November
8, 2009
Jordanville,
NY: Pilgrims from Washington D.C. honored the 12th Anniversary of the
Martyrdom of Brother Joseph
Munoz-Cortes
The
12th annual pilgrimage of the cathedral parish of St John the Baptist
in Washington, DC to the Holy Trinity Monastery was marked with a warm
prayerful spirit. In addition to the parishioners of the cathedral in
Washington, the group was joined by faithful of the Orthodox Church in
America in the nation’s capital. This year's pilgrimage was attended
by the new cultural attaché of the Embassy of Russia in Washington
Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Moshkalo and his 14-year-old son. Annual
pilgrimages to the gravesite of brother Jose Munoz-Cortes are held in
remembrance of the great miracle of the myrrh-streaming Iveron icon of
the Mother of God, which for 15 years blessed the life of believers in
the Russian Diaspora.
During
the pilgrimage two panikhidas were served at the gravesite of Joseph
Munoz-Cortes, the faithful martyred custodian of the Myrrh-streaming
"Iveron-Montreal" icon of the Mother of God. The
first panikhida was served by the Primate of ROCOR, His Eminence
Metropolitan Hilarion. After the service, which due to rainy weather
was held in the Holy Dormition cemetery chapel, His Eminence reminded
the gathered faithful that the miraculous Iveron Icon had disappeared
from us due to our sins. "We need to bring repentance to the Lord
for allowing ourselves to taking for granted the 15-year consolation
of the Myrrh-streaming icon of the Virgin Mary and forgetting her
faithful guardian," said the Metropolitan.
On
Sunday, November 1, before leaving for home, another memorial service
was held at the gravesite of brother Jose. The spiritual leader of the
pilgrimage, Fr. Alexander Resnikoff, a clergyman of St John the
Baptist Cathedral in Washington, delivered a short heartfelt homily in
which he said:
“Many
of you are holding candles, but do you know why and what they mean?
The candles you hold during panikhida’s and funerals are
symbols of our faith in the Resurrection of Christ, symbols of
Christ’s light in the world. Holding
these candles we proclaim our belief in Christ’s Resurrection and
declare Christ’s light in the world.
The Holy Scriptures proclaim that we are to be bearers of
Christ’s light in the world (Matthew
5:14) and this is certainly true of our dear brother in Lord,
Joseph Munoz Cortez.
Brother
Jose was a light of Christ in this world and was chosen by the Mother
of God to be the guardian of Her holy image of the Ivernon-Montreal
Icon of the Mother of God. Enduring
great hardships in long journeys and constant travels the Mother of
God granted great spiritual comfort and strengthening of faith to many
Orthodox faithful through the labors Brother Jose.
Our
good God rewarded Brother Jose’s struggles with the crown of
martyrdom and a place in His Heavenly Kingdom.
We know that God rewarded Brother Joseph in this way through a
miracle! After his
martyric end, Brother Joseph’s body was transported for 13 days from
Athens to Jordanville for burial, all the while unrefrigerated. It was
not by man’s intension that Brother Joseph’s casket was opened
during his funeral service, but by God’s Will.
The casket was opened, and the plastic bag covering Brother
Joseph was removed – and we beheld a miracle in our times!
His holy relics were incorrupt!
We
who celebrated the panikhida for our dear friend - hope to one day
soon be celebrating a moleben to him!
None can deny that today we participated in his blessedness!
We see before our eyes one of God’s Saints and experienced
anew our living hope in the Resurrection of our Lord and our own
common Resurrection!”
Most
of the 70 participants started the sacrament of confession and
received the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and returned
home spiritually enriched.
Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese
