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Celebration of the Nameday of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Russia in Christ the Saviour Cathedral

24.02.2006 · Архив 2005-2009, События  

On 24 February 2006, a solemn Divine service was celebrated in Christ the Saviour Cathedral for the Nameday of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Russia. His Holiness celebrated the Divine Liturgy and a prayer service to St.Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, together with the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches and clergymen of the Moscow diocese.

After the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine congratulated His Holiness Patriarch Alexy on his Nameday and birthday on behalf of the Holy Synod, bishops, clergymen, monastics and pious laymen, in other words, on behalf of the Plenitude of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia and the far and near abroad.

Metropolitan Vladimir noted in particular His Holiness Alexy’s continuous and steadfast work done for preserving Holy Orthodoxy and for building up spiritual foundations of the nation and society.

‘This radiant day gives us another opportunity to recall your great services to the Church and society and to express our heartfelt gratitude to you for your work. We sincerely believe that the Holy Spirit has made you ‘to feed the church of the Lord which He obtained with His own blood’ (Acts 20:28). We believe that God has chosen you from your early childhood. Your life is an example of faithful service to the people of God, the Holy Church and the Fatherland’, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine said.

He presented His Holiness with an icon of the Heavenly Queen and said: ‘Please accept our prayers and best wishes on this sacred day. May the Gracious Lord strengthen you through the prayers of the Most Precious Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary and of St. Alexis, the Wonderworker so that you worthily and faithfully continue your primatial ministry to the glory of God, for the benefit of the Church and to the joy of all people who love you.

We ask you to accept, along with our greetings, prayers and best wishes this icon of the Mother of God who has always interceded for the Land of Russia and the Primate of the Russian Church. May the Mother of God always be your protectress and helper’.

The rector of the Church of the Saviour on-the-Sands Archpriest Alexander Turikov congratulated His Holiness the Patriarch on behalf of the clergy, monastics and laymen of the Moscow diocese and presented him with a panagia depicting the icon of the Protection Veil of the Mother of God.

His Holiness the Patriarch sincerely thanked all people who worshipped in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church said: ‘I would like to thank the members of the Holy Synod and the archpastors who perform their apostolic ministry in the far and near dioceses of the Russian Church and bring back to the faith in Christ our compatriots who for 70 years were forced to abandon their faith and to be separated from moral and spiritual values by which our people used to live and which helped them survive all trials in history and foreign invasions.

The cross of Patriarchal ministry is heavy, but I feel the support of bishops, monastics and clergymen, their prayers and intercessions, and I have strength to continue my ministry of the Primate of the Russian Church. I thank all archpastors and pastors for their moral support and for our unity through which we manage to revive the life of the Church in our Fatherland and in the far and near abroad’.

There are many difficulties on the way to spiritual revival of the Russian people, and many different forces try to bring temptation in people’s life. We always try to fight drug addiction, lack of spirituality and those abnormalities of this age that often affect people’s minds and souls and try to take them away of what they really need’, His Holiness the Patriarch said.
His Holiness called upon clergymen ‘to perform ministry to the glory of God and to call people to come back to moral and spiritual priorities by which our nation has lived for many centuries’.

In conclusion of his address His Holiness the Patriarch congratulated all Orthodox people on the feast of the Iberian icon of the Mother of God and the commemoration day of St.Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia and Wonderworker.
His Holiness accepted traditional greetings from hierarchs, rectors of the Moscow churches and abbots of the Moscow monasteries, representatives of the synodal departments, Orthodox brotherhoods and sisterhoods.

That same day His Holiness read out the decrees of elevating several archpastors to the rank of archbishop and presented several hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church with patriarchal awards.

Bishops Zosima of Elista and Kalmykia, Feodosy of Polotsk and Glubokoe and Georgy of Nizhny Nogorod and Arzamas were elevated to the rank of archbishop in consideration of their ministry to the Church of God.
Metropolitan Lazar of Crimea and Simferopol was awarded with the Order of St.Seraphim of Sarov, 2nd class, in connection with the 25th anniversary of his episcopal consecration.

Archbishop Nikolai of Izhevsk and Udmurtia was awarded with the Order of St.Seraphim of Sarov, 2nd class, in connection with the 20th anniversary of his episcopal consecration.

Archbishop Antony of the Ural and Guriev was awarded the Order of St.Innokenty, Metropolitan of Moscow, 2nd class, in connection with the 20th anniversary of his episcopal consecration.

Archbishop Sergiy of Ternopol and Krementsy was awarded with the Order of the Holy and Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, 2nd class, in connection with the 15th anniversary of his episcopal consecration.

Bishop Pitirim of Syktyvkar and Vorkuta was awarded with the Order of St.Sergius of Radonezh, 2nd class, in connection with the 10th anniversary of his episcopal consecration.

Bishop Alexander of Baku and the Transcaspian region was awarded with the Order of St.Innokenty, Metropolitan of Moscow, 2nd class, in consideration of his zealous archpastoral ministry and in connection with the 30th anniversary of his service to the Church as its pastor.

His Holiness the Patriarch congratulated all the hierarchs honoured with high church awards.