The Academy prayerfully glorified the memory of three Ecumenical Saints on the Week of the Prodigal Son

The Great Lent proceeds. It lets a Christian to slow down and concentrate, indulge in prayer and repentance. Fasting is the path that all Christians have to go through in order to enjoy Christ’s Resurrection. 

The Great Lent is accompanied by various difficulties and internal struggles. However, this period helps the soul to open up, come to life and forwarded its wings to the heavenly heights, to meet its Creator.

A beautiful image is offered by the Metropolitan of Surozh Anthony in his conversations:

“Lent is a spiritual spring. It is time, when the old leaves have to fall off, when the withered branches should be cut off, when everything that is dead must be burned so that only the living remains”.

On February 11, the Bishop of Zvenigorod Kirill, Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, and the academic clergy officiated the All-night Vigil in honor of St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom.

According to a tradition set to commemorate three great Orthodox hierarchs, many liturgical hymns are sung in Greek.

Before the Kathismas, Andrey Varezhkin, a fourth-year undergraduate student, delivered a sermon on the Gospel parable of the prodigal son. The preacher noted that Christ used that parable to illustrate the relationship between a man and God through the image of a father and his son. The Lord shows us how much He loves his creation. His love reaches into the darkest depths of hell and takes the suffering soul back to Home.

At the Matins, Psalm 136 "On the Rivers of Babylon" is sang. The Jews sang it while being in Babylonian captivity. It expresses the sorrow of people for their lost Fatherland.

By reading Psalm 136, the Church, on behalf of all mankind, mourns for the lost Heavenly Jerusalem.

On Sunday, February 12, Archimandrite Venedikt (Knyazev) celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Intercession Academic Church co-served by the academic clergy.

After the Sacrament verse, Sergey Zadikyan, a second-year Master's student, delivered a sermon.

Background information: 

Clergy served at the All-night Vigil: Bishop Kirill co-served by Archimandrites Venedikt (Knyazev), Platon (Igumnov), Hilarion (Forkavets), Luka (Golovkov), Abbots Adrian (Pashin), Gerasim (Dyachkov), Hieromonk Barnabas (Losev), Abbot Meletius (Sokolov) , Hieromonk Theodore (Yulaev), Priest Valery Dukhanin, Hieromonks Cassian (Plosky), John (Merzlyakov), Priest Vyacheslav Masin, Deacons Dimitry Maslov, Nikolai Goyuk, Hierodeacon Job (Urum). 

Clergy served at the Divine Liturgy: Archimandrite Venedikt co-served by Archimandrites Platon (Igumnov), Hilarion (Forkavets), Luka (Golovkov), Abbots Adrian (Pashin), Gerasim (Dyachkov), Hieromonk Barnabas (Losev), Abbot Meletius (Sokolov), Hieromonk Theodore (Yulaev ), Priest Valery Dukhanin, Hieromonks Cassian (Plosky), John (Merzlyakov), Priest Vyacheslav Masin, Deacons Dimitry Maslov, Nikolai Goyuk, Hierodeacon Job (Urum). 

Chanting performed by choirs under the conduct of E.V. Borovinsky and K.A. Bukurova.

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