Patriarch Kirill celebrates Divine Liturgy on the ninth anniversary of his enthronement

On February 1, 2018, the ninth anniversary of the enthronement of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, His Holiness celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the enthronement vestments at the Cathedral Church of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.

He was assisted by a great number of bishops and priests of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia and other countries. Participating in the service were representatives to the See of the Moscow Patriarchate from the Local Orthodox Churches of Alexandria, Serbia, Jerusalem, the Czech Lands and Slovakia and the Orthodox Church in America. Among His Holiness’s concelebrants were also high-ranking church officials in holy orders, heads of synodal departments and abbots.

Among the worshippers were abbesses, Moscow and Moscow Region clergy, staff members of the Church’s structures, representatives of parish councils, professors and students of the Church’s educational institutions.

Present at the service were representatives of the State Duma, the Moscow City Duma, the Ministry of Culture, as well as businessmen and representatives of state and public organizations.

The solemn service was broadcast live by Soyuz and Spas TV channels.

At the Little Entrance, Patriarch Kirill laid the second panagia on Metropolitan Alexander of Riga and Latvia, with accordance of Par 2.2.4 of the ROC Provision on Rewards, which states, ‘The right to wear a second panagia within their canonical lands belongs to the heads of Japanese Autonomous Church, Self-Governed Orthodox Churches in Moldova, the Latvian Orthodox Church, the Estonian Orthodox Church, the Byelorussian Exarchate, the Metropolitanates in the Republic of Kazakhstan and Central Asia as well as the chairman of the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Church Outside Russia’.

His Holiness Kirill elevated Bishop Sofrony of Mogilev and Mstislavsk, Bishop Stephen of Gomel and Zhlobin, Bishop Lukian of Blagoveschensk and Tynda, Bishop Tikhon of Podolsk and Bishop Antoniy of Vienna and Budapest to the rank of archbishop.

The Prayer of Fervent Supplication included a special petition for Patriarch Kirill. After it, Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna lifted up a prayer for the Primate of the Russian Church and then Patriarch Kirill said a prayer for peace in Ukraine.

After the liturgy, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine read out a congratulatory message to Patriarch Kirill from the Holy Synod and presented His Holiness with an icon of the Holy Royal Passion-bearers and flowers.

Patriarch Kirill delivered a primatial homily.

Mr. A. Zhukov, first vice-chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly extended congratulations to His Holiness.

After that Patriarchate Kirill presented high church awards for outstanding services to Metropolitan Ioann of Yoshkar-Ola and Mari and Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov). Mr. V. Lukyanenko was awarded the Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, Degree III, in recognition of his help to the Moscow Patriarchate.

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For the nine years of his Patriarchal ministry Patriarch Kirill celebrated about two thousand divine services.

In this period, the number of the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church has increased from 159 in 2009 to 303 in the beginning of 2018.

In the beginning of 2009, in the Russian Orthodox Church there were 200 hierarchs; as of February 1, 2018, there are 378 hierarchs.

Patriarch Kirill presided over 176 episcopal consecrations, including 6 in 2009, 9 in 2010, 31 in 2011, 41 in 2012, 22 in 2013, 18 in 2014, 22 in 2015, 13 in 2016, 14 in 2017, and 1 in 2018.

Under Patriarch Kirill the following structures have been established:

• 60 metropolias of the Russian Orthodox Church
• 144 dioceses
• The Metropolitan Okrug of Central Asia (2011)
• Vicariates in the diocese of Moscow (2011)
• A Patriarchal deanery of the Russian Orthodox Church parishes in the Kingdom of Thailand (2016)
• A Patriarchal deanery of the Russian Orthodox Church parishes in the Republic of Armenia (2016)
• The Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church (2009)
• Church executive bodies: the Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (2011), synodal department for church-society relations (2009), synodal committee for relations with the Cossacks (2010), synodal department for monasteries and monastics (2012; reorganized commission for monasteries (2010), synodal department for the Church’s relations with society and mass media (2015; formed by the merging of the synodal department for church-society relations and the synodal information department)
• Church-wide collegial bodies: Patriarchal commission for the family and protection of motherhood and childhood (2013; renamed Patriarchal commission for the family and the protection of motherhood, 2012), Patriarchal commission for physical culture and sports (2015)
• The Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute for Post-graduate Studies (2009)
• Interdepartmental coordinating group for teaching Theology in universities (2012)
• Church-public council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for perpetuating the memory of new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church (2013) has been renamed as Church-public council for perpetuating the memory of Russia’s confessors (2012)
• Experts council for church art, architecture and restoration (2016), established instead of the abolished church-wide commission for church art, architecture and restoration (2015)
• Church-public council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for the development of Russian church singing (2016);

Patriarch Kirill chaired and was a key-speaker at the Bishops’ Councils in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017 and Local Council in 2009.

In his capacity of Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill made official visits to the Local Orthodox Churches of Constantinople (2011), Alexandria (2010), Antioch (2011), Jerusalem (2012), Serbia (2013, 2014), Romania (2017), Bulgaria (2012), Cyprus (2012), Greece (2013), Poland (2012).

As Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill made official visits to Azerbaijan (2009 , 2010), Armenia (2010, 2011), Belarus (2009, 2012, 2013, 2015), Bulgaria (2012), Brazil (2016), China (2013), Cuba (2016), Cyprus (2012), Egypt (2010), Estonia (2013), France (2016), Great Britain (2016), Greece (2013), Israel (2012), Japan (2012), Jordan (2012), Kazakhstan (2010, 2012), Kirgizia (2017), Lebanon (2011), Moldavia (2011, 2013), Montenegro (2013), Palestine (2012), Paraguay (2016), Poland (2012), Romania (2017), Serbia (2013, 2014), Syria (2011), Turkey (2009), Ukraine (2009, 2010 — 3 times, 2011 — 2 times, 2012, 2013).

Patriarch Kirill made 221 trips to 116 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Patriarchal Press Service

DECR Communication Service