Following the reception at Mother Teresa International Airport, Patriarch Kirill and the accompanying delegation: Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department of External Church Relations; Archbishop Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate parishes in the East and Southeast Asia, and head of the Moscow Patriarchate Administrative Secretariat; Archpriest Nikolai Balashov; Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk; Archpriest Andrei Bondarenko; and Fr. Alexander Volkov, traveled to the capital of Albania, Tirana. At the Resurrection of Christ Cathedral, He was received by clergy and a multitude of faithful, not only from the Archdiocese of Tirana, but from all of the Metropolises.
Immediately following their arrival, the Great Service of the Doxology was celebrated. At the end of the service, His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios welcomed His Beatitude and Holiness, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill. Among other things, Archbishop Anastasios said: “With brotherly love, with all our soul, and with great honor, we receive You today, our Holy Brother, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill. From the depths of our hearts, we wish that, through the intercession and inspiration of St. Cyril, whose name you bear, You may continue Your faithful contribution with God-given wisdom and his inspiration. May the Triune God grant you many years and full health, with a faith full of zeal and the mentality of the Cross and the Resurrection that, inspired by the Holy Spirit, you may guide the faithful people of Russia in continual spiritual growth to radiate the light of the Cross and Resurrection in today’s era.”
Patriarch Kirill thanked His Beatitude, Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania, Anastasios, for His words and for His warm reception.
After the Doxology, Patriarch Kirill, accompanied by Archbishop Anastasios, visited the Birth of Christ Paraklesis Chapel, a part of the Cathedral Complex.
After the celebration of the Great Doxology, His Beatitude and Holiness, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Kirill, and the accompanying delegation, met at the Offices of the Holy Synod with Archbishop Anastasios and all members of the Holy Synod.
