On March 17, 2024, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi celebrated Vespers with the rite of forgiveness at the Resurrection Cathedral in Khanty-Mansiysk. His Eminence was co-served by the clergy of the Khanty-Mansiysk deanery. The first part of the service is performed in light vestments. After the singing of the great prokimenon the closing of the Royal Gates and the clergy changed into Lenten black robes.
After the dismissal of Vespers, Metropolitan Pavel read a prayer for the beginning of the fast of the Holy Lent and addressed the faithful with the word: “Dear fathers, brothers and sisters! today you and I have gathered on this Sunday evening for this short evening service in order to ask each other for forgiveness, as one big Orthodox family. We have all been communicating with you for a year, and of course somewhere we express our discontent against each other, someone may have been insulted, someone has done something bad. Sometimes, in the course of our lives, we don’t even notice when we can offend each other. Today’s gospel narrative says so bluntly that if we do not forgive, then the Lord will not forgive our sins. The Lord teaches you and me to forgive offenders, because it is hard and difficult when a person does something bad to you, but you have to love and forgive him. I remember a long time ago, a teacher told me that love can be strangled, but for many years I did not understand how this could be done. And it turns out that when they make you feel bad, you respond with love. And a person will not stand it and stop doing bad things himself, and repent. Today we have gathered to ask the Lord for forgiveness first of all, so that He would forgive us every sin, voluntary and involuntary, and of course, forgive each other’s offenses. Let us forgive, and it will be easier for us to go through the field of Lent. It’s like a load is lifted from your soul when you get joy from the fact that you have forgiven and you have been forgiven. There is no man who has lived on earth and has not sinned. Today, His Holiness the Patriarch said in his sermon that even sinners became saints only because they knew how to get rid of sins. And a person cannot sin in any way, but if he brings the fruits of repentance, he can become a saint. May God grant us to bring the good fruits of repentance in this Lenten Week, so that each of us can change our lives at least a little for the better, leave some kind of vice, some kind of sin that he lives with all his life and cannot get rid of it. But the most important thing is awareness, vision of sins and repentance. Help us, Lord! I, like any human being, having a human nature, also sin, sometimes maybe without noticing, so I ask you for Christ’s forgiveness, forgive me, a sinner!”
On March 11, 2024, the journey of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Softening of Evil Hearts” in the Philippines ended. The last parish to which it was brought was the oldest Orthodox church in the Philippines in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord in Siniloan. The parishioners warmly welcomed the miraculous image. The priests served a prayer service, which ended with a procession, during which the icon acquired a red hue, abundantly covered with drops of fragrant myrrh, and the face of the Virgin was covered with red dots.
The Orthodox believers of our diocese express their sincere gratitude to the organizers of bringing the icon to the Philippines – Sergey Fomin, Natalia Mezentseva and Alexander Chvala – for the opportunity to see a real miracle and feel the grace of the spiritual world.
On March 10, 2024, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Softening of Evil Hearts” stayed at the parish in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Manila. After the Divine Liturgy, prayers were served to the Most Holy Theotokos. During the day, the temple was visited by numerous guests, including the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to the Philippines Marat Pavlov, priests and parishioners from the Antiochian Orthodox Church, representatives of the Roman Catholic Church. For the first time, the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in the Philippines, Apostolic Nuncio Charles J. Brown and the nunciature staff visited the parish of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Philippines. The Vatican Ambassador talked with priests and parishioners, who presented him with a copy of the miraculous icon.
Guardian of the miraculous image Sergei Fomin, organizer of the icon travel, President of St. Martyr Bonifacio Foundation Natalia Mezentseva, Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev) and rector of the Iveron Parish of the Mother of God in Manila Hieromonk Alexei (Lapshin) told the parishioners and guests about the miracle of myrrh-streaming and about the history of this icon. The streaming of myrrh is a well-known but rare miracle of Orthodoxy. The fragrant liquid, consisting of proteins that have no analogues in nature, appears from the air in the form of drops on the icon and on the nod as a reminder of the spiritual world. In recent years, myrrh-streaming has already been recorded three times in the parishes of the Russian Church on Mindanao Island in the parishes of Makalangot (in 2020, after the consecration of the temple by Metropolitan Pavel, all icons were myrrh-streaming for many months), Polomolok (after the parish returned from the schism on Christmas 2024, the icon of the Savior was myrrh-streaming) and General Santos (the icon with the relics of St. Andrew the Apostle in 2022). But the constant flow of myrrh for 25 years is a unique phenomenon. To see a miracle with our own eyes is the grace of God revealed to the Orthodox in the Philippines.
On March 9, 2024, the myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God “Softening of Evil Hearts” stayed in Tagaytay at the parish in honor of the Nativity of Christ. The priests served prayers, anointed the faithful with fragrant myrrh from the icon. At the end of the service, the towel on which the icon was lying became wet from the myrrh that had flowed from the icon. The parishioners reverently thanked God and the Most Holy Theotokos for the miracle. Myrrh, symbolizing the grace of God, is really capable to soften hearts.
On March 8, 2024, the myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God completed a procession through the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Mindanao. On this day, it was greeted in the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God in Banat and in the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle in Kinabalan. Prayer services were held in temples in front of the holy image of the Queen of Heaven and the faithful were anointed by a priest with holy myrrh. In the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle, the president of the Foundation of St. Martyr Boniface Mezentseva N. S. congratulated the parishioners on the construction of the church of St. Thomas the Apostle and said that she had handed over the relics of St. Thomas. St. Thomas the Apostle for the new church. During the prayer service in this temple, the icon shone with a bright light. At the end of the prayer service, a procession took place to the church under construction.
The faithful of the parish of Blessed Matrona of Moscow in Davao City, Philippines, prayerfully celebrated the patronal feast of the temple. On March 7, the day of the finding of the relics of St. Matrona of Moscow, the faithful of the parish named after the blessed Matrona in Davao City, on the island of Mindanao, celebrated the patronal feast of the temple. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by: Priest Moses Kahilig, Priest Rafael Frajillo, Priest Juventinus Bulaqueña. Also, on this day, parishioners had the opportunity to worship the myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God “Softening of Evil Hearts”, which has been delivered to the parishes of Mindanao Island for several days to comfort and strengthen the spirit of the faithful. This image began to flow myrrh 25 years ago, just on this very day of the beatification of Blessed Matrona of Moscow. After the Liturgy, Natalia Mezentseva, President of the Charity Foundation of the Holy Martyr Bonifacio, donated to the parish a copy of this icon with a particle of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
With the blessing of Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi, the Charitable Foundation of St. Martyr Bonifacio organized the bringing of the myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God “Softening of Evil Hearts” to the temples of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Philippines from March 5 to 11, 2024. On March 5, the miraculous icon was brought to the parishes of the island of Mindanao: to the church of the Resurrection of Christ in General Santos, to the church of St. Isidore of the Rostov in Alabel, to the church of Intercession of the Mother of God in Polomolok and the church of the Resurrection of Christ in Lake Sebu. The icon of the Mother of God “Softening of Evil Hearts” is brought by the guardian of the icon S. L. Fomin. The President of the Charitable Foundation of St. Bonifacio N. S. Mezentseva handed over to the Intercession church a copy of the myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God “Softening of Evil Hearts” with a particle of the Holy Veil of the Mother of God.
On March 6, 2024, the journey of the myrrh-streaming image of the Mother of God “Softening of Evil Hearts” continued through the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church on Mindanao Island. The icon was brought to five parishes for prayerful worship and the blessing of the parishioners. It was greeted at the Church of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer in Lambayong, in the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Mahongok, in the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in Makalangot, in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Arakan and in the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Salasang. Prayer services were served in front of the icon, and the priests anointed the parishioners with the myrrh from the icon. The faithful greeted the icon with great joy, and reverently wiped off the fragrant myrrh flowing from the icon with cotton wool.
From February 13 to March 3, 2024, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi, the administrator of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, paid an archpastoral visit to the republics of the Philippines and Vietnam.On February 13, 2024, Metropolitan Pavel arrived in the city of General Santos, Mindanao Island, Republic of the Philippines. At the airport, Metropolitan Pavel and representatives of the delegation of the Khanty-Mansiysk diocese were met by the Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), the clergy of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese. On the trip, His Eminence was accompanied by: Archpriest Anthony Isakov, dean of the Surgut City Deanery of the Khanty-Mansiysk Diocese, Archpriest Sergiy Shevchenko, dean of the Nizhnevartovsk City Deanery of the Khanty-Mansiysk Diocese, Priest Konstantin Memyachkin, chairman of the architectural and Construction Department of the Khanty—Mansiysk Diocese, Hierodeacon Nikodim Pirkhovsky, resident of the Dimitrievsky Monastery of Khanty-Mansiysk, General Director of SC “Yuv and With” Vladimir Yurievich Bashkov.As part of the archpastoral visit, parishes were visited in various provinces of the Republic of the Philippines. The archpastor visited a number of Orthodox communities on the island of Mindanao, where he performed divine services and ordinations of clerics of the Philippine–Vietnamese diocese.On February 14, 2024, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , the administrator of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, visited the parish in honor of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer of Lambayon (Philippines). The administrator of the diocese performed a prayer service at the parish and gave the archpastoral blessing to the parishioners.Also on the eve of the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , governor of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese, held an all-night vigil in the church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ in Lake Cebu.On February 15, 2024, on the feast of the Presentation of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, Metropolitan Pavel celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the church in honor of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Polomolok, South Cotabato province of Mindanao Island (Philippines). His Eminence was co-served by: Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Archpriest Anthony Isakov, Dean of the Surgut City Deanery of the Khanty-Mansiysk Diocese, Archpriest Sergiy Shevchenko, Dean of the Nizhnevartovsk City Deanery of the Khanty—Mansiysk Diocese, Priest Konstantin Memyachkin, Chairman of the Architectural and Construction Department of the Khanty-Mansiysk Diocese, clergy of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese. The deaconess rank was headed by Hierodeacon Nicodemus (Pirkhovsky). During the Liturgy, Metropolitan Pavel ordained Deacon Anthony Aranko as priest and reader Gabriel Hermudo as deacon.After the service, a diocesan meeting of the clergy of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese was held. During the meeting, reports from the deaneries of the diocese and the heads of the educational, youth, information and missionary departments were presented, plans for diocesan events and economic and construction works for 2024 were approved. Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , the administrator of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, made a report summarizing the results of the diocese’s work for 2023.On February 15, 2024, Metropolitan Pavel inspected the construction site of a new church in honor of the Apostle Thomas in the Kinabalan settlement of Mindanao Island (Philippines), the construction of which is nearing completion. The opportunity to carry out construction work on the construction of the temple appeared only a year after the outbreak of the pandemic. In 2021, the site was prepared and piles were driven. Despite the complexity of the project, local workers, with the help of parishioners and under the supervision of clerics, coped with the work. The temple project was developed by the architectural department of the Khanty-Mansiysk Metropolia specifically for the conditions of the Philippines, characterized by high seismic activity and humidity. According to the project, the temple must withstand an earthquake with a magnitude of 9 points.On the same day, the Administrator of the diocese visited the churches of the Assumption of the Virgin in Banat and the Epiphany in Talas, gave his archpastoral blessing to the parishioners, held meetings with the clergy and the flock of the parishes.On February 17, 2024, on the eve of the 37th Week of Pentecost, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , governor of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese, held an all-night vigil in the church in honor of St. Matrona of Moscow in Davao City in the Philippines (Mindanao Island).On February 18, 2024, in the 37th Week of Pentecost, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , governor of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the church in honor of St. Matrona of Moscow in Davao City in the Philippines (Mindanao Island). During the Liturgy, Metropolitan Pavel ordained Deacon Raphael Frajillo to the priesthood.On February 19, 2024, His Eminence celebrated a prayer service at the site of the future temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “The Quick-Hearer” on Panglao Island (Philippines).On February 25, 2024, the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee, the feast of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , governor of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the temple in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Manila, Philippines. The divine service was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of the Philippines M.I. Pavlov. During the Liturgy, Metropolitan Pavel ordained Deacon Juventinus Bulaquenya to the priesthood.On February 26, 2024, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , governor of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, celebrated a prayer service in the church in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord in Siniloan, Laguna Province, Philippines.On the same day, Metropolitan Pavel met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of the Philippines M.I. Pavlov. The meeting was attended by: Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), General Director of LLC SC “Yuv and S” Vladimir Bashkov, President of the Literary Fund “Road of Life” Dmitry Mizgulin. During the meeting, the parties discussed various issues of cooperation between the Russian diplomatic mission and the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese.On February 27, 2024, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , the administrator of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, arrived in the Republic of Vietnam. At Ho Chi Minh City airport, Vladyka was met by the dean of the Vietnamese Deanery, Priest Yevgeny Tsukalo and Consul-Counselor of the Russian Embassy D.A. Repkov. On a trip to the Republic of Vietnam, Metropolitan Pavel is accompanied by the Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev) and the president of the Literary Foundation “The Road of Life” Dmitry Mizgulin.On February 27, 2024, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , the administrator of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, performed the rite of minor consecration of the house church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Vung Tau, Vietnam. His Eminence was co-served by: Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Priest Eugene Tsukalo, dean of the Vietnamese Deanery, Priest John Obrembalsky, cleric of the Balashikha Diocese.On the same day, the Archpastor in Vung Tau of the Republic of Vietnam held a working meeting with Oleg Petrovich Saraev, First Deputy General Director of Vietsovpetro Joint Venture. During the meeting, issues of interaction between the Philippine—Vietnamese Diocese and the Vietsovpetro enterprise were discussed.On February 28, 2024, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , governor of the Philippine—Vietnamese Diocese, held a parish meeting in the city of Nyangchang of the Republic of Vietnam.The faithful Russian citizens living in Nyanchang asked the bishop about the possibility of opening an Orthodox parish in the city. During the meeting, the Nha Trang parish was established in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, a parish council consisting of 15 people was elected, and members of the audit commission were also elected. At the end of the parish meeting, Bishop Pavel answered the questions of the parishioners.On March 1, 2024, Metropolitan Pavel met with the leadership of the Committee on Religious Affairs under the Government of the Republic of Vietnam. On the Vietnamese side, the meeting was attended by: Deputy Head of the Committee Nguyen Anh Tic, Head of the Department of Faiths and Other Religions Chan Thi Minh Thu, Deputy Head of the Personnel and International Relations Department of Ngo Thi Xuan Lan. The Russian Federation was represented by the Counselor-Envoy of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Vietnam E.N. Bakeeva, Counselor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Vietnam K.V. Lunev, Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev) and dean of the Vietnamese Deanery, Priest Eugene Tsukalo. Mr. Nguyen Anh Thik warmly thanked Bishop Pavel for the opportunity to take part in an important meeting, noting that in the Republic of Vietnam there is freedom of religion, 95% of citizens profess some kind of faith, they are allowed to pray and perform religious rites. Metropolitan Pavel spoke about the history and development of the Orthodox Church in Russia, focusing on the fact that there are many communities of Russian citizens in the Republic of Vietnam, mainly in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and Vung Tau, who need spiritual care. The participants of the meeting discussed the issues of the registration process of Orthodox communities in accordance with the legislation of the Republic. They also discussed the construction of a temple in Vung Tau, Vietnam.On March 1, 2024, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , Administrator of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, met with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Vietnam, G.S. Bezdetko. During the meeting, the parties discussed various issues of cooperation between the Russian diplomatic mission and the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese.On March 2, 2024, on the memorial day of St. Leo, Bishop of Rome, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , governor of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese, celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the house church in honor of the blj. Ksenia Peterburgskaya in Hanoi, Vietnam.On March 3, 2024, the Week of the Prodigal Son, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , governor of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the parish in honor of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. His Eminence was co-served by Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, and Priest Eugene Tsukalo, Dean of the Vietnamese Deanery.After the Divine Liturgy at the parish in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , the administrator of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, headed to Ho Chi Minh City Airport. At the airport, His Eminence was escorted by the Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), the dean of the Vietnamese Deanery, Priest Eugene Tsukalo. His Eminence cordially thanked the clergy and parishioners of the diocese for organizing the visit.
The next stage of the construction of the Church of the Apostle Thomas in Kinabalan has been completed – the upper reinforced belt has been concreted and decorative arches have been erected. On November 13, the Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev), visited the construction site of the […]
On November 8, 2024, on the day of remembrance of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki, the Divine Liturgy was held in the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Singapore. The service was conducted by the cleric of the church, Priest Yevgeny Shmelev, Secretary of the […]
At the parish of Blessed Matrona of Moscow in Davao city, Mindanao, the Wedding of parishioners Valery and Ruth, took place. The sacrament was performed by Hieromonk John (Gondayao). We wish happiness and prosperity to the young family! May your life together be filled with good deeds for the glory […]
Today, on the day of the celebration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, believers in Vung Tau, Vietnam, celebrated the patronal feast of the Kazan Church. The festive services became a bright and joyful event for all parishioners.
On November 3, 2024, the Secretary of the Philippines – Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev), celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Russian House in Hanoi, assisted by the rector of the parish, Hegumen Mikhey (Selyakov). The service was conducted in three languages: Church Slavonic, Vietnamese, and English. At the end […]
The Department of Charity and Social Ministry of the Philippines-Vietnamese Diocese provided assistance to victims of Typhoon Trami on Luzon Island. On October 30, 2024, employees of the Department of Charity and Social Ministry of the Philippines-Vietnamese diocese organized the distribution of humanitarian aid to victims of Typhoon Trami, which […]
On October 27-28, 2024, on the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, services were held in the Assumption Church of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in English, during which foreign students studying at the Theological School prayed. The services were attended by all foreign students from different countries, including from Indonesia and […]
The Divine Liturgy on the 17th Sunday after Pentecost, the day of remembrance of the holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, was celebrated at the Archangel Michael parish in Mahongok, Philippines. The service was led by priests Moses Kahilig and Raphael Frajillo. From now on, the Liturgy and other services will […]
