On November 4, 2024, the feast day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. On this day, Russia celebrates the national holiday - the Day of People's Unity.
The Day of People's Unity.
Before the beginning of the service at the entrance to the cathedral the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was met by: the Secretary of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for Moscow, the dean of the Central District of Moscow (City) Eparchy Protopresbyter Vladimir Divakov; Archpriest Vyacheslav Shestakov, rector of the churches of the Patriarchal Palace in Zaryadye in Moscow, sacristan of the Patriarchal Dormition Cathedral and churches of the Moscow Kremlin.
Protopresbyter Vladimir Divakov.
In the cathedral, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill bowed to the relics of St. Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow.
After the entrance prayers and vestments, His Holiness received the miracle-working Moscow copy of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The image was found last year. By blessing of His Holiness, the shrine was brought to dozens of cities from May to November 2024 Russia. The organizer of the All-Russian bringing of the Kazan icon was the Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church for the Development of Pilgrimage and the Bringing of Holy Shrines with the assistance of the leadership of the Russian regions and the organizational support of the World Russian People's Council, the «Tsargrad» Foundation and the Special Communication and Information Service of the Federal Guard Service of the Russian Federation.
Holy Patriarch Kirill blessed the miracle-working image of the Mother of God from the pulpit to the participants of the service, after which the icon was transferred to the analogue in the center of the Dormition Cathedral.
His Holiness was served at the Liturgy by: Metropolitan Pavel of Krutitsy and Kolomna, Patriarchal Vicar of the Moscow Metropolis; Metropolitan Matthew of Pskov and Porkhov; Metropolitan Arseny of Zvenigorod; Archbishop Savva of Zelenograd, deputy administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate; Bishop Stephen of Remezia, representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Bishop Alexis of Ramensk, personal secretary of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill; Protopresbyter Vladimir Divakov; Protopresbyter Nikolai Balashov, rector of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word on Uspensky Vrazhk in Moscow, advisor to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; Archpriest Anatoly Alefirov, dean of churches in the Sergievsky Church District of Moscow; Archpriest Georgy Klimov, dean of churches in the Trinity Church District of Moscow; Archpriest Dionisy Kazantsev, secretary of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Archpriest Georgy Klimov, dean of churches of the Sergievsky Church District of Moscow; Archpriest Dionisy Kazantsev, secretary of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for Moscow Region; Archpriest Alexander Anchutin, cleric of the Eastern American Diocese; and Moscow clergy.
The cathedral was attended by: deputy chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation A.Yu. Kuznetsova; Chairman of the Supervisory Board of LLC «Russia Orthodox» M.M. Ivanov.
The Cathedral was attended by: Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation A.Yu.
The service in the Assumption Cathedral was attended by the delegation of the Republic of Serbia consisting of: Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Alexander Vulin, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia in the Russian Federation Momcilo Babic, Counselor to the Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia Ivan Mirkovic, diplomats of the Embassy of Serbia in the Russian Federation.
The liturgical chants were performed by the choir of the youth movement «Patriarchal Volunteers» under the direction of A.Yu. Golik.
The Patriarchal Divine Service was broadcast live on the «Soyuz» and «Spas» TV channels, as well as on the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarchy.ru.
At the Litany of Liturgy special petitions were offered, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill read a prayer for Holy Russia.
After the Liturgy the diaconal consecration of Reader Gleb Sandar, a fourth-year student of the correspondence department of the Moscow Theological Academy, was performed.
After the Liturgy, the diaconal consecration was performed.
Priest Alexander Rodin, clergyman of the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God in Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo, Moscow, delivered the sermon before Communion.
At the end of the Liturgy, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrated the glorification and prayer before the miracle-working Kazan image of the Mother of God.
Afterward, the Primate of the Russian Church addressed the faithful with Holy Patriarch Kirill's First Episcopal Address.
Holy Patriarch Kirill made a glorification and prayer before the miraculous Kazan image of the Mother of God.
Afterward, church awards were presented.
In recognition of his contribution to the development of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Federal Guard and in connection with the 60th anniversary of the birth of the deputy chief of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federal Guard. Colonel General A.O. Vorobyov, Director of the Federal Service of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation, Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation, was honored with the Order of Blessed Prince Dmitry Donskoy, II degree.
In consideration of assistance to the Russian Orthodox Church and in connection with the 55th anniversary of his birth, First Deputy Director General of JSC «Russian Railways» V.V. Mikhailov was awarded the Order of the Noble Prince Dmitry Donskoy II degree. Mikhailov was presented with the Order of Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, II degree.
In recognition of his contribution to the development of church-state relations, N.A. Zhuravlev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and representative of the executive body of state power of the Kostroma region, was awarded the Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, III degree.
The Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, III degree.
At the end, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill gave the faithful a farewell: «Once again, my dear ones, I cordially congratulate all of you on this significant event. I am very happy that today Vladyka Stefan from the Serbian Church is serving with us. I rejoice at all that now I see in front of me — the temple filled with praying people. We are in the very center of Holy Russia — in the Assumption Cathedral of All Russia. I rejoice in the fact that, despite the difficult external circumstances, the life of our people is developing comprehensively, its self-consciousness is growing stronger, The patriotic feelings of people are being strengthened, their readiness to defend their Motherland, and most importantly, to preserve the Orthodox faith, in which we are all confirmed.
Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
