On the feast of the Annunciation and Adoration of the Cross Sunday, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the archbishop's Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin on April 7, 2024.
On this day, His Holiness celebrated 55 years of priesthood. Exactly 55 years ago, on April 7, 1969, on the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the monk Kirill (Gundyaev), then a student of the Leningrad Theological Academy, was ordained a deacon.
His Holiness was served at the Liturgy by: Metropolitan Grigorije, manager of affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, first vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for Moscow, Antonio Volokolamsky, president of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; Nikandr Narofominsky, president of the financial and economic administration of the Moscow Patriarchate; archbishops of Odintsovo and Krasnogorsk Toma, head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate, rector of the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow, Savva of Zelenograd, deputy manager of affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate; Bishop Alexius of Ramen, personal secretary of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill; Protopresbyter Vladimir Divakov, Secretary of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for Moscow; abbot Ioan (Ludishchev), abbot of the Sretensky stauropygial monastery in Moscow, acting rector of Sretenska Theological Academy; archpriest Vyacheslav Shestakov, head of the temples of the Patriarchal Metohija in Zaryadje in Moscow; hieromonk Elisej (Menailov), abbot of the Novospassky stauropygial monastery in Moscow; metropolitan clergy.
At a special liturgy, prayers were offered for His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, who then addressed the faithful with the presiding word:
"I sincerely thank you all for praying for me, for celebrating the Liturgy together today. And I felt that today not only the pious flock under the arches of this church are praying for me, but also many, many in our Church. After all, the congregational prayer for the Patriarch is not only expressed in the statutory meaning at every service - I know that to this statutory meaning people also add a heartfelt sigh to the Lord for helping the Patriarch in carrying the cross.
55 years ago - I remember that day well - a service was held in the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. While waiting for the deacon's ordination, I, as expected, stood in front of the iconostasis with the vessel for the bishop's ablution and suddenly heard the prokimen: Preach the salvation of our God day by day. And some force just pierced me. I said to myself: this should be a symbol of your life, this should be a sign of your life - that day by day you preach the salvation of our God.
And the Lord progressed in such a way that in all those places where the hierarchy, by the providence of God, sent me, whether it was the Leningrad theological school, the Smolensk diocese, then the responsible office of the president of the Department for External Church Relations, and then the Patriarchal Service - for all this time I felt God's help. I felt that the Lord was helping me to evangelize. And not only during church sermons, but also when I try to include the Gospel in all the acts that the Patriarch must perform, because only then are they filled with saving content. Even administrative, economic, disciplinary and many other issues gain salvific significance for people and for the Patriarch himself precisely when they are filled with the power of God's grace. With these words - Preach the salvation of our God day by day - I live to this day.

Source: Russian Patriarchate