The service in the Patriarchate of the Jerusalem Orthodox Christian Church was conducted in the Greek and Russian languages by Eirinaios, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Alexander, the Bishop of Dmitrov who heads the delegation of the St.Andrew the First Called Foundation. The delegation arrived in Jerusalem on Friday specifically to raise prayers for peace and welfare across the Holy Land in the Holy City, the venue of main evangelical events, the place where Jesus Christ was crucified and buried and where He miraculously rose from the dead.
The Russian delegation includes deputy speaker of the State Duma (lower house of Russian parliament) Lyubov Sliska, Russian President's envoy in the Volga Federal District Sergei Kiriyenko, and many other prominent political, religious and public figures.
The head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of the St.Andrew the First Called Foundation's Board of Trustees and first deputy CEO of the Russian Railways Company, reminded the audience that the first All Orthodox Christians' prayer was raised on Holy Saturday last year, and shortly after that the first steps in implementation of the `road map` plan for peaceful settlement were undertaken. Today, however, "the Holy Land is again desecrated by strife and hostilities," to quote the text of the All Orthodox Christians' prayer.
"The land where prayers for glory of Lord are to be raised is today being ravaged by explosions of bombs, with tears of sorrow instead of joy being shed all over the place ... Lord, let peace and quiet come to the Holy Land," millions of believers taking part in the All Orthodox Christians' prayer say on Holy Saturday.
Prayer services for peace on the Holy Land are held today in all Orthodox Christian Churches across the planet. They started in Japan and have been going on across all time zones to end in South America. In Moscow, the prayer service for peace on the Holy Land takes place in the Christ the Savior Cathedral (simultaneously with the service held in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre) and is led by Patriarch Alexis II.
