August 15, 2016
Hartford, CT: Metropolitan Hilarion leads Patronal Feast of St.
Panteleimon Church
On
Monday the 8th and Tuesday the 9th of August, the feast day of the
Holy Great-Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, parishioners of
St. Panteleimon Church in Hartford, CT marked their patronal
feast day. Celebrations on Tuesday morning were led by the First
Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Hilarion of
Eastern America & New York.
On Monday evening, parish rector Archpriest Dionisy Nalitov led the
All-Night Vigil, co-served by Archpriest Constantine Semyanko
(cleric of Holy Presentation Church in Stratford, CT) and Deacon
Alexey Pnev (cleric of Nativity of the Mother of God Church at the
New Kursk Root Hermitage in Mahopac, NY). The faithful prayed to the
holy great-martyr and confessed their sins.
The
following morning, prior to the start of Liturgy, Fr. Constantine
performed the Lesser Blessing of the Waters. The clergy and faithful
then greeted the Metropolitan, who had just returned the day prior
from a pilgrimage to the holy sites of Russia. After the reading of
the hours, the Liturgy began. His Eminence was co-served by the
above-mentioned clergy, as well as: Archpriest George Lardas (rector
of St. Nicholas Church in Stratford), Archpriest Brendan Crowley
(rector of St. Nicholas Church in Enfield, CT), Hieromonk Sylvester
(Kozhin; cleric of St. Anthony the Great Monastery in Phoenix, AZ),
Protodeacon Dionysius Lvov (cleric of the Synodal Cathedral of the
Sign in New York City), and Deacon Alexander Doohovskoy (cleric of
St. Xenia’s Church in Methuen, MA).
Despite it being a workday, many came to the service and communed of
Christ’s Holy Mysteries. Upon completion of the Liturgy,
Metropolitan Hilarion addressed the faithful with a sermon, in which
he spoke about the bravery and courage of the Holy Great-Martyr
Panteleimon, and called on everyone to emulate the saint in
defending the Christian Faith. The clergy and faithful then held a
procession around the church.
After the service, a bountiful festal luncheon was held in the
parish hall for the hierarch, clergy, parishioners, and guests.
Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese
