On August 18, 2019, on the eve of the Feast of the Transfiguration, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill arrived in St. Petersburg.

Святейший Патриарх Кирилл прибыл в Санкт-Петербург print version August 18, 2019 16:45 On August 18, 2019, on the eve of the Feast of the Transfiguration, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill arrived in St. Petersburg. On the visit, His Holiness is accompanied by the managing director of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Tverskaya and Kashinsky Savva , head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate, Bishop Pavlovo-Posadsky Thomas , head of the Patriarchal Protocol Service Archpriest Andrei Bondarenko, head of the Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Priest Alexander Volkov . At Pulkovo Airport, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was greeted by: Acting Governor of St. Petersburg A.D. Beglov, head of the St. Petersburg Metropolis, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Barsanuphius , head of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg V.S. Makarov, Deputy Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation in the North-West Federal District V.V. Offspring, Viceroy of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Bishop of Kronstadt Nazarii , Bishop of Tikhvin and Lodeinopolsky Mstislav , Bishop of Gatchina and Luga Mitrofan , Rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Bishop of Peterhof Siluan , clergy of the St. Petersburg Metropolitanate. Patriarchal sermon after the Liturgy in the Transfiguration Cathedral of St. Petersburg Патриаршая проповедь после Литургии в Спасо-Преображенском соборе Санкт-Петербурга print version August 19, 2019 17:28 On August 19, 2019, on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord God and Savior of Jesus Christ, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Transfiguration Cathedral of St. Petersburg. At the end of the service, His Holiness delivered a sermon. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Today is filled with so many meanings that are of great importance for a person to choose his life path. Everyone knows the gospel story that we heard today during the Divine Liturgy - about the election of Peter, James, and John, the three apostles, so that they would witness the Transfiguration of the Savior on Mount Tabor (Matthew 17: 1-9). The question arises: why were not twelve disciples chosen? Not seventy? Not the huge crowds that accompanied the Savior in the Galilee? It would seem that in order to reveal the Divine glory, certifying the Divine essence of the Savior, His Divine nature, it was necessary to turn this testimony to as many people as possible. But the Lord chooses, even from among the apostles, only three - Peter, James and John. Of course, this is no coincidence. After all, these three disciples were always with the Savior, and, apparently, in their hearts there was a special confidence that their Teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, was not just the Son of Mary, not just one of many, but the Savior of the world, the promised Messiah. Then it was difficult to believe even people close to the Lord and Savior, because from a close distance it is generally difficult to consider a lot. People cannot even consider the greatest events of history from close time, and only after the passage of time do they or the next generation realize the epochal importance of what happened. So it was in the time of the Savior - it was difficult to identify at close range in a Man whom many had known since childhood, the One about whom the inspired men of the Old Testament prophesied, in Whom the chosen people believed as their Messiah. But these three were undoubtedly full of special faith in Jesus as in Him, of whom the prophets said that He was the Deliverer of the human race. And the Lord calls them and is transformed before them. It would seem that the most-chosen ones - three out of twelve - were probably already ready to see God's glory. So no - they fell in fear, hiding their faces. After all, it was so customary to walk with Jesus, who was next to them, who ate food with them, shared with them every day of His life - and suddenly a great miracle happens on this mountain: the face of the Savior is transformed, and to make sure that He is The Messiah are those who prophesied of the Messiah - the prophets Moses and Isaiah. This event, as I have already said, is very important for all of us, and not only in the literal sense - as a manifestation of God's glory in the human race, but also in relation to our life. Indeed, very often, visiting God's churches, partaking of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, we get so used to everything that happens that the mysterious, blessed mystical side of the Sacraments and church life as a whole is overshadowed by our customs - good and not so, our habits, our everyday life. Even when on Sunday, or on a big holiday, like today, we come to the temple, how much in our thoughts is all that takes us far from the temple and from prayer! Even where we should completely betray the mind and heart of the Lord, to lay flat before Him in prayer, we continue to live the same life as outside the temple. Well, what about us when we go outside the temple? How quickly the state that we experienced during the service disappears from memory and from the heart! And we, immersed in the elements of this world, forget about the most important thing - that which is the one for need, as the Lord says (see Luke 10: 41-42), - about the work of our salvation. Therefore, this holiday, which tells us about the fear of the apostles before the transfigured Savior, and about the most wonderful Transfiguration, helps us understand how important the worship of the Lord and Savior should be in our lives, our faith and our life in accordance with this faith. Never connect your affiliation with the Church only with a visit to the temple, never forget about this connection, leaving its sacred vaults. We, too, in the world, must remain disciples of the Savior, and among many worries, problems and life circumstances, we must remember that the one that we need, that is, the most important, the highest and most responsible calling, is to be a Christian and a member of the Church. And how would our life have changed if Orthodox believers did not cease to be Orthodox when they come to their work, when they return to their families, and especially when they find themselves in conflict situations that test us faithful to the Lord! That's when we must definitely remember who we are, what our calling is, what are our life priorities, what place the Lord holds in our lives. And this is only possible if we live a genuine religious life. If we, having survived the ascent to Mount Tabor during the service and descend into this world, continue to bear in mind and heart the memory of these wonderful moments of presence in the church, communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, contact with the grace of God, then our faith will be actualized, become lively and effective, and we will gain the ability to solve our life problems - both large and small, family, social, state, all that is important for a person. If we solve these problems on the basis of our Christian calling, relying on our faith, strengthened by the power of the grace of God, then our world will change, we ourselves will change, and by our faith, we will undoubtedly have the hope of realizing a genuine and real meeting with the Lord and the Savior in that transfigured world into which everyone enters upon the end of his earthly life. God grant that, through the prayers of the holy saints to whom we turn, according to our weak prayers, according to our faith, the Lord will make us partners in His non-evening Kingdom in His Divine glory. May the transfigured Savior by the power of grace emanating from His greatest service in the world, from His words, from His gracious presence in human history, strengthen us on our paths of life. Amen. On the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Primate of the Russian Church celebrated the Liturgy in the Transfiguration Cathedral of St. Petersburg В праздник Преображения Господня Предстоятель Русской Церкви совершил Литургию в Спасо-Преображенском соборе г. Санкт-Петербурга print version August 19, 2019 17:22 On August 19, 2019, on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord God and Savior of Jesus Christ, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Transfiguration Cathedral of St. Petersburg. This year marks the 265th anniversary of the consecration of this cathedral, which took place on 5 (16) August 1754. His Holiness was served by: Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga ; Metropolitan of Tver and Kashinsky Savva , managing affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate; Bishop of Kronstadt Nazarii , Viceroy of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra ; Bishop of Tikhvin and Lodeinopolsky Mstislav ; Bishop of Gatchina and Luga Mitrofan ; Bishop Pavlovo-Posadsky Thomas , Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate; Bishop of Peterhof Siluan , Rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy ; Archpriest Sergei Kuksevich, Secretary of the Diocesan Administration of the St. Petersburg Metropolis ; Archpriest Bogdan Soiko, Rector of St. Nicholas Epiphany Cathedral of St. Petersburg; Archpriest Vladimir Sorokin, rector of the Prince Vladimir Cathedral in St. Petersburg; Archimandrite Alexy (Ganzhin), rector of the Kronstadt Nikolsky Naval Stavropegial Cathedral, chairman of the department for cooperation with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies of the St. Petersburg diocese ; Archpriest Nikolai Bryndin, rector of the Transfiguration Cathedral of St. Petersburg, chairman of the church charity and social ministry department of the St. Petersburg diocese; Priest Alexander Volkov , Head of the Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia ; clergy of the Northern capital. The service was attended by: Acting Governor of St. Petersburg A.D. Beglov; Head of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg V.S. Makarov; Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation I.B. Divinsky. Among the prayers were abbess of the Voskresensky Novodevichy Convent of St. Petersburg Igumeniya Sophia (Silina), abbess of St. John the Stauropegial Convent in St. Petersburg of St. Petersburg Igumenia Lyudmila (Voloshina), abbess of the Konstantin-Eleninsky Monastery of St. Petersburg Diocese of Igoumenia , sisters of the cloisters, as well as servicemen of the 907 joint training center of the Navy. The Liturgy chants were performed by the choir of the Transfiguration Cathedral (regent - A.N.Shibanov). The patriarchal service was broadcast live on the Soyuz television channel . Some believers watched the broadcast on a large screen installed in the cathedral. In a pure litany, petitions were raised about the unity of the Orthodox Church and the preservation of the Church from divisions and schisms. After a pure litany, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill offered a prayer for peace in Ukraine. A sermon before the sacrament was delivered by Priest Theodosius Ambartsumov, clergyman of the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg, rector of the parish of the church of the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” in St. Petersburg. According to tradition, on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrated the fruits of the new harvest. At the end of the service, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Barsanuphius greeted His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and presented His Holiness a set of two panagias and a cross with the image of the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The Primate of the Russian Church addressed the believers with the Hierarchy . As a gift to the cathedral, His Holiness handed over the list of the Korsun icon of the Mother of God. Handing over the image, His Holiness the Patriarch said: “I would like to thank you, Your Eminence, for your greetings, for kind words and for the image that you presented to me. I would also like for this holy church to leave this image of the Korsun Mother of God in memory of the Patriarchal service on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord in this holy and close to me cathedral, with which the best years of my childhood are connected. My dad served here. And I very often visited this cathedral. Here, on your left and my right, was a large image of St. Nicholas. Somewhere he is probably in a different place today. And before him on Thursdays the akathist sang. And no matter how busy I am, no matter how tired I am from student work, every Thursday, when my father committed an akathist, I stood here. And since then the akathists were not read, but as usual sung by all the people, they sang loudly and loudly. This is how my life went under the arches of this cathedral. Therefore, you can understand with what special feeling I celebrated the Divine Liturgy today, rejoicing that the cathedral was filled again, that it was beautifully restored, that service was reverently performed in this holy place for all Petersburgers, including me. May the Lord preserve this holy temple! ” Then His Holiness Patriarch Kirill congratulated the Acting Governor of St. Petersburg A.D. on the Transfiguration of the Lord holiday. Beglova, noting his hard work at government posts and wishing him God's help in further service for the good of the Fatherland. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill also welcomed the head of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg V.S. Makarov and representatives of local authorities: “Once again, I would like to say that I thank God for the fact that the authorities of St. Petersburg are loving and attentive to the life of Orthodox citizens of this holy city. May the Lord help you in your labors! ” Believers were presented with the icons of the Transfiguration of the Lord with a Patriarchal blessing. *** The Transfiguration Cathedral is an active Orthodox church in the Central District of St. Petersburg, a monument of architecture of the XIX centuries. The first building of the cathedral was erected by the architect Mikhail Zemtsov in 1743-1754. in memory of the accession to the throne of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna with the help of soldiers and officers of the Preobrazhensky regiment. Subsequently, the cathedral received the honorary name "Cathedral of the whole guard." It kept regimental relics and military trophies. In 1825 the cathedral burned down, only the walls remained. It was restored by the architect Vasily Stasov and in this form has survived to the present day. The cathedral’s fence is noteworthy, the basis of which is the trunks of captured Turkish cannons taken from the walls of Turkish fortresses. The cathedral never closed; it was one of ten Leningrad churches that operated during the blockade of the city during the Great Patriotic War. In the cathedral is the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands - the favorite icon of Peter I. With this image, he was at the laying of St. Petersburg, and at the Battle of Poltava, and at the death and burial service. Over the years, the father and brother of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill served in the cathedral.