On Sunday, August 25, with the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas, Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal & Canada visited Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. There, he presided over the Rite of Consecration of Antimensia, co-served by monastery abbot Bishop Luke of Syracuse. The antimension is a rectangular cloth depicting the burial of our Lord Jesus Christ, on top of which the Holy Mysteries are consecrated. The antimensia contain relics of martyrs, in remembrance of the persecuted Church of ancient times, where Liturgy was often celebrated using a tomb of a martyr as an altar table.

Without the antimension, Divine Liturgy may not be celebrated. Thus, due to the overwhelming growth of new ROCOR parishes and missions throughout the United States and Canada, it became necessary to consecrate a great many antimensia to supply all of the new churches being opened and old antimensia that need to be replaced. The monastery community was blessed with the unique opportunity to pray and witness the ancient Rite of Consecration.

The Rite of Consecration of Antimensia combines many aspects of the divine services together. These include kneeling prayers reminiscent of the Kneeling Vespers of Pentecost, and a procession throughout the Church with the relics of martyrs that will be sewn into the new antimensia, in imitation of the Great Entrance at Liturgy. After being brought into the sanctuary, the relics are taken around the altar table in a manner similar to the service of ordination. Finally, the antimensia are anointed with the same holy chrism with which the newly baptized are sealed. All of these actions are also reminiscent of the great consecration of a new church.

Divine Liturgy is then celebrated after the consecration of the antimensia, upon the newly consecrated cloths.

After the dismissal, Bishop Luke presented Archbishop Gabriel with an icon of the New Hieromartyr Pachomius of Chernigov, which contains a portion of his relics. St. Pachomius is a direct relative of Archbishop Gabriel, making him one of the New Martyrs of Russia in His Eminence’s family tree.