On Sunday, the Academy Gathered for Common Prayer and Divine Eucharist

"Prayer is the breath of Divine life in man", wrote Hieromartyr Seraphim (Chichagov), Metropolitan of Petrograd. Just as a person cannot breathe and live normally without oxygen, so a Christian cannot live without prayer. The entire Church breathes with prayer, the living communion with God.

Every Sunday, the Church gathers together to glorify the Risen Savior in a single heartfelt sigh and to partake of His Holy Body and Blood.

On December 21, the clergy, students, faculty, and staff of the Academy gathered at the Intercession Church for the Sunday Divine Liturgy, led by the Rector, Bishop Kirill of Sergiyev Posad and Dmitrov.

Together with the academy clergy, the archbishop was concelebrated by Protopriest Vladimir Chuvikin and the Rector of Perervinskaya Theological Seminary, Hieromonk Apollinarius (Panin).

During the antiphons, the Rector performed the rite of tonsure as readers for fourth-year undergraduate students Dmitry Denisov, Kirill Drozdov, and Pavel Kravets. 

After the Cherubic Hymn, a postgraduate student of the Academy, Hierodeacon Pimen (Shein), was ordained to the priesthood.

During the Eucharistic Canon, Bishop Kirill ordained student Daniil Kabanov, a third-year undergraduate student of Perervinskaya Theological Seminary, to the deaconate.

A sermon before Communion was delivered by Associate Professor of MThA, Priest Dimitry Baritsky.

After the Liturgy, the archbishop addressed the worshippers with an archpastoral word. 

On the eve of Sunday, December 20, the All-Night Vigil was led by the Dean of the Icon Painting Faculty, Archimandrite Luka (Golovkov).

A sermon before the reading of the kathismas was delivered by fourth-year undergraduate student Nikolai Latynin. 

Background information:

The liturgical hymns were performed by the men's choir under the direction of Deacon Alexander Leventsov and the mixed choir under the direction of fourth-year student of the Faculty of Church Singing Art, Elizaveta Kirillova. 

MThA Press Office