MOSCOW: May 6, 2015
The St Vladimir Youth Association visits the Russian capital

As part of the world-wide celebrations of the 1000th anniversary of the death of Holy Grand Prince Vladimir, the Baptizer and Illuminator of Russia, Protopriest Andrei Sommer, head of the St Vladimir Youth Association and its members Ilya Shikalov and Sergei Brushtein visited Moscow. Upon their arrival, the association members met with young people from various parishes of the Moscow diocese.

The main goal of their meeting was to jointly participate in celebrations of the memory of Holy Prince Vladimir. On the second day of their trip, the delegation from New York visited Christ the Savior Cathedral, where they briefly met with His Holiness Patriarch Kyrill of Moscow and All Russia and received his blessing. In these continuing celebrations of Holy Pascha, Fr Andrei and the young association members gave His Holiness a Paschal egg and congratulated him on the Rresurrection of Christ. His Holiness in turn congratulated the delegation from New York and called upon them “To preserve the Orthodox faith, the traditions of our ancestors, and to help others stand firmly in the Orthodox faith,” even as they live far from the homeland.

During the visit, Fr Andrei and his delegation met with the Rector of the Moscow Theological Schools, His Eminence Archbishop Eugene of Verey. During their meeting, the members of the Association of St Vladimir, which has existed in America since the early 1950’s, about its importance in the life of the Russian emigration. With the aim of sharing their experiences, Archbishop Eugene proposed a meeting with the seminarians of Moscow during their next trip to Moscow.

Father Andrei spoke at St Tikhon Orthodox University on the topic of “The Significance of Prince Vladimir for Orthodox Youth in the Diaspora Yesterday and Today.” Later, during a meeting with the Director of the Foundation of Holy Prince Vladimir, Maxim Parshin, they discussed holding joint celebrations in America of the Jubilee of the Enlightener of Rus.

On May 2, the feast day of St Matrona of Moscow, the young association members visited Holy Protection Convent, where they prayed during divine services, and later went to Elokhovsky Cathedral in the Russian capital.