On February 23, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' performed the funeral service for the Lavra’s long-time confessor, confessor of Patriarch Alexy II Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), who died on February 20 at the age of 98, reports the Patriarchate website.

The coffin with the body of the newly deceased Father Kirill was installed on February 21 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Lavra. On February 21 and 22, funeral litias were held in all churches of the Lavra; access for believers to the Assumption Cathedral to bid farewell to the deceased elder was open around the clock.

Before the funeral service began, Patriarch Kirill said a word dedicated to the memory of Father Kirill:

Your Bliss! Dear bishops, fathers, brethren, mother abbess, brothers and sisters!

“We stand before the tomb of Father Kirill (Pavlov), confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, confessor of the late His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, confessor of many, many bishops of the Russian Church, clergy and a huge number of Orthodox believers who flocked to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra - and venerate the relics St. Sergius, and ask for spiritual advice from Father Kirill. He carried out the great service of confessor for thousands and thousands of people, and this service required a special feat. Not only because listening to a person's problems is never easy, but also because he didn't just listen to those problems. He penetrated deeply into a person’s mental state. At the moment of confession, he seemed to identify himself with the one who came to him for advice. This, of course, required exhaustion, a huge expenditure of internal strength and physical strength. But Father Kirill never grumbled and carried out his ministry with humility, not only confessing people, but also answering many, many letters.

I first met Father Kirill back in 1966. At that time he did not yet have the fame of an All-Russian elder and confessor; he was relatively young, strong, and active. And when I asked my spiritual leader, the ever-memorable Bishop Metropolitan Nikodim, which of the brethren should I go to confess, he calmly said: “Go to Father Kirill.” This was truly a special service of Elder Kirill to all our pious people, and especially to those who needed his spiritual advice.

Giving advice is always a very risky business. Sometimes people come to a confessor and ask about something that a person, due to his limitations, cannot know. Some confessors take a huge risk by giving advice from their own understanding. Father Kirill was a confessor who gave advice not from his understanding, but from his spiritual experience. There were times when he did not give any advice at all. But people were drawn to him because they felt his spiritual power, for clergy is not only a feat of sober spiritual reflection, but also a feat of prayer. Father Kirill showed many clergy an example of such spiritual guidance - genuine spiritual guidance to those who are ready to accept this guidance from the confessor.

In recent years, the Lord, preserving the physical life of Father Kirill, took him out of communication with the world. It was some kind of special shutter. He left this world, still remaining physically alive. Many did not understand why this happened to the elder. But this was also a kind of sign from God. He was needed even when he could no longer talk to people, and many came to Father Kirill just to stand by his bed and touch his hand. He continued to serve people with his silence, his illness, his detachment from this world, and in the 98th year of his life the Lord called him to himself.

It is joyful to see many people in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra today. Your presence, dear masters, fathers, brothers and sisters, is the most striking evidence that Father Kirill did something for each of you. Let us also repay our debt to him today. Let us pray for the repose of his soul, so that the Lord will accept him into His Heavenly Kingdom and create an eternal prayerful memory of him in our hearts. Amen".

Participants in the service that followed were: Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine; Metropolitan of Tashkent and Uzbekistan Vincent, head of the Central Asian Metropolitan District; Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; Metropolitan Evlogy of Vladimir and Suzdal; Metropolitan Longin of Saratov and Volsk; Metropolitan Meletius of Chernivtsi and Bukovina; Metropolitan of Saransk and Mordovian Zinovy; Archbishop Anatoly of Kerch; Archbishop Eugene of Vereisky, rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, chairman of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church; Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, vicar of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism; Archbishop of Peterhof Ambrose, rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy; Bishop of Shumsky Seraphim; Bishop Theophylact of Dmitrov, abbot of the St. Andrew's Stavropegic Monastery; Bishop Pankratius of Trinity, abbot of the Valaam Stavropegic Monastery, chairman of the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints; Bishop of Rybinsk and Danilovsky Benjamin; Bishop Paisiy of Shchigrovsky and Manturovo; Bishop Nathanael of Volyn and Lutsk; Bishop Paramon of Bronnitsky, abbot of the Donskoy stauropegial monastery; Schema-Archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin); Archimandrite Alexy (Polikarpov), abbot of the Danilov Stavropegic Monastery; Archimandrite Porfiry (Shutov), ​​abbot of the Solovetsky stauropegial monastery; Abbot Peter (Eremeev), abbot of the Vysoko-Petrovsky stauropegial monastery; numerous clergy.

The hierarchs and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, residents of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, teachers and students of the Moscow Theological Academy, and numerous believers prayed in the cathedral. The Assumption Cathedral could not accommodate all those who came to say goodbye to Father Kirill; many believers prayed in the square in front of the cathedral.

Liturgical hymns were performed by the fraternal choir of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, regent Archimandrite Gleb (Kozhevnikov), and the combined choir of the Moscow Theological Academy, regent Hegumen Nikifor (Kirzin).

The funeral service was broadcast live on the Soyuz TV channel.

Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv read the prayer of permission.

Before burial, the body of Father Kirill was surrounded around the Assumption Cathedral.

Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) was buried on the territory of the Lavra behind the altar of the Church of the Holy Spirit.

Tatyana Virolainen:

In connection with the death of Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), a funeral service and burial of the elder took place on February 23. Clergy, monastics and laity flocked to the Lavra. There were no sad faces, that’s probably how it should be. Man, finishing his earthly wanderings, finally returns home.

We were going to take the train, which left the Yaroslavsky station at 6:50.

On the way from the Main Building of Moscow State University to the metro, my companion, Sergei, suggested that we start reading the rule, to which I replied: “We’ll read it on the train.” A wave of bewilderment poured out in the phrase: “You have to sleep on the train, not read the rules!”

We began to take turns reading the morning rule from memory, peeking into the prayer book. Already approaching the metro, Sergei noticed: “We are walking slowly.”

We sped up.

We arrived at the Yaroslavl station - there was a line at the ticket office. We go out onto the platform - there is a train; We were happy that we had time to sit on it. After that we set off immediately.

As a result, we were still late at 6:50, and this one left 5 minutes later, but not quite there. I had to quickly figure out where to get off in order to transfer to the next train to Sergiev Posad.

At the Lavra, at the end of the Liturgy, we met Kostya, Sasha, Vlad and Anya. Lay people were not allowed into the church for the funeral service, so they had to stand outside all the time. Thanks to the audio broadcast, the entire Lavra could hear what was happening inside the temple. It was very cold, and we periodically went to warm ourselves, especially me. The most persistent of us turned out to be Sasha, but he looked like a French soldier of the war of 1812 from the film “War and Peace”: a hat, two hoods and two scarves.

On the way back, Sergei suggested going to a shop, where he picked up pies, cookies and 3 liters of fruit juice, half of which he immediately ate - “It’s not for nothing that we came to the Lavra.” I still managed to dissuade him from buying Lenten gummy bears.

It happens that everything doesn’t work out exactly as you plan or expect. And everything is not quite as it seems. Sometimes it is worth approaching the perception of reality in a non-standard way: every moment of life you can do works of faith, and sometimes a “small” deed in an awkward or rather funny situation is greater than a “big” deed. Prayer, solitude, concentration - it’s difficult when there’s another person, “gummy bears” and pies next to you. We don't know what circumstances the Lord will put us in. And that’s why it’s sometimes so difficult to figure out what I must do now for Christ’s sake.

Vladislav Konstantinov:

The news of the death of the spiritual father of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), also spread among the participants in the youth movement “Andreevtsy”. The decision about our pilgrimage to the Lavra for his funeral was not prepared in advance, and we, several guys from the youth movement, went together, although not as part of Andreevtsy.

It was snowing that day, because of which the outlines of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra were unclear from a distance. Quite a lot of pilgrims gathered; not everyone was able to attend the Liturgy at the Assumption Cathedral: many were on the territory of the Lavra. It was cool, standing in the open air turned into a challenge. Pilgrims sometimes went to warm themselves in the cramped church shops. We unexpectedly met our Andreevites friends who had come to the funeral service of Archimandrite Kirill separately from us.

A grave was dug behind the altar of the Church of the Holy Spirit; into it, still empty, covered with pine spruce branches, the coffin of Archimandrite Kirill will soon be lowered.

Death, this unfamiliar and frightening event that crowns our earthly life and precedes eternity, awaits everyone - believers and non-believers, the righteous and those who have sinned a lot. It is inevitable, unavoidable, and no one has the power to postpone its hour. The outcome of earthly life is that the human body will be razed to the ground. What will remain after it?

The funeral service in the Assumption Cathedral was performed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, who spoke about the feat of Archimandrite Kirill’s spiritual service for thousands of people and about the special last years of his life - years of detachment from the world, which at the same time were years of continued service.

On the territory of the Lavra, near the prepared grave, there are tombstones of other graves; next to them, right on the snow under the sky, lamps are burning - a symbol of unforgetfulness and prayer. Someone’s hand keeps the fire burning in them - this means that there is a soul on earth in which prayer for the departed is just as reverently glowing.

Going about his business, the monk stops at the graves to cross himself and bow - probably reflecting on the finitude of earthly life, remembering the lives of his departed brothers, turning with a prayer to God for admonition to lead his life worthy of a higher goal. This is probably how an Orthodox should live - to set priorities, having mortal memory.

Anna Stepanova:

This was my first trip to the Lavra. It was a little exciting and to some extent responsible: firstly, we were going to visit the Reverend, and secondly, we were seeing off the great elder, who had also been begging for Russia for so many years, helping everyone who turned to him, giving advice and instructions. And although I only became partially acquainted with the amazing life and ministry of Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), this was enough that, thank God, I had the desire to at least accompany Father Kirill and pray for his repose, and even ask him not to abandon his prayers for To the Lord about our country and about us sinners. After all, having been rewarded by the All-Merciful with his righteous life with the gift of insight and wisdom, he helped so many people! And by letters, and in personal meetings, and through the spiritual guidance of the three patriarchs, and the monks of the entire Lavra! Therefore, in principle, you understand that there will be many people who came to say goodbye and pray for the one who was called the All-Russian confessor, but when you see them all with your own eyes, you are still surprised. You are surprised by the number of people, the sea of ​​flowers, and the sincere desire with which they come to honor the memory - and only then does a real understanding of how great an old man he was come!

Konstantin Kokov:

We arrived in Sergiev Posad at 8 o'clock in the morning. The liturgy in the Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra was performed by Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine. Fortunately, although we were a little late for the start of the Liturgy, we arrived early enough to still get inside the church. During the Liturgy, people from the back rows constantly moved forward, and I could not understand what was happening there, in the front part of the church. It turned out that these were people who venerated the relics of Fr. Kirill. (In the Orthodox tradition, the body of any deceased believer can be called a relic.) True, not everyone from our company managed to do this - the large crowd and some lack of knowledge about what was happening played a role.

After the Liturgy, all those present were asked to go outside, since monastics and clergy, of whom there were a lot, were praying at the funeral service in the church. Fortunately, after the funeral service it was announced that the elder would not be taken out of the church for burial until everyone had said goodbye to him. Therefore, everyone who wanted had the opportunity to say goodbye to the elder at his tomb.

I, of course, was not familiar with Fr. Kirill. I was not very interested in his personality, although I knew that he was a man of holy life, a great elder. However, when I was in the Assumption Cathedral, I was absolutely sure that we were seeing off a holy man on his last journey. It was very clearly felt that Father Kirill with his soul was going to the people who at that moment were depicted right in front of us on the wonderful iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral, that is, to the saints. This internal experience was also confirmed by an external circumstance - the Lavra was full of people who, among other things, endured cramped conditions, hunger, and severe cold all day for the sake of love for Elder Kirill.

On February 23, 2017, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' performed the funeral service for the Lavra’s long-time confessor, confessor of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), who died on February 20 at the age of 98.

The coffin with the body of the newly deceased Father Kirill was installed on February 21 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Lavra. On February 21 and 22, funeral litias were held in all churches of the Lavra; access for believers to the Assumption Cathedral to bid farewell to the deceased elder was open around the clock.

Before the start of the funeral service, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said a word dedicated to the memory of Father Kirill:
“Your Bliss! Dear bishops, fathers, brethren, mother abbess, brothers and sisters!

We stand before the tomb of Father Kirill (Pavlov), confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, confessor of the late His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, confessor of many, many bishops of the Russian Church, clergy and a huge number of Orthodox believers who flocked to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra - and venerate the relics of the saint Sergius, and ask for spiritual advice from Father Kirill. He carried out the great service of confessor for thousands and thousands of people, and this service required a special feat. Not only because listening to a person's problems is never easy, but also because he didn't just listen to those problems. He penetrated deeply into a person’s mental state. At the moment of confession, he seemed to identify himself with the one who came to him for advice. This, of course, required exhaustion, a huge expenditure of internal strength and physical strength. But Father Kirill never grumbled and carried out his ministry with humility, not only confessing people, but also answering many, many letters.

I first met Father Kirill back in 1966. At that time he did not yet have the fame of an All-Russian elder and confessor; he was relatively young, strong, and active. And when I asked my spiritual leader, the ever-memorable Bishop Metropolitan Nikodim, which of the brethren should I go to confess, he calmly said: “Go to Father Kirill.” This was truly a special service of Elder Kirill to all our pious people, and especially to those who needed his spiritual advice.

Giving advice is always a very risky business. Sometimes people come to a confessor and ask about something that a person, due to his limitations, cannot know. Some confessors take a huge risk by giving advice from their own understanding. Father Kirill was a confessor who gave advice not from his understanding, but from his spiritual experience. There were times when he did not give any advice at all. But people were drawn to him because they felt his spiritual power, for clergy is not only a feat of sober spiritual reflection, but also a feat of prayer. Father Kirill showed many clergy an example of such spiritual guidance - genuine spiritual guidance to those who are ready to accept this guidance from the confessor.

In recent years, the Lord, preserving the physical life of Father Kirill, took him out of communication with the world. It was some kind of special shutter. He left this world, still remaining physically alive. Many did not understand why this happened to the elder. But this was also a kind of sign from God. He was needed even when he could no longer talk to people, and many came to Father Kirill just to stand by his bed and touch his hand. He continued to serve people with his silence, his illness, his detachment from this world, and in the 98th year of his life the Lord called him to himself.

It is joyful to see many people in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra today. Your presence, dear masters, fathers, brothers and sisters, is the most striking evidence that Father Kirill did something for each of you. Let us also repay our debt to him today. Let us pray for the repose of his soul, so that the Lord will accept him into His Heavenly Kingdom and create an eternal prayerful memory of him in our hearts. Amen".

The service that followed was attended by: His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine; Metropolitan of Tashkent and Uzbekistan Vincent, head of the Central Asian Metropolitan District; Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; Metropolitan Evlogy of Vladimir and Suzdal; Metropolitan Sergius of Ternopil and Kremenets; Metropolitan Longin of Saratov and Volsk; Metropolitan Meletius of Chernivtsi and Bukovina; Metropolitan of Saransk and Mordovian Zinovy; Archbishop Anatoly of Kerch; Archbishop Eugene of Vereisky, rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, chairman of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church; Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, vicar of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism; Archbishop of Peterhof Ambrose, rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy; Bishop of Shumsky Seraphim; Bishop Theophylact of Dmitrov, abbot of the St. Andrew's Stavropegic Monastery; Bishop Pankratius of Trinity, abbot of the Valaam Stavropegic Monastery, chairman of the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints; Bishop of Rybinsk and Danilovsky Benjamin; Bishop Paisiy of Shchigrovsky and Manturovo; Bishop Nathanael of Volyn and Lutsk; Bishop Paramon of Bronnitsky, abbot of the Donskoy stauropegial monastery; Schema-Archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin); Archimandrite Alexy (Polikarpov), abbot of the Danilov Stavropegic Monastery; Archimandrite Porfiry (Shutov), ​​abbot of the Solovetsky stauropegial monastery; Abbot Cyprian (Yashchenko); Abbot Peter (Eremeev), abbot of the Vysoko-Petrovsky stauropegial monastery; numerous clergy.

The hierarchs and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, the inhabitants of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, teachers and students of the Moscow Theological Academy, and numerous believers prayed in the cathedral. The Assumption Cathedral could not accommodate all those who came to say goodbye to Father Kirill; many believers prayed in the square in front of the cathedral.

Liturgical hymns were performed by the fraternal choir of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, regent Archimandrite Gleb (Kozhevnikov), and the combined choir of the Moscow Theological Academy, regent Hegumen Nikifor (Kirzin).

The funeral service was broadcast live on the Soyuz TV channel.

The prayer of permission was read by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv.

Before burial, the body of Father Kirill was surrounded around the Assumption Cathedral.

Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) was buried on the territory of the Lavra behind the altar of the Church of the Holy Spirit.

February 23 In the Assumption Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' KIRILL performed the funeral service for the long-time confessor of the Lavra, confessor of Patriarch Alexy II Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), who died on February 20 at the age of 98, reports the Patriarchate website.

The coffin with the body of the newly deceased Father Kirill was installed on February 21 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Lavra. On February 21 and 22, funeral litias were held in all churches of the Lavra; access for believers to the Assumption Cathedral to bid farewell to the deceased elder was open around the clock.

Funeral service for Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)

Before the funeral service began, Patriarch KIRILL said a word dedicated to the memory of Father Kirill:

Your Bliss! Dear bishops, fathers, brethren, mother abbess, brothers and sisters!

“We stand before the tomb of Father Kirill (Pavlov), confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, confessor of the late His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, confessor of many, many bishops of the Russian Church, clergy and a huge number of Orthodox believers who flocked to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra - and venerate the relics St. Sergius, and ask for spiritual advice from Father Kirill. He carried out the great service of confessor for thousands and thousands of people, and this service required a special feat. Not only because listening to a person's problems is never easy, but also because he didn't just listen to those problems. He penetrated deeply into a person’s mental state. At the moment of confession, he seemed to identify himself with the one who came to him for advice. This, of course, required exhaustion, a huge expenditure of internal strength and physical strength. But Father Kirill never grumbled and carried out his ministry with humility, not only confessing people, but also answering many, many letters.

Funeral service for Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)

I first met Father Kirill back in 1966. At that time he did not yet have the fame of an All-Russian elder and confessor; he was relatively young, strong, and active. And when I asked my spiritual leader, the ever-memorable Bishop Metropolitan Nikodim, which of the brethren should I go to confess, he calmly said: “Go to Father Kirill.” This was truly a special service of Elder Kirill to all our pious people, and especially to those who needed his spiritual advice.

Giving advice is always a very risky business. Sometimes people come to a confessor and ask about something that a person, due to his limitations, cannot know. Some confessors take a huge risk by giving advice from their own understanding. Father Kirill was a confessor who gave advice not from his understanding, but from his spiritual experience. There were times when he did not give any advice at all. But people were drawn to him because they felt his spiritual power, for clergy is not only a feat of sober spiritual reflection, but also a feat of prayer. Father Kirill showed many clergy an example of such spiritual guidance - genuine spiritual guidance to those who are ready to accept this guidance from the confessor.

In recent years, the Lord, preserving the physical life of Father Kirill, took him out of communication with the world. It was some kind of special shutter. He left this world, still remaining physically alive. Many did not understand why this happened to the elder. But this was also a kind of sign from God. He was needed even when he could no longer talk to people, and many came to Father Kirill just to stand by his bed and touch his hand. He continued to serve people with his silence, his illness, his detachment from this world, and in the 98th year of his life the Lord called him to himself.

It is joyful to see many people in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra today. Your presence, dear masters, fathers, brothers and sisters, is the most striking evidence that Father Kirill did something for each of you. Let us also repay our debt to him today. Let us pray for the repose of his soul, so that the Lord will accept him into His Heavenly Kingdom and create an eternal prayerful memory of him in our hearts. Amen".

Participants in the service that followed were: Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine; Metropolitan of Tashkent and Uzbekistan Vincent, head of the Central Asian Metropolitan District; Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; Metropolitan Evlogy of Vladimir and Suzdal; Metropolitan Longin of Saratov and Volsk; Metropolitan Meletius of Chernivtsi and Bukovina; Metropolitan of Saransk and Mordovian Zinovy; Archbishop Anatoly of Kerch; Archbishop Eugene of Vereisky, rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, chairman of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church; Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, vicar of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism; Archbishop of Peterhof Ambrose, rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy; Bishop of Shumsky Seraphim; Bishop Theophylact of Dmitrov, abbot of the St. Andrew's Stavropegic Monastery; Bishop Pankratius of Trinity, abbot of the Valaam Stavropegic Monastery, chairman of the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints; Bishop of Rybinsk and Danilovsky Benjamin; Bishop Paisiy of Shchigrovsky and Manturovo; Bishop Nathanael of Volyn and Lutsk; Bishop Paramon of Bronnitsky, abbot of the Donskoy stauropegial monastery; Schema-Archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin); Archimandrite Alexy (Polikarpov), abbot of the Danilov Stavropegic Monastery; Archimandrite Porfiry (Shutov), ​​abbot of the Solovetsky stauropegial monastery; Abbot Peter (Eremeev), abbot of the Vysoko-Petrovsky stauropegial monastery; numerous clergy.

Funeral service for Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)

The hierarchs and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, residents of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, teachers and students of the Moscow Theological Academy, and numerous believers prayed in the cathedral. The Assumption Cathedral could not accommodate all those who came to say goodbye to Father Kirill; many believers prayed in the square in front of the cathedral.

Liturgical hymns were performed by the fraternal choir of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, regent Archimandrite Gleb (Kozhevnikov), and the combined choir of the Moscow Theological Academy, regent Hegumen Nikifor (Kirzin).

The funeral service was broadcast live on the Soyuz TV channel.

Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv read the prayer of permission.

Before burial, the body of Father Kirill was surrounded around the Assumption Cathedral.

Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) was buried on the territory of the Lavra behind the altar of the Church of the Holy Spirit.

On February 23, 2017, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' performed the funeral service for the Lavra’s long-time confessor, confessor of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), who died on February 20 at the age of 98, the Patriarchate reports. Ru.

The coffin with the body of the newly deceased Father Kirill was transferred on February 21, 2017 from Peredelkino to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, within the walls of which the elder labored for many years. At the Holy Gates of the monastery, the funeral cortege was met by the vicar of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archbishop of Sergiev Posad Theognost and the monastery brethren.

Accompanied by the choir, the funeral procession proceeded to the Assumption Cathedral of the monastery, where they laid the body of Father Kirill before the funeral service. Then Bishop Theognost, co-served by Bishop Andrei of Rossoshan and Ostrogozh and the Lavra brethren in holy orders, performed a memorial service for the newly deceased Father Kirill.

During the requiem service, the abbots and abbess of the monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church, parishioners and guests of the monastery pray. All night over Father Kirill, the brethren read the Gospel and pilgrims went to the Assumption Cathedral to say goodbye to the All-Russian confessor, and also during February 22. Access for believers to the Assumption Cathedral to bid farewell to the deceased was open around the clock until the morning of February 23.

Before the start of the funeral service, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said a word dedicated to the memory of Father Kirill:

“Your Bliss! Dear bishops, fathers, brethren, mother abbess, brothers and sisters!

We stand before the tomb of Father Kirill (Pavlov), confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, confessor of the late His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, confessor of many, many bishops of the Russian Church, clergy and a huge number of Orthodox believers who flocked to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra - and venerate the relics of the saint Sergius, and ask for spiritual advice from Father Kirill. He carried out the great service of confessor for thousands and thousands of people, and this service required a special feat. Not only because listening to a person's problems is never easy, but also because he didn't just listen to those problems. He penetrated deeply into a person’s mental state. At the moment of confession, he seemed to identify himself with the one who came to him for advice. This, of course, required exhaustion, a huge expenditure of internal strength and physical strength. But Father Kirill never grumbled and carried out his ministry with humility, not only confessing people, but also answering many, many letters.

I first met Father Kirill back in 1966. At that time he did not yet have the fame of an All-Russian elder and confessor; he was relatively young, strong, and active. And when I asked my spiritual leader, the ever-memorable Bishop Metropolitan Nikodim, which of the brethren should I go to confess, he calmly said: “Go to Father Kirill.” This was truly a special service of Elder Kirill to all our pious people, and especially to those who needed his spiritual advice.

Giving advice is always a very risky business. Sometimes people come to a confessor and ask about something that a person, due to his limitations, cannot know. Some confessors take a huge risk by giving advice from their own understanding. Father Kirill was a confessor who gave advice not from his understanding, but from his spiritual experience. There were times when he did not give any advice at all. But people were drawn to him because they felt his spiritual power, for clergy is not only a feat of sober spiritual reflection, but also a feat of prayer. Father Kirill showed many clergy an example of such spiritual guidance - genuine spiritual guidance to those who are ready to accept this guidance from the confessor.

In recent years, the Lord, preserving the physical life of Father Kirill, took him out of communication with the world. It was some kind of special shutter. He left this world, still remaining physically alive. Many did not understand why this happened to the elder. But this was also a kind of sign from God. He was needed even when he could no longer talk to people, and many came to Father Kirill just to stand by his bed and touch his hand. He continued to serve people with his silence, his illness, his detachment from this world, and in the 98th year of his life the Lord brought him to Himself.

It is joyful to see many people in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra today. Your presence, dear masters, fathers, brothers and sisters, is the most striking evidence that Father Kirill did something for each of you. Let us also repay our debt to him today. Let us pray for the repose of his soul, so that the Lord will accept him into His Heavenly Kingdom and create an eternal prayerful memory of him in our hearts. Amen".

The hierarchs and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church, residents of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, teachers and students of the Moscow Theological Academy, and numerous believers prayed in the cathedral. The Assumption Cathedral could not accommodate all those who came to say goodbye to Father Kirill; many believers prayed in the square in front of the cathedral.

In order to say goodbye to Father Kirill, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, and the head of the Central Asian Metropolitan District, Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, specially came to Moscow.

Liturgical chants were performed by the fraternal choir of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra and the combined choir of the Moscow Theological Academy.

The funeral service was broadcast live on the Soyuz TV channel.

The prayer of permission was read by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv.

Before burial, the body of Father Kirill was surrounded around the Assumption Cathedral.

Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) was buried on the territory of the Lavra behind the altar of the Church of the Holy Spirit.