The Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Southeast Asia of the Russian Orthodox Church, with the blessing of Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi, has published the first prayer book in the Cebuano language.The collection includes morning and evening prayers, the rule for Holy Communion, prayers for every need, the Hours of Holy Easter. This is more than a year’s work of the initiative group of the educational and missionary center of St Matrona of Moscow in Davao City, under the leadership of the Secretary of the Filipino-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev), nun Maria (Buniel) and Elijah Ang Aleria, who edited the final text. Dimitri Cahilig, a student of the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary, also took part in the work on the translation. The approval of the translation was carried out by diocesan Filipino priests.A prayer book in the Cebuano language will be in demand for local residents, since several hundred Filipinos have converted to Orthodoxy recently, having passed the appropriate catechesis. And the number of such people continues to increase.The prayer book in the Cebuano language was published with the support of the literary foundation “The Road of Life” and personally by D.A.Mizgulin.Cebuano is one of the most widely spoken languages of the Philippines, spoken by about 15.8 million people.

The training of newly ordained priests Nikolai Salgado and Ambrose Sumagaysay has been completed. As an exam, first Father Nicholas in the church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in Makalangot, and then Fr. Ambrose in the Church of St. Helena in Little Baguio successfully celebrated the Divine Liturgy without the help of other priests. After the services, the secretary of the diocese, Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), handed over to the fathers the liturgical utensils for independent service. We wish the fathers God’s help in their efforts to save the Filipinos.

Today is the Good News (Greek – ευαγγέλιο): “The Son of God becomes the Son of a Virgin”! This is the beginning of our salvation. It is noteworthy that the Annunciation almost always falls during Lent. This should remind us that our salvation is granted for labor and feats.

The parish of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Vung Tau (Vietnam).

On the fifth week of the Lent the service of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is celebrated. This is the longest canon including the reading of the life of St. Mary of Egypt followed by the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, and it can be called the culmination of the Lenten feats. The service is held on Thursday but if the feast of Annunciation occurs on this day, the service of the Great Canon is transferred to Tuesday.

At this difficult time, the work of the Charity and Social Service Department of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese continues, in particular, regular humanitarian aid visits to Laguna Province. We thank the sponsors of the FMI Charitable Foundation, its director, the head of the Department for Charity and Social Ministry of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Priest David Grubbs, and the rector of the Holy Cross Parish in Siniloan, Archimandrite Philemon (Castro).