Bishop's service on the patronal feast day in the St. Sophronius Church in Cheremkhovotranslated

On July 13, 2026, on the day of remembrance of St. Sophrony (Kristalevsky), the Third Bishop of Irkutsk, one of the most revered Siberian saints, the Divine Liturgy on the patronal feast day of the St. Sophrony Church in Cheremkhovo was performed by the ruling bishop, Metropolitan of Irkutsk and Angarsk Maximilian. Concelebrating with the Most Reverend Bishop was the secretary of the Irkutsk diocese, priest Stefan Bazhkov, the rector of the church, archpriest Leonid Shevchenko, priest Peter Antonov, priest Sergius Rodionov, protodeacon Dimitry Bukharov and deacon Vladimir Sokolov. Saint Sophrony (Kristalevsky, 1703-1771) carried out enormous missionary work, enlightening the Siberian peoples, built many schools and monasteries, actively fulfilled in his life the commandment of love for one's neighbor, helping the poor and needy in every possible way. In his sermon before Communion, Archpriest Leonid Shevchenko reminded parishioners of the merits and spiritual fruits of the activities of St. Sophrony for the Siberian land, especially drawing attention to the fact that St. Sophrony, like the Merchant of the Gospels, found the precious pearl of the Kingdom of Heaven, “by doing things crazy for the world in order to be wise for God.” Father Leonid called on every Orthodox...