Moscow, February 4, 2019
Photo: patriarchia.ru His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy on Friday, February 1, the 10th anniversary of his enthronement as primate, at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral together with primates and representatives from 10 other Local Churches and the autonomous and self-governing bodies of the Moscow Patriarchate and a host of hierarchs from the Russian Orthodox Church, reports the site of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The service was led by His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East, Pat. Kirill, His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, His Beatitude Metropolitan Rostislav of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada.
The primates were concelebrated by a number of hierarchs from throughout Russia as well His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir of Chișinău and All Moldova, His Eminence Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Metropolitan Daniel of Tokyo and All Japan, and a number of other hierarchs from throughout the Russian Church.
They were also concelebrated by the hierarchs and priests of the delegations from the Alexandrian, Antiochian, Georgian, Serbian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Polish, Czech and Slovak, and American Churches. The Church of Jerusalem was represented by the Patriarchal representative to the Patriarch of Moscow Archimandrite Stefan (Dispirakis) who prayed in the altar.
Photo: patriarchia.ru A number of public officials were also present.
The service was sung by the choir of Christ the Savior Cathedral and the brothers’ choir of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. The exclamations were read in Church Slavonic, Arabic, and English.
Special petitions were prayed for the unity of the Orthodox Church and its preservation from division and schisms, for peace in Ukraine, and for Pat. Kirill.
Photo: patriarchia.ru At the end of the Liturgy, Pat. John of Antioch congratulated Pat. Kirill on his anniversary and offered him the gift of a patriarchal staff made in Damascus.
Met. Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine then read out the congratulatory address from the members of the Russian Holy Synod and presented the Russian primate with an altar cross and a set of two Panagias and a pectoral cross.
Photo: patriarchia.ru Pat. Kirill then addressed all participants with a primatial word in which he spoke of the weight of the cross of the patriarchal ministry and the support he feels from the prayers of all the hierarchy, clergy, monastics, and people. He also emphasized the need to defend the canonical norms of the Church in order to defend its unity.
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