Moscow, May 26, 2025
Photo: patriarchia.ru
The Russian Orthodox Church festively marked the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles to the Slavs, on Saturday, May 24.
The day is also celebrated as the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture and the name’s day of the primate of the Russian Church, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, who led a Divine Liturgy at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral with a host of hierarchs and clergy representing five Local Orthodox Churches, reports Patriarchia.ru.
Altogether, 37 hierarchs of the Russian Church served, as well as His Grace Bishop Stefan of Remesiana, the representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Moscow, and His Grace Bishop Alexei of Alaska of the Orthodox Church in America. The Jerusalem Patriarchate was represented by Archimandrite Stefan (Dispirakis), and the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia by Archimandrite Seraphim (Shemyatovsky). The OCA was also represented by Archpriest Daniel Andrejuk, its permanent representative in Moscow, and the delegation from Alaska, including diocesan chancellor Archpriest Daniel Charles, secretary and dean of the Cathedral of St. Innocent in Anchorage Fr. Thomas Rivas, rector of the Church of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God in Marshall Archpriest Maxim Isaac, and rector of St. Herman’s Theological Seminary and rector of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in Kodiak Archpriest John Dunlop.
Photo: patriarchia.ru
During the service, special prayers were offered for the unity of Holy Rus’ and for Pat. Kirill. At the end of the service, His Holiness read a prayer to the Enlighteners of the Slavs.
After “Many Years” were proclaimed for the Russian primate, a congratulatory address from the Holy Synod was read out and the Patriarch was gifted an icon of the Theotokos.
Then Pat. Kirill spoke about the primatial ministry and the Divine power that sustains the Russian Orthodox Church through persecution and difficult times:
I heartily thank all of you—first and foremost for your prayers. The more complex the Patriarch’s agenda becomes, connected as it is with the difficult circumstances that have visited our Church across the expanses of historical Rus’, the more one realizes what the real power of prayer truly is. It’s stronger than any human power, and these are not merely beautiful words—they’re based on our historical experience, on the experience of the Church’s life. God’s power is stronger than any human power…
This is what godless rulers and persecutors could never understand or agree with. The Church is a Divine institution. The Church, as God’s word says, is the Body of our Lord and Savior (Eph. 1:22-23). It can be wounded, as the Savior’s body was wounded on the Cross. It can be insulted, as the jeering crowd insulted the Savior hanging on the Cross. It can be ignored, as has happened throughout history, but it’s impossible to erase it from people’s lives and human history.
The Patriarch then presented an altar Gospel to the cathedral, and various Church awards were granted to several hierarchs for their labors for the good of the Church.
Bp. Alexei and the Alaska delegation presented the Russian primate with an icon of the recently canonized St. Olga.
Photo: patriarchia.ru
Later that day, the Patriarch attended a concert on Red Square in honor of the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture.
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