From November 19 to 22, 2021, with the blessing of Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, Temporary Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA and Canada, the clergy of St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York, Hegumen Nikodim (Balyasnikov) and Priest Mark Rashkov, made a pastoral visit to the newly formed community in Cancún, Mexico.
On Saturday, November 20, the day of the 75th birthday of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the local Church of the Resurrection of Christ with the permission of the head of the Roman Catholic diocese, Bishop Pedro Pablo Elizondo Cárdenas; Orthodox residents of Cancún prayed and received Holy Communion. During the service, fervent prayers were offered for the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. At the litany for the departed, the pious parents of His Holiness, Archpriest Mikhail and Matushka Raisa, were commemorated, as well as the ever-memorable Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), the spiritual mentor of the future Primate.
At the end of the service, Many Years was proclaimed to His Holiness on his jubilee. After a moleben with the blessing of water, the clergy met with the faithful and discussed various issues of the further organization of the community’s life.
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Two years ago, Orthodox residents of Cancún, Mexico, asked His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ to bless their intention to organize a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Office for Institutions Abroad of the Moscow Patriarchate instructed Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, Temporary Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, to help organize regular services for members of the community and to study the possibility of opening a parish.
During 2019, with the blessing of Bishop Matthew, the rector of Holy Protection Church in Mexico, Priest Kirill Chacón, repeatedly visited the community of believers in Cancún, where in the local Catholic church, kindly provided by Bishop Pedro Pablo of Chetumal and Cancún, he celebrated the Divine Liturgy, sacraments and services of need.
On January 19, 2020, the feast of Theophany, with the blessing of Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, the head of the chancery of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Priest Mark Rashkov, visited Cancún and, with Priest Kirill Chacón, celebrated the Divine Liturgy and the Great Blessing of Water.
On May 8, 2021, Bright Saturday, Priest Mark Rashkov celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Cancún, after which he blessed the Paschal foods and distributed to the faithful the artos brought from New York.