Representatives of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia concelebrate with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the Laura of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius
On Bright Thursday, 24 April 2014, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Laura of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius.
The concelebrants included Archbishop Jurai of Michalovce and Košice, the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and archimandrite Serafim (Shemyatovsky), rector of the Moscow metochion of this Church.
After the Liturgy, His Holiness read out the letter of certification, which says that archimandrite Serafim, whom the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia appointed its representative to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, is the rector of the Church of St. Nicholas, Patriarchal metochion in Moscow.
His Holiness greeted Archbishop Jurai of Michalovce and Košice noting that the Church of the Czezh Lands and Slovakia is experiencing a hard time. He expressed his wish for the Church to overcome all disorders and to rally the believers around the Holy Synod and the legitimately elected Primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Rastislav.
He continued to say: ‘We will pray and work for the strengthening of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, which has been closely linked with the Russian Orthodox Church which granted it the autocephalous status. We hope that the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia will worthily take pastoral care also for the Russians, Ukrainians and Byelorussians living on the territory of the Czech Republic and Republic of Slovakia.’
Archbishop Jurai thanked His Holiness for his kind words and greeted him with Pascha on behalf of Archbishop Rastislav.