On January 7, 2024, Christmas Day in the Julian calendar, ELCIR Bishop Ivan Laptev attended Great Vespers at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, part of St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg. The invitation had been extended by Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga.

 

Other worshipers included the mothers superior of Orthodox nunneries in and around St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov, Chief Vladimir Ivanov of the Department for Relations with Religious Associations, and representatives of Christian denominations. The worship service was followed by a Christmas reception, which is an established tradition in St. Petersburg.