November 27, 2013
Brooklyn, NY: Triumphal Unveiling of Reliquary in St. John the
Baptist Church
On
Friday, November 22, the feast day of Blessed Matrona of Moscow (her
namesday and birthday), the First Hierarch of the Russian Church
Abroad, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New
York, visited
St. John the Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY’s Sheepshead Bay
neighborhood.
His Eminence was concelebrated at the Divine Liturgy by New York
City dean and parish rector Archpriest Alexander Belya, Hieromonk
Tikhon (Gayfudinov; the Metropolitan’s cell attendant), and parish
Deacon Petr Utkin.
Upon completion of the service, Metropolitan Hilarion blessed an
icon of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves, as well as a
reliquary containing the relics of 115 holy saints, including: St.
Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow; the Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow; the
Holy Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky; the Venerable Fathers of the
Kiev Caves; the Nun-Martyr Duchess Elizabeth; Ven. Herman of Alaska;
Ven. Job of Pochaev; Ven. Kuksha of Odessa; Holy Hierarchs Luke of
Sevastopol, Ignatius of Rostov, Theodosius of Chernigov, Nephon
(Nifont) of Novgorod, Simon of Suzdal, and many more.
Addressing the faithful with a didactic sermon, Metropolitan
Hilarion noted that the relics of the holy God-pleasing saints are
imbued with great grace and, according to the faith of those who
approach them, can cure spiritual and physical infirmities and aid
those in sorrow.
The
First Hierarch also underscored the beauty and majesty of the
reliquary, fashioned by Ukrainian metallurgists, and thanked the
parish’s warden Ioann for bringing it from Kiev. His Eminence noted
that no reliquary with such a gathering of relics exists in any
American church.
Metropolitan Hilarion thanked the rector, Fr. Alexander, for
spreading the teachings of the Gospel and fortifying the faith in
the hearts of the people, drawing attention to the increased number
of parishioners.
On November 23, the second day of the celebration of St. Matrona,
the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the church by Eastern American
Diocesan secretary Archpriest Serge Lukianov, co-served by the
rector, Fr. Alexander, and Priest Vladimir Kaydanov, cleric of St.
George’s Church in Howell, NJ.
After the service, the rector thanked Fr. Serge for his latest visit
to the parish and for celebrating the Liturgy, his first in the
parish.
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