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 of recent preparations for the celebration of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary and discussed further plans, development and activities of the parish.

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 students, teachers and parents! Happy New school year!

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 Charity and Social Service of the diocese; charitable, social and non-profit organizations that help the department’s employees to provide social support to the most vulnerable segments of the population (poor families, single mothers and children). Within the framework of this cooperation, trainings on child protection and family well-being were previously held, and issues of social protection of the population in the Philippines were also considered. The results of cooperation in the third quarter were summed up. One of the important activities of the department can be distinguished: • Weekly feeding program of the Sisterhood of Mercy in the cities: General Santos, Alabel, Kiamba, Santa Maria, Banate, Kinabalan and Arakan; Teaching children the basics of personal hygiene; Purchase of school supplies for children.

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 the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev), in the concelebration of priests Joachim Gonzalez and John Mahinay.

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.