Home page News
Hierarchical Liturgy celebrated at the Church of&n…

Hierarchical Liturgy celebrated at the Church of the Intercession in Harbin for the first time in fifty years

[gallery]

On 24 June 2012, the day when the Orthodox faithful in China commemorate two hundred and twenty Chinese martyrs who had suffered for Christ in 1900, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God in Harbin. Metropolitan Hilarion was in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on official visit with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and at the invitation of the PRC State Administration for Religious Affairs.

The hierarchical Liturgy was celebrated at the Church of the Intercession for the first time in fifty years. Since Rev. Grigoriy Zhu, rector of the Church, died in 2001 the Divine Liturgy was celebrated there only once – at Easter in 2010.

Concelebrating to Metropolitan Hilarion was archpriest Alexy Kiselevich, rector of the Orthodox parish in Shanghai. Helping at the service were Vasiliy Wu and Alexander Yu Shi, members of the Chinese Orthodox community in Harbin who will begin their studies at the theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church in September in pursuance of the memorandum signed by the Russian Federation’s Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Organizations and the PRC State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA).

Praying at the service were about sixty Orthodox compatriots temporarily or permanently residing in Harbin. Many of them partook of the Holy Communion.

Attending the Liturgy were also Ms Syao Hun, deputy director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs’ department for international relations; Mr Hao Zhuyang of the SARA’s Fourth Department; Ms Marina Kushnarenko, chairman of the Russian club in Harbin; and Russian diplomats: Mr Povalyaev, first secretary of the Russian Embassy in China, and Mr Ganzhurov, vice-consul of the Consulate General in Shenyang.

After the service, Metropolitan Hilarion addressed the worshippers with a homily saying in particular:

“Orthodoxy is reviving in China even if not so fast as we wish. Tens of thousands of Orthodox people of different nationalities temporarily or permanently reside in cities and towns of China. A number of churches, including the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom of God in Harbin, have been restored. Though not regularly, but the Divine services are celebrated in some churches…

Your strong faith and patience have been preserving the Orthodox faith in the Chinese land. You endevour to preserve this historical Church of the Intercession in Harbin. The church has not had a priest for a long time, yet you come here every Sunday to pray to God. I believe that the day will come when this church will have a rector, the hymns of the Divine service will be heard here again, and the Sacraments will be celebrated. I do my best to bring this day closer…”.

All the worshippers were presented with icons of Christ the Saviour after the Liturgy.

After blessing the worshippers, Metropolitan Hilarion and members of the Russian delegation departed to the Harbin airport where they were offered the farewell dinner.

After that Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk left for Moscow.

Metropolitan Hilarion’s visit to China was sponsored by the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation. The DECR chairman was accompanied on his visit by a DECR staff member Dmitry Petrovsky, the Foundation’s executive director Leonid Sevastyanov and subdeacon Alexander Yershov.

Share:
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

Patriarchal condolences on the death of Boris A. Nelyubov

14.07.2024

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

DECR Chairman meets with President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference

15.10.2024

Participants of the Divine Service at the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Presnya congratulated the DECR Chairman on his 40th birthday.

12.10.2024

Russian diplomat given Patriarchal award.

10.10.2024

DECR Chairman delivered a lecture to students of the Russian Orthodox University

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

DECR Chairman takes part in festivities for the beginning of the academic year at the Saints Cyril and Methodius Postgraduate Institute.

03.10.2024

DECR chairman attends reception given by Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation

22.09.2024

Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk meets with delegation of Orthodox Church in America

16.09.2024

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