On the feast of the icon of the Mother of God "The Sign", December 10, 2023, Metropolitan Ignatius of Saratov and Volsky celebrated a liturgy at the grave of Archbishop Pimen (Khmelevsky), who ruled the Saratov diocese in 1965-1993. Vladyka Pimen died 30 years ago, on December 10, 1993. The year 2023 also marks the 100th anniversary of his birth.
During the Liturgy, petitions for the repose of the souls of Archbishop Dosifey (Protopopov), Archbishop Pimen (Khmelevsky) and Bishop Veniamin (Milov) were offered at the requiem litany.
The sermon before communion was delivered by the cleric of the cathedral, Archpriest Mikhail Belikov, who told about the life of Saints Dositheus and Benjamin, their confession and popular veneration.
At the end of the service, a memorial service was held for Archbishop Dosifey (Protopopov, 1866-1942) and Bishop Veniamin (Milov, 1897-1955), who headed the Saratov department in the twentieth century. In the Soviet years, due to the impossibility of burying them in the church fence, they were buried at the Resurrection cemetery in Saratov. In September 2023, after obtaining the appropriate permits, the graves were raised to the surface and transferred to the Cross Church of the diocesan administration, where they were prepared for burial. Memorial services and requiem mass were regularly held in the church. On December 8, the coffins with the bodies of the saints were transported for two days to the Intercession Cathedral of Saratov, where divine services were held and round-the-clock access was opened to them, then they were transported to the upper church of the Trinity Cathedral. The clergy of the diocese, replacing each other, read the Gospel over the deceased archpastors.
After the memorial service, accompanied by the singing of the Irmos of Great Saturday and the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, the coffins with the bodies of the saints were surrounded by the Holy Trinity Cathedral and buried in the tomb located in the lower Assumption Cathedral.
Thus, the ancient church tradition was restored, according to which bishops are buried on the territory of cathedrals.
In his speech, Metropolitan Ignatius noted that now everyone can come to the archpastors at the Trinity Cathedral.
"Now the question remains for us — how we will pray and how we will repent of our sins," said Bishop Ignatius. — In order for the Lord to grant us a prosperous life, it is important that we not only live it here on earth, but also remember that we are waiting for the embrace of a loving Father, because each of us will leave this world at some point and go towards the living God, Who is Love. The soul remains alive, it goes to meet God, and the moment will come when the universal resurrection will come, when our bodies will be returned to us, which will have a completely different quality than Christ had after the Resurrection."
"I sincerely thank everyone for today's joint prayer, do not forget the place where our saints stay, God bless you," concluded the head of the Saratov Metropolia.
The former burial place of the archpastors at the Resurrection Cemetery will be arranged in such a way that believers can still come there to pray.