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November
5, 2010
Washington D.C.: Unforgettable Pilgrimage to Holy Trinity
Monastery
The 13th annual Holy Trinity
Monastery Pilgrimage organized by the Cathedral of St. John the
Baptist in Washington, DC, was spiritually filled to the brim. On
October 30, over 65 pilgrims woke up very early, and at 6:00 AM
departed by bus for far-off Jordanvilee. Among the pilgrims was
Matushka Julia Sysoyeva, widow of Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, a young Moscow
priest and missionary who was murdered one year ago. She was
accompanied by S. V. Stanilovsky, director of the Priest Daniel
Sysoyev Missionary Center's charitable foundation.
Annual pilgrimages to brother Joseph's
grave are made as a reminder of the great sign given us - the Montreal
Iveron Icon, which for many years sent forth grace into the lives of
the faithful throughout the world, and its faithful custodian, brother
Joseph Munoz-Cortes.
One pilgrim writes, “I first went [on
the pilgrimage] in 2007, the 10th Anniversary of brother
Joseph's death. Everything I saw so amazed me that I realized how
essential it was for me to show this, our holy treasure, to my
children. The following year, in 2008, I took my daughter with me; for
a whole year my 10-year old Vera remembered that journey, and looked
forward to [making the trip again] the following year. This year, the
main thing we felt was a sense of thanksgiving that filled our hearts
to overflowing, thanksgiving for all of the miracles granted to our
family.
So I would like to say to everyone who has not yet
gone on this pilgrimage: Go. Put aside everything you have been doing,
and spend two days that will give you inspiration and strength for the
entire year to come. Already in the morning, as you board the bus
waiting next to the church, as you pray together and set out along the
as yet empty streets of the city, already you are being transported,
taken far away from your usual activities. The film about brother
Joseph that we watch along the way reminds all of us that righteous
people do exist today, and that miracles do happen in our contemporary
world. Don't take books and magazines with you. You don't need a lot
of luggage, and you don't need to worry about your children. They,
even better than we, will sense the peace and joy of the journey.
Every time, the Monastery will impart to you and your children
abundant grace: through bread and honey, books beneficial to the soul,
monastic meals, stories from its history, monastic chant, serious and
reflective Confession, and grace-filled Communion. You will take home
with you a pinch of earth and some vigil-lamp oil from brother
Joseph's grave, and you will write down the names of those near and
dear to you for commemoration throughout the whole year.”
During the pilgrimage, the Most Reverend
Metropolitan Hilarion served two Panikhidas at murdered Joseph
Munoz-Cortes' grave.
After the first Panikhida, His Eminence
gave a homily in which he noted in part:
"...
Another year has passed since brother Joseph's martyric death. Our
gathering together around brother Joseph's grave today reminds us of
those days long-ago, when the Christians of the early Church would
gather at the tombs of the martyrs and would pray there, serving the
Holy Eucharist literally upon the tombs of the martyrs. [Doing so]
strengthened them, for a martyric death demonstrates faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ to the end, and the martyrs who were made worthy of such
a crown were immediately recognized as Heaven-dwellers, as they had
borne witness to the Truth, to the Christian Faith. We also should
always strive to live according to the Commandments of God, so that we
might be ready, and have the fortitude in prayer to bear witness to
the Truth of Christ. Certainly, not all of us have that much strength
of prayer; however, we should entreat our Lord that He grant us the
grace-filled power to never renounce Him, but rather to be faithful to
Him to the end, so that at the moment our Faith is so tested, we might
be made worthy to be with Him.
Today
we are also praying for another martyr for the faith and the preaching
of Christ's Gospel: Priest Daniel Sysoyev. It is our hope that [a
place in] the Kingdom of Heaven before the Throne of God has been
prepared, for with faith and zeal, Fr. Daniel courageously preached
the Truth of Christ. We believe that those who stand before the Throne
of God pray for us. They are our brethren and our friends, and that
their prayers fortify us. We believe that all of the New Martyrs and
Confessors who in our much-suffering Homeland remained true to Christ
liberated the Church from its long period of persecution, and that
thanks to their ascetic struggle, the Church of Christ today has
become able to set out on the path of renewal and open preaching of
the Gospel, and her children are now able to openly confess their
Faith.
Let
us pray that the Lord might forgive the transgressions, both voluntary
and involuntary, of our recently martyred brothers Joseph and Daniel.
I am certain that they are looking down at us from the heights of
Heaven, that they are praying to Christ for our salvation, for our
Faith and piety, and that we might stand firm in the Faith."
At
the beginning of the Vigil, a great Holy Icon, the “Hawaii”
Myrrh-streaming Icon of the Mother of God, arrived at the Monastery.
The Icon is a copy of the Montreal Iveron Myrrh-streaming Icon, which
over the course of 15 years was in the faithful custody of brother
Joseph Munoz-Cortes, who was murdered in Athens in 1997.
After
the meeting of the “Hawaii” Icon and of Very Most Reverend
Metropolitan Hilarion on Sunday October 31, the Feast-day of the Holy
Apostle and Evangelist Luke, and the day brother Joseph was murdered,
the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Church of the Holy Trinity.
During the Liturgy, Monk Gabriel (Astrakanin) was ordained to the
priesthood. After the Liturgy, Vladyka Metropolitan once again spoke.
He said kind words about the late brother Joseph, greeted the
newly-ordained clergyman of Christ's Church, congratulated
Archimandrite Luke, prior of the Holy Trinity Monastery, and warmly
welcomed the pilgrims who had come to the monastery.
Following
the Service and a festal meal, a film about the murdered Priest Daniel
Sysoyev entitled “I Am Going Home” was shown in the seminary
auditorium. After the showing, Matushka Julia, widow of the Muscovite
priest murdered for the Faith, responded to a host of questions posed
by the capacity crowd. At the conclusion of the meeting, its host
Abbot Roman invited everyone to return to the cemetery for a second
Panikhida for brother Joseph.
One
of our pilgrims recollects:
“As
in years past, we stood before brother Joseph's grave at the Monastery
cemetery. The Panikhida is going on.... Light snowflakes swirl about
the candles, and bursts of wind turn them into a white cloud. The
candles do not go out; their flames, like monks at a service, stand
upright, without moving. “Memory Eternal” is sung... and taking in
the words of the Panikhida, singing along with the choir, we stand
absolutely still.
Metropolitan
Hilarion headed the service of the Panikhida. To the right of the
grave was the Myrrh-streaming “Hawaii” Iveron Icon of the Mother
of God and its custodian Nektarios. A flock of birds, uttering
piercing cries, flies by above us. It is as if they know what is
transpiring, and from above are making their contribution to what is
happening below, on earth.
Everyone
takes a portion of the commemorative kutia, approaches to
receive a blessing from Metropolitan Hilarion, venerates the Icon, and
then becomes frozen in place... The reason for the cessation of
movement is not readily apparent. Nektarios looks amazed. People are
standing stock-still, and are not moving away. Then, finally, you
approach, and stop as well, having forgotten about everyone but the
Mother of God, brother Joseph, and yourself. The Icon frame is open,
the Mother of God and the Divine Infant appear alive under rivulets of
abundantly flowing Myrrh. It is streaming not only across the wooden
frame, but over the glass and the inner surface of the frame. From
afar, you hear “Make way!” You go away in a reverie, wanting to
return. Everyone seems to be moving in slow motion.
It
is only when we are already aboard the bus that we learn that such
abundant streaming of Myrrh has never happened before.”
“The
Icon has never streamed Myrrh as much as it did today,” emphasized
Nekatrios Yangston, custodian of the “Hawaii” Icon. Such abundant
Myrrh-streaming at murdered brother Joseph's grave is yet one more
sign of the righteousness of the Chosen One of the Mother of God.
Has
not the time to glorify him come? Many people asked that question on
that memorable day, the 13th Anniversary of the murder of
brother Joseph Munoz-Cortes.
Media Office of the Eastern American
Diocese
