Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Divine Liturgy at Our Lady of Kazan Church in San Diego »
03-05-2026 
On May 2, 2026, Saturday of the third week after Pascha, the feast day of the Blessed Eldress Matrona of Moscow, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, temporary Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the United States and Canada, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at Our Lady of Kazan Church in San Diego, California.
Before the service, the Archpastor was warmly greeted by the church's Rector, Hieromonk Sylvester (Kozhin), and parishioners. Co-serving with His Grace at the Liturgy were Priest Mikhail Kozyrev, Dean of the Western States and Senior Priest of St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral in San Francisco; Hieromonk Sylvester (Kozhin), Rector of Our Lady of Kazan Church; and the Rector of the Church of the Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt (ROCOR) in San Diego Archpriest Yevgeny Grushevsky and Deacon Nikita, a cleric of the same church.
Following the service, Hieromonk Sylvester, on behalf of the parishioners, heartily thanked the Archpastor for the joy of prayerful fellowship during the Paschal celebration and, as a memento of their visit to the parish, presented a gift of a skillfully embroidered icon of the blessed elder Matrona of Moscow, whose memory is celebrated on that day.
Bishop Matthew addressed the concelebrating clergy and the faithful with a sermon, congratulating everyone on the Bright Resurrection of Christ and the feast day of the holy eldress, especially revered in our Church.
Vladyka gratefully acknowledged the efforts of Fr. Sylvester and the parish leadership in recent years, thanks to which the number of parishioners has grown significantly.
Bishop Matthew also expressed gratitude to the dean, Priest Mikhail Kozyrev, for his assistance in improving the church and supplying it with necessary church utensils and vestments.
The Archpastor presented icons of Blessed Matrona to all parishioners as a blessing and in prayerful remembrance of this day.
The clergy and parishioners continued their conversation over a fraternal meal, after which Vladyka discussed plans for the future development of the parish and other matters concerning the life of the Kazan Church with the Rector and Dean.