On October 29, the 21st Sunday after Pentecost, when the Holy Church honors the memory of the Holy Martyr Longinus the Centurion who stood at the Cross of our Lord, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America & New York, celebrated Divine Liturgy in the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: Archimandrite Elevferiy (Skiba; dean of Our Lady "The Inexhaustible Chalice" Church in Brooklyn, NY), Hieromonk Theognost (Kogan; cleric of Holy Virgin Protection Church in Nyack, NY), Protodeacon Nicolas Mokhoff (cathedral cleric), Hierodeacon Panteleimon (Jigalin; diocesan cleric), and Deacon Seth Davidenko (cleric of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Toronto, Canada).

During the Hours, His Eminence awarded Reader Andrew Pavlovic the right to wear the orarion for his diligent service.

The Synodal choir sang under the direction of Isaiah Trofimenko.

The service was held under the aegis of the Protectress of the Russian Diaspora – the wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God. The cathedral was filled with faithful, many of whom communed of Christ’s Holy Mysteries.

At the end of Liturgy, Metropolitan Nicholas addressed parishioners with a sermon on the Parable of the Sower, in which he said, in part:

"The seeds are the word of God. All these words are from God Himself and you need to have good soil, that is, a good, pure heart, in order to hear and accept these words and bear spiritual fruit for your salvation and for our God. It seems that everything is clear: we hear this parable every year, or even more often, we hear God’s words: the prophets, the apostles, but we remain the same: we have no movement forward, but there is always hope. The heart feels everything – both good and unpleasant, joyful and sad. But the main thing for us is for the heart to understand what is salvific. And salvation is only found in the Church and with Christ our Savior. These words must be kept in our hearts.

"During worship we hear the prayer: ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God…’ And we also know from the commandments that ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’

"It is impossible to see and feel God’s presence without a pure heart. By attending the divine services and reading spiritual literature, you can cleanse your heart and prepare the right soil to accept these words."

Metropolitan Nicholas also spoke about the feat of the Martyr Longinus the centurion, a Roman soldier who was at the Cross of the Lord and believed in God, went with his disciples to preach and was awarded the crown of martyrdom.

His Eminence called on parishioners to strengthen their faith and ask the Lord for help to accept His words – these seeds of our salvation.

The sisterhood held a traditional meal in the cathedral hall.