May 15, 2024 marked the 80th anniversary of the blessed death of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Sergius (Stragorodsky).
A wreath from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia was placed at the grave of His Holiness Patriarch Sergius.
Grave Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill celebrated the Easter memorial service for the ever-memorable twelfth Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church at the end of the Liturgy at the tomb of Patriarch Sergius in the St. Nicholas Chapel of the Epiphany Cathedral.
Before the beginning of the funeral service, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addressed the faithful with the Primatial word:
"Today is the 80th anniversary of the death of His Holiness Patriarch Sergius. And in the Elokhovsky Cathedral, once the cathedral of the Mother See, where the remains of His Holiness the Patriarch rest, we perform a funeral service and pray to the Lord that His Holiness Sergius, who worked so hard to preserve our Church, to continue its existence in a country where militant atheism prevailed, be accepted into the holy heavenly monasteries and that in the people preserved an eternal prayerful memory of him.
His Holiness Sergius really served the Lord and our Church, probably in the most terrible period of its history. Even the Mongol yoke cannot be compared with it, because the Mongols sought to devastate our land only for material gain; they needed our wealth, but they did not touch our souls. But the godless government, which seized our country and exerted a tremendous influence on the people, needed our souls. They did not need the Orthodox Church to continue to exist on Russian soil and for it to somehow influence the consciousness of the inhabitants of the then Soviet Union.
At this difficult time, the Lord called His Holiness Patriarch Sergius to the highest ministry. Much has also become more complicated due to the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War: the front divided our Church into those who remained in the territory of the then Soviet Union and those who were in the occupied territory. There were many problems and conflicts on this ground, and all this was on the agenda of His Holiness Patriarch Sergius — both the difficulties associated with the war and the difficulties associated with the struggle for the survival of the Church in a godless country..."
At the end of the memorial service, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill laid a bouquet of white roses on the tomb of Patriarch Sergius.
The Primate of the Russian Church, the archpastors and clergy who served His Holiness moved to the Annunciation chapel of the Epiphany Cathedral. "Eternal Memory" was proclaimed at the grave of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill laid flowers on the grave.
Then His Holiness venerated the relics of St. Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow, and the venerated list of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
After the service, the conference "Patriarch Sergius and His Spiritual Legacy" began at the house of the clergy of the Epiphany Cathedral with the blessing of His Holiness.
***
On September 8, 1943, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church elected the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. On September 12, his enthronement took place at the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov, Moscow.
On May 15, 1944, Patriarch Sergius passed away to the Lord. He was buried in the basement of the Nikolsky (northern) chapel of the Epiphany Cathedral.