MOSCOW: March 16, 2018
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia performs a memorial litiya on the 10th anniversary of the repose of Metropolitan Laurus, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad

On March 16, 2018, the 10th anniversary of the repose of Metropolitan Laurus of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (January 1, 1928-March 16, 2008), His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia performed a commemorative litiya in the lower Transfiguration Chapel of Christ the Savior Cathedral after a meeting of the Supreme Ecclesiastical Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Praying at the service were the members of the Council, invited guests, as well as Senior Priest of the Cathedral, Protopriest Mikhail Ryazantsev and Protopriest Georgy Martynov.

His Holiness addressed the worshipers before the service with the following words:

Your Eminences, Your Graces, Dear Fathers, Brothers and Sisters:

Ten years have passed since the death of His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus of blessed memory, who made a decisive contribution to the formation of a positive environment among the episcopacy, clergy and laity of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia to accept dialog with the Moscow Patriarchate. This dialog concluded with an historic event—the overcoming of division and the reunification between the Church in the Fatherland and the diaspora. This historic act, manifested through the active participation of the late Vladyka Laurus, has entered the pages of the history of Russian Orthodoxy.

Let us pray for the repose of his soul, and that the Lord receives his soul in His Abode and establishes eternal memory for him in our hearts. Amen.

Prayers for the repose of the soul of Metropolitan Laurus then proceeded, sung by the Chamber Chorus of Christ the Savior Cathedral under the direction of SN Sokolovskaya.

Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.