Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia arrives on Friday

BELGRADE - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will come on Friday on a three-day visit to Serbia, where he will consecrate the newly erected monument to Tsar Nicholas II Romanov and talk with the country's top religious and state officials.

This is a regular visit during which Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will talk with Serbian Patriarch Irinej about the most important issues in the Christian world, and other issues related to the two Churches, the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has stated.

The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia will be welcomed at Nikola Tesla Airport by top religious officials and Ivica Dacic, Serbia's deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

During his stay in Belgrade, Patriarch Kirill will receive an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the University of Belgrade because of his outstanding contribution to this field.

On Saturday, Patriarchs Irinej and Kirill will consecrate the monument to Tsar Nicholas II Romanov that has been recently set up in downtown Belgrade.

The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia will lay a wreath at the monument to the Russian fallen in World War I at New Cemetery in Belgrade and hold a memorial service at the tomb of Patriarch Pavle in Rakovica. On Sunday, the two Patriarchs will hold a hierarchal divine liturgy at St. Sava's Cathedral in Belgrade on Sunday.

This will be the second visit by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to Serbia since his enthronement.

The Russian Patriarch visited Nis in 2013, where he attended the ceremony marking 1,700 years since the Edict of Milan.

Photo Tanjug, R. Prelic (archive)