April 2, 2012
Washington, DC: Grace-filled days in the parish of St. John the Baptist Cathedral

Saturday the 24th and Sunday the 25th of March will long be remembered by parishioners of St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington, DC, as days specially blessed by God’s grace. That weekend, His Grace, Eastern American Diocesan vicar Bishop George of Mayfield, paid a special archpastoral visit to the parish: on Sunday, with the blessing of the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, Bishop George ordained cathedral cleric Deacon Victor Klimenko to the priesthood.

All day Saturday, the faithful confessed their sins, in order to more fully prepare to commune of Christ’s Holy Mysteries and take part in the sacrament of Holy Unction, which was schedule for Sunday evening.

On Sunday morning, His Grace was greeted by cathedral clergy, led by rector Archpriest Victor Potapov: Archpriest Oleg Oreshkin, Priests John Johnson and Alexander Resnikoff, Protodeacon Leonid Mickle, Deacons B. Patrick Mitchell, Damian Dantinne, John Dean, and Victor Klimenko, as well as Hieromonk Alexander (Frizzell; dean of Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, WV), who accompanied Bishop George on his journey. By the time of the meeting of the bishop, the church was already filled to capacity with the faithful.

Two large choirs sang at the Divine Liturgy ‒ the Slavonic-language choir under the direction of Youri Petcherkin, and the English-language choir under the direction of Jared Brewer.

During the hours, Bishop George tonsured Readers Daniel Gregoire and George Hammond to the rank of subdeacon.

After the Cherubic Hymn, Deacon Victor Klimenko’s ordination to the priesthood took place. It was touching to see his Matushka Katherine and his little children, Anna and Nina, standing right at the ambo and observing the rite of ordination, aware that in those moments their life would be forever changed, and that their husband and father was giving himself up completely to service to our Chief Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.

At the Liturgy, hundreds of people communed from four chalices. Upon completion of the Liturgy, Bishop George delivered a remarkable homily, dedicated to the Fourth Sunday of Lent and the memory of St. John of the Ladder. His Grace spoke in part about how essential it is for Orthodox Christians to show a great degree of asceticism during Great Lent, in order to better prepare themselves for the approaching Feast of Feasts ‒ Christ’s Pascha.

After the Service, Bishop George, speaking on behalf of the monastic brotherhood of Holy Cross Monastery, presented the parish a large icon of the Mother of God, Queen of All ["Pantannassa"], as a gesture of thanks to the parish for its ever-generous support of the hermitage. The framed icon was placed on the central analogion, where it remained until the Saturday of the Akathist, so that everyone could have an opportunity to pray before the new icon.

After the festal meal and a short period of rest, parishioners once more assembled at the church in order to participate in the Mystery of Holy Unction. Thanks to Fr. Victor Klimenko’s ordination to the priesthood, the rite was served by seven priests, as called for in the rubrics. Over 350 people were able to receive Holy Unction.

On Monday, March 26, Bishop George, accompanied by Fr. Victor Potapov, Hieromonk Alexander (Frizzell), and Monk-Subdeacon Tikhon (Dade) visited the new Convent of the Entry into the Temple of the Theotokos in Libertyville, MD. One month ago, under the direction of Abbess Aemiliane, six nuns moved to that true piece of Paradise. On the monastery property, there is a large, formerly Protestant church and six houses built in the late 20th century. The main house, set atop a high hill, was built in 1830. All of this had once belonged to an Episcopalian community.

The hospitable nuns welcomed His Grace and showed him their new property, and after a meal, told him of their plans for the future. God grant that those plans come to fruition, so that ROCOR’s newest women’s monastery might increase in numbers, and that the new monastery, only one hour’s drive from Washington and Baltimore, might become a place of pilgrimage, where programs for Orthodox girls and pastoral or monastic conferences could be held.

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