Home page News
On the Day of St. Sergius of Radonezh, M…

On the Day of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the St. Sergius Laura’s church of the Holy Spirit

 

On July 18, 2019, the commemoration day of St. Sergius of Radonezh the Miracle Worker of All Rus’, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the St. Sergius Laura Monastery of the Holy Trinity’s church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. The archpastor was assisted by Archbishop Theopanus of Korea, Bishop Alexy of Galich and Makariev and brethren of the monastery.

After the Prayer of Fervent Supplication, His Eminence lifted up a prayer for peace in Ukraine.

In his sermon after the service, Metropolitan Hilarion greeted the congregation on the commemoration day of ‘our Venerable and God-Bearing Father Sergius, the Abbot of Radonezh and Miracle-Worker of All Russia’ and said that ‘the day of his sacred memory and our assembly in the monastery founded by him us reflect on the meaning of monastic life.

‘When the monastic movement was born in the Church, those who took monastic vows saw in monastic life an opportunity to become like angels who do not enter into marriage, who are not burdened with temporal cares and dispense their attention from numerous earthly concerns. They are focused on the fulfilment of the will of God, and in it they see their principal service and vocation. And when a person takes monastic vows, in the first place he withholds his human will but commits it wholly to the will of God’ he said.

‘The greatest example for every monk is the Lord Jesus Christ. He was not an angel; He was a human being, like we are, but He was devoid of sin. And He fully subjected His human will to the Divine will. And monks are those who learn to subject their will to God’s will’, which we learn, he said, from Holy Scriptures, Epistles of Ss Peter and Paul and St. John as well as other apostles.

However, along with books, even sacred ones, he continued, we should listen to our inner voice, the voice of our conscience, because it is through the voice of conscience that God speaks to us. So, monks and those who are called always to fulfil the will of God and never to bend to the sinful human will.

Speaking about St. Sergius as an ideal of monastic life, His Eminence said that St. Sergius’ spirit inspired thousands of monks for many centuries. ‘And this inspiration, which he installed in the Russian monasticism, lives in this holy cloister to this day and will dwell here to the end of time’.

‘We remember quite a recent time’, he continued, ‘the epoch of persecution of the Church in the 20th century, when the authorities did not only forbid to build monasteries but also to accept monks in the existing ones. There were only 20 monasteries in the whole of the Russian Orthodox Church at that time, while now there are almost 1000 monasteries in it. Whence come the people who have filled these cloisters? Indeed, they are mostly young people, men and women, who have come to dedicate themselves to monastic life. There can be only one answer to this question – they have been called by the Lord to walk a hard and narrow way that few can cope with. And we believe that monastic life will never weaken in this sacred Laura and will develop in our Church through the intercession of our venerable and God-bearing father Sergius and honourable fathers who have shown forth in the feat on monastic life. Amen’.

DECR Communication Service

Share:
Phone conversation took place between the Primates of Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches

17.11.2024

Telephone conversation held between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Primate of the Malankara Church of India

01.11.2024

Address by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the VIII World Congress of Compatriots Living Abroad

30.10.2024

Order of Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow presented to Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk by Patriarch Kirill

24.10.2024

Primate of the Russian Church celebrates Divine Liturgy in the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius Lavra on the commemoration day of St. Sergius of Radonezh

09.10.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Little Vespers and Akathistos hymn to St. Sergius in the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius

07.10.2024

Message from the Primate of the Russian Church to His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia in connection with blasphemous act on the ruins of ancient Ulpiana

14.09.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates on the feast of the 300th anniversary of the transfer of relics of St.Alexander Nevsky to St. Petersburg

12.09.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates All-night Vigil at the Christ the Savior Cathedral on the eve of Transfiguration

18.08.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' met with the Ambassador of India to Russia

30.07.2024

Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Awa III: Ukrainian government’s support for schism and persecution of the major canonical Church is a religious pogrom against the faithful Orthodox Christians of that country

24.07.2024

Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrates the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in the city of Tver.

21.07.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Liturgy at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius on the commemoration day of the saint

18.07.2024

The Primate of the Russian Church celebrates All-night Vigil at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius

17.07.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Little Vespers at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius and reads akathist to the saint

17.07.2024

Phone conversation took place between the Primates of Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches

17.11.2024

Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk meets with His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije

17.11.2024

Conference dedicated to centennial of the Holy Trinity Russian church is held in Belgrade

16.11.2024

Delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church takes part in COP29 Summit of Religious Leaders

06.11.2024

DECR chairman concludes his visit to India

03.11.2024

Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk meets with young Indian Christians

02.11.2024

Primate of Malankara Church of India receives Order of Glory and Honour, 1st Class

02.11.2024

DECR chairman takes part in church celebrations in India

02.11.2024

Telephone conversation held between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Primate of the Malankara Church of India

01.11.2024

DECR Chairman has begun his visit to India

31.10.2024

Work of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is declared successful

24.10.2024

Synod acknowledges importance of bilateral projects carried out in collaboration with Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

24.10.2024

Order of Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow presented to Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk by Patriarch Kirill

24.10.2024

DECR Chairman heads celebrations for the fifteenth anniversary of the consecration of the Dormition Church at the Russian embassy in Beijing.

19.10.2024

Saint Petersburg Theological Academy hosts conference on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) entitled ‘The Person of Metropolitan Nikodim in the History of the Church’.

16.10.2024

Metropolitan Hilarion: Many things in a person's life depend on faith

29.08.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Holy Spirit is the main treasure of the Christian soul

01.08.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: Holiness is a constant striving to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ

27.06.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: God does not want to condemn, but to save us

07.03.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Lord always grants to us the opportunity to display our talents

24.01.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Lord has imbued the waters of Jordan with his divine presence to wash away human sins

19.01.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: to repent means to change your way of life

17.01.2021

On commemoration day of St. Catherine, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk officiated at the Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr In-the-Fields  the representation of the Orthodox Church in America

07.12.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: We can always show compassion for people

29.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates on commemoration day of St. Varlaam of Khutyn at the church of ‘Joy to All the Afflicted’ icon of the Mother of God

19.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: We should remember that the life of each human being is in the hands of God

06.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: For God there is nothing impossible

25.10.2020

Metropoplitan Hilarion: The cross which was an instrument of dishonourable execution becomes the symbol of salvation for millions of people

27.09.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: Eucharist is the wedding feast, to which Lord Jesus Christ invites each of us

13.09.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: Faith alone is not enough for salvation

30.08.2020

Page is available in the following languages
Feedback

Fields marked by * are mandatory required

Send a message
Рус Укр Eng Deu Ελλ Fra Ita Бълг ქარ Срп Rom عرب