December 13, 2013
New York City: Head of Romanov Royal House attends Patronal Feast Day Celebrations of Synodal Cathedral of the Sign

On Tuesday, December 10, on the feast day of the Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign," the divine services in honor of the patronal feast day of the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City were led by the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York. His Eminence was co-served by his brother hierarchs, who had, on the eve of the feast, just concluded a session of the ROCOR Synod of Bishops: Archbishop Mark of Berlin, Germany & Great Britain, Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco & Western America, Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal & Canada, Bishop John of Caracas & South America, Bishop George of Mayfield (vicar of the Eastern American Diocese), and Bishop Jerome, as well as hierarchal guests ‒ Archbishop Justinian of Naro-Fominsk (Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA) and Bishop Mitrophan of Eastern America (Serbian Orthodox Church). A multitude of clergy from the parishes of the Eastern American Diocese co-served at the All-Night Vigil on December 9 and concelebrated the Divine Liturgy.

The choir sang the divine services under the direction of Synodal choir director Peter Fekula.

At the Little Entrance, Priest Stephanos Shagoury (rector of St. Nicholas Church in Endicott, NY) was elevated to the rank of archpriest, and after the Eucharistic Canon, Subdeacon Dionysius Lvov (former cell attendant to the First Hierarch) was ordained to the diaconate.

Archbishop Justinian, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, addressed the faithful with a sermon on the subject of the feast day.

Greeting the gathered clergy and faithful in the House of the Most Holy Theotokos, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad said, in part: "Within the great list of miraculous icons of the Mother of God, which church historians continue to study and supplement, the Kursk Root Icon holds a special place. Tartars hacked this icon in two, but the pieces later miraculously grew together, foretelling the reestablishment of unity between the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church. Godless terrorists tried to destroy the icon with a bomb, but her image survived. In this recent time of troubles, a special mission was entrusted to this holy icon that lies before us ‒ to bring consolation to Russian Orthodox Christians who had lost their Homeland and yearned for her rebirth. Visiting all corners of the Russian Diaspora, continuing in the same spirit even now, she blesses the process of the rebirth of the Church in the Fatherland, where hundreds of thousands of the faithful have prayed before her image." The full text of the Metropolitan’s address can be found here.

The Synodal festivities concluded a year in which Russian Orthodox people both in Russia and abroad celebrated the 400th Anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty. On the eve of the feast, the head of the Royal House, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, arrived in New York City to celebrate the jubilee with her countrymen. Metropolitan Hilarion greeted Her Imperial Highness at the airport. On the very day of the feast, the Grand Duchess prayed at the Divine Liturgy in the Synodal Cathedral. The Kursk Root Icon has always held a special place in the Royal Family: the icon was present for the baptism of Her Highness, her wedding, and the baptism of her Most August son, the Grand Duke George Mikhailovich. Each time, the icon was brought either to the home of the Royal Family or to the place where the service was held. The holy image has blessed the Dynasty’s path even through the most difficult and, it would seem, hopeless moments throughout the history of Russia, the Church, and the House of Romanov.

In honor of the feast, the head of the Royal House established two commemorative medals. One ‒ "The Anniversary of National Triumph" ‒ depicts the summoning of Michael Feodorovich Romanov to claim the Russian throne. The second, by tradition, depicts the portraits of the founder of the Dynasty and its current head, just as it was 100 years ago, when the Tsar-Martyr established a similar medal for the Dynasty’s 300th Anniversary. The silver jubilee medal was awarded to the First Hierarch and all the bishops of the Russian Church Abroad, as well as to Archpriest Serafim Gan (secretary of the Synod of Bishops), Archpriest Andrei Sommer (senior priest of the Synodal Cathedral), Priest Nicholas Olhovsky (guardian of the Kursk Root Icon), Protodeacon Eugene Kallaur (Synodal staffer and assistant archivist), Subdeacon George Schatiloff (building manager of the Synodal Mansion), Nicholas Ohotin (Communications Director of the Synod of Bishops), Sergei Yakushin (warden of the Synodal Cathedral), and Eugene Hrihoriak (assistant treasurer of the Synod of Bishops). Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna also donated several copies of two unique publications to the Holy Trinity Seminary Library in Jordanville, NY: Athos: The Holy Mountain, the Orthodox Church, and the House of Romanov in Exile, and a book on the history of the House of Romanov in Russian and English: By the Grace of God.

In recognition of her labors and in honor of the 400th Anniversary of the House of Romanov, Metropolitan Hilarion awarded Her Imperial Highness the Synodal Order of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, 1st Class. For their services to the Church, Archpriest George Larin (dean of New England and rector of Holy Virgin Protection Church in Nyack, NY ‒ marking 45 years of service before God’s Altar), Synodal Protodeacon Nicholas Mokhoff, and Reader Isaac Lambertsen were awarded the Synodal Order of the Sign, 3rd Class. Gramotas from the President of the ROCOR Synod of Bishops were awarded to Alevtina Taris and Diana Stroev.

On the occasion of the fifth anniversaries of their episcopal consecrations, the First Hierarch congratulated Bishop John of Caracas & South America, Bishop George of Mayfield, and Bishop Jerome (the fifth anniversary of whose consecration fell on the feast itself – December 10). Bishops John and George received commemorative panagias, while Bishop Jerome received blue hierarchal vestments.

Upon completion of the triumphal divine services, the bishops, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, the clergy, and many of the Orthodox faithful of New York and neighboring states proceeded to the Synodal hall, where a bountiful festal luncheon was provided by the cathedral sisterhood in the presence of the Kursk Root Icon.

Cathedral warden Sergei Yakushin announced to those in attendance that, in accordance with the Metropolitan’s directive, the lesser Synodal hall is from henceforth to be named in honor of the family of Prince Vladimir Kyrillovich Galitzine ‒ who faithfully served as the cathedral’s warden for over 40 years ‒ in recognition of their service to the Synodal Cathedral and the Russian Church Abroad.


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