On June 9, 2024, in the Week of the 6th Easter, on the Blind, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Kaliningrad.
Holy Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Kaliningrad.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was greeted at the gates of the cathedral by: Acting Governor of the Kaliningrad region A.S. Besprozvannykh; Patriarchal Vicar of the Kaliningrad Metropolis Metropolitan Seraphim of Baltic and Svetlogorsk; Secretary of the Kaliningrad Metropolis, rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kaliningrad. Archpriest Maryan Pozun; Archpriest Mikhail Seleznev, the clergyman of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Kaliningrad; young narmen of the Aviator squad of the Moscow Public School No. 19 in Kaliningrad.
His Holiness was served at the Liturgy by: Metropolitan Seraphim of Baltic and Svetlogorsk; Bishop Nicholas of Chernyakhovsk and Slavsk; Bishop Alexis of Ramensk, personal secretary of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill; Archpriest Maryan Pozun; Archpriest Joseph Ilnitsky, rector of the Church of the Great Martyr Barbara in Svetlogorsk; Archpriest Sergius Alexievich, secretary of Chernyakhovskaya Archpriest Georgy Urbanovich, senior priest of the Church of St. Cyril and Methodius of the Equal Apostles of Kaliningrad, head of the Spiritual-Educational Center Kaliningrad Diocese, dean of the Assumption District of the Kaliningrad Diocese; Archpriest Mikhail Seleznev, clergyman of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Kaliningrad; Archpriest Sergius Korotkikh, rector of the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross in Kaliningrad, head of the Religious Department of the Diocese of Kaliningrad. Archpriest Vladimir Maximov, rector of the Church of Prince Vladimir of the Equal Apostles in the village of Chkalovsk; Archpriest Alexander Sokolov, rector of the Church of Prince Alexander Nevsky in Kaliningrad; Archpriest Vladimir Dorovsky, rector of the Church of the Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God in Kaliningrad, head of the department of religious education and catechesis of the Kaliningrad Diocese. Priest Igor Ilminsky, rector of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Zelenogradsk, dean of the Transfiguration District of the Kaliningrad Diocese; Priest Sergius Vasilevsky, rector of the Church of the Immortalized Martyrs Cosmas and Damian in Kaliningrad, dean of the Primorsky District of the Kaliningrad Diocese; and Priest Sergius Vasilevsky, rector of the Church of the Immortalized Martyrs Cosmas and Damian in Kaliningrad, dean of the Primorsky District of the Kaliningrad Diocese. priest Evgeny Nazarenko, rector of the Church of Martyr Lydia in Kaliningrad, head of the department for cooperation with the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Kaliningrad diocese; clergy of the Kaliningrad Metropolis and Moscow.
The temple was attended by: Acting Governor of the Kaliningrad region A. S. Besprozvannykh; Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the North-West Federal District R. V. Balashov; Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Budget and Financial Markets A. V. Shenderyuk-Zh.V. Shenderyuk-Zhidkov; member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation A.G. Yaroshuk; deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs M.E. Orgeeva; chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Kaliningrad region A.M. Kropotkin; representatives of the Kaliningrad region administration.
At the service prayed abbess of the nunnery in honor of the icon of the Mother of God «Derzhavnaya» Chernyakhovskaya diocese Abbess Sophia (Herhenreder), abbess of the Elisavetinsky nunnery Chernyakhovskaya diocese Abbess Elisaveta (Koltsova), abbess of the nunnery of the Great Martyr Catherine in the village of Rodniki, Kaliningrad diocese Abbess Feodosia (Izgina), sisters of the Sisterhood of Charity in the name of the Venerable Martyr Grand Duchess Elisabeth, students of the Orthodox Gymnasium of Kaliningrad, and young soldiers.
The liturgical chants were performed by the choir of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Kaliningrad under the direction of Elena Shevlekova and the amateur choir of the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle in Kaliningrad under the direction of Natalia Pashutina.
GTRK-Kaliningrad, «Soyuz», «Spas», as well as on the official portal of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarchy.ru, the Patriarchal Divine Service was broadcast live.
At the Litany of Liturgy special petitions were offered, the Primate of the Russian Church read a prayer for Holy Russia.
The sermon before Communion was delivered by Priest Alexander Topchiy, clergyman of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Kaliningrad.
At the end of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Seraphim of Balti and Svetlogorsk greeted His Holiness and presented His Holiness with an icon of Prince Vladimir the Equal-to-the-Apostles and Cyril the Slovene Teacher.
At the end of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Seraphim of Balti and Svetlogorsk greeted His Holiness and presented His Holiness with an icon of Prince Vladimir the Equal-to-the-Apostles and Cyril the Slovene Teacher.
Holy Patriarch Kirill addressed the faithful with Holy Father Vladyka presented an icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Holy Vladyka donated an icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov to the temple. In gratitude for his work for the good of the Holy Church, the Primate presented Metropolitan Seraphim with a commemorative cross and panagia.
Hegumen Elisaveta (Koltsova) was presented by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with the Patriarchal cross with decorations «in gratitude for her labors, for strengthening the monastic life here and for her loyalty to the Church and the Patriarch throughout all the years of her stay as a faithful member of the Church of God in the Kaliningrad land». In her response, Matushka Elisaveta thanked His Holiness Vladyka for the high award.
For their courageous pastoral ministry in military conditions, the medal of the Order of Prince Demetrius of the Don was awarded to: Archpriest Georgy Biryukov, rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit in the town of Nesterov, Kaliningrad region, and Priest Konstantin Kiosev, rector of the Church of Prince Alexander Nevsky in the town of Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region.
In conclusion, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill exhorted the faithful:
«May God protect the land of Kaliningrad, the Church present here, our people staying here and all Russia, which today is fulfilling an epoch-making role, holding the Kaliningrad region in check. the spread of godlessness, the denial of God and the Church on the scale of human civilization.
When I say such words, they are usually met with incredible reactions, anger, accusations. But we will not stop talking about it, because that is the way it is. If somewhere temples are empty because people are leaving them, our temples are overflowing, because modern people living in Russia have combined in their consciousness, in their hearts both faith in God, and scientific knowledge, and modern culture. And this historically important synthesis is the true civilizational achievement of Russia, which can thus affect the life of the entire human race.
May God protect our country, Orthodox President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, our episcopate, clergy, monastics and all our pious people. Christ is Risen!
Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
