On Thursday, September 21, the day of the great feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America & New York, arrived at the New Kursk Root Hermitage in Mahopac, NY from the Synod to celebrate the parish’s patronal feast, greeted by the peal of bells.

Concelebrating at Divine Liturgy with His Eminence and Bishop Jerome (Shaw), who lives at the Hermitage, were: Archpriest Dimitry Jakimowicz (rector of St. Nicholas Church in Stratford, CT), Priest George Temidis (parish rector), Protodeacon Serge Arlievsky (cleric of Holy Dormition Convent "Novo-Diveevo" in Nanuet, NY), and Deacons David Dutkanicz (cleric of St. Nicholas Church), Alexey Pnev, Konstantin Aleshin, and Theodotus Conrad (parish clerics).

At the Little Entrance, His Eminence elevated Fr. George Temidis to the rank of archpriest.

In his sermon, Metropolitan Nicholas said, in part: "Where are we in our spiritual lives? We can consider this today and be spiritually reborn. We can lay aside all worldly cares and be made steadfast in the faith. We can worthily observe our prayer rule. We can fast when we can, and even more so – when we ought to. And what a personal nativity today will become for us in our lives, in our family lives, in our life in the Church. Let us ask the Lord for this, that today we might rejoice as Joachim and Anna rejoiced, as the Mother of God rejoiced, that this very day might become the beginning of our new life of salvation in the Church.

"Let us strive, brothers and sisters. For we are not alone. Joachim and Anna, Elizabeth and Zachariah, the Mother of God, and the Lord God Himself are with us. We often forget this, neglect this somehow, and enter into the tumult of the world, occupy ourselves with secular affairs, and entertain all manner of falsehood. This interferes with our being Orthodox Christians. It interferes with the doing of good works, with loving our neighbor as ourself…

"And today we can be spiritually born under the Protection of the Mother of God. There is with us here a marvelous and special copy of our great holy Kursk Icon. We can always come, venerate it, pray, and understand that such a thing can be found here. This is a special place, a part of our Russian Diasporan history."

After a bountiful luncheon prepared by the sisterhood, Metropolitan Nicholas visited the small cemetery and lake with a stone chapel, which was built in 1964 by Ivan I. Nikonenko and blessed by the Hermitage’s founder, Archbishop Seraphim (Ivanov; +1987) in honor of the weeping icon of the Mother of God "of the Passion." In bygone years, Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky; +1985), third First Hierarch of ROCOR, loved to rest under the sprawling canopy of the tree by the chapel and well. Many years later, in the spring of 2011, a powerful storm blew down the tree. When it fell, the tree trunk badly damaged the chapel and well and lay across the pond. One of the Hermitage’s parishioners, Aleksander Shendrik, rebuilt the chapel by hand, and Bishop Jerome blessed it in 2015. Prayers are asked for the gravely ill Aleksander and his family.

The bright sun shone as though it were summer, the yellow leaves had yet to appear on the old Mahopac maples, and it was hard to believe that in just three days the clergy would be greeted by cold autumnal rain and gray skies as they arrived for the popular celebrations of the New Kursk Root Hermitage’s patronal feast on Sunday, September 24.

Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal & Canada celebrated the Resurrectional Divine Liturgy. Concelebrating with the hierarchs Gabriel and Jerome were Archpriest Alexander Donchenko (rector of St. Nicholas Church in Poughkeepsie, NY) and parish clergy: Frs. George, Alexey, Konstantin, and Theodotus.

The parish of St. Nicholas Church in Poughkeepsie traveled to Mahopac to pray together and celebrate the feast. For more than 10 years now, both parishes have an established tradition to visit one another for their respective patronal feasts.

The luncheon prepared by the efforts of the sisterhood, parishioners, and guests was a great success, and the parish hall was full. Christian Richard arrived with a traveling kitchen and treated everyone to traditional Greek gyros. The son of Semeon (Theodore in monasticism) and Madlen Richard – Americans who converted to Orthodoxy and at one time lived at the New Kursk Root Hermitage – Christian grew up in Mahopac, and from time to time he and his brothers and sisters will visit with their children.

People sat and conversed in the hall, while several pilgrims went for a walk to the chapel by the pond and to the cemetery. Despite the overcast weather, the patronal feast at the New Kursk Root Hermitage was one of joy and warmth.