July 29, 2014
Jackson, NJ: Bishop Nicholas leads Patronal Feast Day of St. Vladimir Memorial Church

Although this year the feast of the Holy Equal-of-the-Apostles Great Prince Vladimir, July 28, fell on a Monday, nevertheless the faithful came to celebrate the patronal feast day of St. Vladimir Memorial Church in Jackson, NJ, thereby continuing the St. Vladimir’s Day Celebrations. The festal Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Grace, Eastern American Diocesan vicar Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan. His Grace was co-served by Archpriest George Kallaur (rector of the Church of Our Lady "Unexpected Joy" on Staten Island, NY), Archpriest John Prokopiuk (rector of the neighboring Nativity of the Holy Virgin (St. Mary’s) OCA Cemetery Church), the memorial church’s deputy rector Priest Serge Ledkovsky, and Deacon Dionysius Lvov (cleric of the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City). The choir sang the divine services under the direction of parish choir conductor Julia Kovaleva.

After the Prayer behind the Ambo, Bishop Nicholas congratulated Fr. Serge and the parishioners on the occasion of their patronal feast, and addressed the faithful with a sermon:

"Great Prince Vladimir received the first seeds of Orthodoxy from his grandmother, the Holy Equal-of-the-Apostles Princess Olga, and himself made a firm decision to adopt the Orthodox Faith. Prince Vladimir was baptized, but he did not stop there: he made his soul to be reborn, changing his way of life and enlightening the Russian land, and for this reason was glorified as the Enlightener of the Rus’.

"By his baptism, Prince Vladimir accepted the Lord into his heart, enlightened the Russian land by the Lord, and by his holy baptism opened it to the Mother of God. From that time forward, the Mother of God has protected the Russian land. The holy prince also paved the way for countless pious ascetics, who across the centuries sowed the seeds of the Orthodox Faith and performed miracles throughout Russia. Prince Vladimir brought with him the Sacrament of repentance, and all of the sacraments of the Holy Church. By his baptism, the Holy Prince Vladimir became an Orthodox Christian, observing, in the words of the Apostle Paul, all that had been commanded of them in their lives in the New Testament, observing the Lord’s commandments, and by his holy life giving us an example of how to live as Christians.

"We live in the world and want for everything to be decided quickly; we are constantly in a rush and often do not know wither we go, because we do not follow Christ, because we do not live as Christians, but as those in the world. By our unrighteous lives, by our sins, we drown out the gift of the Holy Spirit given to us at baptism through the Sacrament of Chrismation. All the while, according the Holy Apostle, we have been commanded to live with Christ and in Christ. We must remember and understand that each one of us possesses the gift of the Holy Spirit. We must allow Him to enter into our hearts and fulfill all things that have been commanded of us; we must conquer our pride, and only then can we be called Orthodox Christians."

The clergy and faithful performed a procession around the church. Clergy from neighboring parishes also came to honor the memory of the Holy Great Prince Vladimir, take part in the procession, and congratulate the clergy and parishioners of the memorial church. Among them was New Jersey dean Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov, who could not attend Liturgy due to a funeral.

The patronal celebrations concluded with a bountiful luncheon, at which the clergy and faithful continued their interaction.

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