A Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow has opened the celebrations dedicated to the 700th anniversary of the birth of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
January 26, 2014. PRAVMIR. His Beatitude, Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East, and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. This service opened the celebrations dedicated to the 700th anniversary of the birth of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
On January 26, 2014, His Beatitude, Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East, and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. This divine service opened the celebrations dedicated to the 700th anniversary of the birth of St. Sergius of Radonezh, reports Patriarchia.ru.
Following the Pre-Communion verses, a pastoral epistle of His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, and the Holy Synod to the hierarchs, pastors, deacons, monastics, and all faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church on the 700th anniversary of the birth of St. Sergius was read aloud.
After the service, a moleben [supplicatory service] was served to St. Sergius of Radonezh, after which banners made especially for the anniversary celebrations of St. Sergius were blessed. These banners will be sent out to each diocese since, according to the words of His Holiness the Patriarch, they represent the jubilee year; all church services, religious processions, and other significant events will take place with the banners, which will visibly remind us of St. Sergius, the Abbot of the Russian Land. The consecration of these banners revives the pre-revolutionary tradition of blessing banners before significant dates.
In his sermon at the end of the Liturgy, Patriarch Kirill noted:
“The current Christmas Readings are dedicated to one of the greatest ascetics of the Russian Orthodox Church: St. Sergius of Radonezh. He began his path to holiness with the ascetic struggles of prayer and repentance, continued it with the abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit, and ended it with grace-filled service to the Church and his people. We all know how manifold was the grace of God shown upon St. Sergius during his earthly life and after his blessed repose. The gift of miracles and healings; the gift of being a pastor and instructor for the numerous brethren and all who visited him; the gift of spiritual counsel and a profound understanding of the state – all these spiritual riches were united in one person, and in him they all served the common good. We dedicate the current Christmas Readings to St. Sergius.
“Everyone of us is called upon by God to serve the Church; everyone does so according to his strength and for the common goal of preserving the Body of Christ. For this sake we are here; for this sake we today celebrated the conciliar Divine Liturgy. I would like to wish every participant of the Christmas Readings to fight the good fight (2 Timothy 4:7), and may everyone’s works be blessed by the presence and grace of the Holy Spirit, which has brought us together today in this church.”
