Department for External Church Relations
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Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk leads patronal celebrations at the Church of St. Philip the Apostle in Sharjah
DECR Communication Service, 23/11/2025
On 23rd November 2025, the Church of the Holy Apostle Philip in Sharjah, the UAE – the only Russian Orthodox church on the Arabian Peninsula – celebrated its patronal feast. The celebrations were rescheduled from 27th November to Sunday the 23rd.
Officiating at the Divine Liturgy was Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations. Among his concelebrants were Archimandrite Alexander (Zarkeshev), rector of St. Philip Church; Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov, DECR deputy chairman; Archpriest Sergy Zvonarev, DECR Secretary for Far Abroad Countries; Hegumen Varlaam (Dulsky), cleric of St. Nicholas Church in Tehran; Hieromonk Kirill (Peregudin) of the DECR Secretariat for Far Abroad Countries; Priest Alexander Yershov, assistant to the DECR chairman; as well as Protodeacon Konstantin Markovich and Deacon Alexy Kostin.
Liturgical hymns were performed by the parish choir.
Most of the worshippers partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, prayers of praise were offered to the Holy Apostle Philip before his icon.
After the divine service, Archimandrite Alexander (Zarkeshev) greeted Metropolitan Anthony and thanked him for leading the patronal celebrations.
Metropolitan Anthony conveyed to all those present blessings from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ and extended to them his felicitations on the occasion of the patronal feast, wishing God’s help to the rector, clerics and parishioners of the Church of the Holy Apostle Philip in Sharjah.
The archpastor presented to Archimandrite Alexander (Zarkeshev) an award of the Department for External Church Relations – the Medal of St. Mark of Ephesus, 1st Class – to mark the 40th anniversary of his ordination to holy orders.
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