Bishop Moses of Larissa, hierarch of the Antiochian Church, on a pilgrimage to Russia

DECR Communication Service, 12.08.2024.

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', Bishop Moses of Larissa, vicar of His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East and head of the Patriarchal Chancery, visited the Russian Orthodox Church on a pilgrimage fr om July 25 to August 7, 2024.

On July 26, Bishop Moses took part in the celebration of the patronal feast at the metochion of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Moscow. He celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Archangel Gabriel together with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR), and Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis, rector of the metochion and representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. After the service, the hierarch of the Antiochian Church was invited to a festive reception together with other guests.

The program of Bishop Moses' pilgrimage included a visit to the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Yelokhovo. The guest venerated the holy relics in these Moscow churches associated with dramatic and glorious events in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the Cathedral in Yelokhovo, the hierarch was greeted by its rector, Archbishop Foma of Odintsovo and Krasnogorsk, head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate. The archpastors continued their warm communication during a fraternal meal.

Bishop Moses visited the Diocese of Nizhny Novgorod, wh ere he met with Metropolitan Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas and took part in the celebration of the commemoration day of St. Seraphim of Sarov. On August 1, Bishop Moses of Larissa concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with Metropolitan Feognost of Kashira, chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism, and an assembly of archpastors of the Russian Orthodox Church. The service was celebrated on the square in front of the Transfiguration Cathedral at the Diveyevo Convent.

During his stay in Moscow, Bishop Moses also visited the Conception, Intercession, and Novodevichy stavropegic Convents and the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy and was warmly welcomed by the abbesses and sisters. The bishop told them about the life of the Antiochian Orthodox Church and its convents, including the Our Lady of Saydnaya Patriarchal convent. Also, the archpastor expressed deep regret over the lack of information about the fate of Metropolitan Paul (Yazigi) of Aleppo who was kidnapped in 2013. During military actions in Syria, Bishop Moses served under Metropolitan Paul in the Diocese of Aleppo and together with local priests and common faithful endured all the hardships of the war, the consequences of which the Antiochian Church is still feeling.

The hierarch of the Antiochian Orthodox Church venerated the holy relics at the Donskoy, Sretensky and Danilov monasteries. At a meeting with hegumen Ioann (Ludishchev), abbot of the Sretensky Monastery, Bishop Moses, who teaches the Old Testament at the University of Balamand, spoke about the work of this educational institution. In the Danilov monastery, he met with its abbot, Bishop Alexiy of Solnechnogorsk. During the fraternal talk, the archpastors discussed the unity of Orthodoxy and current developments in the church life in Ukraine.

On Sunday, August 4, Bishop Moses of Larissa visited the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius and celebrated the Divine Liturgy with Metropolitan Yevgeny of Tallinn and All Estonia in the church of the Intercession at the Moscow Theological Academy. A tour of the Museum of Christian Art ‘The Church-Archeological Cabinet’ and the Lavra followed. In the Trinity Cathedral of the monastery, the hierarch venerated the holy relics of its founder, St. Sergius of Radonezh, and the icon of the Holy Trinity painted by St. Andrei Rublev.

The hierarch of the Antiochian Church concluded his pilgrimage by visiting the New Jerusalem Monastery of Resurrection where he learned about the history of the abode and venerated its holy relics.

Accompanying Bishop Moses on his pilgrimage were archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' to the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, deacon Sergiy Monakhov and Mr. Georgy Shilin of the DECR Secretariat for Inter-Orthodox Relations, and Mrs. Anna Monakhova, a DECR translator.