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Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate 60th Anniversary Celebrations Start in St Daniel’s Monastery

6.06.2006 · Архив 2005-2009, События  

Church and public celebrations on the occasion of 60th Anniversary of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate started on 6 June 2006 with a Divine Liturgy in the Holy Trinity church of St Daniel’s Monastery.

The Liturgy was presided by the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad concelebrating with the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Germany Archbishop Longin of Klin, Archbishop Feofan of Berlin and Germany, Archbishop Simon of Brussels and Belgium and temporary of Hague and the Netherlands, Archbishop Innokenty of Korsun, the representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Bishop Niphon of Philippopolis, the administrator of the Patriarchal parishes in the USA Bishop Merkury of Zaraisk, Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria, the vice-chairman of the Department for External Church Relations Bishop Mark of Yegoryevsk, the vice-chairman of the Department for External Church Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the Department’s staff in holy orders, and foreign parishes clergy. Many other Orthodox bishops, clergy and lay people, including the Department for External Church Relations staff, and honorable guests were present at the service.

After the Small Entrance some DECR staff and foreign clergymen were presented with awards. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem Archimandrite Yelissey Ganaba was honored with the right of celebrating of the Divine Liturgy with the Royal Door open until the Great Entrance. The vice-chairman of the Department for External Church Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin was awarded with mitre. The secretary for inter-Orthodox relations Archpriest Nicholas Balashov was given a cross with decorations. The rector of the Moscow Patriarchate parish in Hong Kong Priest Dionisy Pozdniayev was made archpriest. Hieromonk Filipp Vasiltsev from St Nicholas church in Rome and Hieromonk Feofan Kim from Seoul were made hegumens. The secretary for inter-Christian relations Priest Igor Vyzhanov, the acting head of the Communication Service of the DECR Priest Mikhail Prokopenko, and the rector of the Holy Trinity parish in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, Priest Alexy Trubach were awarded with pectoral crosses. The DECR officials Priest Alexander Vasyutin and Priest Georgy Ryabykh were given kamilaukia.

After the Liturgy Metropolitan Kirill said a memorial prayer for former heads of the DECR, Metropolitan Nikolay Yarushevich and Metropolitan Nikodim Rotov.

‘Looking at examples of our fathers, being strengthened with God’s help and inspired with the support of many people both in and outside the Church, with humbleness and obedience to His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod, we shall peruse our work, remembering that we do a modest but very important thing of witnessing to Christ crucified and risen’, the DECR’s chairman said. ‘We do not call our work a mission as the mission follows us, but rather we call it witnessing for an external world. We are ready to cooperate with all whoever wants to join us standing up for high moral values of the God’s Revelation and preserving and defending religious values in the modern society’s life. In uneasy circumstances of our life, in the new epoch of the global civilization when everything comes into contact and interaction, when the whole world become a united common house, our work is also aimed at avoiding a fire it that house, that people may not tear each other apart because they have different faiths, ethnicity or worldview. Peacemaking has always been a feature of the Church and people working for external church relations play not a least role in maintaining it’.

After the service the metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad gave Patriarchal decorations. The vice-chairman of the Department for External Church Relations Bishop Mark of Yegoryevsk was honored with the Order of St Seraphim of Sarov, 2nd class. The head of chancellery V. Churkalov and the head of stock N. Mankov were presented with the Medal of St Seraphim of Sarov, 1st class. Many DECR staff and foreign clergy were awarded with Patriarchal diplomas.