On February 15, 2023, on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ in General Santos in the province of South Cotabato, on the island of Mindanao. His Eminence was co-served by the Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), the rector of the church, Priest Roman Buniel, and the clergy of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese. The deaconess rank was headed by Hierodeacon Nikodim (Pirkhovsky). By the Metropolitan’s decree, for the diligent service to the Holy Church, the rector of the parish in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, General Santos, Priest Roman Buniel was awarded the right to wear a loincloth. During the Liturgy, Metropolitan Pavel ordained the reader Juventinus Bulakvenya as a deacon. At the end of the service, Metropolitan Pavel addressed the audience: “Dear fathers, brothers and sisters! Allow me to congratulate everyone on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord! On this day, Saint Simeon the God-Receiver took Christ into his own hands and thanked God: “Now let Your servant depart in peace, Master, according to Your word!”, for it was promised to him – until he sees Christ, he will not die. It is said in the Holy Scriptures that Simeon the God-Receiver was a man of holy life and was honored to take into his hands the God-Child and thus sum up his earthly life. He was expecting this event. One can only imagine what joy he had when the Lord promises and you get what you ask for, and he asked for a meeting with God. Each of us desires a meeting with God, so that the Lord will guide us in this earthly life and in eternity, everyone truly desires this. But the Lord does not appear to everyone during His lifetime, only to those who live holy on Earth. And we follow this path, waiting, hoping, trusting the Lord that He is with us, even if we are unworthy of meeting Him now. The fact that He makes it possible to perform the Sacrament of Holy Communion with His Body and Blood, and to unite with Him, is a great providence of God for each of us. It is not for nothing that the Lord says: “Whoever does this in my memory will not see death”. And we know that everyone is alive with God, the soul is immortal. Having lived an earthly life, the soul goes to God and remains in Eternity with him. May God grant us to follow this right, true path, on which the Lord has chosen and set us. I am very glad to meet you, celebrating the Divine Liturgy here, praying together, and I hope that the Lord will give us the strength to see each other more often. The Lord has given us the opportunity during these two weeks of our visit to the Philippines to increase our church with pastors — priests and deacons. We have performed the seventh ordination today and I thank God that our church is developing and growing both flock and pastors. I congratulate you, I wish you spiritual and physical strength, God’s help to all! I thank everyone for the service, for the common prayers!”
Parish News
Liturgy in Manila
56
On September 17, the 15th Sunday after Pentecost, the secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev), celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the parish in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Manila, in the concelebration of the cleric of the Iveron parish, Priest Agustin Ponferrada. […]
Liturgy in Nha Trang
106
On September 9, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in Nha Trang. It is always nice to see both regular and new worshippers. The Russian Orthodox Church in Vietnam now has four parishes (in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and Vung Tau), but so far only one priest. Since […]
Литургия в Лавиге
94
September 9 in Lawigue (Tayabas) the Divine Liturgy was celebrated. The service was conducted by Priest Augustine Ponferrada. After the service, the volunteers of the diocesan Department for Charity and Social Service and the FMI Foundation organized a charity lunch and distribution of humanitarian aid.
Meeting in Banate
106
On September 3, parishioners of the Dormition parish in the village of Banate, Mindanao, gathered in the temple for joint prayer. Most recently, the parish celebrated the patronal feast – this is noticeable by the carefully decorated church. After the Typica, the faithful held a meeting to evaluate the results […]
С новым учебным годом!
98
On September 5, a prayer service for the beginning of the new school year was held in the church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Vung Tau. We also prayed for those students who live in other cities of Vietnam. God bless you, dear […]
Meeting of the Department of Charity
124
On September 1, 2023, at the parish of Christ the Savior in Tagaytay, a quarterly meeting of the Department for Charity and Social Service of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese was held. The meeting was attended by: the rector of the church, Priest David Grubbs, employees and volunteers of the Department for […]
Feast of church in Banate
127
Parish in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Virgin Mary in the village Banate celebrated the patronal feast. There is no permanent priest in the parish. Despite this, believers celebrate Typica every Sunday and pray in the temple. The festive divine services were performed by the secretary of […]
Feast of Dormition in Vung Tau
153
It is already traditional, when Orthodox Vietnamese are present at the divine service, the Gospel, the Symbol of Faith and the Prayer “Our Father..” are also read in Vietnamese.
Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos
125
Sunday, August 27 is the Forefeast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. The All-night Vigil at the parish of the Iveron icon of the Mother of God in Manila.
For the new school year
209
The Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese has purchased sets with school supplies for children in the city of Tayabas. By the beginning of the new school year, employees of the Department of Charity and Social Service of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, together with volunteers of the FMI Family Foundation, purchased and distributed the sets […]