Memorial
Day Weekend, Holy Trinity Monastery hosted a retreat for young
Orthodox adults. Many came from as far away as Florida and California.
The greater number of participants came from the young adult community
of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, but all were welcome and some
came from other jurisdictions.
The
retreat officially began on Saturday, May 23, following the morning
seminarian Michael Perekrestov welcomed the participants to Holy
Trinity Liturgy and breakfast in the monastery refectory, which was
attended even by those who arrived late in the evening before. Retreat
organizer and Monastery. Graduating seminarian Vladimir Davydov gave a
lecture based on his bachelor’s thesis, which focuses on the
cemeteries of Holy Trinity Monastery. After the lecture, all took part
in a litya for Metropolitan Laurus and the reposed mentioned in the
lecture.
Then
the group broke up into three randomly chosen groups who helped to
beautify the monastery. One cleaned the cemetery church dedicated to
the Dormition of the Mother of God. Another helped to clean, paint,
and prepare the garage building to be a nice dining hall for the
pilgrims who will be coming for the monastery’s feast day, on
Pentecost. The third helped to beautify the monastery grounds by
weeding, trimming, and spreading decorative mulch.
After
lunch in the refectory and a break, the group gathered in the Holy
Trinity Seminary hall for a lecture and slide presentation on
Metropolitan Laurus, which was given by the Metropolitan’s former
secretary, and devoted helper, Protodeacon Victor Lochmatov. Father
Victor answered questions and gave a vivid picture of Metropolitan
Laurus’ life and personality, which he witnessed from the time of
his early youth. All were grateful for the opportunity to get to know
Metropolitan Laurus a little better.
After
a short break, Archimandrite Luke (Murianka) gave a tour of some of
the buildings on the Monastery grounds, including Holy Trinity
Cathedral, the baptistery, and the monastery print shop. He spoke
about the meaning of the church icons, the history of Holy Trinity
Monastery, and shared his thoughts on its historical and current
mission. Afterward, the group went to the cemetery church to read the
rule for Holy Communion, which was done partly in Slavonic and partly
in English. The group enjoyed supper in the Monastery refectory with
the monks, and then attended the all-night vigil. Some of the
participants sang in the choir with the monks and seminarians, while
others stood and prayed for the entire service.
The
following morning, on the Sunday of the Blind Man, the group attended
the Divine Liturgy and many approached the Chalice. After lunch, many
attended an optional presentation by a representative of the Eastern
American Diocese Youth Association, Katherine Rimakis. Katherine gave
some recommendations and guidelines for better organization of church
youth events and communication between parish youth groups.
Afterward,
all went to Glimmerglass Park on Lake Otsego for a barbecue. By
God’s Providence, the clouds cleared and the weather was beautiful.
There was a soccer game, Frisbee, swimming, and singing songs. All
were very grateful to God for this time together. The group returned
to Holy Trinity Monastery in time to attend small compline. After the
service, all attended a bonfire on the Monastery property. Many
talented individuals played guitar and sang songs, including
traditional Russian and Cossack songs, Irish ballads, American
spirituals, and popular music. All enjoyed listening and eating
S’mores.
The
next morning after Liturgy and breakfast, the group attended a
spiritual talk on Orthodox spirituality with comments on monasticism
and marriage by Hieromonk Cyprian (Alexandrou), the Holy Trinity
Seminary Dean of Students and also Instructor of New Testament Greek.
After the talk, the participants went on a tour of the icon studio
given by iconographer and monk Theophan. Then they toured the museum,
guided by Michael Perekrestov. This officially concluded the Memorial
Day Weekend retreat. Many voiced the hope that this will become an
annual event.
