Budapest, August 23, 2022
mospat.ru
The feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord proved to be an especially joyous occasion in Budapest, as hierarchs from six Local Churches came together to concelebrate the Divine Liturgy in a spirit of pan-Orthodox unity.
The service was held at the Russian Orthodox Holy Dormition Cathedral. In addition to the feast of the Transfiguration, it also marked the 35th anniversary of the ordained ministry of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Budapest, reports the ROC’s Department for External Church Relations.
In January 1987, Met. Hilarion entered the Holy Spirit Monastery in Vilnius, Lithuania. He was tonsured as a monk and ordained to the diaconate that June, and to the priesthood on the feast of the Transfiguration, August 19, that year.
The Liturgy was headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Timothy of Bostra of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, with the concelebration of Met. Hilarion of Budapest, His Eminence Archbishop Tikhon of Ruza (Moscow Patriarchate), His Grace Bishop Lukian of Budim and His Grace Bishop Irinej of Bačka (Serbian Patriarchate), His Grace Bishop Siluan of Gyula (Romanian Patriarchate), His Grace Bishop Gerasim of Melnik (Bulgarian Patriarchate), and His Eminence Archbishop Michael of Prague and His Eminence Archbishop Juraj of Michalovce and Košice (Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia).
The hierarchs were also joined by seven priests and five deacons from Hungary, Germany, and Serbia. The service was celebrated in Slavonic, Hungarian, and Romanian.
Met. Hilarion read a prayer for the restoration of peace during the service, and afterwards he blessed the fruit brought by the faithful.
Following the dismissal, Met. Timothy of Bostra congratulated Met. Hilarion on his anniversary, noting his exceptional contribution to the strengthening and spreading of the Orthodox faith and conveying the good wishes of His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem.
The other visiting hierarchs also conveyed the good wishes of their respective primates. Abp. Michael of Prague also presented Met. Hilarion with the Order of the Holy Martyr Gorazd, I Degree.
Met. Hilarion thanked the visiting hierarchs for their kind words and their concelebration, noting that there has never been such a service in the Holy Dormition Cathedral, where nine hierarchs from six Local Churches served together.
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