CELEBRATIONS MARKING MILLENNIUM OF PRINCE VLADIMIR’S DEMISE BEGIN IN KAZAN
On 27 March 2015, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, arrived in Kazan with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to take part in the celebrations marking the millennium of the demise of the Holy Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles.
Meeting the high guests at the airport were Metropolitan Anastasiy of Kazan and Tatarstan, head of the Tatarstan metropolia; Bishop Mefodiy of Almetievsk and Bugulma; Mr. Alexander Terentiev, head of the Tatarstan President’s department for domestic policy; hegumen Yevfimiy (Moiseyev), rector of the Kazan Theological seminary; and clerics of the Kazan diocese.
The Saturday programme includes the Divine liturgy at the Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary to be celebrated by Metropolitan Hilarion together with Metropolitan Anastasiy and Bishop Mefodiy, Metropolitan Hilarion’s address to be delivered at the final session of the Conference on ‘Civilization Choice of the Peoples of Russia: unity of history, unity of people, unity of Russia,’ All-Night vigil at the Kazan Orthodox theological seminary, and the DECR chairman’s meeting with the faculty and students.
On Sunday, Metropolitan Hilarion will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Kazan Kremlin. Attending the service will be representatives of the Orthodox brotherhoods and sisterhoods, members of the Cossack communities, of youth organizations of the Tatarstan metropolia, pupils of the urban and rural Sunday schools, and parishioners of other Kazan churches.
Later in the day Metropolitan Hilarion will attend an opening ceremony of the ‘Apostle’ Diocesan Religious Education Centre established at the Bishop’s Metochion named after the Holy Martyr Kirill, Metropolitan of Kazan. Activists of the youth movement will present electronic versions of the projects which were shown at the forum of the Tatarstan Orthodox Youth called ‘The Holy Prince Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles. Faith and Works.’ Winners of the diocesan competition ‘Love! Live! Act!’ will receive their awards.
In conclusion of his visit to Kazan, Metropolitan Hilarion will lead an opening ceremony of the All-Russia photo exhibition ‘To the Millennium of the Holy Prince Vladimir’s Demise: Faith through-the-lens of Contemporaries.’
