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October 31 & November 1, 2023: Visitation of His Eminence NICHOLAS Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

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October 31 & November 1, 2023: Visitation of His Eminence NICHOLAS Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

On Tuesday, October 31 and Wednesday, November 1, Metropolitan NICHOLAS will be making his first pastoral visit to St Elizabeth the New Martyr Church as First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

Tuesday, October 31
5:30pm: Vigil

Wednesday, November 1
9:00am: Greeting of Metropolitan; Hours & Hierarchical Liturgy
12:00pm: Festal Meal

His Eminence will bring The Wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God for the faithful to venerate. 

BIOGRAPHY: His Eminence NICHOLAS
Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York,
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

Bishop Nicholas (Olhovsky) was born on December 17, 1974, in Trenton, NJ. He graduated from St. Alexander Nevsky Russian Parish School in Lakewood, NJ in May 1991, and in 1993, graduated from Hamilton West High School. In 1998, he graduated from Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, NY, where he received a Bachelor of Theology Degree. During his studies in seminary, he executed his obediences in the book-binding shop, icon studio, and typographical workshop (working in the latter until 2002). On the feast day of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in 1994, he was ordained a reader by Bishop Hilarion of Manhattan, vicar of the Eastern American Diocese (later First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad), in Trenton’s Dormition Church. In 2000, he graduated from the State University of New York Technology School, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Information & Communications. From March 1999 to March 2008, he served as cell attendant to Archbishop Laurus (Skurla; from October 2001 to March 2008, Metropolitan).

In May 2004, he accompanied the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad on his first official visit to Russia. In May 2006, he served as a delegate to the 4th All-Diasporan Church Council; on June 12 of that year, he was ordained to the diaconate by Metropolitan Laurus and assigned to Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville. In May 2007, he participated in the celebration of the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion in Moscow, accompanying Metropolitan Laurus on the subsequent pilgrimage to the Kursk Diocese and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. In September 2008, he was assigned to the staff of the Synod of Bishops. In 2009 and 2010, he served as a member of the delegation accompanying the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God to Russia and Ukraine. In December 2010, after the sudden and unexpected death of his Matushka Elisabeth, he was appointed guardian of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God. In January 2011, he was appointed a clergyman of the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City. In 2011, he accompanied the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God to the Kursk Diocese and the Metropolia of Kazakhstan; in November 2011, to Australia. On August 1, 2012, he was ordained to the priesthood in St. Seraphim Memorial Church in Sea Cliff, NY. In 2012, he accompanied the Protectress of the Russian Diaspora to the Samara, Kursk, and Perm Dioceses, to Seattle and the Hawaiian Islands. In 2013, he accompanied the Kursk Root Icon to the Canadian Diocese, to Japan and the Primorsk Metropolia of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Fr. Nicholas Olhovsky’s monastic tonsure was performed on April 4, 2014 in Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. In tonsure, Fr. Nicholas was given the name “Nicholas” ‒ in honor of the Holy Hierarch Nicholas of Japan. At Divine Liturgy on April 27, the second Sunday of Holy Pascha, in the presence of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God and in accordance with the resolution of the Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Mark of Berlin & Germany elevated Hieromonk Nicholas to the rank of archimandrite in Holy New Martyrs & Confessors of Russia Cathedral in Munich.

The Rite of Nomination and episcopal Consecration were performed in Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral in San Francisco, CA, on Sunday, June 28-29, 2014, during the celebrations in honor of the 20th anniversary of the glorification by the Russian Church Abroad of the Holy Hierarch John of Shanghai & San Francisco. The Consecration was led by the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York.

On May 17, 2022, following the repose of Metropolitan Hilarion, Bishop Nicholas was appointed acting ruling bishop of the Eastern American Diocese by decree of the Synod of Bishops.

On September 13, 2022, during a meeting of the Council of Bishops of ROCOR, he was elected First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. On September 14, at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, the decision of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was confirmed.

About The Wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God

In the 13th century, during the dreadful period of the Tartar invasion of Russia, the devastated province of Kursk was emptied of people and its principal city, Kursk, became a wilderness. Now, the residents of the city of Rylsk, which had been preserved from invasion, often journeyed to the site of Kursk to hunt wild beasts. One of the hunters, going along the bank of the river Skal, which-was not very far from ruined Kursk, noticed an icon lying face down on the ground next to the root of a tree. The hunter picked it up and found that it was an icon of the Sign, such as was enshrined and venerated in the city of Novgorod. At this time, the icon’s first miracle was worked, for no sooner had the hunter picked up the sacred image than there immediately gushed forth with great force an abundant spring of pure water. This took place on September 8th in the year 1295.

The hunter constructed a small wooden chapel and placed the newly manifested image of the Mother of God therein. The residents of Rylsk began to visit the place of the manifestation of this holy object and the icon was glorified by miracles all the more. Prince Vasily Shemyaka of Rylsk ordered that the icon be brought to the city of Rylsk itself and this was done in a solemn manner, for the people of the city went forth to met the icon of the Mother of God; but Shemyaka himself declined to attend the festivities and for this reason was punished with blindness. The prince, however, repented and straightway received healing. Moved by this miracle, Shemyaka constructed a church in the city of Rylsk in honor of the Nativity of the All-Holy Theotokos, and there the miraculous icon was enshrined on September 8th, the day of its manifestation, appointed as the annual feast date.

But the icon vanished in a miraculous manner and returned to the place of its original appearance. The residents of Rylsk continually brought it back, but each time it returned to its former place. Then, understanding that the Mother of God was well pleased to dwell in the place of the manifestation of her image, they eventually left it there in peace. Innumerable pilgrimages streamed to the site and services of supplication were celebrated there by a certain priest whose name was Bogoliub and who dwelt at the site of the wooden chapel and struggled there in asceticism.

In the year 1383, the province of Kursk was subjected to a new invasion of Tartars. They decided to set fire to the chapel, but it refused to burn, even though they piled up fuel all around it, and so the superstitious barbarians fell upon the priest Bogoliub, accusing him of sorcery. The pious priest denounced their foolishness and pointed out the icon of the Mother of God to them. The malicious Tartars laid hold of the holy icon and cut it in two, casting the pieces to either side. The chapeI then caught fire and the priest Bogoliub was carried off a prisoner.

In his captivity, the God-loving elder kept the Faith, placing his hope on the all-holy Mother of God, and his hope did not fail him. Now, one day as he was guarding flocks and passing the time by singing prayers and doxologies in honor of the Mother of God, there passed by some emissaries of the Tsar of Moscow.

They heard this chanting, arranged to ransom the priest from captivity, and Bogoliub returned to the former site of the chapel. There he found the pieces of the miraculous icon which the Tartars had cast away. He picked them up and straightway they grew together, although the signs of the split remained. Learning of this miracle, the residents of Rylsk gave glory to God and to His all-pure Mother. Again they attempted to transfer the holy icon to their city, but once more the miraculous image returned to its former place. A new chapel was then built on the original site of the icon’s appearance and here it remained for about 200 years.

The city of Kursk was revived in the year 1597 at the command of Theodore Ivanovich of Moscow. This pious Tsar, who had heard of the miracles of the icon, expressed his desire to behold it, and in Moscow, the icon was greeted with great solemnity. The Tsaritsa, Irene Theodorovna, adorned the holy icon with a precious riza. At the command of the Tsar, the icon was set in a silver-gilt frame upon which were depicted the Lord of Hosts and prophets holding scrolls in their hands. The icon was subsequently returned and, with the close cooperation of the Tsar, a monastery was founded on the site of the chapel. A church, dedicated to the Life-bearing Spring, was built above the same spring that had appeared when the icon was first revealed and the monastery attached to it was called the Kursk Root Herrnitage in honor ofthe manifestation of the icon at the root of the tree.

During an invasion of Crimean Tartars, the icon was transferred to the cathedral church of Kursk, and an exact copy was left at the Hermitage. Tsar Boris Godunov bestowed many precious gifts for the adornment of the icon and even the pretender, the false Dimitry, who desired to call attention to himself and to win the support of those who lived in the vicinity of Kursk, venerated this icon and placed it in the royal mansions where it remained until the year 1615.

While the icon was absent from the city of Kursk, the grace-bearing aid of the Mother of God did not forsake that city, for when in the year 1612 the Poles laid siege to Kursk, certain of the citizens beheld the Mother of God and two radiant monks above the city. Captured Poles related that they, too, had beheld a woman and two radiant men on the city walls, and that this woman made threatening gestures at those who were conducting the siege. The citizens then made a vow to construct a monastery in honor of the all-holy Theotokos and to place the miraculous icon therein. The besiegers were quickly put to flight and in gratitude to their heavenly helper, the people of Kursk built a monastery in honor of the all-holy Theotokos of the Sign.

In 1676, the icon of the Mother of God of the Sign was borne to the Don River to bless the forces of the Don Cossacks. In 1684, a copy of the miraculous icon of the all-holy Theotokos of the Sign was sent to the Monastery of the Root by the sovereigns and great princes Ivan and Peter Alexievich. This copy was set in a silver-gilt frame and a command was made that this copy be borne wherever Orthodox warriors went into battle.

In the year 1812, the Kursk Civic Society sent to General Kutuzov a copy of the miraculous icon of Kursk, setting it in a silver-gilt frame. The commander expressed his gratitude to the citizens of Kursk and his belief that Kursk would remain free, thanks to the protection of the Queen of Heaven.

In March of 1898 a group of anarchists, desiring to undermine the faith of the people in the wonderworking power of the icon, decided to destroy it. They placed a time bomb in the Cathedral of the Sign, and at two o’clock in the morning a horrendous explosion rent the air and all the walls of the monastery were shaken. The frightened monastic brethren rushed immediately to the cathedral, where they beheld a scene of horrible devastation. The force of the blast had shattered the gilded canopy above the icon. The heavy marble base, constructed of several massive steps, had been jolted out of position and split into several pieces. A huge metal candlestick which stood before the icon and been blown to the opposite side of the cathedral. A door of cast iron located near the icon had been torn from its hinges and cast outside, where it smashed against a wall and caused a deep crack. All the windows in the cathedral and even those in the dome above were shattered. Amid the general devastation, the holy icon remained intact and even the glass within the frame remained whole. Thinking to destroy the icon, the anarchists had, on the contrary, become the cause of its greater glorification.

Every year on Friday of the ninth week after Pascha, the icon of the Sign was solemnly borne in procession from the Kursk Cathedral of the Sign to the place of its original manifestation at the Kursk Hermitage, where it remained until September 12. On September 13, it was again solemnly returned to the city of Kursk. This procession was instituted in the year 1618 in memory of the transfer of the icon from Moscow to Kursk and to commemorate its original appearance.

During the Bolshevik revolution, the icon was removed from the Cathedral of the Sign on April 12, 1918. Search was made for the icon but without result. The holy object was discovered under the following circumstances: Not far from the monastery there lived a poor girl and her mother who for three days had not had anything to eat. At that time Kursk was controlled by the Bolshevik regime. On May 3, the girl, a seamstress, went off to the marketplace in search of bread. Returning home at about one o’clock in the morning, she passed by a well which, according to tradition, had been dug by St. Theodosius of the Caves. There, on the edge of the well, she beheld a package wrapped in a sack, and when she opened it, in the package she found the sacred icon, which apparently had been left there by those who had stolen it.

At the end of October 1919, when the White Russian Army was evacuating the city of Kursk, twelve monks of the monastery transferred the icon to the city of Belgorod, from which it was again transferred, first to Taganrog and Ekaterinodar, and then to Novorossiisk. During the evacuation, with the permission of Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky who was then President of the Higher Ecclesiastical Administration in Southern Russia, the icon was taken aboard the steamship St. Nicholas by Bishop Theophan of Kursk on March 1, 1920, and was transported to the city of Thessalonica. On April 3, Bishop Theophan took the icon to the city of Pec, the ancient capital of Serbia. For four months the icon remained in Pec, and in September, at the request of Baron Wrangel, it was returned again to the Crimea. A year after departing from the city of Kursk, on October 29, 1920, the holy image against left its native land during the evacuation of the White Army and those Russian people who refused to submit to the Soviet regime. After arriving again in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croatians and Slovenes, with the blessing of Patriarch Dimitry, the holy icon remained with Bishop Theophan in the Serbian monastery of Yazak on Frushkaya Mountain. From the end of 1927, the icon was to be found in the Russian church of the Holy Trinity in the city of Belgrade.

With the blessing of the Synod of Bishops, Bishop Theophan bore the icon around to various places where Russians of the diaspora dwelt. During World War II, when Belgrade was subjected to bombardment and other tribulations associated with the war, the miraculous icon became a rampart of hope for all that approached it with sincere prayer.

The steadfast companion of those Russian people who did not accept the satanic authority, this great and ancient holy object, which remained in Moscow during the dreadful turmoil of the 17th century, was removed from Yugoslavia in the autumn of 1944 together with those who again fled the godless regime. From ruined Vienna, the icon was borne to the tranquil city of Carlsbad to which the Synod of Bishops had been evacuated. With the approach of the Bolsheviks it was again transferred to Munich in the spring of 1945. The holy icon proved to be an unending consolation to many thousands of people who were experiencing all the trials and tribulations of the latter years of World War II. From Munich the icon was borne to Switzerland, France, Belgium, England, Austria, and many cities and camps in Germany itself. Subsequently, the icon was transferred to the New World where it had its permanent residence first in the New Kursk Hermitage in Mahopac, N.Y., and then in the Synod’s Cathedral Church of the Mother of God of the Sign in New York City, the residence of the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

ПАСХАЛЬНОЕ ПОСЛАНИЕ ВЫСОКОПРЕОСВЯЩЕННЕЙШЕГО НИКОЛАЯ, МИТРОПОЛИТА ВОСТОЧНО-АМЕРИКАНСКОГО И НЬЮ-ЙОРКСКОГО, ПЕРВОИЕРАРХА РУССКОЙ ЗАРУБЕЖНОЙ ЦЕРКВИ

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ПАСХАЛЬНОЕ ПОСЛАНИЕ ВЫСОКОПРЕОСВЯЩЕННЕЙШЕГО НИКОЛАЯ, МИТРОПОЛИТА ВОСТОЧНО-АМЕРИКАНСКОГО И НЬЮ-ЙОРКСКОГО, ПЕРВОИЕРАРХА РУССКОЙ ЗАРУБЕЖНОЙ ЦЕРКВИ

С чувством Пасхального ликования и особой духовной близости, несмотря на разделяющее нас расстояние, приветствую вас, Преосвященные собратья-архипастыри, всечестные отцы, дорогие братья и сестры, рассеянные по всему свету, в сей великий и светоносный день Пасхи Христовой!

ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕСЕ!

Приступая к Посту великому, кающийся христианин заглядывает в душу и видит свое безпомощное положение, напоминающее ему поле “сухих костей”, описанное в книге пророка Иезекииля (Иез. 37:1-14). Но по мере своего усердия в несении покаянного подвига и приближения к “Празднику праздников”, он начинает вкушать радость и мир душевный. Христианин вместе со всей Церковью, соборно молящейся, постящейся, кающейся и говеющей, начинает оживать, становиться на ноги и присоединяться к “весьма и весьма великому полчищу” верных (Иез. 37:10). Вместе с ним все оживляется; весь мір христианский, вся природа  – все ликует, светло торжествуя тридневное восстание Человеколюбца-Бога.

Наше земное празднование Пасхи – это посильное ощущение нами благодати Царства Божия. Митрополит Антоний (Храповицкий) говорил, что при внимательной духовной жизни человек приобретает способность радоваться не один день, а сначала всю Светлую седмицу, потом и все 40 дней празднования, а затем уже в течение всей своей жизни, как это было у преподобного Серафима Саровского, который жил этой радостью, провозглашая ее не только сердцем и устами, но и образом своей жизни. Да поможет нам Господь сохранить эту неизреченную радость, предвозвещающую нам блаженство “в невечернем дне Царствия” Христова, и освятим ею все оставшиеся дни нашей земной жизни!

Размышляя об испытаниях нашего времени, мы видим, что Сын Божий стал человеком, проповедовал Свое Евангелие, творил чудеса, умер и воскрес, чтобы спасти мір, в котором праведные страдают от гонений, а грешники – погибают. Бог, “иже праведныя любяй и грешныя милуяй”, ищет спасения всех. Вот в этом единстве Христовом со всеми людьми будем горячо молиться о спасении праведников и грешников, о сугубой милости Божией для тех и других, о том, чтобы водворилась не наша или чья-то версия правды, а правда Божия. Именно она, как и Его победа над злом, грехом и смертью, всегда ведет к любви, торжеству единства и победе Добра и Красоты. Так молился приснопамятный митрополит Иларион (+3/16 мая 2022 г.), всегда сиявший Пасхальной радостью и примером доброй христианской жизни. Так будем молиться и мы, приближаясь к первой годовщине со дня его кончины.

Пользуясь возможностью, особо прошу архипастырей, пастырей, монашествующих и миллионов верных чад Украинской Православной Церкви во главе с Блаженнейшим митрополитом Киевским и всея Украины Онуфрием, священноархимандритом древней Киево-Печерской Лавры, принять от всех нас Пасхальное целование мира, сочувствия и христианской любви! Да поможет им Господь продолжать идти тем путем свидетельства, который начертал всем христианам апостол Павел, когда писал свое Послание к Коринфянам: “В чести и безчестии, при порицаниях и похвалах: нас почитают обманщиками, но мы верны; мы неизвестны, но нас узнают; нас почитают умершими, но вот мы живы; нас наказывают, но мы не умираем; нас огорчают, но мы всегда радуемся; мы нищи, но многих обогащаем, мы ничего не имеем, но всем обладаем” (II Кор. 6:8-10).

“Вы ‒ свет міра” (Матф. 5:14) – сказал Господь Своим ученикам. И мы, дорогие отцы, братья и сестры, причисляя себя к ученикам Христовым, призваны проповедовать Его Воскресение как добрым словом, так и силою жизни по Евангелию. Когда мы вкладываем свою веру в наши слова и дела, то они постепенно преображаются в Свет Христов, просвещающий и согревающий всех. В трудныя времена этот Свет, воссиявший из Живоносного Гроба Господня, особенно нужен всем. И чем больше среди людей будет этого Света – добрых слов и дел – тем больше они начнут чувствовать себя своими и родными друг для друга. Посему, будем всячески стараться пребывать в Свете Христова Воскресения, в ощущении Его крепости и силы! Аминь.

ВОИСТИНУ ВОСКРЕСЕ ХРИСТОС!

Испрашивая святых молитв, остаюсь с Пасхальной радостью о Христе
и самыми добрыми благопожеланиями,

+НИКОЛАЙ
Митрополит Восточно-Американский и Нью-Йоркский
Первоиерарх Русской Зарубежной Церкви

Пасха Господня 2023

PASCHAL EPISTLE OF HIS EMINENCE NICHOLAS, METROPOLITAN OF EASTERN AMERICA & NEW YORK, FIRST HIERARCH OF THE RUSSIAN CHURCH ABROAD

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PASCHAL EPISTLE OF HIS EMINENCE NICHOLAS, METROPOLITAN OF EASTERN AMERICA & NEW YORK, FIRST HIERARCH OF THE RUSSIAN CHURCH ABROAD

With a sense of Paschal joy and special spiritual closeness, despite the distances separating us, I greet you, Eminent Brother-Archpastors, reverend fathers, dear brothers and sisters scattered throughout the world, on this great and light-bearing day of the Pascha of Christ!

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Approaching Great Lent, a repentant Christian gazes into his soul and sees his own helpless situation, reminding him of the field of the “dry bones” described in the Book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:1-14). But depending on the degree of one’s zeal in carrying out the ascetic labor of repentance and the approach of the “Feast of feasts,” he begins to taste joy and spiritual peace. A Christian, together with the entire Church, praying together, fasting, repenting, and communing, begins to come alive, stands up upon his feet and joins “an exceeding great army” of the faithful (Ezekiel 37:10). All come alive together with him; the entire Christian world, all of nature ‒ all things rejoice, brightly celebrating the Third-Day Resurrection of God, the Lover of Mankind.

Our earthly celebration of Pascha means sensing the grace of the Kingdom of God to the highest degree possible. Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) would say that, with attentive spiritual living, a person acquires the ability to rejoice not for one day, but first all of Bright Week, and then the other 40 days of the feast, and then over the course of his entire life, as it was with Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, who lived with this joy, declaring it not only with his heart and mouth, but in his very way of life. May the Lord help us preserve this unspeakable joy, foreshadowing for us the blessedness “in the unwaning day of the Kingdom” of Christ, and may we thereby sanctify all the rest of our earthly days!

Pondering the tribulations of our time, we understand that the Son of God became man, preached His Gospel, worked miracles, died, and was risen in order to save the world in which the righteous suffer persecutions, but where sinners perish. God, “Who loveth the righteous and hath mercy on sinners,” seeks the salvation of all. It is in this unity with Christ together with all of mankind that we must fervently pray for the salvation of the righteous and the sinners, for the great mercy of God for the former and for the latter, that it is not our version of the truth that reigns nor anyone else’s, but the truth of God. It is that truth, like His victory over evil, sin, and death, which always leads to love, the triumph of unity and the victory of Goodness and Beauty. Thus prayed Metropolitan Hilarion (+May 3/16, 2022) of blessed memory, who always shone with Paschal joy and served as an example of good Christian living. May we pray likewise as we approach the first anniversary of his repose.

I take this opportunity to ask the archpastors, pastors, monastics, and the millions of faithful children of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by His Beatitude Onouphry, Metropolitan of Kiev & All Ukraine, Archimandrite of the ancient Kiev Caves Lavra, to accept from us all the Paschal kiss of peace, empathy, and Christian love! May the Lord help them continue upon the path of witness, which the Apostle Paul described to all Christians in his Epistle to the Corinthians: “by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (II Cor. 8:10).

“Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), said the Lord to His disciples. And we, dear fathers, brothers, and sisters, counting ourselves as among the disciples of Christ, are called to preach His Resurrection both with a good word and by the power of living according to the Gospel. When we put our faith into our words and deeds, they gradually transfigure into the Light of Christ, illuminating and warming all. In difficult times, this Light, shining forth from the Life-Bearing Sepulcher of the Lord, is especially needed by everyone. And the more this Light exists among people ‒ in good words and deeds ‒ the more they will feel themselves close and dear to one other. Therefore, let us in all ways strive to be in the Light of Christ’s Resurrection, sensing His strength and power! Amen.

CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!

Asking your holy prayers, I remain with Paschal joy in Christ
and with the kindest of wishes,

+NICHOLAS
Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

Pascha of the Lord 2023

A Few Notes for Bright Week and the Paschal Season

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A Few Notes for Bright Week and the Paschal Season
By Very Rev. Fr. Mark Mancuso
• We greet one another during the entire Paschal season (which lasts 40 days) with the words: “Christ is risen!” and the response to the greeting is: “Indeed, He is risen!”
• During Bright Week, the Holy Doors and the Deacons’ doors of the iconostasis remain open symbolizing the empty tomb of our Master and Savior: Christ is risen!
• During Bright Week, our prayers in church and at home are sung and not read as we sing all week the feast of the risen Christ: Christ is risen!
• During Bright Week, our morning and evening prayers are replaced by the singing of the short service of the Hours of Pascha (see your prayer books): Christ is risen!
• During Bright Week, we do not read from the psalter at home or in church for the prophecies have been fulfilled: Christ is risen!
• During Bright Week, there is no fasting as we are at feast with the Bridegroom who processes forth from the tomb: Christ is risen!
• During the entire Paschal season and extending to Pentecost there is no prostrating or kneeling permitted in church or at home for we stand with the resurrected Christ: Christ is risen!
• During the Paschal season we begin all of our prayers at home and in church by singing the troparion of Pascha: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!”
• During the Paschal season and extending to Pentecost, we do not pray “O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth…” for the Comforter comes on Pentecost. Christ is risen!
• And most important of all: “A Pascha worthy of all honor has dawned for us. Pascha! Let us embrace each other joyously!…This is the day of resurrection. Let us be illumined by the feast. Let us embrace each other. Let us call ‘Brother’ even those who hate us, and forgive all by the resurrection, and so let us cry: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” “And unto us He has given eternal life. Let us worship His resurrection on the third day!”

РАСПИСАНІЕ БОГОСЛУЖЕНІЙ СТРАСТНОЙ СЕДМИЦЫ И ПАСХИ 2023

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РАСПИСАНІЕ БОГОСЛУЖЕНІЙ
СТРАСТНОЙ СЕДМИЦЫ И ПАСХИ 2023

Пятница, 7 апрѣля
18:30 ч.: Утреня Лазаревой субботы

Лазарева суббота, 8 апрѣля
9:40 ч.: Часы и Литургія
17:30 ч.: Всенощная и освященіе вербочекъ

Вербное воскресенье, 9 апрѣля
9:40 ч.: Часы и Литургія
16:00 ч.: Утреня Великаго понедѣльника

Великій понедѣльникъ, 10 апрѣля
18:30 ч.: Утреня Великаго вторника

Великій вторникъ, 11 апрѣля
18:30 ч.: Утреня Великой среды

Великая среда, 12 апрѣля
18:30 ч.: Утреня Великаго четвертка

Великій четвертокъ, 13 апрѣля
10:00 ч.: Вечерня съ Литургіей (Тайная Вечеря)
18:30 ч.: Утреня съ чтеніемъ 12-и Евангелій

Великій пятокъ, 14 апрѣля
10:00 ч.: Часы и изобразительны
15:30 ч.: Вечерня съ выносомъ Плащаницы
18:30 ч.: Утреня съ чиномъ Погребенія; крестный ходъ

Великая суббота, 15 апрѣля
10:00 ч.: Вечерня съ Литургіей

**ПАСХА – СВѢТЛОЕ ХРИСТОВО ВОСКРЕСЕНІЕ**
Суббота, 15 апрѣля: 23:30 ч. – Полунощница; крестный ходъ; заутреня; Литургія; освященіе корзинокъ

(Пасхальное богослуженіе длится до ранняго утра Воскресенья, 16 апрѣля)

Пасхальное воскресенье, 16 апрѣля
13:00 ч.: Пасхальная вечерня
14:30 ч.: Пикникъ и охота за яйцами въ паркѣ Saluda Shoals

SCHEDULE for HOLY WEEK & PASCHA 2023

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SCHEDULE for HOLY WEEK & PASCHA 2023

Friday, April 7
6:30 PM: Matins for Lazarus Saturday

Lazarus Saturday, April 8
8:30am: Baptism
9:40 AM: Hours & Liturgy
5:30 PM: Vigil & Blessing of Palms

Palm Sunday, April 9
ENTRY OF THE LORD INTO JERUSALEM
9:40 AM: Hours & Liturgy
4:00 PM: Bridegroom Matins

Holy Monday, April 10
6:30 PM: Bridegroom Matins

Holy Tuesday, April 11
6:30 PM: Bridegroom Matins

Holy Wednesday, April 12
6:30 PM: Matins for Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday, April 13
10:00 AM: Vesperal Liturgy (Mystical Supper)
6:30 PM: Matins w/ 12 Passion Gospels

Holy Friday, April 14
10:00 AM: Royal Hours & Typica
3:30 PM: Vespers: Bringing out of the Shroud
6:30 PM: Matins w/ Lamentations; Procession

Holy Saturday, April 15
10:00 AM: Vesperal Liturgy

PASCHA: THE GLORIOUS RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
Saturday, April 15: 11:30 PM – Midnight Office; Procession; Matins; Liturgy; Blessing of Baskets

(Pascha service extends into the early morning hours of Sunday, April 16)

Pascha Sunday, April 16
1:00 PM: Agape Vespers
2:30 PM: Pascha Cookout & Egg Hunt at Saluda Shoals Park

The Spiritual Meaning of The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete

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The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete is chanted Monday through Thursday of the first week of Great Lent (Clean Week), rubrically broken up into four parts. Additionally, The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete is chanted in full Wednesday evening of the fifth week of Great Lent. Below are a few resources highlighting the spiritual meaning of the Great Canon on its importance within Great Lent.

Full text of The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete:

Great-Canon-of-St-Andrew-of-Crete

Old Testament References in The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete:

The-Whos-Who-of-The-Great-Canon-of-St.-Andrew-of-Crete

Podcast – “The Cry of the Humbled Heart: The Ascetical Significance of The Great Canon”:

 

YouTube Video – “The Canon of St Andrew of Crete”:

Updated Nativity & Weekend Services / Inclement Weather – PLEASE READ

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Dear Brethren,

As most of you probably know by now, our state is to be hit with a Winter storm and extremely cold weather following. We are thus modifying our Nativity schedule in order to ensure everyone’s safety. We will be cancelling our Vigil tomorrow night because of fear of freezing rains. Also, we will be postponing our Yolka until Sunday, January 15 and it will follow the Mercy Meal for the one year anniversary of Maria Panov’s repose. Our plan is still to serve liturgy on Nativity and on Sunday. Please use your best judgment regarding driving to church. If you feel it’s not safe to drive, please stay home. The updated schedule is as follows:

Friday, Jan 6 – Eve of Nativity
9:00am: Royal Hours & Typika
10:30am: Vesperal Liturgy
5:30pm: Vigil CANCELLED

Saturday, Jan 7 – Nativity
9:40am: Hours & Liturgy
12:00pm: Festal Meal & Yolka RESCHEDULED for Sunday, January 15
4:00pm: Great Vespers CANCELLED

Sunday, Jan 8 – Synaxis of the Theotokos
9:40am: Hours & Liturgy
12:00pm: Coffee Hour / Meal CANCELLED
1:00pm: Children’s Sunday School POSTPONED
1:30pm: Orthodoxy 101 Adult Class (Iconography) POSTPONED

With much love in Christ,
Fr Mark