Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on Christmas
On the night of 6th/7th January, 2011, the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the All-Night Vigil and the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Concelebrating with His Holiness were Archbishop Arseniy of Istra; Bishops Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate; Kirill of Pavlovsky Posad, chairman of the Synodal Department on Relations with the Cossacks; Panteleimon of Orekhovo-Zuevo, chairman of the Synodal Department for Charity and Social Ministry; schema archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin); archpriest Mikhail Ryazantsev, sacristan if the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour; hegumen Savva (Tutunov), deputy chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate; hieromonk Antoniy (Sevryuk), head of the personal secretariat of His Holiness; clerics of Christ the Saviour Cathedral; and clergymen of Moscow.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with his wife, representatives of the Russian authorities, public organizations, and non-Orthodox Christian Churches attended the divine service, press office of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia reports.
The choir of the Cathedral sang at the Divine Liturgy that was broadcast on the central Russian TV channels and the Patriarchia.ru portal. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill congratulated the TV viewers on the feast of the Nativity of Christ.
After the communion of clergymen, the sacristan of the Cathedral, archpriest Mikhail Ryazantsev read out Christmas message of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the archpastors, pastors, monastics, and all the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church greeted the worshippers with the Nativity of Christ.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and President Dmitry Medvedev exchanged presents as a keepsake of the divine service. The head of the state presented His Holiness with an old picture of the Nativity of Christ and flowers. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church gave Dmitry Medvedev a pearl Nativity Play made in the Holy Land.