May 18, 2012 New York City:
Celebrations in Honor of the Fifth Anniversary of the Reunification
of the MP and ROCOR were held in St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral
On Thursday, May 17, on the day of the
fifth anniversary of the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion
between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church
Outside of Russia, the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in
the USA, His Eminence Justinian, Archbishop of Naro-Fominsk,
celebrated the Divine Liturgy in St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral
in New York City, concelebrated by Their Graces, Eastern American
Diocesan vicar Bishops George of Mayfield and Jerome of Manhattan.
The Hierarchs were co-served by a gathering of clergy from the
Patriarchal Parishes and the Eastern American Diocese.
Praying at the divine service was Andrey K.
Yushmanov, Consul General of the Russian Federation in New York,
members of the Ataman Council of the Cossack Congress in America,
Olga S. Zatsepina, president of the Russian-American Cultural
Heritage Center, Igor K. Popov, president of the Orthodox Business
Association, and many of the laity of the Russian Church in the USA.
Special prayers were lifted up at the
Liturgy in gratitude for the Lord’s great beneficence – the signing
of the Act restoring canonical union within the Local Russian
Orthodox Church on May 17, 2007, sealed by the signatures of the
Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and the First Hierarch of the
Russian Church Abroad. Likewise, the Archpastors, clergy, and laity
prayerfully commemorated His Holiness, the ever-memorable Patriarch
Alexey II, and His Eminence, Metropolitan Laurus.
After the Communion verse, St. Nicholas
Cathedral cleric Igumen Nicodemus (Balyasnikov) read aloud a
Greeting from His Holiness Kyrill, Patriarch of Moscow and All
Russia, to the Archpastors, pastors, deacons, monastics, and all of
the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church on the occasion of the
fifth anniversary of the signing of the Act of canonical communion
between the MP and ROCOR.
After the Liturgy, Archbishop Justinian
addressed those gathered. In his greeting, His Eminence said, in
part: "For Christians, loving one another, striving for unity,
should be inherent. For it is namely through this kind of action
that will find out what kinds of Christians we are.
"Five years ago, the Primates of the two
parts of the Russian Church, though lacking Eucharistic unity, but
nevertheless possessing sound minds and, most importantly, hearts
yearning for long-awaited unity, His Holiness, Patriarch Alexey II,
and His Eminence, Metropolitan Laurus, took upon themselves a great
responsibility, and led their flocks to Communion from One Chalice.
"Unfortunately, every great, holy
undertaking not only gladdens good people, but also summons the
opposition of evil people. Some, owing to weakness of mind; others,
owing to a lack of the love of Christ, or to an abundance of human
wickedness, try to do damage to the achieved unity of the children
of the Russian Orthodox Church. In slandering our present united
existence, they use any argument they can to sully our joy in
Eucharistic communion. But their thankless cause is in vain, for we
commune of the one Chalice of Christ, we pray together, and all of
our undertakings and deeds are born from this one Chalice. And who
or what can separate us from the love of God?
"Today we are grateful that His Holiness,
Patriarch Kyrill, and His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, have
blessed us to celebrate the Liturgy in honor of this first jubilee
in this venerable cathedral, full of prayer. Yesterday, we held a
panihida at the tomb of Metropolitan Laurus, and our hearts were
overjoyed not with a loud, but with a quiet joy at the fact that we
are all together, for in God there are none dead."
The Consul General of the Russian
Federation in New York, Andrey K. Yushmanov, congratulated the
Hierarchs, clergy, and laity: "The fifth anniversary of the
Reunification of the Russian Church Abroad with the Moscow
Patriarchate that we celebrate today can justly be considered
historic. It is a seminal event not only for the spiritual children
of the Russian Orthodox Church, but for our entire Homeland.
"In the 20th century, which held a tragic
fate for Russia, the Church bore many tribulations alongside the
people, one of which became Her division. Yes, the fact of the
creation of a Church Administration abroad must be considered
objectively as a necessary historical inevitability. Unfortunately,
fierce political pressure came to bear on the Church both in Russia
and abroad, which ultimately resulted in the division of the Church,
and even enmity between Her divided parts. Historians will have to
examine much, patiently and gently approaching each side, so that
our contemporaries might come to know the whole truth of the events
that transpired. The lessons we learn must become a testament to our
descendants, a warning not to repeat the same catastrophic mistakes
in the future.
"This triumph would not be possible had not
the clergy and faithful of the Russian Church in the Homeland and in
the Diaspora found within themselves five years ago the strength,
wisdom, and mutual love necessary to restore canonical unity, once
more becoming a significant force in world Orthodoxy. Memory and
gratitude eternal to Patriarch Alexey II and Metropolitan Laurus,
who renewed the spiritual unity of the Russian people! Long live the
One Russian Orthodox Church!"
The divine service concluded with the
intonation of the Polychronion to His Holiness Kyrill, Patriarch of
Moscow and All Russia, His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, First
Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, the Hierarchs, clergy, and
faithful children of the one Russian Orthodox Church dwelling in the
Homeland and in the Diaspora.
Festal interaction continued at an official
reception held in St. Nicholas Cathedral’s refectory.
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Photos and video: Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese
Article: www.ruschurchusa.org
