On October 2, 2022, Sunday of the Exaltation of the Cross, Divine Liturgy was held in St. Petersburg Theological Schools. Bishop Siluan of Peterhof celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the church of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in the concelebration of the clergy of the Academy with co-celebrating First Vice-rector Archimandrite Sophrony (Smuk), Archimandrite Augustine (Nikitin), Abbot Emilian (Mrdya), Vice-rector for Educational Work Hieromonk Meliton (Pavlov), Hieromonk Gennady (Polyakov), priest Gleb Sanyuk, secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev) and other clerics.
On October 3, the secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev), met with students from the Philippines who are studying at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.
Before entering the Academy, students studied the basics of the Orthodox faith at the Blessed Matrona of Moscow Educational Center in Davao, which is headed by Father Korniliy. The conversation with the students took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere and was their first meeting since their departure to St. Petersburg.

The summer holidays are over. If students of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy from Indonesia had written an essay on “how I spent the summer”, then in addition to information about participation in divine services, it would have sounded something like this: “On Indonesia’s Independence Day, which is celebrated annually on August 17, we attended a concert in the Hermitage Garden, where we met with Indonesian Ambassador to Russia and Belarus Jose Tavares and Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Lyudmila Vorobyova. In August alone, we managed to visit the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery in Zvenigorod and the Holy Trinity Stephano-Mahrishch Stavropol Convent located on the Molokcha River in the ancient village of Mahra, 15 kilometers from the city of Alexandrov, Vladimir region. At the end of the holidays, we visited St. Catherine’s Stavropol Monastery in the city of Vidnoye, Moscow region.”

And SBPDA students from the Philippines spent all their free summer time on obediences in the Khanty-Mansi diocese with Metropolitan Paul of Manila and Hanoi. Students accompanied Vladyka on archpastoral trips, helped subdeacons at divine services, learned to bake prosphora and took part in the restoration of the Resurrection Cathedral in Khanty-Mansiysk. In the same place, the recently ordained hieromonk John (Gondayao) passed sorokoust and for the first time took confession.

On June 19, in St. Petersburg, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi met with students of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese who are studying at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. The meeting was attended by: Third Secretary and Vice-Consul of the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in the Russian Federation Mrs. Catherine Flores Alpay, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Students of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Archpriest Dimitri Sizonenko. Vladyka Pavel addressed the seminarians with a parting word and wishes for God’s help in the responsible task of teaching for the further service of the Church of Christ.

On June 19, the Sunday of All Saints, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi ordained Hierodeacon John (Gondayao) to the rank of Hieromonk. We wish Father John self-denial, spiritual strength and God’s help in his new ministry. Axios!

On June 16, 2022, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia held a working meeting with Metropolitan Pavel of Khanty-Mansiysk and Surgut at the Patriarchal and Synodal Residence at the Danilov Monastery in Moscow.

During the meeting, the issues of completing the construction of the Trinity Cathedral in Surgut and the development of church life in the dioceses of the Khanty-Mansi Metropolia, as well as in the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese were discussed (in 2019, Metropolitan Pavel, in addition to the obediences carried out, was entrusted with the management of this diocese, which is part of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia).

Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia

Congratulations to everyone on the Feast of St. Pentecost, which coincided this year with the national holidays of Russia and the Philippines and the consecration day of Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi. Many years to all!

The Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese expresses its deep condolences on the death of the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York. Metropolitan Hilarion made a great contribution to the development of the mission of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Philippines, which actually began with his blessing with the arrival of ROCOR clergy to Tubabao in 2013.

On May 21, the icon of the “Intercession (Protection) of the Most Holy Theotokos” with a piece of the Robe of the Mother of God arrives in the Philippines. This icon has visited many countries as part of a round-the-world expedition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the great exodus of Russian citizens from Russia after the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War of 1918-1922. The icon was specially painted for this anniversary and consecrated by the First Hierarch of the ROCOR, Metropolitan Hilarion. He, as well as many other Orthodox hierarchs, blessed the round-the-world relay of the icon for the purpose of spiritual unity of Orthodox brothers in the faith who found themselves scattered around the world. This journey began on September 2, 2017 in Moscow, and since then the icon has visited such countries as Ukraine, Belarus, Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Italy, USA, Argentina, Australia, etc. During the journey, the Holy Image was applied to many Christian Shrines on his way, including the Holy Sepulchre and the place of the Assumption of the Virgin (Jerusalem), miraculous icons of the Virgin and the relics of saints (Sergius of Radonezh, Matrona of Moscow Seraphim of Sarov, John of Kronstadt, Xenia of St. Petersburg, Nicholas the Wonderworker, John of Shanghai and many others). The icon will arrive in the Philippines accompanied by many shrines, including a particle of the Life-giving Cross and the relics of saints. The veneration of the icon and shrines will take place on May 22 at the Iveron parish. The beginning of the festive service is at 8 am. The next day, the icon and the shrines will arrive on Mindanao Island, where they will visit most of the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church on this island within a week. On May 31, the icon will visit the parish of Christ the Savior in Tagaytay, and on June 1 it will leave for the next country. This journey around the Earth will end in Jerusalem with acceptance by Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem, who blessed all those who go with the icon. The action is supported by the Foundation for the Promotion and Strengthening of Spiritual Unity, Religious, Cultural and Historical Values of Russian Orthodoxy in the Fatherland and Abroad “Under the Protection of the Mother of God”

Ambassador of Russia in the Philippines Mr Marat Pavlov and his wife had even four times seen the descent of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem on the eves of the Orthodox Easter