On October 18, the final divine service of the IV International Congress of Regents and Choristers of the Russian Orthodox Church took place in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The Divine Liturgy was led by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
The sessions of the congress were held on October 16-17 in the Hall of Church Councils. The forum brought together over 900 delegates from 155 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as countries near and far abroad. It was dedicated to the 170th anniversary of the birth and the 100th anniversary of the death of composer Alexander Kastalsky, who headed the Synodal School of Church Singing in 1910-1918.
Two choirs formed from the participants of the congress sang during the final Liturgy. All the chants were written by Castalsky. At the Patriarch's vestments, works from the cycle "From the Patriarchal and Episcopal Vestments", created by the composer in 1918 at the request of Patriarch Tikhon, were performed.
After the service, Patriarch Kirill addressed the participants of the congress and presented church awards, including for their efforts to preserve and develop the traditions of church singing.