Author: Филиппинско-Вьетнамская епархия

On February 15, 2023, on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ in General Santos in the province of South Cotabato, on the island of Mindanao.

His Eminence was co-served by the Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), the rector of the church, Priest Roman Buniel, and the clergy of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese. The deaconess rank was headed by Hierodeacon Nikodim (Pirkhovsky).

By the Metropolitan’s decree, for the diligent service to the Holy Church, the rector of the parish in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, General Santos, Priest Roman Buniel was awarded the right to wear a loincloth.

During the Liturgy, Metropolitan Pavel ordained the reader Juventinus Bulakvenya as a deacon.

At the end of the service, Metropolitan Pavel addressed the audience:

“Dear fathers, brothers and sisters! Allow me to congratulate everyone on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord! On this day, Saint Simeon the God-Receiver took Christ into his own hands and thanked God: “Now let Your servant depart in peace, Master, according to Your word!”, for it was promised to him – until he sees Christ, he will not die. It is said in the Holy Scriptures that Simeon the God-Receiver was a man of holy life and was honored to take into his hands the God-Child and thus sum up his earthly life. He was expecting this event. One can only imagine what joy he had when the Lord promises and you get what you ask for, and he asked for a meeting with God. Each of us desires a meeting with God, so that the Lord will guide us in this earthly life and in eternity, everyone truly desires this. But the Lord does not appear to everyone during His lifetime, only to those who live holy on Earth. And we follow this path, waiting, hoping, trusting the Lord that He is with us, even if we are unworthy of meeting Him now. The fact that He makes it possible to perform the Sacrament of Holy Communion with His Body and Blood, and to unite with Him, is a great providence of God for each of us.

It is not for nothing that the Lord says: “Whoever does this in my memory will not see death”. And we know that everyone is alive with God, the soul is immortal. Having lived an earthly life, the soul goes to God and remains in Eternity with him. May God grant us to follow this right, true path, on which the Lord has chosen and set us. I am very glad to meet you, celebrating the Divine Liturgy here, praying together, and I hope that the Lord will give us the strength to see each other more often. The Lord has given us the opportunity during these two weeks of our visit to the Philippines to increase our church with pastors — priests and deacons. We have performed the seventh ordination today and I thank God that our church is developing and growing both flock and pastors. I congratulate you, I wish you spiritual and physical strength, God’s help to all! I thank everyone for the service, for the common prayers!”

On February 7, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi performed the monastic tonsure of the nun Maria Buniel, with name Olga, in honor of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga.

The monastic tonsure took place in the church in honor of St. Matrona of Moscow in Davao.

After the Sacrament, Metropolitan Pavel said to the nun Olga:

“We were praying now that the Lord would accept your labors, your prayers, your soul’s aspiration for the Lord, and I know that you are doing everything and will do it, and God willing, you will still work in the field of Christ, saving yourself and teaching the way of salvation to those around you. In prayer, when taking the tonsure, it is said about the light of Christ, so that those who have dedicated their lives to Christ shine like lamps, illuminating everything around them. I wish you physical and spiritual health, strength, so that the Lord and your heavenly patroness will keep you, helping you on the path of life.

I see it as a craft. Just as Princess Olga brought holy Orthodoxy to Russia, so you, Mother, taking vows, the feat of the first our nun in the Philippines, will bring Orthodoxy to everyone you meet on the path of life. And you are already fulfilling this obedience. May the Lord help you. Through the prayers of your heavenly patroness, the equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, may the Lord strengthen you so that all problems with your health will pass by, so that the Lord will heal you for many years of service to Him.”

***Richel (Maria) Buniel, was born on October 14, 1977 in Kidapawan, Philippines. Since childhood, she dreamed of dedicating her life to God. Richel grew up in a family far from religion, but she attended services in a Protestant church. Richel Buniel received the Orthodox sacrament of baptism in 2015 with the name Catherine. With the blessing of the Patriarchal Exarch of Southeast Asia, Metropolitan Sergius of Singapore and Southeast Asia, she underwent obedience at St. Nicholas Convent in Ukraine, where she took monastic vows with the name Maria, in honor of St. Mary of Radonezh.

On February 7, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of the Philippines Marat Pavlov met with the Mayor of Davao Sebastian Duterte.

Before the meeting, a presentation of Davao City’s investment proposals was held. During the meeting, which took place in a friendly atmosphere, the interlocutors discussed a wide range of issues related to the development of Russian-Filipino humanitarian contacts.

One of the issues related to the project of expanding and strengthening the mission of the Russian Orthodox Church in Davao city concerned the allocation of land for the needs of the mission.

The meeting was also attended by: Nikolay Ovsyannikov, Economic Adviser to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Philippines, Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Abbot Anthony (Kirpichev), Secretary of the Khanty-Mansi Diocese, Priest Anthony Dolgushin, Chairman of the Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media of the Khanty-Mansi Diocese.

At the end of the meeting, Metropolitan Pavel presented the Mayor of Davao with an icon of the Mother of God “Iverskaya” and a newly published Orthodox prayer book in Cebuano language.

On February 5, the Sunday of Publican and Pharisee and of Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the church in honor of St. Matrona of Moscow in Davao.

His Eminence was co-served by: Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), Secretary of the Khanty-Mansi Diocese Abbot Anthony (Kirpichev), dean of the Surgut City Deanery of the Khanty-Mansi Diocese Archpriest Anthony Isakov, cleric of the church of St. Isidore of Rostov in Alabel Priest Alexy Bergado. The deacon rank was headed by Hierodeacon Nicodemus (Pirkhovsky).

During the Liturgy, Metropolitan Pavel ordained Deacon John Mahinay, a cleric of the church of St. John of Shanghai in Santa Maria, in the rank of Priest, and Anthony Aranco in the rank of Deacon. He also performed the consecration of a reader Elijah Aleria.

At the end of the Service, Metropolitan Pavel addressed the audience:

“Dear fathers, brothers and sisters! Let me congratulate you on the feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! This is the most important day – the Resurrection of Christ. Our Lord accomplished a saving mission by coming to Earth, He lived with a man, showed a saving path, suffered for us and by His Resurrection gave each of us the opportunity to live forever. And we must always remember the saving mission of our Lord Jesus Christ. We treat Sunday in a special way — as the little Easter, the great event that happened to Christ for the salvation of the human race. St. Seraphim of Sarov, our saint, greeted all those who came to him for spiritual consolation with the words: “My joy, Christ is Risen!” He lived by the Resurrection of Christ all his life. And he is for us an example of the attitude to the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This Sunday we celebrated the Divine Liturgy, performed 2 ordinations – diaconal and priestly. I congratulate Father John and Deacon Anthony on taking holy orders. I hope that they will faithfully serve God, truly, giving all their strength so that the Lord will not leave them and the flock they will lead by His mercy. I congratulate all our parishioners, the entire flock of the Philippine Diocese on the increase of the clergy and hope that the flock will increase. On this special day, I would like to thank the secretary, Hieromonk Cornelius, for the missionary labors he carries here, helping me to manage the parishes and I give him the cross so that the Lord comforts him and helps him carry out his ministry”.

After the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Pavel, met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of the Philippines M.I. Pavlov.

On February 4, Metropolitan Pavel of Manila and Hanoi , the administrator of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese, celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the church in honor of St. Matrona of Moscow in Davao.

His Eminence was co-served by: Secretary of the Philippine-Vietnamese Diocese, Hieromonk Cornelius (Molev), Dean of the Nizhnevartovsk Deanery of the Khanty-Mansi Diocese, Archpriest Sergiy Shevchenko, Priest Oleg Gordeev, Priest Joachim Gonzalez. The diaconal rank was headed by Hierodeacon Nikodim (Pirkhovsky).

During the Liturgy, Metropolitan Pavel ordained Deacon Alexy Bergado, a cleric of the Church of St. Isidore of Rostov in Alabel, to the priesthood, and reader Agustin Ponferrada was ordained a deacon.

At the end of the Service, Metropolitan Pavel addressed the audience:

“Dear fathers, brothers and sisters, allow me to congratulate you on the holiday and thank you for the common prayer that we have made today. We have celebrated the Divine Liturgy and 2 ordinations – diaconal and priestly. Our church is being multiplied with the clergy and parishioners, and thus right hand of God leads us to salvation. There is no greater glory than to glorify our Heavenly Creator together.

I pray to God that He will bless this land with His Divine blessing and send down the Holy Spirit on those who take holy orders today. It is impossible to love God without loving the flock, it is impossible to serve God without serving one’s neighbor. And today, congratulating and admonishing Deacon Agustin, Priest Alexy, I want to say: to serve God means to serve people. To love God means to love your neighbor. God grant that our parishes, and there are already 30 of them, develop, and it is desirable that each parish has its own priest.

Most recently, the birth of the Philippine-Vietnamese diocese took place, parishes and flocks are being multiplied, priests are being ordained and trained. I pray to the All-merciful God that He will accomplish His work of salvation, for He desires salvation for all, as it is said in the Holy Scriptures. The Lord calls us, all Orthodox Christians, and says: “You are the Light of the world and the salt of the Earth.” We will bring this Light to those around us, for St. Seraphim of Sarov said: “Acquire the spirit of peace and thousands around you will be saved.” I invoke God’s blessing on everyone: help us, Lord!”