On the feast day of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, the teachers and enlighteners of the Slavs, His Eminence Metropolitan Siluan of Australia and New Zealand, at the invitation of His Eminence Metropolitan Petar of Prespa and Pelagonia and administrator of the Australian and New Zealand Diocese, celebrated the Divine Hierarchical Liturgy at the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prilep, North Macedonia. In addition to Metropolitans Petar and Siluan, Bishop Nikolai, the vicar bishop of Metropolitan Petar, also concelebrated, along with numerous clergy from the city of Prilep.
During the Divine Liturgy, the festive sermon about the equal-to-the-apostles mission and work of the Holy Brothers was delivered by Metropolitan Siluan. On this occasion, the bishop emphasised that Saints Cyril and Methodius lit a great Lamp among the Slavic peoples who had until then sat in darkness and the shadow of death, giving them the Word of Christ, the Word of the Gospel—that is, the Word of Salvation—and this in their own language, in the spirit of Holy Pentecost. At the end of the liturgy, Metropolitan Petar warmly welcomed and thanked Metropolitan Siluan for his visit and concelebration.
Following the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Siluan, with the prayerful presence of Metropolitan Petar, served a memorial service in the crypt of the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, where the earthly remains of Serbian and other soldiers who perished during the Great War are interred. Their remains were gathered and laid to rest in this crypt by Saint Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic during his episcopate in Macedonia. An interesting fact is that this grand church was completed and consecrated by St. Nikolai during his tenure as Bishop of Ohrid.
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