On Friday, July 12, the feast of the Holy Supreme Leaders of the Apostles Peter & Paul, after Divine Liturgy, a panihida was served at the gravesite of the ever-memorable Archbishop Andrew (Rymarenko) of Rockland, vicar of the Eastern American Diocese, on the 41st anniversary of his repose. Archbishop Andrew was the founder of Holy Dormition Convent "Novo-Diveevo" in Nanuet, NY. The panihida was served by the dean of the monastery’s St. Seraphim Cathedral, Archpriest Alexander Fedorowski.

Novo-Diveevo Convent began its history in America in the late 1940s-early 1950s, when Russian émigrés arrived from Germany and Austria, led by Protopresbyter Adrian Rymarenko. They settled in Rockland Country. They began their life in the New World with no means of subsistence, no knowledge of the English language, and no governmental assistance. But they had one desire in common – to freely worship God, to thank Him for the joy of their newfound freedom, which had been given to them by this unfamiliar and – for many – utterly unknown and incomprehensible land. Fr. Adrian’s dream was to build not only a church, but a monastery with an Orthodox cemetery, an old-age home, and a hospital.

In 1968, he became Bishop Andrew of Rockland, won a battle for this slice of Russia in the American land, and gained renown throughout the country. His opinion was highly regarded, his advice heeded; he corresponded with President Richard Nixon and New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, as well as other politicians, scientists, and writers. Up to 50,000 pilgrims would visit the convent every year.

Archbishop Andrew (Rymarenko) occupies a special place among the hierarchs of the Russian Church Abroad. He underwent terrible tribulations in the Soviet Union, which had been seized by atheistic persecutions against the Church, and preserved faith and fidelity to his pastoral obligations. A graduate of St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, with the blessing of the Optina Elders he was ordained late – in 1921. The communists closed the church in his native Romny in the lands of Poltava – he left for Kiev, where he served secretly in an apartment and restored Holy Protection Convent. Remaining in hiding, he would move from one apartment to the next. Later, he fled the godless regime, serving as cathedral rector in Berlin, not suspecting that the Lord was preparing an even greater apostolic labor for him – creating a piece of Holy Rus’ on another continent, transporting beneath his ryassa a portrait of Venerable Seraphim – painted during the life of the saint – which had been rescued from the godless country.

Until his final days, Archbishop Andrew continued to lead the spiritual life of the convent, delving as much as his health allowed him into the minutiae of monastic and practical life. A Russian cemetery was established at the monastery, currently home to nearly 2,000 graves. In 1972, a retirement home was built for senior citizens. Archbishop Andrew reposed on July 12, 1978.

Upon completion of the panihida, a festal luncheon was served in the parish hall.

Memory Eternal to Archbishop Andrew!