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July
9, 2009
Framingham,
MA: Parish Feast Day of St. John's Church
In
many churches abroad, and now in Russia also, the feast day of the
glorification of the great saint of the Russian Diaspora, St. John,
Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, was prayerfully
celebrated. The feast took place in our parish of St. John, as well.
On this day, our parish celebrated yet another important date: one
year ago, the first divine service was held in our church, led by
Hieromonk Roman (Krassovsky).
At
the end of May, 2008, a group of the faithful received a key to a
house in Framingham, and by July 4 had, by their own efforts, made
repairs to the house, erected an iconostasis, altar table, and table
of oblation, built several lecterns and much more. For the blessing of
the church and first divine service, Fr. Roman arrived with a
suitcase-full liturgical vessels, as our parish had practically none
to start with. Over the next year, by the prayers of our heavenly
patron and the efforts of our parishioners, the church was
transfigured: the altar was completed, the church has a full set of
liturgical vessels, a crucifix with commemoration table (the work of
Messrs. Nicholas Cherniaev and Arkady Gurevich) was set up. The
lecterns were prepared by Messrs. Serge Terentev and Arkady Gurevich,
a shroud and banners were ordered from Sofrino, new lanterns adorn the
church, and many icons have been donated by parishioners, including
icons of St. John. All of the sewing has been completed through the
efforts of our sisterhood (Mses. Ksenia Musatova and Natalia
Stolyarova). This year, in preparation for the parish feast day, the
sisterhood and brotherhood undertook the large project of
reconstructing portions of the church property. Everything was ready
for the feast, with one upsetting exception: rain was pouring
constantly. However, on the very days of the feast, the sun shone
through the clouds, as if the Savior Himself parted the clouds, and
good weather reigned for the entirety of the holiday.
On
July 3, the rector and Deacon Nicholas Olhovsky served the All-Night
Vigil. The choir sang prayerfully and triumphantly under the direction
of the choir conductor, Ms. Olga France. During the Polyeleos, Fr.
Roman brought a relic of St. John, given by Fr. Juvenal to our parish
during a pilgrimage of our parishioners to the relics of St. John, out
of the altar. With reverence, the parishioners venerated the relic of
St. John, with the fully understanding that through his prayers the
parish has received much help in its successful establishment.
On
Saturday, July 4, before a large gathering of parishioners and guests,
Frs. Roman and Nicholas served the Divine Liturgy, followed by a
procession. The church was filled with the faithful, among whom were
many children, youths and others, who had come to St. John's for the
first time. Many - about 25 - went to confession and partook of Holy
Communion. During the procession, adorned by the beautiful singing of
a moleben to St. John, the sun shone brightly, and ancient spruce
trees surrounded the prayerful. All this exuded an aura of
peacefulness, spiritual calm, and joyous holiday emotions.
After
the procession, Fr. Roman gave a short sermon on the life of St. John,
on his love for his neighbors, on his care for children, the sick, and
the needy, and reminded everyone that St. John's life was an example
to which we ought to strive.
After this, all were invited to a festive luncheon, prepared by the
sisterhood under the leadership of Head Sister Larissa Dyan and her
assistant, Natalia Vyazmitinova. That same day the All-Night Vigil was
served, followed by a Diving Liturgy Sunday morning.
Holy Father
John, pray unto God for us!
Photo-report
Media
Office of the Eastern American Diocese
