On Wednesday the 11th and Thursday the 12th of September, Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal & Canada paid an archpastoral visit to St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, NJ on the occasion of its patronal feast day. The spiritual joy of the parishioners and guests was increased by the visit to the patronal celebrations of the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Iveron icon of the Mother of God and its guardian, the rector of the eponymous church of the Mother of God in Honolulu, HI, Priest Nektarios Yangson.

Believers from other states also came to share the joy of the feast with the clergy and parishioners of the cathedral, and to pray before the myrrh-streaming icon.

Concelebrating with Archbishop Gabriel at Liturgy were cathedral and visiting clergy:

• Archpriest Vasily Andrejuk (cathedral cleric)
• Archimandrite Stefan (Khilchuk; rector of Our Lady of Pochaev Church in North Port, FL)
• Archpriest Serge Lukianov (cathedral rector)
• Archpriest Luka Novakovic (cathedral cleric)
• Archpriest Zoran Radovic (rector of St. George Serbian Church in Elizabeth, NJ)
• Archpriest Rafael Melendez (cathedral cleric)
• Archpriest Ljubo Milosevic (rector of Holy Trinity Church in Vineland, NJ)
• Archpriest Boris Slootsky (cathedral cleric)
• Archpriest Vasily Zelenyuk (rector of Our Lady "Unexpected Joy" Church in Staten Island, NY)
• Archpriest Djokan Majstorovic (cleric of the Serbian Orthodox Church)
• Archpriest Paul Ivanov (rector of Holy Myrrhbearers Church in Brooklyn, NY)
• Abbot Arseny (Manko; rector of Sts. Cosmas & Damian Church in Passaic, NJ)
• Archpriest Alexander Botschagow (rector of Holy Fathers Church in New York City)
• Archpriest Dimitri Jakimowicz (rector of St. Nicholas Church in Stratford, CT)
• Archpriest Serge Ledkovsky (deputy-rector of St. Vladimir Memorial Church in Jackson, NJ)
• Archpriest Nikolai Manduke (cleric of St. Vladimir Memorial Church)
• Archpriest Valery Sukholobov (rector of Our Lady "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Church in Philadelphia, PA)
• Archpriest Jonah Campell (rector of Christ the Savior Church in Wayne, WV)
• Priest Volodymyr Chaykivskyi (rector of St. Vladimir OCA Church in Trenton, NJ)
• Priest Anthony Williams (cathedral cleric)
• Priest Artem Siss (cleric of Holy Dormition Convent "Novo-Diveevo" in Nanuet, NY)
• Hieromonk Arkady (Polischuk; cleric of Our Lady of Pochaev Church)
• Protodeacon Paul Drozdowski (cathedral cleric)
• Protodeacon Dimitry Krenitsky (cleric of St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Mayfield, PA)
• Deacon Alexis Golubov (cleric of St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral in New York City)
• Deacon Alexander Sarandinaki (cathedral cleric)
• Hierodeacon Paisius (Alexeevets; UOC cleric), and
• Deacon Dimitri Lisan (cathedral cleric).

The church was full of worshippers, most of whom received Christ’s Holy Mysteries.

After Liturgy, Archbishop Gabriel greeted everyone with their patronal feast and addressed the faithful with a sermon, expounding on the life of the Holy Right-Believing Great Prince Alexander Nevsky, emphasizing the difficulties of life in those years. He also spoke about the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Icon of the Mother of God.

The clergy and believers, donning icons, walked around the cathedral in procession.

Fr. Serge thanked His Eminence for their joint service and especially thanked Fr. Nectarios Yangson for bringing the myrrh-streaming icon, calling on the faithful to pray for him, so that the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos might grant him strength.

He also greeted the rector and clergy of Our Lady of Pochaev Church in North Port, FL: Archimandrite Stefan (Khilchuk), Hieromonk Arkadii (Polishchuk), and Hierodeacon Paisius (Alexeevets), and presented them with an icon of St. Herman of Alaska for their future church.

Everyone was invited to a festal meal in the church hall opposite the cathedral, where the fraternal fellowship of the clergy and parishioners continued, and the clergy of Our Lady of Pochaev Church delighted those gathered with beautiful singing.