The Academy celebrated the Ascension of the Lord

"Adam, where are you?" — the Lord asks everyone, because we are all children of Adam and we are all sinned in him (Rom. 5:12).

So, it is an inexplicable miracle, when «the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost» (Luke.19:10). He seeks Adam calling him «сome to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Mat.11:28).

The love of God cannot be held back by any force, neither by time nor space. The Son of Man went into the depths of hell and overthrew ancient evil powers. Then the Lord descended into the void and filled everything with His light finding Adam. 

Taking the human nature in his hands, the Almighty Savior raised Adam to the light of His Resurrection. Christ triumphantly raised from the dead on the third day, healing a man and deifying his nature.

The Lord’s glory lifts up the image of Adam above the heavens and settles him in His Father's House. Now Adam, and through him all of us, is inseparably with God, Who said: «I am with you always, even to the end of the age» (Mat.28:20)

This perfect unity we can still feel in Church sacraments especially in Communion. Today, the whole Church glorifies the Savior and sings a victory song:

Glory to Thy descent, Savior, glory to Thy Kingdom, glory to Thy ascension, Oh, One Love of mankind!”

On May 24, the Bishop of Zvenigorod Kirill, Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, officiated an All-night Vigil at the Intercession Academic Church co-served by the academic clergy. 

Archimandrite Venedikt (Knyazev) performed a festive lithia and offered up a prayer to the Lord for the consecration of bread.

Before reading the Kathisma, Maxim Musaev, a fourth-year undergraduate student, delivered a sermon in which he spoke about the meaning of the feast and significance of this event in our life.

On May 25, Bishop Kirill and the Bishop of Uryupinsk and Novoanninsk Elisha together with the academic clergy celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Intercession Academic Church.

After the Cherubic Hymn, Bishop Kirill ordained Deacon Vladislav Pshibyshevsky, a third-year postgraduate student, into a presbyter. And at the end of the Eucharistic Canon, he ordained Rodion Arslanov, a third-year undergraduate student, into a deacon.

After the Sacrament verse, Ilya Filatov, a fourth-year undergraduate student, delivered a sermon. In his speech, the preacher paid attention to the theme of joy, which is the main in the troparion of the Ascension. 

After the Liturgy, the clergy sang a glorification to the Lord in front of the icon. Then, Bishop Kirill thanked Bishop Elisha for his visit and addressed an assembly with his archpastoral word. 

Background information:

Clergy served at the All-night Vigil: Bishop Kirill co-served by Archimandrites Venedikt (Knyazev), Platon (Igumnov), Hilarion (Forkavets), Luka (Golovkov), Simeon (Tomachinsky), Hieromonk Barnabas (Losev), Archpriest Sergiy Zabelich, Hieromonks Theodore (Yulaev), Philotheus (Artyushin), Priest Valery Dukhanin, Hieromonks Cassian (Plosky), Mikhey (Kopytov), ​​Boris (Zelyuchenko), Prokopy (Rudchenko), Deacons Dimitri Maslov, Nikolay Goyuk, Vladislav Pshibyshevsky, Hierodeacons Filaret (Zubov), Arseniy (Salov), Anthony (Streblyachenko), Pimen (Shein). 

Clergy served at the Divine Liturgy: Bishop Kirill and Bishop Elisha co-served by Archimandrites Venedikt (Knyazev), Platon (Igumnov), Hilarion (Forkavets), Luka (Golovkov), Simeon (Tomachinsky), Hieromonk Barnabas (Losev), Archpriest Sergiy Zabelich, Hieromonks Theodore (Yulaev ), Filofey (Artyushin), Priest Valery Dukhanin, Hieromonks Cassian (Plosky), Mikhey (Kopytov), ​​Boris (Zelyuchenko), Procopius (Rudchenko), Priest Vladislav Pshibyshevsky, Deacons Dimitry Maslov, Nikolai Goyuk, Hierodeacons Filaret (Zubov), Arseny (Salov), Anthony (Streblyachenko), Pimen (Shein), Deacon Rodion Arslanov. 

Chanting performed by the second academic choir under the conduct of V.V. Chuvilov and the second mixed choir led by K.A. Alekseeva.

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