On the Eve of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, SFI Faculty Members and Students Gather to Celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

As has become tradition, on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, faculty, students, and friends of Saint Philaret’s Institute and the Transfiguration Brotherhood, who come from many cities in Russia and abroad, gathered for the festal Divine Liturgy in Russia’s main cathedral of Christ the Saviour. On Saturday, 14 February, the service was presided over by the cathedral’s main priest, Fr Mikhail Ryazantsev. Among the concelebrants at the altar was the founder and first rector of SFI, Fr Georgij Kochetkov. Over 1,300 people communed at the Liturgy.

"Today, on the eve of the great feast of the Presentation of the Lord — one of the Twelve Great Feasts — you have gathered in our cathedral, as is traditional, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. Our church has been able to welcome and accommodate all who wished to come and pray together with us," said Fr Mikhail Ryazantsev to the gathered worshippers.

"I would like to congratulate Father Georgij and all of you on this special day for you and on the coming Feast of the Presentation of the Lord," Father Mikhail continued. "We are always happy to welcome you. There is a special grace in such common prayer, when the whole Church prays and the whole Church sings. As the Gospel says, 'out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.' (Lk 6:45) Today our hearts were truly filled with God’s grace, which is bestowed upon each of us during the Divine Liturgy. May the Lord protect and keep you all!"