‘The Worship of St.Panteleimon, the Great Martyr and Healer and Relations between Russia and Mount Athos – towards the 1700th Anniversary of his Blessed Demise) conference is being held at the Pilgrims Centre of the Moscow Patriarchate

On 15 December 2005 a conference ‘The Worship of St.Panteleimon, the Great Martyr and Healer and Relations between Russia and Mount Athos – towards the 1700^th anniversary of his blessed demise) began its work at the Pilgrims Centre of the Moscow Patriarchate

The conference is timed to the 1700^th anniversary of the demise of St.Panteleimon, the Great Martyr and Healer, who is one of the most worshipped saints in Russia. At its session held on 20 April 2005 the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church resolved to hold a scholarly conference dedicated to the worship of St.Panteleimon and to the relations between Russia and Mount Athos.

The conference was organized by the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Scientific Council ‘The role of religion in history’ of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, and the Pilgrims Centre of the Moscow Patriarchate.

A short prayer service was celebrated before the particle of the relics of the Great Martyr Panteleimon prior the conference.

Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad opened the conference and read out the greetings from His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II to the participants.

Rector of the Moscow representation of St.Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos hegumen Nikon (Smirnov) read out the greetings from the Rector of St.Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos archimandrite Jeremiah (Alekhin) to the participants in the conference, who were also addressed by the president of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society Ya.N.Shchapov.

Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad presented a report ‘The Deed of St.Panteleimon in the context of the Old Church’s Understanding of Martyrdom.’

Outstanding scholars and theologians I.S.Chichurov, N.N.Lisovoy, A.A.Turilov, D.V.Zubov, S.V.Gnutova, O.V.Loseva will present their reports at the conference, as well as archpriest Sergei Makhonin, professors of the theological and secular educational institutions, and clergy of the Moscow representation of the Russian St.Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos.

An exhibition dedicated to the history of worshipping the Holy and Great Martyr Panteleimon will be held in the ‘Pilgrim’ gallery of the Orthodox educational complex of the Pilgrims Centre of the Moscow Patriarchate from December 15 to 22 in the framework of the conference.