On Friday, April 5, at St. Vladimir Memorial Church in Jackson, NJ, a panihida was served for Matushka Tamara Kizenko, who reposed the Wednesday prior. The service was performed by Archpriests Serge Lukianov (dean of New Jersey) and Serge Ledkovsky (deputy rector of the Memorial Church). Fr. Serge Ledkovsky delivered a sermon remembering Matushka Tamara’s many years of service at St. Vladimir Church alongside her husband, longtime cleric Archpriest Boris Kizenko.He noted that Matushka loved to read on kliros, especially the canon on Annunciation, where a dialogue between the Mother of God and Archangel Gabriel is read. She read for the Mother of God and her son Seraphim for the Archangel. 

On Saturday, April 6, the funeral was served. Before the start of the service, Fr. Serge Ledkovsky first read a letter from +MN and the Synod of Bishops expressing their condolences to the family. Fr. Serge Lukianov officiated, co-served by Archpriests Constantine Semyanko (rector of Holy Presentation Church in Stratford, CT) and Serge Ledkovsky. Archpriest Boris Slootsky and Protodeacon Paul Drozdowski (clerics of nearby St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, NJ), Archpriest Sergei Sveshnikov (cleric of the Mid-American Diocese), and Deacon David Dutkanicz (cleric of St. Nicholas Church in Stratford) were praying in the altar.

The church choir sang the funeral, joined by members of the Kizenko family.

Fr. Serge delivered the eulogy, touching on some of the major moments in Matushka’s life. In January of this year, Matushka Tamara turned 89 years old. In the fall of 1956, Bishop Anthony (Medvedev; then Bishop of Melbourne, later Archbishop of San Francisco; +2000) ordained Fr. Boris to the diaconate and on January 19, 1957 in Holy Trinity Monastery, Archbishop Averky (Taushev; +1976) ordained him a priest. Thus, she served as a matushka in ROCOR for nearly 68 years. She assisted her husband in every aspect of parish life, raised seven children, and until her last breath remained loyal to the Church. She was extremely pious and soft-spoken. She had a lovely smile and a humble disposition toward life. She loved the divine services and attended them all until the last year of her life, when she became ill. The family dearly loved and took pride in their mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her love for Christ, His Church, and Russian culture was a great inspiration to all. 

She was buried next to her husband at nearby St. Vladimir Cemetery. A lenten repast was offered in the parish hall, attended by over 120 people.