Metropolitan Kirill: ‘When we change ourselves, the world will change for the better’
A liturgy was held in the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God on the occasion of the Nativity of Christ
Many people from all over Russia gathered tonight in the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God to take part in the solemn liturgy in honor of the Nativity of Christ. Many guests of the capital of Tatarstan stayed specially for the festive service. The inside of the church was decorated with the symbol of the holiday — fir trees, and a large Christmas tree and a nativity scene were installed outside. Read about what the bishop wished for the parishioners and what atmosphere reigned in the church in a report of Realnoe Vremya.
“Christmas is a holiday of joy, light and love”
The holiday began with the Great Vespers and the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great in the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God of the Kazan Mother of God Monastery. On Christmas Eve, it was celebrated by Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan. At the end of the service, a candle was brought out to the middle of the church as a symbol of the Christmas star. In the evening, on the eve of the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the head of the Tatarstan Metropolitanate celebrated the all-night vigil in the Kazan Cathedral, and on the night of 6-7 January, the Divine Liturgy, which was attended by hundreds of believers not only from the capital of Tatarstan and its regions, but also from other cities of Russia.
Lydia and Mikhail Krapiva came to Kazan for the New Year holidays from Moscow and specially decided to stay one more day to take part in the Christmas service in the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. “This is our second time in this cathedral. The first time we visited it as tourists to kiss the icon. In general, we come to the Christmas service every year, and we also try to go to church every Sunday,” said Lidiya.
According to her, the main tradition at Christmas is to go to church and fast before the holiday in order to feel its entire atmosphere.
“Christmas is one of the main holidays for all Christians. It is a holiday of joy, the birth of something new. A holiday of purity, light that should penetrate through us and give it to our loved ones. Christmas is also a holiday of love,” shared Mikhail Krapiva.
“You have to go to church with your children”
Andrey Neustroyev and Ekaterina Neustroyeva from Kazan come to the night service every year with their children, sons Platon and Daniil.
“I think there are many more associations with Christmas than with the New Year. This is one of the most important holidays of the year in our religion. Every year we approach it more responsibly, observe all the traditions, come to church. We also go to church without any reason and teach our children to do the same. We are sure that on such holidays the whole family should be in church, because this is the time when all forces become much more powerful,” says Andrey Neustroyev.
Artyom and Anna from Moscow and their children Lera and Georgy came to Kazan for the first time with their whole family for the holidays and decided to attend the Christmas service.
“The Kazan Cathedral houses the largest shrine, and we wanted to touch it. Our grandmother was very religious, devout. We came to light candles for her. She introduced us to religion. I wanted to bring my family here, because when my grandmother was still alive, the Kazan icon did a lot in her life, help came to her from the Kazan icon of the Mother of God. I wanted the children to come into contact with it, too,” the father of the family admitted.
“The only and most important thing is the wish for peace”
The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan. Before it began, he especially emphasized that he thanked God for the opportunity to celebrate this celebration in peace and prosperity: “In order for us to gather today, many of our compatriots are guarding the interests of our homeland. Unfortunately, blood is being shed, there is a lot of cruelty in the world, a lot of misanthropy. This does not go away from our lives. Why? Because we have forgotten God. We live by the power of our own passions, our own unworthiness, wrong actions, and through this we look at other people in the same way. Although in fact, we must look at this world through the eyes of God, who created us so that we could rejoice, and therefore the Angel today says to the shepherds: “Do not be afraid! I have come to announce great joy to you. The Savior of the world has been born! “I congratulate you on this. I hope that we will take some steps, even if only microscopically, to change ourselves. When we change ourselves, the world around us will change for the better,” Metropolitan Kirill addressed the parishioners.
He noted that today the only and most important wish for everyone is the wish for peace, the return of God's mercy to everyone.
“So that our children and loved ones return, so that blood stops being shed, so that peace comes, so that there are fewer tears, fewer widows, orphans on this earth,” the bishop noted.
The Metropolitan said mentioned that on Christmas Eve he met with those involved in the special military operation who are undergoing treatment in the Republic Clinical Hospital. The bishop wished the soldiers God's help and a speedy recovery.
“Today the lads who are undergoing treatment came, everyone who could walk came. You look at them and understand: they have returned to this life. And how many people have not yet returned and cannot return. Therefore, the only wish and the most important thing is peace. Health, happiness, well-being to everyone. Patience with each other.”
Metropolitan Kirill addressed the believers with the words:
“Everyone has their own path to God. Today Christ appears in such amazing simplicity. This Divine simplicity, it moves us to take off human false wisdom, weariness from sin and humbly come to the cave to worship the Saviour of the world. And today, in the simplicity of our hearts, with love for the Lord, we come and bow to Him. We pray that the Lord will give us true childlike purity and simplicity, in which there is no place for guile and cunning.”
On the evening of 7 January, the archpastor will lead the Great Nativity Vespers in the Kazan Cathedral. The service will begin at 16:00. After the service, a festive concert of the bishop's mixed choir directed by Marina Litvinenko took place in the cathedral. The choir performed Christmas hymns and carols.
