On Thursday, May 14 – the day when the Holy Church honors the Icon of the Mother of God "Unexpected Joy" – Bishop Theodosius of Manhattan paid an archpastoral visit to the eponymous church on Staten Island, NY, where he celebrated Divine Liturgy on the occasion of the parish’s patronal feast.

"Unexpected Joy" is a particularly venerated wonderworking icon of the Theotokos that serves as a reminder of the power of sincere repentance. It depicts a man kneeling in prayer alongside the Mother of God and the Christ Child; the icon’s name derives from a story found in The Bedewed Fleece by the Holy Hierarch Demetrius of Rostov, which recounts the tale of a sinner whose sins were forgiven.

Concelebrating with His Grace were:

• Archimandrite Gabriel (Pigarev; dean of Holy New Martyrs & Confessors of Russia Church in Brooklyn, NY)
• Archpriest Serge Lukianov (dean of New Jersey)
• Archpriest Zoran Radovic (rector of St. George Serbian Church in Elizabeth, NJ)
• Archpriest Vasily Zelenyuk (parish rector)
• Archpriest Nicholas Gulin (rector of Life-Giving Spring Icon of the Theotokos OCA Mission in Philadelphia, PA)
• Priest Anthony Williams (cleric of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, NJ)
• Protodeacon Serge Arlievsky (cleric of the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City), and
• Deacon Dumitru Lişan (cleric of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral).

Numerous parishioners and faithful from other churches in New York, New Jersey, and neighboring states gathered to pray during the divine services and share in the joy of the feast. Virtually all those present communed of Christ’s Holy Mysteries.

Upon conclusion of Liturgy, the clergy served a short moleben before the icon of the feast.

Bishop Theodosius addressed those present with a sermon on the feast, recounting the miracle that occurred through the "Unexpected Joy" icon. "A certain young man, a sinner, who nonetheless never forgot to pray to the Mother of God and ask her to help him be delivered from the passion of lust, received both healing and spiritual enlightenment.

"When he prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos, he saw upon the icon not drops of myrrh, but drops of blood, which began to flow from the hands of the Infant Jesus Christ. He was horrified to see wounds appearing upon the Lord, and he was struck with fear. The Divine Infant told him that, through his sins, that man was crucifying Him anew. The man hoped that the Mother of God would come to his aid; and when she interceded with the Savior, the Lord – heeding her word – forgave that man his transgressions.

"We, too, when we sin, crucify the Savior with our iniquities. We do not see the blood flowing from His wounds; yet, if we persist in sin, we are indeed crucifying the Savior. And if we do not repent, we do know what will become of us after our passage into eternity."

His Grace noted that much depends upon our prayer. Any icon can become wonderworking if we turn to it with repentance and fervent prayer.

"Some saints have felt God’s grace withdrawing from them, and they wrote of these experiences in their diaries. Saint John of Kronstadt, in particular, describes those moments when he lost the grace of God. There were times when grace would depart from him even while he was praying within the sanctuary. He could lose grace even when he failed to give alms to a child who ran after him, begging for charity. He would immediately turn to God with a prayer of repentance and feel grace returning to him. Not everyone possesses such spiritual sensitivity, not even those in holy orders. Yet, let us remember that repentance delivers us all from our spiritual infirmities. Let us, therefore, turn to the Mother of God for help with those brief prayers recited in Orthodox churches: ‘O Most Holy Theotokos, save us!’; ‘Rejoice, our Joy, protect us from every ill by thy precious Veil!’; ‘Rejoice, O full of grace, who in thy Dormition dost not forsake us!"

Fr. Vasily thanked Bishop Theodosius and the visiting clergy for their shared prayers.

Under the guidance of their rector, the parishioners are working diligently on the renovation of the church’s interior. Fr. Vasily appealed to the faithful to provide the parish with both prayerful and financial assistance to purchase the current church building – a structure that has served as a house of prayer for many years.

The church sisterhood prepared a delicious festal meal for all, during which the clergy and the faithful continued their fellowship in an fraternal setting.