On Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th of July, St. Vladimir Parish in Ann Arbor, MI marked its 45th anniversary. In many ways, St. Vladimir Parish is a continuation of St. Hilarion Parish, which existed in Ann Arbor in the 1950s and was one of the four parishes that made up the short-lived Diocese of Detroit & Flint, headed by Archbishop Jerome (Chernov; +1957). When Archbishop Jerome reposed, the Diocese of Detroit & Flint was merged with the Diocese of Chicago & Cleveland, which was renamed the Diocese of Chicago & Detroit. When the priest serving at St. Hilarion Parish, Fr. Peter Demett, died in 1961, the parish was closed.

In 1981, St. Vladimir Parish was founded with the blessing of Archbishop Alypy (Gamanovich; +2019). Many of the original parishioners of St. Vladimir Parish had been members of St. Hilarion Parish, but after 20 years many had gone to their eternal reward. In an act of continuity with the original parish, one of the icons in the main row of the parish iconostasis is of Venerable Hilarion the Great. One parishioner of St. Hilarion Parish still survives: Mrs. Natalia Dale and, if the Lord blesses, she will celebrate her 100th birthday on January 7, 2027.

The 45th anniversary of St. Vladimir parish began with the arrival of Bishop Michael of Boston, vicar of the Eastern American Diocese – who officiated the divine services for the parish’s anniversary with the blessing of Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America & New York and Bishop Spyridon of Chicago & Mid-America. Also serving at Divine Liturgy for the feast were:

• Archpriest Gregory Joyce (parish rector)
• Priest Gabriel Bilas (rector of St. Mary Magdalene OCA Church in Fenton, MI)
• Priest Thomas Sprunger (rector of St. Paisius Church in Fort Wayne, IN)
• Priest Colin Bower (parish cleric)
• Priest John Castillo (cleric of Holy Trinity Church in Windsor, ON, Canada)
• Priest Jacob Ponomarenko (cleric of St. Sergius Cathedral in Cleveland, OH)
• Priest Vladimir Pyrozhenko (parish cleric)
• Priest Michael Moibenko (parish cleric)
• Protodeacon Alexander Kichakov (cleric of Holy Virgin Protection Diocesan Cathedral in Des Plaines, IL)
• Protodeacon Joseph Appling, (cleric of the Serbian Orthodox Church)
• Deacon Dimitry Kashchenko (parish cleric), and
• Deacon Alexei Wilson, (cleric of Holy Dormition Cathedral in Ferndale, MI).

Following Liturgy, Bishop Michael led the cross procession typical to the Slavic Orthodox Сhurches on parish patronal feast days. At the third stop of the procession, His Grace blessed the newly repaired and refurbished cupola atop the parish church, being lifted into the air to sprinkle the cupola with holy water by a special lift used for work in elevated places.

After the completion of the procession and the intoning of "Many Years," the parish gifted Bishop Michael an icon of the Holy Hierarch Mardarije of Libertyville, who reposed in Ann Arbor in 1935, making Ann Arbor one of the very rare American cities with an Orthodox patron saint. God willing, the parish intends to break ground on a new parish church when Bishop Spyridon visits in August. Upon completion of the new church, the present church will be named after St. Mardarije.

Following the thanksgiving prayers, Bishop Michael, the clergy, and faithful gathered in the parish’s Ann Arbor Orthodox Classical Academy hall for a festal luncheon prepared by the parish’s St. Ksenia Sisterhood and St. John Brotherhood. The reminiscences of the day’s events and the 44 St. Vladimir Days past lasted well into the afternoon.

In the evening, His Grace, Bishop Michael, returned to the Eastern American Diocese, and the parish family began to plan for the visit of Bishop Spyridon and the next steps in the building of their new parish church.