
clergymen and made him a present – a pectoral cross
and two panagias.
DECR
Communications Services
27 мая 2011 г.
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