Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia meets with Serbian Patriarch Irinej

On 5 December 2017, at the Patriarchal residence in St. Daniel’s Monastery His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, met with His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch.

• photo gallery(patriarchia.ru)

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Primates of Local Orthodox Churches

In the evening of 4 December 2017, at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence, the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin, met with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and the Primates and heads of the delegations of the Local Orthodox Churches who had come to Moscow to take part in the celebrations marking the centenary of the restoration of the Patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Taking part in the meeting were His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria, His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania, His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus, His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and All Albania, His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland, His Beatitude Metropolitan Rastislav of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada, Metropolitan Theodore of Akhaltsikhe and Tao-Klarjeti – head of the delegation of the Georgian Orthodox Church, and Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech – head of the delegation of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on the centenary of enthronement of St. Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow

On 4 December 2017, the feast day of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, the centenary of enthronement of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.

Installed in the centre of the church was the shrine with the holy relics of the Holy Patriarch Tikhon, which had been brought there from the Donskoy Monastery on November 29, the first day of work of the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Patron Saint-day of the Monastery of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple in Belgrade

With the blessing of His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, His Grace Bishop of Raska-Prizren Teodosije celebrated the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy at the Monastery of the Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Temple on Senjak in Belgrade on 4 December 2017.

The Bishop was concelebrated by protopresbyter-stavrophors Milosav Glogovac, Dragomir Sando and Stojadin Pavlovic, protosyncellos Mardarije from the monastery of Saint John the Baptist from Poganov near Pirot, presbyters Mirko Vidacek and Dimitrije Kasapis and deacons Nenad Mihajlovic, Dragan Tanasijevic and Nemanja Ristic.

His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia arrives in Moscow

On 1 December 2017, at the invitation of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, a delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church led by His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia arrived in Moscow to take part in the celebrations marking the centenary of the All-Russian Local Council of 1917-1918 and the restoration of Patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church is accompanied on his visit by Bishop Irinej of Bačka, Archimandrite Isihije (Rogič), Archimandrite Stefan (Šarič), and Mr. Dejan Nakič.

Sermon on the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple

If a tree is known by its fruit, and a good tree bears good fruit (Mt. 7:17; Lk. 6:44), then is not the Mother of Goodness Itself, She who bore the Eternal Beauty, incomparably more excellent than every good, whether in this world or the world above? Therefore, the coeternal and identical Image of goodness, Preeternal, transcending all being, He Who is the preexisting and good Word of the Father, moved by His unutterable love for mankind and compassion for us, put on our image, that He might reclaim for Himself our nature which had been dragged down to uttermost Hades, so as to renew this corrupted nature and raise it to the heights of Heaven. For this purpose, He had to assume a flesh that was both new and ours, that He might refashion us from out of ourselves. Now He finds a Handmaiden perfectly suited to these needs, the supplier of Her own unsullied nature, the Ever-Virgin now hymned by us, and Whose miraculous Entrance into the Temple, into the Holy of Holies, we now celebrate. God predestined Her before the ages for the salvation and reclaiming of our kind. She was chosen, not just from the crowd, but from the ranks of the chosen of all ages, renowned for piety and understanding, and for their God-pleasing words and deeds.