On the weekend of September 27, Abbot Gabriel (Hooten) and the brotherhood of Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, WV were honored with an archpastoral visit by Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) for the monastery’s patronal feast day, as well as the resumption of the annual tradition of holding a pilgrimage weekend connected to the feast. His Eminence officiated the divine services for the great feast of the Exaltation of the Live-Giving Cross, held in the new monastery church (which is still under construction).

During the All-Night Vigil on Friday night, September 26, His Eminence performed the Rite of the Exaltation of the Cross. This special service recalls how, at the finding of the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord in 326 A.D., Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem ascended to an elevated place and from there raised the Cross in all directions so that all might see it, while the faithful, bowing down before the Cross, cried out: "Lord have mercy!"

The following morning, the service of the Lesser Blessing of Water was performed, followed by the greeting of the Metropolitan, Hours, and hierarchical Divine Liturgy. Serving alongside His Eminence were monastery clergy, as well as a number of visiting clergy from local and regional parishes. As has been their custom, the clergy and parishioners of the nearby Christ the Savior Church in Wayne also joined the monastery for the celebration of the feast, as well as many of the faithful from parishes all over the region. The brotherhood of Holy Cross was also especially honored to have their monastic brother Hieromonk Ignatius (Matzschke Brull) from Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY concelebrating at the feast.

After the dismissal at the end of Liturgy, Metropolitan Jonah offered a homily on the essence and meaning of the Cross as the ultimate symbol of God’s love for us. This truth is at the center of our identity as Orthodox Christians, but is sometimes misunderstood in the heterodox Christian culture that surrounds us.

Following the thanksgiving prayers, a banquet was offered to all those who had come to the monastery for the feast.

This was the first pilgrimage weekend celebrated at Holy Cross in six years. The last pilgrimage had been led in 2019 by His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) of blessed memory, but was subsequently paused for an extended period due to COVID restrictions and then the new church construction. Truly, this year’s pilgrimage weekend felt like a homecoming for so many clergy and faithful, who were delighted at the return of this Holy Cross tradition.

Glory to God for all things!