Patr. Kirill Marks 50 Years in the Episcopacy

Photo: api.patriarchia.ru

MOSCOW — His Holiness Patr. Kirill of Moscow and All Russia marked the 50th anniversary of his episcopal consecration on Saturday, March 14. The Patriarch led the Divine Liturgy at the skete of St. Alexander Nevsky in Peredelkino, with His Grace Bp .Alexei of Ramenskoye assisting.

Patr. Kirill’s journey in the episcopacy began in 1976, when he was elected Bp. of Vyborg, vicar of the Leningrad Diocese, and consecrated 11 days later in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. Prior to this, he had been tonsured a monk and ordained a hierodeacon and hieromonk in 1969. Reflecting on his consecration, he once said, “Being a bishop is a feat that demands the whole person, for a bishop does not belong to himself, but to the Church.”

Before becoming Patriarch, he served in several dioceses, including Smolensk and Kaliningrad, and held academic positions at the Leningrad Theological Academy. He also chaired the Department for External Church Relations from 1989 until his election as Patriarch in 2009, following the repose of Patr. Alexei II.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Patr. Kirill congratulated Patr. John X on his enthronement anniversary.

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