Patriarch Kirill of Moscow visiting Japan

(mospat.ru) - On September 16, 2012, the 15th Sunday after Pentecost, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, while on a primatial visit to Japan, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Tokyo. Among his con-celebrants were Metropolitan Daniel of Tokyo, primate of the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Varsonofy of Saransk and Mordovia, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, Archbishop Varfolomey of Rovno and Ostrog, Archbishop Seraphim of Sendai, Bishop Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s administrative secretariat, Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, DECR vice-chairman, Archpriest Nikolay Katsuban, dean of the ROC Tokyo representation, and Japanese clergy.

Among the worshippers were Ye. Afanasyev, Russia’s ambassador to Japan, Ukraine’s ambassador N. Kulinich, Greece’s ambassador N. Tsamados, Romania’s ambassador R. Serban, Serbia’s ambassador Ms. B. A. Dragovic, and other diplomats.

The Patriarchal service, which was celebrated in both Japanese and Church Slavonic, was attended by numerous faithful of the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church and Russians living in Japan.

After the service, Metropolitan Daniel of Tokyo and All Japan greeted Patriarch Kirill, saying, ‘We are happy to greet you in Japan, in this church, and to participate together with you in the celebrations in honour of St. Nicholas of Japan’, who brought Orthodoxy to the Japanese land a century and a half ago. He founded a Church which exists to this day. ‘It often happens in history that human deeds are forgotten one hundred years later, but God’s deeds remain for centuries. God’s deeds were revealed through St. Nicholas to stay for ever. They live in the hearts of Japanese Christians. And though the history of our Church is only 150 year old, we believe it will live for hundreds of years. We will continue the task of St. Nicholas in the Japanese land, among Japanese people, in the Japanese language’.

Metropolitan Daniel also noted that a year and a half ago a terrible disaster befell Japan. A great number of people were affected; a considerable number of Orthodox churches were seriously damaged. The Russian Church responded to that misfortune. ‘At that time we could feel in full measure the love that the Russian Orthodox Church has for us and thanks to her support we continue to restore our churches and to reconstruct what was damaged’.

Addressing the congregation, Patriarch Kirill said...

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