Department for External Church Relations
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Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk celebrates Divine Liturgy at St John the Baptist Monastery in Essex
On February 7, 2015, the commemoration day of St Gregory the Theologian, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, while in Great Britain with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, visited the St John the Baptist Monastery, Patriarchate of Constantinople, in Essex.
At the monastery’s main church, His Eminence, assisted by brethren, celebrated the Divine Liturgy. Among the worshippers at the service celebrated in English and Slavonic was Archimandrite Cyril, father superior of the monastery, who partook of the Holy Gifts.
After the Dismissal, Metropolitan Hilarion shared remembrances of his meetings with the founder of the monastery, Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) of the blessed memory, a disciple and associate of St Silouan of Mount Athos. ‘A quarter of century ago when Starets Sophrony of the blessed memory was still alive, I stepped across the threshold of this monastery for the first time. Since then, both when the starets was alive and after his death, I came here, and every time I felt the special spirit of prayer, humbleness and repentance that the starets inherited from his teacher, St Silouan, and conveyed it to his numerous disciples’, Metropolitan Hilarion said invoking God’s blessing on all the brethren of the monastery and numerous pilgrims who came for the liturgy.
After the service, Metropolitan Hilarion proceeded to the crypt where he said a lity at Archimandrite Sophrony’s grave.
In the evening, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, gave dinner in honour of Metropolitan Hilarion, at the Holy See Representation in London. Present at the dinner were Archbishop Yelisey of Sourozh, Roman Catholic Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, Anglican Bishop Christopher Chessun of Southwark and Catholic and Anglican clergy.
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