August
1, 2013
Novo-Diveevo:
The
60th
Anniversary
of
St.
Seraphim’s
Church
was
celebrated
at
Holy
Dormition
Convent
On
Thursday, August 1, the parishioners and monastics of
Holy Dormition Convent "Novo-Diveevo" in
Nanuet, NY, marked the 60th
anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of the convent’s main
St. Seraphim’s Church. The laying of the cornerstone was performed
in 1953 by the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad –
Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky), alongside Archbishop Vitaly
(Maximenko) of North America & Canada and Bishop Nikon (Rklitsky) of
Florida. At that time, the convent was under the spiritual direction
of its founder, Archpriest Adrian Rymarenko (later Archbishop Andrei
of Rockland).
Metropolitan Anastassy’s eventual successor as First Hierarch of the
Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of
Eastern America & New York, arrived in Nanuet, NY to lead the
jubilee divine services. The festal services were held under the
aegis of the Protectress of the Russian Diaspora ‒ the wonderworking
Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, before which St. Seraphim of
Sarov himself was healed in childhood.
The Metropolitan celebrated the Divine Liturgy in St. Seraphim’s
Church, co-served by the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes
in the USA, His Eminence Justinian, Archbishop of Naro-Fominsk, and
clergy of the Russian Church in New York and New Jersey: the
convent’s senior cleric Archpriest Alexander Fedorowski, diocesan
secretary Archpriest Serge Lukianov, Archpriest George Zelenin
(rector of St. Michael’s Church in Paterson, NJ); clerics of St.
Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral in New York City: Hieromonk Arseny
(Manko), Archpriest Eugene Goncharenko, and Abbot Nicodemus
(Balyasnikov); guardian of the Kursk Root Icon Priest Nicholas
Olhovsky, Hieromonk Tikhon (Gayfudinov; cleric of the Synodal
Cathedral of the Sign), Priest Dmitri Don (rector of Sts. Cosmas &
Damian Church in Passaic, NJ), convent Protodeacon Sergei Arlievsky,
and Deacon George Temidis (cleric of the Nativity of the Mother of
God Church at the New Kursk Root Hermitage in Mahopac, NY). Also
praying in church were Priests Kontantin Gavrilkin and Serge
Ledkovsky, as well as the sisters of Holy Dormition Convent, led by
Abbess Irene.
The
divine service was adorned by the prayerful singing of the choir,
under the direction of Matushka Maria Fedorowski. Upon completion of
the Liturgy, His Eminence delivered a short sermon, in which he said
the following words:
"People saw St. Seraphim in the Light of Tabor, because he was
always in the presence of God. He taught that the end goal of our
Christian life – is not just to do good deeds, to perform acts of
charity, to go to church. He taught that prayer, fasting, spiritual
struggle, giving alms – are all but means to achieving an end. That
end, the goal of our Christian life, is the acquiring of the Holy
Spirit, so that the Lord might also be in us, in our souls, in our
hearts. For through repentance, through watchful self-control,
through the sacrament of purification – Confession, and partaking of
the Holy Body and Blood, God’s grace abides in us, and we then
become citizens of the age to come, of the Kingdom of God. Christ
said – the Kingdom of God is in your – that is, in our souls, if we
will be with God. We must always be thankful to St. Seraphim of
Sarov for this reminder, for this Patristic teaching, which he
bestowed upon our people."
The
Metropolitan then greeted Archbishop Justinian, Fr. Alexander, and
all of the convent’s worshippers and monastics with uplifting words,
congratulating them on the significant milestone. The deacons
intoned the Polychronion for the Hierarchs, clergy, nuns,
worshippers, and all of the namesday celebrants.
After the Liturgy, a bountiful luncheon was served in the monastery
refectory.
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