March 2, 2015
New York City: Bishop Nicholas leads Divine Services for First Week
of Great Lent
On
the evening of the first day of Great Lent – Clean Monday, February
23 – His Grace, Eastern American Diocesan vicar Bishop Nicholas of
Manhattan, led Great Compline with the reading of the Great Canon of
St. Andrew of Crete in the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York
City.
On Tuesday evening, February 24, His Grace led Great Compline with
the reading of the Penitential Canon in Joy of All Who Sorrow Church
in Philadelphia, PA. Bishop Nicholas was co-served by parish rector
Priest Valery Sukholobov. Upon completion of the service, His Grace
addressed the faithful with a call to use their minds and hearts and
appreciate more deeply the meaning of the Great Lenten services, and
to labor in prayer, in order to greet Christ’s Glorious Resurrection
with a pure mind.
The following day – Wednesday, February 25 – His Grace read the
Canon of St. Andrew in English at St. Elizabeth the New-Martyr
Church in Rocky Hill, NJ. The Orthodox parish in Rocky Hill is
primarily English-speaking, but Bishop Nicholas read part of the
Canon in Church Slavonic for those of the parishioners who speak
Russian. Parish rector Archpriest David Straut served Great
Compline. His Grace greeted the parishioners with the start of Great
Lent, noting that, as Orthodox Christians, we understand that the
days of Great Lent are a joyous time that offers the best
opportunity to cleanse our souls with repentance; a time to be
spiritually reborn, as the Lord said to His disciple Nicodemus, and
– most importantly – to prepare our souls to greet the Savior. Upon
completion of the service, the clergy and parishioners gathered for
a lenten supper and were able to interact with their bishop.
On Thursday, February 26, at the invitation of Bishop John of
Naro-Fominsk, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA,
Bishop Nicholas led the reading of the final part of the Great
Penitential Canon in St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral in New York
City. Bishop John prayed in the altar, while Great Compline was
served by cathedral cleric Abbot Nicodemus (Balyasnikov). Upon
completion of the service, Their Graces enjoyed a measure of
brotherly interaction, during which the two agreed to concelebrate a
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts during Great Lent.
On February 25 and 27, Wednesday and Friday of the First Week of
Great Lent, Bishop Nicholas served the Hierarchal Rite of the
Presanctified Liturgy in the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New
York City. His Grace was co-served by the cathedral’s senior priest,
Archpriest Andrei Sommer, and Synodal clerics: Priest Igor Grytsyna,
Protodeacon Nicolas Mokhoff, and Deacons Nazari Fataliev and
Dionysius Lvov. Upon completion of the Liturgy, Bishop Nicholas led
the canon to the Great-Martyr Theodore Tyro and blessed the koliva.
His Grace congratulated those serving and praying with the end of
the First Week of Great Lent, and thanked the clergy, choristers,
and parishioners for their joint prayers. Calling to mind the
Prayers after Communion, he called on them to fast in such a way
that might burn up the thorns
of all of our sins, and worthily greet our Savior with all our
heart on the day of His Glorious Resurrection. Bishop Nicholas
reminded the faithful about the importance of concluding the First
Week by confessing and communing of Christ’s Holy Mysteries.
Media Office of the Eastern
American Diocese
