From the St. Petersburg Theological Academy:

This semester, students of the Faculty of Foreign Students perform a joint divine service on Saturday mornings, at which they read and sing independently. On January 22, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated with the participation of foreign students. And starting from January 29, foreigners independently perform divine services in a lay rank in the Church Slavonic language. So the Third and Sixth hours were read in the Assumption Academic Church. Then, under the guidance of the 1st year undergraduate student of the Faculty of Ecclesiastical Arts Georgy Shevyakov, the students sang the Typica and read the extracts of the day from the Apostle and the Gospel. Such services contribute to better understanding of the structure of the services of the daily circle and in the future will be useful for organizing services in parishes where there is not always a priest.

On January 30, the rector of the Parish of Christ the Savior in Tagaytay, Priest David Grubbs, after the Divine Liturgy, performed the blessing of the water on Lake Taal. Then parishioners and employees of the Charity and Social Ministry Department of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese visited the refugees affected by the eruption of the Taal volcano 2 years ago, brought them humanitarian aid and gifts.

On January 29 the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in Catmon Cebu. The service was headed by the Dean of Manila Deanery Hieromonk Alexei Lapshin.

The parish in honor of the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ (Epiphany) in Talas, Davao del Sur, celebrated its patronal feast. The festive divine service was performed by Priest Joachim Gonzales, Deacon John Mahinay, along with many believers from different parishes of the deanery.

“The nature of the waters is sanctified today…” On the feast of the Epiphany, according to tradition, many parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church bless water sources. At the end of the service, the Great Consecration of the Ocean and the baptism of handmaid of the Lord Mary were performed at the nearest accessible place to Manila.