MOSCOW: March 8, 2013
The Patriarch of Russia Celebrates Liturgy in Uspensky Cathedral on the 400th Anniversary of the Election of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov

On March 6, 2013, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated Divine Liturgy at the Kremlin’s Uspensky Cathedral in Moscow on the 400th anniversary of the election of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov to the Russian throne.

His Holiness was joined in the service by: His Eminence Metropolitan Ilarion of Volokolamsk, President of the Department of External Church Relations; His Eminence Archbishop Mark of Egorievsk, Head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Administration for Institutions Abroad; His Grace Bishop Agapit of Stuttgart of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia; His Grace Bishop Feofilakt of Dmitrovsk; His Grace Bishop Ignaty of Bronnitsk, President of the Synodal Department on Youth Ministry; His Grace Bishop Sergi of Solnechnogorsk, Head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate; His Grace Bishop Panteleimon of Smolensk and Vyazemsk, President of the Synodal Department of Church Philanthropy and Social Service; Protopriest Vladimir Divakov, Moscow Secretary of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Prior of Sretensky Stavropighial Monastery; Archimandrite Savva (Tutunov), Deputy Chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate; Protopriest Vsevolod Chaplin, Chairman of the Synodal Department of Church-Social Relations; Protopriest Vladimir Siloviev, Editor-in-Chief of the Publishing Arm of the Moscow Patriarchate; Protopriest Mikhail Ryazantsev, Senior Priest of Christ the Savior Cathedral; Protopriest Alexander Dasaev, Dean of Moscow’s Voskresensky Deanery; Protopriest Anatoly Kozha, Deano of Moscow’s Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Deanery; Protopriest Anatoly Rodionov, Dean of Vlachersky Deanery of Moscow; Protopriest Oleg Korytko, Head of the Office of the Moscow Patriarchate; Hieromonk Nikon (Belavenets) and other clergymen of Moscow.

Attending the service was the Head of the Romanov House, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna; great-great-grandson of Emperor Alexander III, Pavel Edvardovich Kulikovsky; Prince Gregory Gagarin, Head of the Russian Nobility Assembly; and Mikhail Markelov, Chief Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on Social Unions and Religious Organizations.

The Moscow Synodal Choir sang under the direction of Alexei Puzakov as well as the Choir of the Academy of Choral Arts under Alexei Petrov.

Protopriest Artemy Vladimirov, Rector of the Church of All Saints in Krasnoye Selo, Moscow, read a sermon before Communion. During Liturgy, prayers were lifted “for the repose of the souls of the departed servants of God, eminent rulers of Holy Rus, righteous princes and princesses, tsars and tsarinas, and all those in power who cared for the pure faith and diligence in faith in the commandments of Christ in ruling our nation,” with the reading of the names of the tsars, emperors and empresses of the House of Romanovs.

At the end of Liturgy, a short moleben was served to the Royal Passion-bearers, Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra and their children, Alexei, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill then addressed the worshipers with a sermon.

A procession of the cross then headed for Archangelsky Cathedral, which contains the crypts of many Russian rulers, including those of the House of Romanovs. A litiya was performed in the cathedral for the repose of the souls of the Russian rulers, “laid to rest here and elsewhere,” as the names of the members of the Romanov Dynasty were read.

The procession of the cross was accompanied by ringing of the bells in accordance with the “solemn processional” manner. After the litiya, the “royal victorious ringing” resounded, a melody resurrected by the bell-ringers of the Kremlin and Christ the Savior Cathedral on the basis of the coronation theme in Mussorgksy’s opera “Boris Godunov.” It was rung on the first, second and third levels of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, as well as the “Reut” bell hanging in Uspensky’s bell tower. This bell is the oldest thousand-pud (36,000+ pound) bell created by the master Andrei Chokhov in 1622. The bell’s inscription mentions Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov and his father, Patriarch Philaret Nikitich Romanov.

Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia