August 28, 2013
Jackson, NJ: The St. Vladimir’s Day Celebrations in America ‒ A
"Test Flight"
This
year, in the normally quiet town of Jackson, an hour’s ride from New
York, clamor marked the sweeping celebrations of two major
anniversaries – one common to all Russians: the
1025th anniversary of the Baptism of
Rus’ – and one more local: the 75th anniversary of the founding of
St. Vladimir Memorial Church. And though they may have taken
place on a smaller scale than their counterparts in Moscow, Kiev,
and Minsk, this year’s St. Vladimir’s Day Celebrations were, after a
lengthy, years-long lull, an event dear to the hearts of the
Orthodox and Russian-speaking population of the New York-New Jersey
megalopolis, a warm reminder of their homeland (literal for some,
historic for others). For the organizers, meanwhile – the toilers of
the Eastern American Diocese – who bravely set out to restore the
once popular and widely attended festivities on St. Vladimir’s
Mount, which historically drew crowds of up to 6,000 people – this
year’s event could certainly be called a "test flight."
Coming to celebrate the pan-Slavic feast in Jackson that Sunday were
the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan
Hilarion of Eastern America & New York; the Administrator of the
Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Archbishop Justinian of
Naro-Fominsk; ROCOR hierarchs Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal &
Canada, Eastern American Diocesan vicar Bishop George of Mayfield,
and Bishop Jerome (Shaw); Ukrainian Orthodox Church representative
Bishop Meletiy of Khotin, vicar of the Diocese of Chernovtsy &
Bukovina; and Bishop Irénée of Quebec City, vicar of the Canadian
Archdiocese of the Orthodox Church in America.
In honor of the celebrations, three wonderworking icons of the
Mother of God were brought to St. Vladimir’s Church: the Protectress
of the Russian Diaspora – the Kursk Root Icon, the myrrh-streaming
Hawaiian Iveron Icon, and the Pochaev Icon.
The Liturgy was celebrated in Church Slavonic and English. Upon
completion of the divine service, the clergy and pilgrims circled
the Memorial Church in procession., and His Eminence, Metropolitan
Hilarion, performed the blessing of the water.
***
The
October Revolution and Second World War led many Russians to the
North American continent. Having completed their trek across Europe
in New York Harbor, Russians, Ukrainians, and Carpatho-Russians
(Rusyns) sought to make a home for themselves in the far less
extravagant and overbearing suburbs of the Big Apple. Even more
vulnerable in exile were the "first wave" émigrés – with no money or
knowledge of the local language, they primarily sought land (what
they would call "farms") in New Jersey. And now you need only leave
New York City for the road to lead you to Novo-Diveevo Convent, with
its attendant old age home populated by Russians and Ukrainians; to
the Russian Society at "Otrada;" further yet, to the Tolstoy
Foundation in Spring Valley, from whence that author’s daughter
Alexandra ceaselessly petitioned, making use of her renowned
surname, asking permission for her former compatriots to be released
from the German camps and granted entry to "the land of liberty, the
land of Washington." On Long Island, one can find the village of Sea
Cliff and its St. Seraphim’s Church, and the Church of our Lady of
Kazan nearby. On the road to Trenton, New Jersey’s capital, Russian
émigrés organized St. Vladimir’s Society near one of the Russian
"farms," ROVA (the Russian Mutual Aid Society of America), with the
goal of erecting a special memorial church. As the great Russian
poet would have said: "The spirit of Russia is here…" Indeed, there
is a monument to Pushkin not far from St. Vladimir’s Church. That is
because the land around St. Vladimir’s Mount, where Russians bought
land in 1930, was envisioned as the future home of a Russian
village, complete with an Orthodox church, a Pushkin Park with a
monument to the poet, a Russian library, and a school. Cossacks
would hold their picnics here, complete with horse-riding shows; a
restaurant operated nearby, and the dancehall came alive with music
and dancing couples, while children indulged in frozen treats.
Archpriest George Zelenin is the rector of St. Michael the Archangel
Church in not-too-distant Paterson. And although he does not belong
to the early waves of emigration, Fr. George has lived in America
for 23 years, and as such remembers the hugely popular St.
Vladimir’s Day Celebrations:
"In
recent years, renovations in the church put the large-scale
celebrations on the backburner, bringing to a halt the days when
rectors would cancel services in their parishes, load their
gonfalons, organize buses, and bring their parishioners to St.
Vladimir’s. Toward the end of the 1980s, this place grew deserted.
This year, a majority of the nearby parishes once again cancelled
services and called the people to come and pray together in honor of
the anniversaries of the Baptism of Rus’ and the founding of the
church. In so doing, they restored the tradition of observing not
just local St. Vladimir’s Day Celebrations, but celebrations common
to the entire Slavic and Orthodox world.
"It brings me to joy to see many young faces here this year. This
means that Orthodoxy in the Russian Diaspora has a future. We can
feel in our hearts that we are no longer some ‘partisan brigade,’
sitting tight in our parishes, in our ‘woods,’ doing battle with the
enemy of mankind through attrition. Rather, today we are members of
one great army, of one united Orthodox family. In addition, for me
as for many others, this is an opportunity to reconnect with
long-lost friends: people get jobs elsewhere and move, transfer
parishes. At these informal holidays and gatherings we can share our
joys and sorrows, asking prayers for one another. The Internet is
ultimately only virtual interaction, which can never replace natural
human interaction, when you can look into the eyes of your fellow
man.
For
fairness’ sake, it bears noting that St. Vladimir’s Day did continue
being celebrated all these years, though its humble scale spoke of a
large parish feast day, not of a diocesan or national celebration by
any means. The last truly grand festivities held at the church took
place in 1988, at the Millennium of the Baptism of Rus’.
As editor-in-chief of "Pravoslavnaya Rus’" ("Orthodox Rus’"), Deacon
Andrei Psarev often came from Jordanville to the St. Vladimir’s Day
Celebrations. It was here that Metropolitan Hilarion ordained him to
the diaconate in 2009.
"Today was an attempt to return maximally to days of the 1950s, to
that surge in popular consciousness that reigned here on St.
Vladimir’s Day; after all, the Memorial Church was envisioned as a
temple that would unite all Slavic-Americans. I hope that the
Russian Church Abroad will restore an understanding of why we are
here, of our mission, and will amplify the church-wide dialogue
between the hierarchs, clergy, parishioners, men and women, and
people of every generation," said Fr. Andrei.
In 1938, the 950th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’, following the
personal initiative of Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko), it was decided
to mark the jubilee by erecting St. Vladimir Memorial Church in the
town of Cassville (later renamed Jackson).
In the 19th century, the hill where the church now stands was home
to a Presbyterian church, which nourished the area’s early
residents. And although that chapel is no more, part of the old
cemetery remains (at the time of the church’s founding, the
surrounding grounds were still the property of the Presbyterian
Church; today, the entire property belongs to the St. Vladimir’s
Society – ed.).
In
1940, the cornerstone of the church was laid by the archpastors of
the Russian Church in America: Metropolitan Theophilus (Pashkovsky),
Archbishop Vitaly, and Bishop Makary (Ilyinsky). But the once united
Church was soon divided into three parts: the American Church, the
Church Abroad, and the Moscow Church. Archbishop Vitaly belonged to
the Church Abroad, in whose jurisdiction the memorial church remains
until this day.
The basis of the architectural design was the Cathedral of the
Transfiguration in Pereslavl-Zalessky, while St. Vladimir’s
Cathedral in Kiev served as the basis for the interior. Ultimately,
it was not until the 1980s that the interior, along with the entire
upper St. Vladimir’s Church crowned with a golden cupola, was
completed.
Construction was halted during the Second World War. Work on the
lower church resumed in 1948, under the leadership of the new
rector, Hieromonk Anthony (Medvedev), future Archbishop of San
Francisco, and continued under his successor, Archpriest Vasily
Musin-Pushkin. The church interior was completed in time for the
Millennium of the Baptism of Rus’ by renowned Diasporan iconographer
Archimandrite Cyprian (Pyzhov). The iconostasis, inspired by that of
the Dormition Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, was designed and
built by Bishop Daniel (Alexandrow) of Erie, who painted the
majority of the icons adorning it.
Eugene Plishevsky remembers the gilding of the cupola during the
1987 preparations for the Millennium of the Baptism of Rus’. Eugene
Ivanovich was born in Belarus, lived in Yakutia, and wound up in
Germany during the Second World War. From there, his family was able
to escape life in Fischbek DP camp and move to America. St.
Vladimir’s Church was the place where, on July 30-31, 1988, the
Russian Church Abroad held the official celebrations, attended by
her entire Sobor of Bishops and the head of the House of Romanov,
Grand Duke Vladimir Kyrillovich.
In
the years prior to the millennial celebrations, the feast day was
celebrated by three hierarchs: Archbishops Vitaly and Nikon
(Rklitsky), as well as Bishop Averky (Taushev), who traveled from
Jordanville, with a still-young Hieromonk Laurus (Skurla – ed.) in
attendance. After the Liturgy, a procession went down to the lake
and blessed the waters.
In those days, there was no golden-domed church, only the lower
church in honor of the Holy Princess Olga. The asphalt "roof" of the
church formed the level field on which they would pitch a tent,
build an altar table, and celebrate the Liturgy.
The First Hierarch’s cell attendant, Hieromonk Tikhon, who bore the
name Vladimir prior to his monastic tonsure, was ordained to the
priesthood at the July 28th Liturgy. "The surprising feeling of joy
and spiritual inspiration that seized all of the participants of the
feast touched me, as well," he said. "Such celebrations, which unite
the people around the Church, around the Holy Eucharist, are
especially needed by our youth, because that is the only thing here,
abroad, that can truly unite and strengthen us, keeping us from
drifting inexorably apart, and allowing us to exist as a single
organism called Christ’s Church."
Those who came to this year’s festivities were touched by the
participation of representatives from the diplomatic corps of the
Slavic states. Despite this, the celebration was not overtaken by
formality or choked by protocol – even Russia’s Permanent Ambassador
to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, found himself in the middle of the crowd,
surrounded by young scouts holding 75 doves and preparing to launch
them into the sky to the singing of "Save, O Lord, Thy people…"
One
more undeniable virtue of the jubilee celebrations is this: every
person who, though far from his homeland, feels a certain cultural
and spiritual connection to it, can find something here close to his
heart: the Liturgy, the procession, the holiness of the icons,
personal interaction, the cuisine, or even Soviet pop hits and
outdoor dancing…
The first Russians who arrived on the East Coast came here to escape
the horrors of godless Bolshevism. The third and subsequent waves
came here simply in search of a better life for their families. It
took more than one generation for them to build this church as an
expression and witness of their unflinching faith and abiding love
for God and Russia. And, as Bishop Meletiy noted, "Those who think
that people need only money err gravely, because money without a
spiritual underpinning loses all value. It doesn’t lose its monetary
value, but rather its value in the face of eternity. A person who
sees nothing in this life but the material is an unfortunate soul
indeed. These celebrations remind the secular world that, even here,
there are those who seek the eternal, the everlasting, the
heavenly."
Tatiana Veselkina
Pravoslavie.ru
Translated by Rdr. Gregory Levitsky
Republication of materials must include a reference to:
"Eastern American Diocese www.eadiocese.org."
