His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Divine Liturgy at the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin on Ss Cyril and Methodius Day

On 24 May 2011, the commemoration day of Ss Cyril and Methodius, Teachers of the Slavs, and the Day of Slavonic Literature and Culture, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated Divine Liturgy at the Patriarch Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin. May 24 is also the Name Day of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Concelebrating with His Holiness were permanent members of the Holy Synod: Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus; Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna; Metropolitan Varsonofiy of Saransk and Mordovia, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate; and Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR).

Taking part in the celebration were Metropolitan Elpidiphorus of Prusa, head of the delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople; Metropolitan Athanasios of Kyrenaika, representative of the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; Metropolitan Kirill of Varna and Veliki Preslav (Bulgarian Orthodox Church); the assembly of hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church; Bishop Kyrillos of Abydos (patriarchate of Constantinople); schema-archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin); archimandrite Stephanos (Dispirakis), representative of the Patriarch of Jerusalem to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; archimandrite Theoctist (Dimitrov), representative of the Patriarch of Bulgaria to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; archimandrite Zacchaeus (Wood), representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; archpriest Vladimir Divakov, Patriarch’s secretary for Moscow; archpriest Mikhail Ryazantsev, sacristan of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour; archpriest Nikolai Balashov, DECR deputy chairman; ordained embers of the delegations of the Local Orthodox Churches, and clergymen from Moscow and Moscow vicinity.

The choir of the Sretensky stavropegic monastery conducted by Nikon Zhila sang at the divine service.

Present at the Cathedral of the Assumption were Alexander Beglov, deputy head of Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation; Sergei Popov, chairman of the State Duma Committee for Public Associations and Religious Organizations; representative of the Russian Federation state authorities and of diplomatic mission from the countries of Orthodox tradition; participants in the celebration of the Day of Slavonic Literature and Culture; and clergy and laity of the capital city.
After the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Slutsk read out the congratulatory address from the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church to His Holiness Kirill on his Name Day and presented the Patriarch with a copy of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God.

Archpriest Leonid Roldugin, rector of the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Izmailovo, congratulated the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church on behalf of Moscow clergymen and made him a present – a pectoral cross and two panagias.

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