Department for External Church Relations
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Administrator of the Philippines and Vietnam Diocese visits Holy Resurrection Parish in General Santos
DECR Communication Service, 14/02/2024
On 13th of February, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi, administrator of the Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam, visited the Holy Resurrection Parish in the city of General Santos, island of Mindanao, the Philippines, diocesan website reports.
Metropolitan Pavel celebrated a prayer service and gave his archpastoral blessing to the parishioners. Concelebrating with him were Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev), secretary of the Philippines and Vietnam Diocese, and Priest Roman Buniel.
In his archpastoral homily delivered at the parish, the hierarch said, in particular, “I can state with certitude that the Lord bestows His blessings on us, and our diocese, young as it is, is gradually growing stronger.”
Five years ago, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Pavel of Khanty-Mansiysk was appointed administrator of the Philippines and Vietnam Diocese. “I remember when first coming here I only saw Father Joachim for there were no other local priests,” the hierarch said, “And you can see how many priests we have now. Our students are receiving education and are about to become clergymen. And there are deacons who are preparing for priesthood. The Lord blesses our work. The right hand of God is with us. Is there a greater joy than to have God with us? When God is with us, we fear nothing – neither sorrows, nor illnesses, nor obstacles.”
“Dear brothers and sisters, we are children of one Father – our God, and although we live in different climatic conditions, we are united in Christ. So time and again I thank our Lord for His loving-kindness towards us,” the archpastor added.
The prayer service at the parish in General Santos marked the beginning of Metropolitan Pavel’s visit to the Philippines. During his trip, he will visit various local communities, lead the diocesan assembly of clergy and laity, and inspect construction works of future church buildings in Kinabalan village and on Panglao Island. Besides, the administrator of the diocese will hold working meetings with local authorities and representatives of the diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation. On 27th of February, he will depart for Vietnam.
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