Slavonic at Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome

(UOC-MP) - The initiator of the festivities is the Embassy of Ukraine to the Holy See. The UOC delegation was led by deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC Archbishop Alexander of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyy.

Salus Populi Romani in the basilica

On the commemoration of Sts Cyril and Methodius was held at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, where over a thousand years ago for the first time a prayer and reading of the Gospel in Slavonic sounded, and for the first time since the 9th century the divine liturgy in Slavonic according to the Orthodox rite was celebrated. The worship was led by Archbishop Mark of Yehoryev, who concelebrated with Archbishop Alexander of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytkyy and Bishop Nestor of Korsun, clergymen of the Orthodox parishes in Italy and delegates in the UOC in holy order.

In the course of worship the faithful had an opportunity to pray at the Boyan Icon of the Mother of God, which now visits with the blessing of Metropolitan Vladimir the temples of the Ukrainian Orthodox churches in Italy.

On the same day in the Basilica of St. Clement, where lie the relics of the Hieromartyr Clement, brought from the Crimea to Rome by the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Brothers, as well as relics of the holy Apostles Cyril, the solemn prayer was performed. As a gift to the Basilica by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and on the occasion of the jubilee an icon of the Hieromartyr Clement made by Ukrainian artists was given.

The icon was performed in the style of ancient mosaics that decorates the 1000-years St. Sophia Cathedral. In the evening at the Pontifical Oriental Institute at the initiative of the Embassy of Ukraine, a round table "Saint Clement of Rome in the context of the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius" was conducted. The round table was attended by Chairman of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute Fr James McCain, Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican Tatiana Izhevska, theologians, scientists and diplomats. Participants viewed a documentary of the TV-Channel Glass about the life of the martyrised and invention of the relics of the Hieromartyr Clement.

Archbishop Alexander congratulated those present on behalf of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and read a speech entitled "From the history of worship in Russia of the relics of St Clement of Rome," which noted that "without going into details of the discussion about the place of martyrdom Hieromartyr Clement of Rome and its authenticity of the relics, I'll mention only two points. The first is that a discrepancy in the ancient sources, including the lives of the saints, had a historical dependence and were not uncommon. Second the veneration of St. Clement in Russia that was based on the very Byzantine tradition which united the martyrdom of the devotee exactly with Chersonese. And regardless of the outcome of the above discussion - this veneration has become an integral part of church life of Old Rus and the current period of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Every day, thousands of faithful come to worship at our church the Myrrh-bearing head of the relics of St Clement and holy fathers of the Caves of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. We rely on the prayerful support of the Hieromartyr Clement of our efforts to protect Christian values ​​in the modern world of consumption, globalization and secularism."