What joy of life does not come without grief? What glory stands unchanged on earth? All ages are submissive to death. But the death of death is different. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His venerable ones. Serafima became an angel during her lifetime. Seraphim means fiery, and she burned with love for God like a torch, showing her neighbors the way to Him. Like a six-winged seraphim, she worked for Him in six hands. She had time for both the neighbors and those afar: she managed to feed hundreds of the poor, and to bring whole villages to Christ, at the same time not to miss church services. It is unknown when she slept. However, life was not too kind to her – the Lord tested her with sorrows more than once. But she learned the main thing in Orthodoxy – to forget about oneself. And the Giver of life did not wait long to take her to a better world, for she was already worthy. At the last service for her, all the priests of the Manila deanery prayed. Because of the strict quarantine, only the closest relatives were able to participate in the burial, but thousands of people in different parts of the world with prayers helped the angels carry Seraphim’s soul to a place where there is no illness or sadness.
Parish News
According to tradition of the ancient Church, three new Christians were baptized at the Iveron parish in Manila before the main Holy Day. Long live in Christ to Ignatius, George and Mary!
Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem. Divine Liturgy in Davao, parish of St Matrona of Moscow.
Divine Liturgy for Lazarus Saturday at the parish in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Banate, Philippines. The divine service was performed by priests Juventinus Bulaqueña and Joachim Gonzales.
Sunday in Vietnam. Divine Liturgy on the 5th Sunday of Lent, of the Venerable Mary of Egypt in Nha Trang, parish of St Nicolas the Wonderworker
Telegram channel “Diary of a Filipino priest” During this Lent we managed to visit the remote island of Tubabao, where St. John of Shanghai arrived with Russian refugees a few days before Easter in the middle of the 20th century, and where they found shelter for the next three years. […]
Presanctified Liturgy at the parish of Iveron icon of the Mother of God in Manila on Thursday of the 5th week of Lent. The longest Divine service of this day – “Standing of St Mary of Egypt” – is the culmination of the Lenten prayer feat.
The Department of Charity and Social Ministry of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, together with the Sisterhood of Mercy in General Santos City, continue the feeding program for low-income families and those in need on the islands of Mindanao and Luzon, in the Republic of the Philippines. The chairman of the department, […]