October 17, 2013
Sea Cliff, NY: Metropolitan Hilarion leads 60th Anniversary
Celebrations at St. Seraphim Memorial Church
On
Saturday, October 12, the 20th anniversary of the Translation of the
incorrupt and healing relics of St. John of Shanghai & San Francisco
the Wonderworker, celebrations in honor of the 60th anniversary of
St.
Seraphim of Sarov Church in Sea Cliff, NY began. A large number
of worshipers gathered at the church, designated in 2012 as a
Memorial Church to the Re-Establishment of Unity in the Russian
Orthodox Church, and welcomed the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of
God of the Sign.
Divine Liturgy was led by Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America
and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, who had
just returned from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, co-served by
parish rector Archpriest Serafim Gan, representatives of other Local
Orthodox Churches, clerical members of the staff of the Synod of
Bishops and the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign, and a host of
clergymen from throughout the Eastern American Diocese. After the
washing of the hands, His Eminence bestowed oraria upon long-time
acolytes of St. Seraphim Church, Peter Wolkow and Andrew Makarov,
for their many years of service. During the Little Entrance, His
Eminence granted the kamilavka to Protodeacon Eugene Kallaur for his
worthy service as deacon. The parish choir, under Nicolas Miro, sang
splendidly.
Before Communion, Archpriest Yaroslav Belikow (rector of St. John
the Wonderworker Church in Framingham, MA) read a sermon, in which
he said:
"Today
marks the 20th anniversary of the uncovering of the relics of St.
John, Wonderworker of Shanghai & San Francisco. After his
sarcophagus and rusted-through metal tomb were opened, the body of
the saint was found to have been incorrupt. Still, a great portion
of his vestments had faded, rotted away in parts and crumbling. The
parish of St. John in Framingham, MA, received a small portion of
the relics from the under-sakkos and mantle he was buried in, which
were removed 20 years ago and are now in the reliquary that is
before you today, next to the icon. The icon itself also contains a
portion of the relics.
"When the relics were found to be intact, a new set of episcopal
vestments was ordered, in which the body of Archbishop John was
garbed on the eve of his glorification. The Lord bestowed upon me
the honor of witnessing many miracles that occurred at the crypt of
the hierarch.
"On October 25, 2011, when I was still a clergyman of the Cathedral
of the Mother of God ‘Joy of All Who Sorrow,’ I participated in the
re-vesting of the relics. His Eminence Kyrill, Archbishop of San
Francisco & Western America, knowing that I was being sent to the
recently-founded parish dedicated our saint outside of Boston, gave
his blessing for me to take the under-sakkos in which St John was
glorified in 1994. Through the efforts of our parishioners, this
reliquary was made: in its middle, we see an icon of St. John with a
portion of his relics, on either side of the icon are portions of
his mantle and under-sakkos, in which he was originally buried in
1966, and in the lower middle part, the under-sakkos in which he was
glorified. I wish to add that several miracles had already occurred
before this reliquary by the prayers of St. John: two immigration
problems were unexpectedly resolved, two court cases were settled,
and several sick people were healed. It is very interesting that a
woman parishioner who helped fold the under-sakkos and sewed a
velvet background for the reliquary had suffered pain in her right
hand for many years: after completing her work on the reliquary, the
pain in her hand disappeared.
"It was no accident that most of the new Orthodox churches built
around the world have been dedicated to St. John, Wonderworker of
Shanghai & San Francisco.
"Archbishop John was the epitome of the manifestation of Christian
virtues, we would even say the ‘classic Christian virtues.’ Despite
all the distractions and obstacles in spiritual life that our age
inflicts upon Christians, St. John fasted like one of the ancient
ascetics, prayed for long periods at a time, fed the hungry even
when he had nothing to eat, and established orphanages.
"But at the same time, St. John showed us how to solve the problems
set forth in the 20th century in a Christian way, very difficult and
completely different in many ways from the challenges of previous
centuries. World war, revolution, emigration, another world war,
displacement again, litigation… In all this, we see wonderful
instances when the living example of Archbishop John demonstrated
for us how a Christian must behave.
"We
are often under the impression that Christianity is a religion for
the weak. One must always humble oneself, forgive his enemies,
surrender everything, give his neighbor all he has. The concept of
the Christian religion as one for the weak, often proffered in a
mistaken context by the enemies of Christ, describes only one aspect
of the teachings of the Savior. Christianity is a religion for the
strong in spirit, and calls for the strengthening of the spirit of
man. Humbling ourselves to forgive our enemies requires great
courage and great spiritual strength!
"We must not forget that our Divine Teacher calls upon us to stand
firmly for truth, to resist evil with force, especially when it is
directed against our neighbor, against the Church, against our
homeland. In helping our neighbor, we must not wait for him to reach
out to us first. St. John showed us a wonderful example: he did not
wait for an orphan to come to the orphanage; he would actively seek
means for maintaining his orphanages, at the same time seeking out
orphanages all over Shanghai. And this was during the Japanese
occupation!
"I wish to touch upon another activity of his: legal immigration.
"During China’s Cultural Revolution, all Europeans were expelled
from China. Many Russians were deported to the USSR forcibly or by
deceit; their fate was unfortunate at best. Some made their way to
the USA and Australia, but suddenly America shut her doors, and
Russians had nowhere to go. The Philippine government agreed to
receive anyone in need, and several thousand refugees, with no
knowledge of the local weather or customs, were settled on a
deserted island named Tubabao. It was uninhabited because typhoons
would hit it every year, destroying everything in their path.
Russians settled there in the summer of 1949, with the hope of soon
gaining visas to the US. But the American immigration authorities
clamped down on the issuance of visas, and the Russians were fated
for an unknown future on this deserted island. Archbishop John
consoled the refugees with prayer and faith in God. The saint wrote
letters to presidents and leaders of many nations in North and South
America, pleading with them to accept the exiles, but nothing came
of it. He did not give up, but traveled to Washington, DC, and began
to visit many senators and congressmen, convincing them to change
the laws so that the émigrés from China could find a home. On Great
Wednesday 1950, after 15 hours of uninterrupted discussions, a
rewritten bill went to voting in the Senate, and the fate of the
Russian refugees was resolved. I would like to point out that the
saint acted with bravery: no forgiveness of enemies, no humility, no
concessions, but the opposite: forcefulness, pressure: for this was
his archpastoral service to his neighbor.
"In this scenario, I wish to point out three things in particular:
"Archbishop John was an example how we can find new ways of acting
on our Christian virtues under changing circumstances, not to avoid
new places and civilizations, but to use them to serve God and our
neighbor.
"St. John also showed how within the framework of the law, we can ‒
rather must ‒ boldly serve our neighbor, courageously stand up for
the unfortunate, and help the needy.
"Finally, besides St. John, we know of no other saint who worked
successfully in the area of immigration, and so, when such matters
concern our loved ones, we prayerfully turn to our heavenly
intercessor, the wonderworker. Amen."
At the end of the service, there was a short moleben of gratitude
and the consecration of new, unique frescoes devoted to the signing
of the Act of Canonical Communion in Moscow in 2007, and the history
of the Russian Church Abroad.
Before the veneration of the cross, Many Years was sung, as well as
Eternal Memory to Patriarch Alexey II and Metropolitan Laurus,
long-time rectors of St Seraphim Church Bishop Mitrophan
(Znosko-Borovsky) and Archpriest Daniel Dumsky, and the founders,
benefactors, those who beautified the church and its divine
services, parishioners, and worshipers.
His Eminence then congratulated the rector, clergy, and parishioners
on the 60th anniversary of St. Seraphim parish, wishing them blessed
successes in their service to God and the Russian Orthodox people of
Long Island. In his response, Fr. Serafim said:
"Your Eminence, I express my heartfelt thanks to you for your
Archpastoral presence at the altar of St. Seraphim Memorial Church,
for the prayers you lifted up on this ‘chosen and holy day’ of the
celebration of the 60th anniversary of our parish, for the
consecration of the new frescoes which glorify the Re-establishment
of unity within the Russian Orthodox Church and the history of our
Russian Church Abroad.
"Brothers and sisters, we mark important dates not for their own
sake, but to remember where we come from, to humbly lift up our
prayers of gratitude to God for the fact that the seeds planted by
our predecessors have taken root and brought forth fruit. In these
prayers of thanks to God, our prayers for the deceased, for our
present and our future, in communing of the Holy Mysteries of
Christ, in the memorializing and celebration itself, we must seek
renewal of our inner strength for continuing to carry our service in
this holy place. May St. Seraphim and St. John be our intercessors
in reinvigorating our lives and our work. Your Eminence, dear
Vladyka, please make this your Archpastoral prayer, as well."
His Eminence was then given a gift of an icon from the parish.
Metropolitan
Hilarion, during the festive luncheon that followed, gave Alexandra
Zezulin, Anna Shohoff, Rostislav Polchaninoff, Oleg Sampsidis;
Tatiana Speransky, and Tamara Joukoff the Synodal Medal of the Kursk
Root Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign, 3rd Class; Protodeacon
Paul Wolkow (chief warden of St. Seraphim Church) and his Matushka
Anna, Ekaterina Kallaur, Reader John and Natalia Makarov, Sergei
Shohoff, Lydia Krassovsky, Ilya and Elena Zeraktho, Elizabeth
Miheev, Nikolai and Marina Miro, Alexei and Maria Slobodskoy, Peter
and Sofia Jarostchuk, Alexander and Irina Kwartiroff, Theodore and
Liudmila Selinsky, Gennady Karasev, Tamara Zhardetskaya, and Paul
Zhardetsky special blessed gramotas from the President of the Synod
of Bishops. Vladimir Sushko was given a prayer book with an
inscription from His Eminence.
A.L. Zezulin and A.S. Slobodskoy delivered two interesting
presentations on the history and present life of St. Seraphim
Parish. Mr. Slobodskoy, touching upon the work of its clergymen,
gave the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad a commemorative
album, in Russian and English, on its rich history, published by
Protodeacon Eugene Kallaur. Archpriest Leonid Kishkovsky (Orthodox
Church in America) spoke several kind, congratulatory words, as did
Priest Alexandre Antchoutine (rector of neighboring Holy Virgin
Intercession Church in Glen Cove), and Deacon Nikolaj Kostur, who
read a congratulatory letter from His Grace Longin, Bishop of
Novo-Gracanica (Serbian Orthodox Church).
During the reception, George Selinsky showed a video of a
documentary on St. Seraphim Memorial Church, which contained very
rare footage of the Holy Hierarch and Wonderworker John
(Maximovitch), Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky, +1965);
Archbishop Averky (Taushev, +1976); Hierodeacon Laurus (Skurla,
+2008, future First Hierarch of ROCOR); and others. It is
interesting to note that as a hieromonk, the ever-memorable
Metropolitan Laurus participated in the great consecration of St
Seraphim Church.
Fr. Serafim, congratulating all those who received awards and
expressing his thanks to the clergymen and all participants in the
celebration, said:
"I take this opportunity to ask from the bottom of my heart your
forgiveness for all the flaws in the life of our parish, which I was
entrusted to lead, for all our weaknesses, alas, for all that
requires correction and for all that remains unfinished… But I thank
everyone for your understanding and good will toward me, for all the
obvious failings and weaknesses of your rector, and ask that you
continue to zealously labor for your parish church and those who
attend its services, for the present and future of our parish.
"I turn to you today, dear parishioners and worshipers of our
Memorial Church, with the hope that just as a lamp is ignited by the
flame of a candle, so may you and I all be renewed with the
grace-filled power of today’s feast day. I ask that you pray, and
actively work for, this to be."
After the prayer of thanksgiving, Synodal Protodeacon Nicholas
Mokhoff intoned the Polychronion to all those who received awards.
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