March 24, 2013
Brooklyn, NY: Metropolitan Hilarion led the Sacrament of Holy Unction in St. John the Baptist Church

On Sunday, March 24, the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, led the Sacrament of Holy Unction in St. John the Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY. To the great joy of parishioners, the service proceeded under the aegis of the Protectress of the Russian Diaspora, the wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, which was brought to the parish for veneration by the faithful.

His Eminence was co-served by parish rector and New York City dean Archpriest Alexander Belya, diocesan secretary Archpriest Serge Lukianov, Priest Nicholas Olhovsky (guardian of the Kursk Root Icon), Priest Vadim Arefiev (rector of the neighboring Church of our Lady "The Inexhaustible Chalice" in Brooklyn), Priest Alexei Oulanov (cleric of Holy Virgin Intercession Church in Glen Cove, NY), and Hierodeacon Tikhon (Gayfudinov; cleric of the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign, who accompanied the Metropolitan). After the Unction service, the clergy gathered for a light dinner and fellowship.

On Saturday, March 9, with the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion, St. John the Baptist Church officially joined the Eastern American Diocese, and its rector, Archpriest Alexander Belya, was appointed dean of New York City.

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