October 14, 2012
Garfield, NJ: The Joint Pastoral Conference Concluded with a
Triumphal Liturgy in Three Saints Church
On
Saturday, October 13, in Garfield, NJ’s magnificent Orthodox church,
consecrated in 1984 to the Three Great Teachers and Hierarchs of the
Church ‒ Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John
Chrysostom, the joint pastoral conference of clerics of the Eastern
American Diocese of the Russian Church Abroad and the Moscow
Patriarchate drew to a close. Early that morning, the clergy
gathered in the parish hall, donning their vestments and lining up
for a triumphal procession, which would soon depart for the church.
The hierarchs came here as well; all were awaiting that great holy
image ‒ the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of
God. The hierarchs venerated the Icon, and the clergy formed a long
train behind the wonderworking image of the Mother of God. The
procession, with the clergy, Cossack representatives, and bishops,
makes its way to the church.
The triumphal Liturgy was celebrated by the First Hierarch of the
Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of
Eastern America & New York. He was co-served by His Eminence Pavel,
Metropolitan of Ryazan and Mikhailovsk; His Eminence Justinian,
Archbishop of Naro-Fominsk, Administrator of the Patriarchal
Parishes in the USA; and Their Graces, Eastern American Diocesan
vicar Bishops George of Mayfield and Jerome of Manhattan. Singing at
the Liturgy was Moscow’s Sretensky Monastery Choir, under the
direction of Nikon Zhila.
Taking part in the service were 124 priests and deacons; almost 500
people were present at the Liturgy. That day, over 300 of the
faithful partook of Christ’s Holy Mysteries, and throughout the
service and after its conclusion around 1,000 people came to the
church and venerated the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Icon of the Mother
of God.
Throughout
the service, a Cossack Honor Guard kept watch over the Icon, while
order in the church was maintained by members of the Association of
Russian Explorers (NORR). Upon completion of the Liturgy, the
superior of Moscow’s Sretensky Monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon
(Shevkunov), delivered the sermon.
Metropolitans Hilarion and Pavel spoke on the significance of unity.
As a sign of hospitality and in recognition for their participation
in the joint pastoral conference, Metropolitan Hilarion presented
Metropolitan Pavel and his brother-bishops serving in America copies
of the Hawaiian Icon of the Mother of God. Copies of the same were
distributed to the members of the Sretensky Choir.
Clergy of the Russian Church Abroad and the Patriarchal Parishes in
the USA, truly feeling the brotherly unity in Christ realized and
fortified that day, had much to share one with another. Their
matushkas, meanwhile, of whom there were about 40 at the conference,
took on one additional role on this triumphal day, photographing and
filming all that took place.
Outside,
in the church complex, the faithful were able to obtain
Archimandrite Tikhon’s recent bestseller, "Everyday Saints," in
English and Russian, and were able to get the author’s autograph.
Saturday’s triumphal service was very reminiscent of the scene in
the Moscow Kremlin in May 2007, where, on a similarly sunny day,
those celebrating the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion
gathered for the divine services.
Meanwhile, the faithful continued to flock toward the wonderworking
Icon of the Mother of God; His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion,
presented the cross for veneration and spoke with the people, and
each was anointed with holy myrrh, and received a small icon of the
Mother of God.
Upon completion of the service, the clergy and conference
participants departed for Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Passaic, where
a final banquet was held for them and other guests of the joint
pastoral conference.
Republication of materials must include a reference to:
"Eastern American Diocese www.eadiocese.org."
Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese
