On Sunday, marked by the memory of the faithful princes Peter and Fevronia of Murom, Metropolitan Alexander celebrated the Liturgy at the Representative Office of the Metropolitan District in Moscow

September 15, 2024 - the 12th week after Pentecost, the day of remembrance of the Venerable Anthony and Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk, the founders of Russian monasticism and the celebration in honor of the faithful princes Peter and Fevronia, the miracle workers of Murom.

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the church in the name of the holy martyrs Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov and Sophia at the Patriarchal Metochion of the city of Moscow - Representative Office of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District.

His Eminence was assisted by: cleric of the Representative Office, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Hegumen Agafangel (Gagua); Assistant to the Head of the Metropolitan District, Hieromonk Anthony (Drobiazko) and clergy of the metochion.

The staff of the Representative Office and parishioners of the church prayed during the service.

The liturgical chants were performed by the church choir under the direction of Anna Rozhnova.

An additional celebration in honor of the faithful princes Peter and Fevronia - patrons of Christian marriage - was established on December 25, 2012 by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, which determined that it be celebrated on the Sunday preceding September 19 in memory of the transfer of the holy relics of the holy princes in 1992.

During the Sunday Liturgy, special petitions were offered for litanies and prayers for Orthodox families, for the increase of love, for the strengthening of peace, harmony and mutual understanding between spouses, for the gift of children, family well-being and longevity.

At the end of the service, the Head of the Metropolitan District congratulated the clergy and laity on the day of remembrance of the founders of Russian monasticism and the organizers of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and the celebration in honor of the patron saints of Christian marriage, and addressed those gathered with an archpastoral sermon.

“We celebrate the day of remembrance of the faithful princes Peter and Fevronia of Murom – the heavenly patrons of Christian marriage. And today, during the Divine Liturgy, we offered special prayers for the increase of love in people, for the preservation of married couples in peace and unanimity, piety and purity. Reflecting on how to preserve family values in our age, full of temptations and marked by the growth of egoism, we must understand one significant fact. Just as true personal holiness is a precious and rare divine gift, so the perfection of family relationships is also a gift from God. And just as personal holiness is achieved through continuous spiritual endeavor, so family virtue comes to spouses over time and by virtue of their spiritual labors. A marriage based only on earthly feelings, attachments, common interests and sympathies is easily destroyed over time. What makes a family strong and indestructible? Psychologists, sociologists and other scientists can give hundreds of answers to this question and give a lot of advice. The Church considers divine grace to be the guarantee of the indissolubility and strength of a marriage union. God must enter the life of a family, and the family must become a small Church. A Christian family becomes a receptacle of divine love, it accumulates this love, spreads the fragrance of this holy feeling around itself, attracting other families, sanctifying those near and far. Let us remember what St. Seraphim of Sarov said: “Acquire a peaceful spirit and thousands of people around you will be saved.” It would be fair to supplement the thought of the great saint: "Acquire a peaceful spirit in your family and thousands of families will be saved next to yours." The family was created by God as a source of love and creative power for all of humanity. It is a school of love, a school of piety, a school of human happiness. It is in the family that a person learns basic norms of behavior and value guidelines, receives moral education and joins the spiritual tradition of his people." From the sermon of Metropolitan Alexander.