Patriarch Kirill celebrates at Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg
On July 12, 2010, the Day of Sts Peter and Paul, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate has reported.
Among His Holiness’ concelebrants were Archbishop Leo of Karelia and All Finland, Primate of the Finnish Autonomous Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, Metropolitan Varsonofy of Saransk and Mordovia, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, abbot of St. Sergius’ Laura of the Holy Trinity, Bishop Amvrosy of Gatchina, rector of St. Petersburg Theological Schools, Bishop Markell of Petergof, Bishop Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s administrative secretariat, Bishop Nazariy of Vyborg, abbot of St. Alexander Nevsky’s Laura, Bishop Lazar of Narva, Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, abbot of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow, Archimandrite Porfiriy Shutov, abbot of the Solovki Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration, and Hegumen Alexander Fyodorov, rector of Sts Peter and Paul’s Cathedral.
The service was attended by St. Petersburg vice-governor M. Oseyevsky, Russian Federation Constitutional Court chairman V. Zorkin, state officials, public figures, benefactors, and staff members of the Sts Peter and Paul Fortress museums. Among the worshippers were also V. Legoida, head of the Synodal Information Department, and abbesses of several convents of the Russian Orthodox Church.
After the Divine Liturgy, His Holiness Kirill delivered a sermon devoted to the spiritual feat of the first apostles.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was greeted by Metropolitan Vladimir, who presented the him with a patriarchal crosier. His Holiness Kirill greeted the people in the northern capital on the occasion of the patronal feast of Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral and addressed the Primate of the Finnish Autonomous Orthodox Church with words of greetings.
‘I rejoice in the fact that today we have together celebrated the Divine Liturgy in this historic Cathedral of St. Petersburg. Finland is our good neighbour, a country which many Russians know not by hearsay. Many people today visit Finland, have their vocations in Finland and have relatives and friends there. We are really close neighbours, and I am glad to see that the Orthodox Church of Finland under your guidance carries out her pastoral service, calling people to salvation, preserving remarkable traditions, including the liturgical traditions of the Russian Orthodox Mother Church. It brings us close together, and we are always glad to see you in Russia, especially in St. Petersburg. May God’s blessing dwell upon the Finnish Orthodox Church and our friendly neighbour Finland’, he said.
His Holiness gave out to worshippers small icons of Sts Peter and Paul with his blessing inscribed on them.
His Holiness Kirill was greeted on behalf of the clergy of Sts Peter and Paul’s Cathedral by its rector, Hegumen Alexander Fyodorov, who presented the patriarch with an icon of selected saints of St. Petersburg.
DECR Communication Service