« On the eve of the feast of the finding of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh concelebrated His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia at the all-night vigil at the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra »

On July 17, 2023, on the eve of the feast of finding the honest relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh (1422), His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated an all-night vigil on the Cathedral Square of the Holy Trinity - St.Sergius Lavra.

A solemn service was celebrated in front of the venerated icon of St. Sergius.  A platform has been built on the square for the celebration of the all-night vigil and the divine liturgy, and an altar under cover has been erected in front of the Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra.

His Holiness was assisted by Metropolitan Yuvenaly (Poyarkov); Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, head of the Central Asian metropolitan district, Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, Metropolitan Pavel of Krutitsa and Kolomna, Patriarchal vicar of the Moscow Metropolis; Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus; Metropolitan Dionysius of Voskresensk, Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchy, First Vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for the City of Moscow; Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations,  Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, temporary administrator of the Patriarchal parishes in the USA and Canada, host of bishops who arrived at the Lavra.

His Holiness was also assisted by Archimandrite Macarius (Veretennikov), Ph.D in Church History, resident of the Lavra; Archimandrite Jeremiah (Soloviev), resident of the Lavra; Archimandrite Zakharia (Shkurikhin), resident of the Lavra; Archimandrite Alexy (Turikov), personal secretary of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill;  Hieromonk Nikandr (Pylyshyn), acting  Chairman of the Financial and Economic Department of the Moscow Patriarchate; monks of the Lavra in holy orders.

Liturgical chants were performed by the joint choir of the Holy Trinity-St.Sergius Lavra and the Moscow Theological Academy under the direction of Hieromonk Nestor (Volkov).

The divine service was attended by N.Yu. Chaplin, member of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, churchwarden of the Patriarchal Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, S.G. Malyshev, Senior Vice President and Financial Director of Norilsk Nickel Group, and S. Yu. Rudov, Head of the Secretariat of the World Russian People's Council.

A large number of pilgrims prayed during the service.

Live broadcast of the Patriarchal divine service was provided by Soyuz and Spas TV channels, as well as by Patriarchia.ru, the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church. For the convenience of the pilgrims, the broadcast was streamed on large screens installed on both Cathedral and Krasnogorsk squares of the Lavra.

Patriarchia.ru/Sourozh.org

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