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Sea Cliff, NY: Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan leads Patronal Feast of St. Seraphim Memorial Church

This year, the 1000th anniversary of the repose of the Holy Right-Believing and Equal-of-the-Apostles Great Prince Vladimir, Baptizer of Rus’, is being triumphally commemorated throughout the whole of the Russian Orthodox Church. Meanwhile, Saturday, August 1, marked the feast day of one of the fruits of the Christian faith, hope, love, and piety brought to the Fatherland thanks to the feats of St. Vladimir – Venerable Seraphim, Wonderworker of Sarov, Heavenly patron of St. Seraphim Memorial Church to the Re-Establishment of Unity in the Russian Church  in Sea Cliff, NY.

In honor of the occasion, it was decided to place two of the parish’s relics in the center of the church: an antique icon of St. Seraphim with a piece of his relics, and a large icon of our "Beautiful Sun" (St. Vladimir), painted on Mt. Athos, with a piece of his holy relics, which were received many years ago by the ever-memorable Bishop Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky; +2002) of Boston.

On the eve of the feast, the All-Night Vigil with litiya, the blessing of the breads, the singing of the magnification and an akathist to St. Seraphim was led by His Grace, Eastern American Diocesan vicar Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan. The parish choir under the direction of N.M. Miro sang prayerfully. Upon completion of the service, all of the participants of the feast were invited to a reception in the rector’s home, where interaction between the archpastor, clergy, and festal participants continued. Addressing those gathered at the reception, parish rector Archpriest Serafim Gan especially congratulated parish Protodeacon Eugene Kallaur on the tenth anniversary of his ordination to the diaconate, and presented him with a copy of the Icon of the Savior "Not-Made-By-Hands," which was painted in Kiev, as well as a green double orarion, sewn in the Kiev Caves Lavra. On behalf of the Memorial Church sisterhood, Fr. Eugene was presented a set of purple vestments.

On the very day of the patronal feast, His Grace was concelebrated at Divine Liturgy by Fr. Serafim, clerics of the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City: senior priest Archpriest Andrei Sommer, Archpriest Vasiliy Raskovskiy, and Hieromonk Eutychius (Dovganyuk); Archpriests Constantine Semyanko (cleric of Holy Presentation Church in Stratford, CT) and Alexandre Antchoutine (Dean of Long Island & the Hudson Valley), Priest Ion Arama (rector of Holy Annunciation Church in Flushing, NY), Hieromonk Yeliferiy (Skiba; cleric of "Inexhaustible Chalice" Church in Brooklyn, NY), Priest Serge Ledkovsky (deputy rector of St. Vladimir Memorial Church in Jackson, NY), Hieromonk Anatoly (Zilin; cleric of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville), Priest Nikolaj Kostur (cleric of the Diocese of New Gračanica of the Serbian Orthodox Church), Protodeacons Nicolas Mokhoff and Vadim Gan (clerics of the Synodal Cathedral), Paul Wolkow and Eugene Kallaur (parish clerics), and Deacons Victor Ganson (cleric of Holy Epiphany Church in Boston, MA) and Vladimir Barros (cleric of Holy Virgin Intercession Church in Glen Cove, NY).

In honor of the feast of the Church’s glorification of Ven. Seraphim of Sarov – when tens of thousands of Russian Orthodox people gathered in the Sarov Hermitage in 1903 and "hymned Pascha in the midst of summer," as God’s saint himself once foretold in life – during the communion of the clergy, the parish choir sang with deep inspiration several Paschal hymns. Touching, too, were hymns sung to the Baptizer of Rus’. The church was overflowing for the Divine Liturgy, and the penitent were communed from two chalices. The train of communicants was long, as many desired to be vouchsafed communion of Christ’s Holy Mysteries.

In his sermon, Bishop Nicholas noted that St. Seraphim was a gift to the world from our pious nation. That is why personal moral and spiritual dissoluteness is not only the individual concern of the sinner – it is an act against the spirit of one’s people. That is why spiritual vigilance, the doing of good deeds, the patient bearing of one’s life’s cross, and following the examples of the saints, is not only a matter of individual salvation, but a matter of fortifying and enriching the spirit of our people. It is to this undertaking that we are summoned by the personal examples of Ven. Seraphim, Wonderworker of Sarov, the saints of our Church, and our reposed ancestors, His Grace underscored. After the intoning of the usual Polychronia, Bishop Nicholas congratulated the rector, concelebrating clergy, and faithful on the occasion of their patronal feast, as well as namesday celebrants – including Fr. Serafim – with the feast of their saint.

In his greeting to the hierarch, clergy, and those gathered, the parish rector expressed his joy at the service of the Divine Liturgy on "this chosen and holy day" for St. Seraphim’s parish, as well as his gratitude to His Grace for his prayerful service offered at the altar of this church, filled with the prayers of Russian exiles. Addressing the clergy, acolytes, singers, sisterhood and all of the faithful, the rector expressed his gratitude for their labors, attentiveness, and participation. "On this feast day of the saint," said Fr. Serafim, "we are called once again to take interest in his life, teachings, and legacy, considering this individual and delighting in personal interaction with him through deep prayer. And today, our prayer is that we who carry out our service here – in this corner of American Rus’ – might draw nearer to God and become better, that we might meet God and begin to develop a personal relationship with Him, so that everyone who approaches you might ask: what shines so in the eyes of the people? We see that light emanates from somewhere – where, we do not know – but we must go there, because it is the light of eternity, the radiance of God."

The service lasted for three hours, concluding with a moleben to Sts. Seraphim and Vladimir, but the time flew by completely unnoticed. All of the participants of the feast were then invited to a festal luncheon, prepared with diligence by the sisterhood, under the headship of E.M. Mikheev. In their substantive efforts could be felt Christian hospitality and spiritual warmth, the creation of a cozy atmosphere, and true brotherly interaction. After all, the people who had gathered were close in spirit. The time passed interestingly and sincerely, and those who had not seen one another in a long time were able to exchange news of the latest developments and just to talk. Here, words of greeting were offered by Bishop Nicholas, Fr. Andrei Sommer, Fr. Alexandre Antchoutine, Fr. Nicolas Mokhoff, and Fr. Pavel Wolkow. Upon conclusion of the luncheon, Fr. Serafim thanked His Grace, the clergy, acolytes, singers, and all of his indispensable and tireless helpers in the parish for the successfully organizing and carrying out the feast, for patiently enduring his shortcomings, and for their kind words of congratulation, well-wishing, and attention.

Upon completion of the luncheon, a meeting in the rector’s home was held between Bishop Nicholas and a group of pilgrims who had accompanied His Grace in May of this year during his pilgrimage to the holy sites of Jerusalem and Palestine. Other guests came as well, in order to share in the joy of interaction over a cup of tea and to hear the impressions of the pilgrims who had prayed at the Life-Giving Tomb of the Lord, Golgotha, and other holy sites.

Photos

Patronal Feast of St. Seraphim Memorial Church - 08/01/15

(13 images)


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Eastern American Diocese | Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia