Patriarch Kirill marks his 63rd birthday

Patriarch Kirill, enthroned as the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in February 2009, marked his 63rd birthday on Friday. The birthdays of patriarchs are not widely celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church as they are considered personal. Instead, the church celebrates the patriarch’s name day on May 24, the day of his patron saints Cyril and Methodius, the Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century, who became the missionaries of Christianity to the Slavic peoples.

Patriarch Kirill, enthroned as the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in February 2009, marked his 63rd birthday on Friday. The birthdays of patriarchs are not widely celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church as they are considered personal. Instead, the church celebrates the patriarch’s name day on May 24, the day of his patron saints Cyril and Methodius, the Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century, who became the missionaries of Christianity to the Slavic peoples.