Canonization of the newly glorified saints in the Church of Christ the Saviour

CANONIZATION OF THE NEWLY GLORIFIED SAINTS IN THE CHURCH OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR

During the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Christ the Saviour on August 20, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia together with His Beatitude Patriarch and Catholicos Iliya II of All Georgia, His Holiness Patriarch Paul of Serbia, His Beatitude Patriarch Teoktist of Romania, His Holiness Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostom of the New Justiniana and All Cyprus, His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and All Albania, His Beatitude Metropolitan Nikolay of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, as well as representatives of several Local Orthodox Churches and a host of bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate conducted the liturgical rite of the glorification of the saints canonized by the Jubilee Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna read the Action of the Council on the church-wide glorification of a synaxis of the 20th century new martyrs and confessors of Russia, among them the Emperor Nicholas II and the members of the Imperial family, as well as other saints of the 18th-20th centuries. His Holiness the Patriarch blessed the congregation with icons of the newly-glorified saints, after which the icons were place at the lectern for veneration and honouring.

Present at the service were Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirivna, her mother Leonida Georgiyevna and her son Georgiy.

In connection with the tragedy in the Barents Sea, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, a prayer was said for the crew of the Kursk submarine, their relatives and associates.

After the Divine Liturgy, His Holiness the Patriarch addressed the congregation.

Address
by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia
after the Divine Liturgy
on the day of the glorification of a synaxis of Russia’s new martyrs and confessors

Your Holinesses, Your Beatitudes, primates of the Holy Orthodox Churches, fellow-archpastors, honourable fathers, dear brothers and sisters:

I cordially thank the primates of the Local Orthodox Churches and the delegations of all the Orthodox Churches who took part in our celebrations devoted to the Bimillennium of the Nativity of Christ. Yesterday we consecrated the Church of Christ the Saviour. Today we have canonized new Russian martyrs and confessors who suffered for the faith of Christ. By this we as if have summed up the 20th century which has been so tragic for our Fatherland. We know that the Church of Christ asserts herself by the blood of martyrs. And the spiritual revival in the countries which only recently were under the communist domination is also brought about by the intercession and feat of the new martyrs who suffered for the faith of Christ.

We are entering the 21st century with the hope that the coming century will become for our peoples a century of peace, creative work and well-being, and the most important thing, a century of return to the spiritual and moral values which our Lord Jesus Christ has bequeathed to us in the Holy Gospel.

The Sunday reading of the Gospel today referred to the storm in the Sea of Tiberias in which the disciples of Christ were caught. The Apostle Peter came out of the boat and wanted to walk on the waves to the Saviour but began to be drowned. Then the Lord, speaking to him, said: «Have you no faith?». We often liken out life to the stormy sea of life. But we should never doubt that the Lord is with us. And if the Lord is with us, we do not fear any storm in the sea of life!

Celebrating the Bimillennium of the Nativity of Christ, we hope for the gracious help of our Lord and Saviour in the life of each of us, in the life of our Churches which guide their flocks to eternal salvation.

Once again I thank the primates of the Local Orthodox Churches and the delegations of the Orthodox Church for being with us during our church celebrations, for we all should strengthen pan-Orthodox unity. I thank all our Orthodox believers who have carried the faith of Christ through the hard years of trials and confess it today.

We will never forget and cherish in our hearts these two days, these two Divine Liturgies which we celebrated in the presence of the people of God, as an example of Orthodox unity, as a triumph of Holy Orthodoxy.

Through the intercession of the Synaxis of the Russian new martyrs and confessors, may the Lord bless our work for the glory of God, for the good of the Local Orthodox Church which have been entrusted to our care and for the good of our flock who expect from us the pointing of way to the Heavenly Kingdom. I congratulate you all, my dear ones!