March 24, 2013
New York City:
Metropolitan Hilarion led the Divine Services on the Triumph of
Orthodoxy in the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign
On
the first Sunday of Great Lent, the Orthodox Church celebrates the
Triumph of Orthodoxy, the restoration in 842 AD to the great
cathedral Hagia Sophia of the holy icons, which had been removed by
the iconoslasts. As the restoration took place on the first Sunday
of Great Lent that year, the Synod of Constantinople determined that
that Sunday should forever be dedicated to the Triumph of the
Orthodox faith over those who opposed the use of holy icons, based
on their denial of the reality of Christ’s Incarnation.
On Sunday, March 24, the First Hierarch of
the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of
Eastern America & New York, celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the
Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City, co-served by Synodal
and local clergy. During the Little Entrance, the cathedral’s senior
priest, Archpriest Andrei Sommer, was awarded the jeweled cross.
Upon completion of the Liturgy,
Metropolitan Hilarion led the Rite of Orthodoxy, in which are
commemorated all the holy saints and champions of the Orthodox
faith, and condemned the heresiarchs and enemies of the Church of
Christ. Synodal Protodeacon Nicholas Mokhoff read the Synodicon,
with the cathedral choir intoning "Memory Eternal" and "Anathema,"
respectively.
It
was especially joyful for the faithful to have the Protectress of
the Russian Diaspora, the wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the
Mother of God, present at the service. In the words of Matushka
Eugenia Temidis, "Today we celebrate the restoration of the holy
icon. What greater feast could there be than one celebrated before
our Protectress, the wonderworking Icon of the Kursk Mother of God?
She is the triumph of our Orthodoxy."
In the words of parishioner Marina
Fataliev, "This feast illustrates the foundation of our Church, and
recapitulates how every single heresy was destroyed by the mutual
consent of many bishops who united and prayed and [made] a decision
with the help of the Holy Spirit. All of the truths of our Church
have been founded in this manner. Certainly the presence of our
miracle-working Kursk Icon here today is a wonderful consolation for
all those present."
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