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.
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Ascension of the Lord
On May 28-29, on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, solemn divine services were held at the Philippine parishes of St. Seraphim of Sarov in the village of Makalangot and the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Arakan (North Kotabato Deanery), located in […]

Construction of St. Elijah’s church
In the mountain village of Magulo, the construction of the temple in the name of the prophet of God Elijah continues. On May 21, the secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev), visited the construction site and gave instructions on further work. At the moment, the installation of the rafter system has begun. The […]

Feast of Slavic culture
On May 23, a ceremonial event was held at the Russian House in Hanoi, dedicated to the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture. Among the participants were the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Vietnam, the Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus, a cleric of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hegumen Micah (Selyakov), and the director […]

Feast of St Nicholas
On May 22, the feast of the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the St. Nicholas Parish in the city of Kayupu (General-Santos Deanery) in the Philippines celebrated its patronal feast. The Divine Liturgy was led by the secretary of the diocese, Hieromonk Korniliy (Molev). He was assisted by the dean of […]

Youth camp
From May 19 to 25, the Philippines-Vietnam Diocese is holding a camp for Orthodox youth. The event brings together young people and teenagers from different parts of the island of Mindanao. The children will participate in church services, study the basics of the Orthodox faith, and will be able to ask priests questions. In addition, […]

Sunday of the Samaritan woman
5th Sunday after Easter, of the Samaritan woman, in the parishes in Manila and General Santos

Baptism on Samal Island
On May 14, on the Feast of Mid-Pentecost, the Sacrament of Baptism took place at the Missionary Center of Blessed Matrona of Moscow in Davao (Philippines). After the Divine Liturgy, the cleric of the diocese, Hieromonk John (Gondayao), and parishioners went to Samal Island to perform the traditional triple immersion in the waters of the […]

Sunday of the paralytic
Divine Liturgy on the 4th Sunday after Easter, of the paralytic, in the Church of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines.

День Победы на о. Панглао
On May 10, on Panglao Island, in the church under construction in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear”, a thanksgiving service for the Victory in the Great Patriotic War was held, in which the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to the Philippines M.I. Pavlov, employees of the Embassy […]

Victory Day in Cebu
On May 9, the second largest city in the Philippines, Cebu, hosted events to mark the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory. The event was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to the Philippines M.I. Pavlov, Honorary Consul A. Garcia, compatriots and Filipino guests. The Dean of the Manila Deanery of the […]

Reception on Victory Day
On May 6, in anticipation of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, a ceremonial reception was held by the Russian Embassy in Vietnam with the participation of Vice Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam Tran Hong Ha. At the reception, with the blessing of Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi, the clergy of […]

Antipascha
Divine Liturgy in the church of Resurrection of Christ in General Santos city on the 2nd Sunday after Easter (Thomas’ Sunday, or Antipascha)