Representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches participate in Patriarchal service on the occasion of Saints Cyril and Methodius Day.
DECR Communication service, 24.05.2025.
On 24th May 2025, the day of the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, enlighteners of the Slavs, His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ Kirill celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow. The Day of Slavonic Literature and Culture is also celebrated on this day as well as the name’s day of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill.
Upon arriving at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church venerated the precious relics of Saint Philaret, metropolitan of Moscow, reports the press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’.
At the Liturgy concelebrating with His Holiness were: metropolitan Juvenaly (Poyarkov); the metropolitan of Tashkent and Uzbekistan Vikenty, head of the Central Asia metropolitan district; the metropolitan of Saint Petersburg and Ladoga Barsonuphius; the metropolitan of Krutitsk and Kolomna Paul, the Patriarch auxiliary bishop for the Moscow metropolitanate; the metropolitan of Voskresensk Gregory, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarch, first auxiliary bishop to the Patriarch of Moscow and All for the city of Moscow; the metropolitan of Vladimir and Suzdal Nicander, chairman of the financial and administrative directorate of the Moscow Patriarchate; the metropolitan of Perm and Kungur Methodius; the metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk Clement, chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church; the metropolitan of Samara and Novokuybyshevsk Sergius; the metropolitan of Ufa and Bashkortostan Nikon; the metropolitan of Yoshkar-Ola and Mari El John; the metropolitan of Kazan and Tatarstan Kirill; the metropolitan of Ivanovo-Voznesensk and Vichuga Joseph; the metropolitan of Rostov and Novocherkassk Mercurius; the metropolitan of Bryansk and Sevsk Alexander; the metropolitan of Kurgan and Belozersk Daniel; the metropolitan of Kashira Theognost, chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and the Monastic Life; the metropolitan of Tambov and Rasskazovo Theodosius; the metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas George; the metropolitan of Simbirsk and Novospassk Longinus; the metropolitan of Tver and Kashina Ambrosius, chairman of the Synodal liturgical commission; the metropolitan of Singapore and South-East Asia Sergius, patriarchal exarch for South-East Asia; the metropolitan of Luhansk and Alchevsk Panteleimon; the metropolitan of Saransk and Mordova Zenobius; the metropolitan of Khanti-Mansiisk and Surgut Paul; the metropolitan of Vologda and Kirillovo Sabba; the metropolitan of Saratov and Volsk Ignatius; the metropolitan of Donetsk and Mariupol Vladimir; the metropolitan of Irkutsk and Angarsk Maximilian; the metropolitan of Zaraisk Constantine, Patriarchal exarch for Africa; the metropolitan of Chita and Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky Dimitrius; the metropolitan of Volgograd and Kamyshin Theodore; the metropolitan of Zvenigorod Arsenius; the metropolitan of Chelyabinsk and Miass Alexei; the metropolitan of Krasnodar and Kuban Basil; the metropolitan of Voronezh and Liski Leontius; the metropolitan of Orenburg and Saraktash Peter; metropolitan John (Roschin) as well as a host of bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Also attending the service were representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches to the Moscow Patriarchal Throne: the bishop of Remesiana Stefan (the Serbian Orthodox Church); archimandrite Stefan (Dispirakis) (the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem); archimandrite Seraphim (Shemyatovsky) (the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia); and archpriest Daniel Andrejuk (Orthodox Church in America).
Among those concelebrating were members of the delegation from the archdiocese of Alaska of the Orthodox Church in America: the archbishop of Sitka and Alaska Alexis; the chancellor of the diocese of Alaska Archpriest Daniel Charles; the secretary to the archbishop of Alaska and Sitka Alexis and sacristan of the Cathedral of Saint Innocent in Anchorage Father Thomas Rivas; the rector of the Church of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God in the city of Marshall archpriest Maxim Isaak; dean of the Saint Herman of Alaska Seminary in Alaska and dean of the Nativity Cathedral in Kodiak archpriest John Dunlop.
Also serving with His Holiness were: protopresbyter Vladimir Divakov, secretary to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ for the city of Moscow; archpriest Mikhail Ryazantsev, sacristan of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral; archpriest Nikolai Balashov, advisor to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’; archpriest Maxim Kozlov, chairman of the educational committee of the Russian Orthodox Church and rector of the Saints Cyril and Methodius Post-graduate Institute; archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; archpriest Nikolai Lyschenyuk, deputy chairman of the DECR of the Moscow Patriarchate; archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, deputy chairman of the DECR; and deans and clergy of the city of Moscow and the Moscow metropolitanate.
Among the concelebrants at the service were the vicar abbots and vicar abbesses of stauropegic monasteries.
In church also present were: the deputy prime minister of the Russian government D. N. Chernyshenko; deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma A. Yu. Kuznetsov; the Russian presidential plenipotentiary for the central district I. O. Schegolev; the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and head of the LDPR Duma fraction, chairman of the Committee of the Russian State Duma for international affairs Leonid Slutsky; the chairman of the Committee of the Russian State Duma for public, land and property relations S. A. Gavrilov; the governor of Saint Petersburg S. A. Gavrilov; the head of the Republic of Mordova A. A. Zdunov; the temporary acting governor of the Orenburg region Ye. A. Solntsev; Russian State Duma deputy and advisor to the mayor of Moscow, advisor to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ on construction issues and supervisor of the programme for the construction of Orthodox church buildings in Moscow V. I . Resin; Russian State Duma Deputy and cosmonaut Ye. O. Serov; head of the Moscow city health department I. N. Kagramanyan; chairman of the Moscow City Duma A. V. Shaposhnikov; the first vice-president of the Russian Railways Company V. V. Mikhailov; president of the Russian association of producers of fertilizers A. A. Guriev; the vice-president of the Russian union of chemists A. G. Guriev; deputy head of the World Russian Popular Assembly S. Yu. Rudov; the deputy head of the World Russian Popular Assembly and chairman of the oversight committee of the Orthodox Russia Public Movement M. M. Ivanov; the director and head doctor of the Saint Alexis Clinical Hospital A. Yu. Zarov; the acting director general of the Sofrino church goods enterprise V. A. Levin; and the director of the Apostol arts and jewelry workshop I. S. Kharkov.
Among those praying at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral were the chairman of the Synodal Department for Interaction between the Church and Society V. R. Legoida, clergy, monks and nuns, abbesses and inmates of convents and numerous laity.
At the Augmented Litany prayers were offered for Holy Russia. Also at the Augmented Litany special petitions were offered for His Holiness the Patriarch who was celebrating his name’s day:
“Again we pray to thee, our Lord and God, that thou will harken to the voice of our petition and prayer and have mercy upon thy servant, His Holiness the Patriarch Kirill who today celebrates his name’s day, through thy grace and great mercies and fulfill all his petitions, and forgive all his sins both voluntary and voluntary; that his entreaties and mercies be acceptable before thy majestic throne and that he be protected from enemies visible and invisible, from all danger and affliction, and be delivered from all infirmities; that he may be give health and length of days: let us all day, O Lord, hear and have mercy.
“Look down, O Master who lovest mankind, with thy all-merciful eye upon thy servant His Patriarch Kirill: and hearken unto our petitions uttered in faith for thou didst say: for whatsoever thou entreat in prayer, believe it so and you shall receive, and it will be unto you; and again: ask and it will be given unto you. Therefore, we the unworthy who have set our hope upon thy mercy, beseech thee: grant thy beneficence to thy servant His Holiness Patriarch Kirill who celebrates his name’s day and fulfill all his good desires in peace and tranquility, and in health and preserve him for many days of long life: let us all say, harken quickly and have mercy.
O All-Good Master, as a sweet-smelling incense and burnt offering, may this thanksgiving before the majesty of thy glory be for all the good things that thou hast poured out abundantly upon thy servant His Holiness Patriarch Kirill as we fall down and glorify thee and offer our prayer to thee crying aloud: deliver thy servant His Holiness Kirill who celebrates his name’s day and the Church of Russia that he leads from all the wiles of enemies both visible and invisible. Grant to her faithful children sinless length of years and health and growth in all good deeds: we pray thee, All-Merciful King, list to us in thy mercy and have mercy upon us.”
Metropolitan Juvenaly (Poyarkov) read aloud the prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord Jesus Christ for the good deeds bestowed upon His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, who today celebrates his name’s day:
“O Lord Jesus Christ our God, the God of all mercies, whose mercy is boundless and who art the sea of ineffable love of humankind! Falling down before thy majesty in fear and trembling as thine unworthy servants, we render thanksgiving to thy beneficence upon thy servant His Holiness Patriarch Kirill who today celebrates his name’s day and humbly beseech thee as God, Master and Benefactor, we glorify, praise, hymn and magnify thee as we fall down before thee and again give thanks for thy boundless and ineffable mercy as we humbly beseech thee. As thou has vouchsafed to accept the petitions of thy servants and mercifully fulfilled them, so too henceforth in thy sincere love and growing in all virtues vouchsafe His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Church of Russia which he leads to be delivered from all evil and calamities, thereby granting him peace and tranquility so that to thee with thy Unoriginate Father and All-Holy and Good and Consubstantial Spirit in One Essence he may render all good things to thee and sing thy praises: glory to thee our God and Benefactor, unto the ages of ages.
His Holiness the Patriarch then read the prayer for the unity of Holy Russia.
The homily before holy communion was delivered by archimandrite Symeon (Tomachinsky), lecturer at the department of philology at the Moscow Theological Academy and director of the Cenobia Cultural and Educational Centre at the Monastery of the Holy Trinity and Saint Sergius.
At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy a short service of praise was held for the Holy and Equal-to-the Apostles Cyril and Methodius at which His Holiness the Patriarch read the prayer to the Evangelizers of the Slavs.
Then ‘Many Years’ was sung to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the occasion of his name’s day.
The metropolitan of Voskresensk Gregory read aloud a congratulatory address by the members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the occasion of his name’s day and presented His Holiness with an antique icon of the Mother of God entitled “What shall we call thee, O thou who art full of grace” (also known as “The Grace from Heaven”) and a bouquet of white roses.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill was congratulated on behalf of the Russian president Vladimir Putin by the Russian presidential plenipotentiary for the central district I. O. Schegolev. His Holiness the Patriarch was congratulated on behalf of the Russian government by D. N. Chernyshenko, who read aloud a congratulatory address by the Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin.
The Primate of the Russian Church then addressed to all those present at the service his archpastoral homily.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill then presented the Christ the Saviour Cathedral with a liturgical Book of the Gospels.
There was then held a ceremony in which ecclesiastical awards were given to those bishops who were celebrating important anniversaries and who had especially laboured for the good of the Holy Church.
“Dear bishops, fathers, brothers and sisters, I once again congratulate you all on this remarkable day. I believe that our collective worships has a special effect on each and every one of us. When bishops celebrate the Divine Liturgy together they truly project the image of the Catholic Apostolic Church. May it please God that no human efforts aimed at weakening the conciliar nature of our Church ever come to fruition. May it please God through our common worship and through our common deeds faith and the spiritual life of our nature be strengthened. And may it please God that in response to our modest endeavours Holy Russia will truly prosper in her Orthodox faith, piety and purity. Amen. Christ is risen!” said His Holiness Patriarch Kirill in his concluding words to those who attended the service.