His Holiness Patriarch Alexy Celebrates Divine Liturgy and Prayer Service on St George Day in St George’s Church on Poklonnaya Gora

On 6 May 2006 when the Church commemorates great martyr St George the Victory-Bearer His Holiness Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy and a Prayer Service before the saint’s reliquary in St George’s Church on Poklonnaya Gora. His Holiness concelebrated with Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, Archbishop Alexy of Orekhovo-Zuyevo, and many Moscow clergy.

During the Divine Liturgy special petitions for the rest eternal of souls of service people killed in action for their faith and fatherland, of those who died of famine and wounds, of those murdered in imprisonment and hard labors, of those who ended their lives during the blockade, and of all who worked for our Victory.

Prefect Georgy Alpatov of Western Administrative Circle of Moscow was present at the service.

After the service Rector of St George’s Archpriest Sergy Suzdaltsev congratulated the Primate on St George Day and coming Great Patriotic War Victory Day and gifted to His Holiness an icon of St George the Victory-Bearer.

After that, His Holiness thanked the Rector and preached to all present there. His Holiness mentioned that St George Day is a Moscow Feast-Day as it is St George who is depicted in the capital city’s coat of arms and is its heavenly patron.

‘Sixty-one years divides us from the glorious date, the day of our people’s victory in the Great Patriotic War. Every year the War’s participants who forged the victory during those severe years become fewer. We honor them with a special feeling these days and bring them our duty of respectful love for their glorious feat of arms’, His Holiness said.

His Holiness also noted that great victory in the hard and bloody Great Patriotic War was given to our people in the very day the memory of that great soldier of Christ was celebrated.

‘Love for the motherland, manifested by our people in the war, our great victory over the enemy, all these has a great role in the upbringing of our youth. The memory of the victory is a living link of our nation’s generation. This victory must not be forgotten,’ His Holiness added.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church congratulated on their name day all those who celebrated it on St George Day and all those who received the communion were also congratulated on that occasion.