In July, with the blessing of Bishop Konstantin of Bratsk and Ust-Ilimsk, a group of pilgrims from the Irkutsk Metropolitanate, led by a cleric of the Bratsk diocese, rector of the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in the city of Vikhrevka and head of the pastoral care center of St. John of Shanghai in the city of Bratsk, Priest Alexei Serebryakov, made a trip to the Philippines – one of the significant places associated with the service of St. John of Shanghai.
On July 15, the pilgrims visited the cemetery in the city of Guiuan, where Russian refugees who were on the island of Tubabao in 1949-1951 and found their final refuge there are buried.
With the blessing of Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi, Administrator of the Philippines-Vietnam Diocese, Priest Alexei, co-served by the Secretary of the Diocese, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev), performed a memorial service for the deceased compatriots. Sang at the service were the choirmaster of the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in Bratsk, Svetlana Matveyevskaya, and the singers.
