On Sunday, July 2, the feast of the Holy Apostles Jude, brother of the Lord, and the repose of the Holy Hierarch John, Wonderworker of Shanghai & San Francisco, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America & New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, celebrated Divine Liturgy in New York City’s Synodal Cathedral of the Sign. His Eminence was co-served by the cathedral’s senior priest, Archpriest Andrei Sommer, Archimandrite Augustine (Nikitin; professor at St. Petersburg Theological Academy), and cathedral clerics: Archpriest Vasiliy Raskovskiy, Hieromonks Eutychius (Dovganyuk) and Nikolai (Letsin), and Protodeacon Vadim Gan. Singing Liturgy was the hierarchal choir under the direction of Peter Fekula.

A multitude of parishioners prayed at the divine service, many of whom communed of Christ’s Holy Mysteries.

Upon completion of Liturgy, Fr. Augustine addressed the faithful with a sermon, in which, in part, he called on those present to always remember and repeat these words of the Holy Apostles in their lives: "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9:24) and "I can do all things through Christ Who strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).

The cathedral sisterhood invited the clergy and parishioners to a luncheon, after which a lecture on the work of the Orthodox Church in Russia in the 1970s-90s was presented Fr. Augustine, a theologian and Church historian, professor of "History of Local Orthodox Churches," "History of Ancient Churches," "History of Western Confessions," "Theology of Protestantism," "Catholic Theology," and "Sectology," a renowned publicist and world traveler. After his lecture, the audience posed a multitude of questions to the Russian theologian, which led to an interesting discussion.