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September
4, 2009
Jackson, NJ: Metropolitan Hilarion led a Panihida at the Tomb of
Archbishop Nikon
Friday, September 4, marked
the 33rd anniversary of the repose of the ever-memorable Archbishop
Nikon (Rklitsky), former archbishop of Washington and Florida. On
account of the anniversary, a panihida was held in the lower Church of
the Protection of the Mother of God at St. Vladimir Memorial Church in Jackson, NJ, where
archbishops Vitaly (Maximenko) and Nikon repose. The panihida was led
by His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America and New
York, co-served by Bishop George of Mayfield, Bishop Jerome of
Manhattan, members of the Diocesan Council, and clergy of the New
Jersey Deanery. After the panihida, diocesan secretary Archpriest
Serge Lukianov delivered the following sermon:
In the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Your Eminence, Most Reverend
Hierarchs, dear in the Lord fathers, brothers, and sisters. We have
gathered today to honor the memory of one of the greatest archpastors
of the Russian Church Abroad, Archbishop Nikon, formerly of
Washington, DC and Florida. Much can be said of Vladyka Nikon as an
administrator, a preacher, and the builder of this memorial church.
But if we look at his venerable life, it can be said that for Vladyka
the most important thing was loyalty to God and to Holy Russia.
Vladyka completely devoted his life to the Lord God and to the
re-founding of Holy Russia beyond the borders of our Motherland in the
most difficult years of the Communist yoke.
In March of this year, the
Diocesan Conference was held under the auspices of this splendid
church, during which the question of Archbishop Nikon’s spiritual
legacy was discussed. Many remember the golden years of our diocese,
when our ever-memorable hierarchs, Metropolitan Philaret and
Archbishops Vitaly and Nikon, elevated our diocese to great spiritual
and administrative heights. Thank God, the delegates to the Diocesan
Conference made clear their wish to return to the days of old and
renew the diocesan life of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. But to
return to these days, we must adhere to the spiritual and lifelong
example of Vladyka Nikon.
For Vladyka, prayer and the
divine services occupied a place of primacy, and through his unceasing
prayer he attracted people to the Holy Church. Vladyka Nikon taught
that the Church was the source of life, and that life without the
Church is no life at all. Once, after the lesser blessing of St. John
the Baptist Church in Washington, Vladyka said, “The Holy Church is
the true Teacher of life – She teaches Her children how to live and
how to die. In this grace-filled school of life, the Teacher is Christ
Himself.” The Lord left us His Holy Church, in which we receive the
mystical spiritual gifts, which heal our ailing souls and bodies. If
in our lives we are to adhere to Vladyka Nikon’s example, then we
must put forward all our efforts toward a graceful constitution of
life in the Church, through prayer and missionary work.
As administrator and ruling
bishop, Vladyka Nikon elevated the diocese to great spiritual heights
because with fatherly love he supported his clergy and summoned the
people to the Holy Church. If people would live in the Church and by
Her laws, then life would be much easier, because all of Church life
is built on prayer and obedience. If we will attend services often and
repent of our sins, then everything else will be added to us. Our
common diocesan life is a reflection of our internal spiritual life.
If within us are love and co-suffering, then we will strive to help
and support one another. If in our souls we will harbor envy and
pride, then we will foster only vengeance and jealousy, to the
rejoicing of the evil one, who ceaselessly seeks to tear apart the one
Church – the raiment of Christ.
Vladyka Nikon always greatly
loved and supported his pastors, because without pastors the Church
becomes impoverished. Our God-protected diocese is comprised of
wondrous parishes, which bear witness to True Orthodoxy across the
whole of the eastern seaboard of this nation. Many parishes were
founded by the ever-memorable Archbishop Nikon, and to this day the
special grace of Holy Russia can be felt in them. We are all part of a
united diocese, and when we, dear fathers, stand at the holy altar
table in our churches, let us never forget that our prayers are
carried up with all the prayers of our diocese. Imagine the rejoicing
in Heaven at that moment, when we celebrate the Holy Eucharist all
together, as one diocese, one Church, and the united Body of Christ!
Standing here at the tomb of Vladyka Nikon, the thought arises: what
would he say to us today if here were standing here in this place?
Reading his biography and sermons, we can say that Vladyka would have
opened his heart and, as a loving father, would call us to service in
Christ’s Holy Church. He would very simply say, “My dear father
presbyters, acquire the Holy Spirit and call the people to
repentance.” And the ever-memorable calls
upon you, dear brothers and sisters, to “support your pastors and
strive toward God’s service.”
In his book, “My
Struggle in the Vineyard of Christ” Vladyka writes, “We hope that,
in the future, when Holy Russia is restored, the history of the
Russian Church Abroad will be written as one of a protectress of Holy
Russian Orthodoxy in the years of our terrible tribulations.” In our
time, when Holy Russia is being restored, the words of the Diasporan
Hierarch are priceless. Our mighty Russia is truly being reborn, and
across her breadth God’s churches are continually being opened. The
Lord bestowed on us sinners to be witnesses to this restoration, but
at the same time we carry a great responsibility. Our holy fathers,
Metropolitans Philaret and Laurus, Archbishops Vitaly, Averky, Nikon,
and many others were true princes of the Church who dedicated their
lives to the exaltation and preservation of the holy Russian Orthodox
Church abroad. These hierarchs strived to preserve the crystal-pure
and pious Russian Orthodox spirit far away from the homeland. The
continuation of this mission, begun by our fathers, is our
responsibility and duty. Through his life, Vladyka Nikon left us an
example of true Christian piety and loyalty to Holy Russia. We must
follow his example and continue building and restoring that which was
entrusted to us by the holy fathers of the Russian Church Abroad. If
we do not fulfill the wills of our predecessors, then they will have
lived their lives in vain, and their struggles will have been for
naught. God forbid!
We must restore our
communities and return the traditions of old, on which the Russian
Church Abroad was founded. In this we are given a chance to take part
in the current rebirth of Holy Russia. The renewal of the diocesan
administration is but the beginning of a long path. We head off down
this path with God’s grace and the prayers of our holy hierarchs,
among them Archbishop Nikon. The path of servitude to Christ’s
Church on earth leads to one end goal: eternal life. Without genuine
prayer and dedication of our lives to Christ we lose the one thing
that is needful – the acquisition of eternal life in Christ. If we
dedicate our lives to the service of Christ and His Holy Church, then
we need not fear our adversaries, ever mindful of the words of the
Savior to his apostles: “I am with you, and no one shall be against
you.” May the Lord grant eternal rest to his faithful servant, the
ever-memorable Archbishop Nikon, in the tabernacles of the righteous,
and by his holy prayers have mercy on all of us. Amen.
