Moscow, May 25, 2024.
On the evening of May 24, 2024, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia attended a concert dedicated to the Day of Slavonic Script and Culture. By tradition, the festive concert on this day was organized on Red Square in Moscow, Patriarchy.ru reported.
The event was organized by the Government of the Russian Federation, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Moscow City Government, and the Federal State Budgetary Institution Roskonzert.
Performed by the Consort Choir of the Bolshoi Theater and the State Academic Symphonic Chapel of Russia under the baton of Valery Polyansky were the Troparion of Easter (music by A. Kastalsky), the Troparion to the Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius and the poem "To the Russian Land".
His Holiness was invited to the stage. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation D.N. Chernyshenko.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church made a welcoming speech:
"Christ is Risen!
I would like to cordially greet you all on Red Square on the day when we celebrate the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius. They were holy people, servants of the Church of God, but at the same time they accomplished a feat of great cultural significance. They created an alphabet for the Slavs, who were completely illiterate at that time, and then on the basis of this alphabet they created a grammar and a language. In other words, these people opened for the Slavic peoples the possibility to acquire knowledge, and thus to radically change their cultural status, their cultural position.
And we know that from rather aggressive, self-contained tribes, the Slavs became a people of high culture, open to the world. And, perhaps, this potential, laid down by St. Cyril and Methodius, was most vividly revealed in the history of our multinational nation, which has reached very great heights in its cultural development, scientific, educational development and other areas of life. And we remember these people, truly heroes of the spirit, who left a very special mark in the history of the Slavic peoples and, of course, in the history of our nation.
I am glad that the day of commemoration of St. Cyril and Methodius has become a holiday not only for the Church. In fact, one memory of what these two brothers did for the culture of the Slavic peoples cannot leave an attentive observer indifferent. They can be compared to pioneers - to those who discovered foreign lands and whole continents. And for us, for our people and for other Slavic peoples, they opened a treasury of knowledge. And it is wonderful that the memory of them today is noted not only in the church calendar, but our state has contributed to the fact that this day has become a national holiday.
And God grant that the feat of Saints Cyril and Methodius will be actualized in our lives. Our people are capable of creativity, of development, of new discoveries. And I am absolutely sure that many great achievements are still waiting for us. But the most important thing that is required of us is that we should not lose our cultural identity. We must not lose ourselves, our cultural identity. national and religious consciousness. We must remain a nation with a powerful spiritual and cultural potential. And if so, then new prospects will undoubtedly open up before our Fatherland, including in cultural life, in science, in art, and the result will be the strengthening of Russia's authority in the world.
By the prayers of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, may God protect the Russian land, our Fatherland and all those who are ready to work in the cultural field, continuing the great mission of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers. I congratulate you on this holiday!"
Then D.N. Chernyshenko spoke. The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia congratulated His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the day of his namesake and presented him with a bouquet of white roses. The combined choir sang "Long live long summer".
The concert program was conducted by Ksenia Alferova and Timur Solovyov.
The concert was attended by: Metropolitan Yuvenaly (Poyarkov); Metropolitan Grigory of Voskresensk; Metropolitan Nikandr of Naro-Fominsk; Metropolitan Nikandr of Naro-Fominsk; Metropolitan Nikandr of Voskresensk; Metropolitan Yuvenaly (Poyarkov), Head of Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, First Vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in Moscow; Metropolitan Nikandr of Voskresensk, Chairman of the Financial and Economic Department of the Moscow Patriarchate; and Metropolitan Yuvenaly (Poyarkov). Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas; Metropolitan Tikhon of Simferopol and Crimea, chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture; Archbishop Thomas of Odintsovo and Krasnogorsk, head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate; and the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Among those present were the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation O.B. Lyubimova, representatives of foreign diplomatic missions and traditional confessions of Russia, figures of culture and art.
The concert was attended by: the Orchestra and Chorus of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia; the State Academic Symphonic Chapel of Russia under the direction of Valery Polyansky; the ensemble "Bells of Russia" under the direction of Galina Filimonova, laureate of international competitions; conductors: Alexei Vereshchagin, Valery Polyansky, Valery Gergiev; soloists: laureates of the International Tchaikovsky Competition soloist Soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre Polina Shabunina (soprano), guest soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre Zinaida Tsarenko (mezzo-soprano), soloist of the Helikon Opera Moscow Musical Theatre Igor Morozov (tenor), soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre Gleb Peryazev (bass); soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre Ksenia Dudnikova (mezzo-soprano); leading soloist of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Musical Theatre, guest soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre Dmitry Ulyanov (bass); Honored Artist of Russia, soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre Albina Shamunina (soprano), guest soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre, Honored Artist of Russia Dmitry Ulyanov (bass). Honoured Artist of Russia Dmitry Ulyanov (bass); Honoured Artist of Russia and soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre Albina Shagimuratova (soprano); soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre and guest soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre Mikhail Petrenko (bass); soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia Dmitry Korchak; soloists of Moscow opera houses Albina Latipova, Nikolai Kazansky, Vladislav Chizhov and Artem Popov; prize-winners of the International Tchaikovsky Competition; soloists of the Moscow State Opera Company; and soloists of the Moscow State Opera Company. Soloists of the Moscow State Philharmonic Alexander Ramm (cello) and Pavel Milyukov (violin).
The concert program includes works by Russian composers Alexander Glazunov, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov, Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin, Alexander Porkhiryevich Tchaikovsky, Alexander Porkhiryevich Borodin, Alexander Porkhiryevich Tchaikovsky, Alexander Porkhiryevich Tchaikovsky, Alexander Porkhiryevich Tchaikovsky, and Alexander Porkhiryevich Tchaikovsky. Alexandrovich Alyabyev.
At the end of the concert the finale from the opera "Iolanta" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky performed by soloists of the leading opera theaters of Moscow and the combined chorus.
