On April 21, the Monday of Holy Week, Archimandrite Vassian (Zmeev), Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, clergy and staff of the Mission attended a solemn reception given by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus III of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine in the Great Throne Room of the Jerusalem Patriarchate on the occasion of the feast of Easter.
Russian Russian Orthodox Church website reports that the reception was also attended by hierarchs and clergy of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, clergy of the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood, Archimandrite Roman (Krasovsky), head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Abbess of the Gornensky Convent in Ein Karem, Hegumenia Ekaterina (Chernysheva) and her sisters, numerous representatives of the Orthodox community of Jerusalem, officials and pilgrims.
The reception was accompanied by a concert of Easter hymns in Church Slavonic and Greek, which was performed for those present by the choir of graduates of the Sretensky Theological Seminary.
Archimandrite Vassian conveyed to Patriarch Theophilus the greeting addresses of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations. Then the head and clergy of the Mission personally congratulated His Beatitude on Easter and gave him Easter gifts and flowers.
His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus warmly welcomed the Russian clergy and the Gorna sisters who arrived at the Jerusalem Patriarchate, thanked them for the festive gifts and exchanged greetings with them.