In the second week of Lent, from March 29-31, a retreat for the laity was held at Holy Dormition Convent "Novo-Diveevo" in Nanuet, NY. The purpose of the retreat was to give people the opportunity to pray at all of the divine services, to prepare for the Sacraments of Confession and Communion, and to participate in lectures, roundtable discussions, and spiritual conversations.
On Saturday, March 30, in the monastery’s St. Seraphim Cathedral, after the reading of the Akathist to the Holy Hierarch John of Shanghai, Divine Liturgy was celebrated and a general panihida served. Officiating the service was cathedral dean Archpriest Alexander Fedorowski, co-served by: Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov (rector of St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral in New York City), Priest Artem Siss, and Deacons Alexey Pnev (convent clerics), Vitaly Permiakov (professor at St. Vladimir Theological Seminary (OCA) in Yonkers, NY), and Vladimir Srbljak (cleric of the Serbian Orthodox Church).
After the morning service, at least 60 people gathered in the convent’s main hall. First, a Lenten meal was offered, during which the life of Venerable Alexis the Man of God was read. Supplementing the reading, Fr. Alexey reminded everyone that such feats are not accomplished without a special calling from God, nor without a blessing. The idea of union with God, an acute understanding of His Will for us, would be mentioned in all subsequent lectures and discussions at the retreat.
After the meal, Fr. Vitaly held a discussion about the Great Lenten services, where he explained both the structure and essence of the services during this special time for us all.
Fr. Artem then announced the groups of participants in the roundtable discussions. The participants had about two hours for the discussion, which gave each member of the group the opportunity to speak, make a plan, find several key sayings from Holy Scriptures or the Holy Fathers, as well as come to an agreement on how exactly the topic given to the group would be presented.
At 3:00 PM, retreat participants went to the church for joint preparation for confession, read the canons and the Rule for Holy Communion, and confessed their sins.
On Sunday after the Divine Liturgy, all the participants gathered for a meal. Then there was a roundtable discussion, where in addition to the group participants there were about 20 more people and clergy (Frs. Artem, Vitaly, and Alexey), who in addition to moderating the presentation also monitored them for dogmatic and canonical accuracy. They covered five topics:
- Can the Lord tempt us? Reflections on the words "lead us not into temptation."
- How should we behave with unbelievers in our family?
- Why should infants be baptized?
- On the need for home and church prayer.
- Why is the Sacrament of Confession and Repentance necessary?
After the presentations, all participants prayed and thanked God for the retreat, and those who wished stayed for the evening service.
