On May 24, after a joint prayer service at the Iveron Parish in Manila with the rector of the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Melbourne, Archpriest Mikhail Protopopov (ROCOR), who delivered to the Philippines a “Round-the-World” icon of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, this icon, accompanied by other shrines, went to Mindanao Island. At the parish of the Resurrection of Christ in General Santos, during the evening service, the relics of St. Andrew the First-Called started to stream myrrh. This is a clear sign of the presence of God’s grace in our Church and His favor for the apostolic work of our missionaries, which began in this house church 8 years ago.

On May 25, after the Divine Liturgy in General Santos and the prayer service, the shrines were brought to the parish of St. Isidore of Rostov in the village of Alabel, where a prayer service was also held to the Most Holy Theotokos, the Holy Cross and 20 saints whose relics were offered to the faithful for worship.

On May 23, the baptism of six people took place in the westernmost province of Mindanao – Zamboanga del Sur, in Lipras San Antonio, on the ocean shore. After the catechism, Priest Moses Kahilig performed the Sacrament of entering the Church, and then the Divine Liturgy. After the service, the priest consecrated fishing boats and nets.

On the feast of St. Nicholas on May 22, parishioners and guests of the Iveron parish in Manila were able to touch the grace from the particles of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, of the Veil of the Most Holy Theotokos and of the relics of 21 saints. This is perhaps the most significant event of diocesan significance in recent years. The day before, at the evening service, the President of the St. Bonifacio Foundation Natalia Mezentseva, who collected and presented the relics to our diocese, presented icons of Alexander Nevsky and Feodor Ushakov with relics to the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Philippines M. I. Pavlov.

The Pan-Philippian tour of the greatest shrines of Christianity began with the oldest Orthodox church in the Philippines in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross May 20, on the feast of the appearance of the Holy and Life-giving Cross of the Lord in Jerusalem (351AD). The rector of the parish, Archimandrite Philemon (Castro) and the dean of the Manila Deanery, Hieromonk Alexei (Lapshin), led a prayer service in honor of the Holy Cross, the Most Holy Theotokos and 21 saints, whose icons with relics were then offered for worship to all believers. The priests and the President of the St. Bonifacio Charitable Foundation Natalia Mezentseva, through whose works the holy relics were collected throughout the Orthodox world and donated to the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, told the audience about the venerated saints and the history of finding the brought particles of their relics.

On May 19, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev), Priest Joachim Gonzalez and Deacon John Mahinay held another lecture on Orthodoxy for residents of the Bucana barangay, Davao City. People were genuinely interested, asked a lot of questions about the spiritual life of the priests and invited them to come more often.

20 greatest Christian shrines will arrive to the Philippines with the icon “Protection of the Mother of God”:

The part of the Holy and Lifegiving Cross of our Lord
The part of belt of the Most Holy Theotokos
Particles of the following saints:

St. Apostles: Peter, Paul and Andrew
St. Hierarchs: Nikolas of Myra in Lycia, Spyridon of Trimithus and Luke of Crimea (Healer)
St. Great martyrs: George the Victory-bearer, Panteleimon the Healer, Barbara, Catherine and Elizabeth
St. Martyr John the Soldier (defender of all who are offended)
St. Pious Prince Alexander Nevsky
St. Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Seraphim of Sarov
St. Righteous Feodor Ushakov (Admiral), John of Kronshtadt, Matrona of Moscow

The shrines will be available for veneration as per schedule:

On May 9, at the Laitieu Cemetery (Binziong Province, 30 km north of Ho Chi Minh City), together with the Consul of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Ho Chi Minh City, V. Marikhin, flowers were laid and a funeral litany for the deceased soldiers was held. This monument to “The Russian sailors of the cruiser Diana who died in Saigon in 1905” was erected in 1995 in one of the old cemeteries near Ho Chi Minh City.

The Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev) and Priest Joachim Gonzalez visited the construction site of the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle in Kinabalan. Despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic and the political situation, construction continues. Piles for the foundation have already been filled in, the slope of the site has been strengthened, concrete preparation has been carried out. Father Korniliy outlined the front of further work, clarifying to local builders, who are participating in the construction of an Orthodox church for the first time, the specifics of their implementation.