Reception at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on the Occasion of the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture and the Name Day of the Primate of the Russian Church takes place
On May 24, 2024, a reception was held at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow following the Divine Liturgy to celebrate the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture and the Name day of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, reports the Press Service of the Patriarch.
Before the reception in the Throne Hall of the Patriarchal Chambers, His Holiness was congratulated by: A.D. Zhukov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation; A.Y. Kuznetsova, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation; V.I. Resin, Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Advisor to the Mayor of Moscow, Advisor to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' on Construction Issues, Curator of the Program for the Construction of Orthodox Churches in Moscow; A.Y. Popova, Head of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing — Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation; A.V. Shaposhnikov, Chairman of the Moscow City Duma; V.V. Mikhailov, First Deputy General Director of Russian Railways (RZhD); I.N. Kagramanyan, Chairman of the Public Council of the Federal Party Project "Older Generation," Director of the Department of Healthcare of the Government of the Russian Federation; A.G. Gurev, Vice President of the Russian Union of Chemists; A.A. Gurev, President of the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers; S.G. Malyshev, Senior Vice President — Chief Financial Officer of Norilsk Nickel; A.V. Potemkin, Acting General Director of the Artistic and Production Enterprise "Sofrino"; M.M. Ivanov, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the All-Russian Public Movement "Orthodox Russia."
Following this, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia shared a meal with the participants of the celebrations.
Speeches were made at the reception by: Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga; L.E. Slutsky, Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Head of the LDPR faction in the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs; A.Y. Vorobyov, Governor of the Moscow Region; A.V. Shaposhnikov, Chairman of the Moscow City Duma.
On behalf of the representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches at the Moscow Patriarchal See, Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis congratulated His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, noting in particular: "Looking up to your heavenly patron, Saint Cyril Equal-to-the-Apostles, you instruct and enlighten the people of God in faith, 'capturing every thought to make it obedient to Christ,' as Blessed Theophylact says." "The day of the Patriarch's name day is a celebration for the entire Church, for the Patriarch lives for it and lays down his life for it. Therefore, today we rejoice with those who love and respect you all over the world," said Metropolitan Niphon. "Serving with you on this day, we feel the timeless unity with the great hierarchs Cyril and Methodius, teachers of the Church, whose memory we celebrate today. May your Patriarchal ministry, with the intercession of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and the prayers of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, be for the glory of the Holy Russian Church and all Orthodoxy, and personally for you — a ladder leading to Heaven."
In conclusion, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill thanked those present:
"I would like to thank all of you for participating in today's celebration, for our joint prayer, for participating in the common service and in this fraternal meal. Such events in the Church are called celebrations, but if we speak fr om a purely ecclesiological point of view, these gatherings help the Primate of the Church, and many of my fellow bishops, to better feel and understand what is happening in the Church.
We call our Church conciliar because it is indeed governed by Councils. But this does not mean only formally convened Councils — it refers to the very principle of conciliarity, wh ere the Church is governed by a collective mind, where there is no one personally determining everything. It is hard to imagine what would have happened to the Church in the East, including in Russia, if our Church were governed otherwise. In the most difficult years of persecution, oppression, and almost the destruction of our Church, we survived, we preserved ourselves because our episcopate was preserved, the unity of our bishops was preserved. I remember that era well and remember how all the forces of the state were thrown into breaking the unity of the episcopate, pitting some against others, using purely human contradictions. We went through a very troubled time, but we maintained our unity!
And today, if we talk about the internal life of Russia and other countries under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, the situation is quite favorable. Despite the fact that there are tensions on the external perimeter, internally, solidarity and mutual support are preserved. And it is very important that at this time, when the external perimeter is not calm, our Church shows an example of unity, unanimity, and cohesion. These are not just beautiful words — it is a reality, and I highly value it.
I value the labors of our bishops because much depends on their work, on their service in their places. I highly value the labors of our clergy, our monastics, who, not sparing their lives, do much to strengthen Orthodoxy in our land.
I cannot fail to mention once again the very favorable system of relations and even the purely emotional background on which church-state relations are developing. I thank our President, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, for his attention to church affairs. As a believer, an Orthodox Christian — not by questionnaire or statistics, but truly Orthodox, church-going — he does much to ensure that the overall atmosphere in the country is favorable for preserving our historical spiritual and moral values.
In other words, despite the fact that not everything is calm beyond our homeland, the conditions in which we live allow us to gather our strength, our thoughts, concentrate our will, and be ready for any development of events. We live in a very unstable world, but the Church has always borne, bears, and must bear responsibility for the fate of its people.
Therefore, I call on all of you, my dear bishops, and through you — all the clergy, monastics, and pious laity — to work together for the good of the Church and the Fatherland, to strengthen unity, without which Russia cannot exist, and neither can other countries close to us in spirit, especially our Slavic brothers, connected with us by a common historical destiny.
May God grant that, despite external storms and the sorrows that visit us, the unity of our people is strengthened. And this unity largely depends on the unity of our Church. Once again, I would like to thank all of you, my dear bishops, because preserving and strengthening this unity depends on you."
After the meal, in the Hall of the Higher Church Council, the bishops and clergy of Moscow congratulated His Holiness on his Name day. On behalf of those gathered, Metropolitan Gregory of Voskresensk, Chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, First Vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' for Moscow, addressed the Primate. An antique icon of Christ the Savior was presented as a gift to His Holiness.
Metropolitan Gregory of Voskresensk also announced that, as a gift, medical equipment had been purchased for the Central Clinical Hospital of Saint Alexii of Moscow with funds collected by the parishes.
In his response, His Holiness said: "Dear bishops, fathers, brothers, mothers abbesses, sisters! I thank you all for your kind attitude towards the Patriarch, which I [tryly] feel. It manifests itself in major things and even in small details, but each time it warms the heart. For such is the fate of the Patriarch — he first and foremost encounters problems, difficulties, sometimes fateful ones. And the Patriarchal cross is not a metaphor, it is a reality, because solving all these problems is associated with physical, psychological, and spiritual exhaustion. And if strength is restored, it is only thanks to the prayer that is offered for me to the Lord by the whole Church."
"I thank you all for your unanimity with the Patriarch, for supporting my labors, for your prayers, and I ask everyone not to falter in these prayers. Because fr om my own experience, I feel: sometimes there seems to be no tailwind, calm, the sails are all drooping, but suddenly a wind starts blowing from somewhere, and you begin to gain speed and move in the direction that is the only one you should move in. Wh ere does this come from? Of course, through prayer, through the help of the whole Church. Therefore, once again, I thank you all sincerely. Each of you works worthily in your place, and may God grant us to continue our conciliar ministry and conciliar movement towards the Lord. Even so, come, Lord Jesus (Rev. 22:20). Christ is Risen!" concluded the Primate.
Then, in the Sergius Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' received congratulations from the bishops and clergy who participated in the Liturgy.
In the Throne Hall, His Holiness was congratulated on his name day by V.V. Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.