On Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th of February – the Sunday of the Prodigal Son and the day when the Holy Church commemorates the Synaxis of the Holy New Martyrs & Confessors of the Russian Church, the clergy and parishioners of the eponymous church in Brooklyn, NY, celebrated their patronal feast. With the blessing of Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America & New York, the All-Night Vigil on Saturday evening was led by Bishop John of Caracas and on Sunday morning, Bishop Jerome (Shaw) paid an archpastoral visit to the church and celebrated Divine Liturgy.

Concelebrating with His Grace were parish clerics: Archimandrite Gabriel (Pigarev), Archpriest Petro Kunitsky, and Deacon Eugene Grigoriak, as well as Archpriest Alexandre Anchutine (dean of New York City).

The parish choir sang during the services under the direction of choirmaster Natalia Sugulova. The church and the festal icons were beautifully decorated by florists – sisters Natalia Tsurkan and Lyudmila Melnichuk.

With spiritual joy, the faithful greeted the right hand of the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, brought from the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign.

Numerous parishioners and believers from other churches in New York gathered to pray at the Liturgy, most of whom received Holy Communion.

Bishop Jerome greeted the clergy and the faithful with the feast and delivered a sermon on the parallels between the two themes of the day’s service – the Sunday of the Prodigal Son and the Synaxis of the New Martyrs of Russia. As His Grace noted, the divine services have three main points: the fall of sinners, the example of repentance and returning to God, and the great importance of Christian mercy; and how these points are illustrated by examples in the dual commemoration.

Upon conclusion of Liturgy, in the middle of the church, the clergy served a short moleben to the Holy New Martyrs & Confessors of the Russian Church, the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth, and the Holy Patriarch Tikhon, whose icon with a particle of his relics was displayed in the church on the eve of the feast.

After the service, a festal meal was held in the parish hall. The meal was prepared by the parish sisterhood (head sister – Ioanna Gureeva) and the brotherhood, led by Valery Zhalo.

Archpriest Serafim Gan, the chancellor of the Synod of Bishops, who joined the clergy after Liturgy, congratulated everyone on the patronal feast day on behalf of Metropolitan Nicholas. Fellowship between the clergy and the faithful continued during the meal.