« On the feast of the Don Icon of the Mother of God, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh assisted His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the Donskoy Monastery »
02-09-2019 
On September 1, 2019, on the feast of the Don Icon of the Mother of God, His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, temporary Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the United States and Canada, assisted His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the Great Cathedral of the Donskoy Stavropegic Monastery in Moscow. The Secretary of the Sourozh Diocese, Priest Dimitry Nedostupenko, took part in the divine service.
According to established tradition, the miraculous Don Icon of the Mother of God was brought to the Donskoy monastery from the State Tretyakov Gallery.
September 1 is also the Day of Knowledge. On this day, the Russian Orthodox Church offers prayers for teachers and students. In addition, on the first Sunday of September, an annual day of special prayer for God's creation was established by the decision of the Holy Synod of July 13, 2015 (magazine No. 41).
During the liturgy, Archimandrite Ignatius (Golinchenko) was consecrated as Bishop of Yenisei and Lesosibirsk (Krasnoyarsk Metropolia).
His Holiness was assisted by Metropolitan Savva of Tver and Kashin, Chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate; Metropolitan Panteleimon of Krasnoyarsk and Achinsk; Archbishop Theognost of Kashira, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism; Bishop Cornelius of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogorsk; Bishop Nikanor of Minusinsk and Kuraginsk; Bishop Agafangel of Norilsk and Turukhansk; Bishop Matthew of Sourozh; Bishop Thomas of Pavlovo-Posadsk, Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate; Bishop Thomas of Bronnitsa, First Deputy Chairman of the Financial and Economic Administration of the Moscow Patriarchate, abbot of the Donskoy Monastery; Bishop Alexy of Solnechnogorsk, abbot of Danilov Stavropegic Monastery; Protopresbyter Vladimir Divakov, Secretary of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in Moscow; Archimandrite Pavel (Krivonogov), abbot of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Stavropegial Monastery; Archpriest Alexander Farkovets, Dean of the churches of the Donskoy Church District, rector of the Church of the Lord’s Robe Deposition on Donskaya in Moscow; Archpriest Oleg Vorobyov, Dean of the Danilovsky Church District, Rector of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Borisovsky Ponds in Moscow; Archpriest Michael Gundyaev, Rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Geneva (Switzerland); Archpriest Vladimir Dorosh, head of the administrative secretariat of the Krasnoyarsk diocese, rector of the Intercession Cathedral of the city of Krasnoyarsk; Priest Timothy Chaykin, Executive Secretary of the Synodal Committee for Interaction with the Cossacks; Donskoy monastery’s priests and Moscow clergy
The divine service was attended by A.Yu. Kuznetsova,Commissioner for the Rights of Children under the President of the Russian Federation; S.G. Obryvalin, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation; V.I. Suchkov, Head of the Department of National Policy and Interregional Relations of Moscow; V.V. Nikolsky, Head of the city of Yeniseisk, Krasnoyarsk Territory; D.N. Sokolov, Head of the Donskoy District Administration, South Administrative Region of Moscow; Z.I. Tregulova, Chief Executive of the State Tretyakov Gallery; and N.P. Burlyaev, People's Artist of Russia.
Vice-chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism, Abbess Iuliania (Kaleda) of the Zachatievsky Stavropegial Convent, Abbess Victorina (Perminova) of the Nativity of the Mother of God Stavropegic Convent, Abbess Lyudmila (Voloshina) of St. John’s Stavropegial Convent on Karpovka in St. Petersburg, prayed in the church
Among those who prayed during the divine service were soldiers of the Semenovsky regiment, representatives of the Cossacks of the city of Moscow and the Moscow region, students of the Moscow State university of Technologies and Administration named after K.G. Razumovsky (First Cossack University).
Liturgical chants were sung by the choir of the Donskoy Monastery (regent - P.V. Muntyan).
The service was broadcast live on Soyuz TV channel. For the convenience of the faithful, screens were installed on the monastery square, broadcasting from the Great Cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery.
At the small entrance, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, on the basis of the decision of August 30, 2019 by the Holy Synod (magazine No. 99), elevated Bishop Cornelius of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogorsk to the rank of Metropolitan in connection with his appointment as ruling bishop of the Archangelsk diocese and Head of the Archangelsk Metropolia.
By the decree of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, on the basis of the decision of August 30, 2019 by the Holy Synod (Journal No. 105), Archimandrite Pavel (Krivonogov) was appointed abbot of the Savvino-Storozhevsky stavropegic monastery, was given an abbot crosier.
By the decree of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, on the basis of the decision of August 30, 2019 by the Holy Synod (Journal No. 105), the nun Elisaveta (Nikishkina) from St. John’s Stavropegic Convent in St. Petersburg, was appointed Abbess of St. John the Baptist Stavropegic Convent in Moscow with the presentation of the crosier and a golden pectoral cross.
By the decree of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, Archpriest Michael Gundyaev, rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Geneva, was awarded the right to serve the Divine Liturgy with opened Royal Doors until the Cherubim song, in recognition of his hard work for the benefit of the Holy Church and in connection with the 25th anniversary of his service as a priest.
During the Augmented litany, petitions were raised for the unity of the Orthodox Church and the preservation of the Church from divisions and schisms.
The Augmented litany also included petitions to preserve the creation of God at the beginning of the school year.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill raised prayers for the wellbeing of the world and for the teachers and students.
Hieromonk Anthony (Skorik) from the Donskoy Monastery, delivered a sermon before the Holy Communion.
At the end of the Liturgy, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill encouraged Bishop Ignatius of Yenisei and Lesosibirsk to his pastoral service and gave a bishop's crosier to him. According to tradition, the newly ordained hierarch offered to believers his first archpastoral blessing.
His Holiness headed the glorification and prayed in front of the Don Icon of the Mother of God and venerated the miraculous icon and holy relics of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of All Russia.
On behalf of the inhabitants and parishioners of the Donskoy Monastery, Bishop Thomas congratulated His Holiness the Patriarch with the patronal feast of the Donskoy Monastery and presented His Holiness with a copy of the Don Icon of the Mother of God.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church addressed the faithful with a sermon.
His Holiness thanked Bishop Thomas of Bronnitsa for his activities and handed him a jubilee cross made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2009 and His Holiness intronization.
“I would like to sincerely thank you, Vladyka Thomas, for the work that you carry on the care of this holy monastery. I see the positive developments in the monastery’s life aa well as in the liturgical life”, said the Holy Patriarch, handing the cross.
His Holiness the Patriarch donated to the monastery, as a gift, Easter covers for the holy vessels. Believers were presented with small icons of the Don Mother of God with Patriarchal blessing.
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