The Academy opened the festival "The Light of Christ" dedicated to the 600th anniversary of discovering the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh

On July 16, the Moscow Theological Academy hosted the opening ceremony of the II Patriarchal International Festival "The Light of Christ" dedicated to the 600th anniversary of discovering the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh: "We shall be saved by love and unity."

In July 2022, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the 600th anniversary of discovering the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, who has a title of an “Abbot of the Russian land”. In one of the most difficult periods of Russian history, St. Sergius gave his blessing to Prince Dmitry of Don for the battle with Mongol-Tatar army. The victory on Kulikovo field marked the beginning of the liberation of Russian from the Mongol-Tatar yoke.

The Bishop of Zvenigorod Theodorite, Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, opened the festival with his welcoming speech: 

2022 is marked by a very important memorable event, which is the 600th anniversary of discovering the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh. This church-wide celebration is also a national holiday for our country, because St. Sergius is called an “Abbot of the Russian land”. In Greek an abbot means a leader. So, St. Sergius is spiritual leader of the entire country. In his earthly life, he founded monasteries and was a spiritual leader both for royalty and for ordinary people. Nowadays, we venerate his holy relics as a visible sign and a reminder of a spiritual presence of St. Sergius. The title of our festival, "The Light of Christ", is a summary of all the words that St. Sergius said. Firstly, everyone has to find this light in his heart and then let it shine into the world. The light of Christ is love and unity and, according to the Reverend, we shell be saved.

I cordially greet musical groups, the choir of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra and the Moscow Theological Academy. I also welcome the Patriarchal Synodal Choir and the Bishops' Choir of the Yaroslavl Diocese.

We have heard of the vision of beautiful birds that St. Sergius saw. Beautiful birds symbolize the brethren of the Lavra, students of the Academy and everyone, who love and venerate St. Sergius. By no means, beautiful birds sing beautifully and their songs we are going to listen today..

There were the choir of the Holy Trinity – St. Sergius Lavra conducted by Hieromonk Nestor (Volkov), the Moscow Synodal Choir led by the Honored Artist of Russia Alexey Puzakov, the Bishops' Choir of the Yaroslavl Diocese under the conduct of nun Georgiya (Kislova).

Background information: 

July 16-18, 2022, the II Patriarchal International Festival "The Light of Christ" takes place in Sergiev Posad. The event is organised with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Government of the Moscow Region, the Presidential Grants Fund, the assistance of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives. The festival is dedicated to the 600th anniversary of discovering the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh "We shall be saved by love and unity." The chief organizer is the Holy Trinity –St. Sergius Lavra, a co-organizer is the Church and Public Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for the development of Russian church singing.

The program includes festive church services, concerts and other educational events. The artistic director of the festival is the Honored Artist of Russia Alexey Puzakov.

The host and a screenwriter is Oksana Shelest.

MThA Press Office