Department for External Church Relations
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Moscow representation of the Orthodox Church in America marks the 50th anniversary of the glorification of St. Herman of Alaska
On Sunday, August 9, 2020, the commemoration day of St. Herman of Alaska, celebrations were held at the church of Great Martyr Catherine in-the-Fields to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the glorification of St. Herman, who dedicated many years of his life until his death to the spiritual enlightenment of the Aleutians and to mark the 50th anniversary of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in America.
The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Archbishop Ambrose of Vereya, vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia and abbot of the Sretensky Stauropegial Monastery and rector of the Sretensky Theological Seminary, together with Bishop Anthony of Moravici, representative of the Patriarch of Serbia to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
The archpastors were assisted by Protopresbyter Vladimir Divakov, patriarchal secretary for Moscow; Archpriest Daniel Andreyuk, representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and rector of the church of Great Martyr Catherine in-the-Fields; Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, vice-chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR); Archimandrite Seraphim (Shemyatovsky), representative of the Church of the Czech Lands of Slovakia to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; Hegumen Joseph (Kryukov), rector of the Valamo Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration representation in Moscow; Archpriest Christopher Hill; Rev. Pavel Zuev; Hierodeacon Seraphim (Chernyshuk), and Deacons Vladislav Sokolov and Dimitry Asratian.
Prayers and petitions were lifted up for the unity of the Orthodox Church and deliverance from the pernicious infection.
Present in the church was Ms. Sophia Buday, second secretary of the USA in Russia.
After the prayer behind the ambo, the praise was sung to St. Herman at this image and honourable relics.
In his address after the service, Archpriest Daniel Andreyuk conveyed to all the participants in the celebrations a greeting from His Beatitude Tikhon, Metropolitan of All America and Canada.
Speaking on behalf of the clergy, workers and parishioners of the church, Archpriest Daniel Andreyuk expressed filial gratitude to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia for special attention His Holiness gives to the American representation in Moscow.
Many Years was sung to the two sister Orthodox Churches and to the peoples of Russia and America.
In his archpastoral address, Archbishop Ambrose conveyed the Patriarch Kirill’s blessing to the clergy and parishioners of the St. Catherine church and thanked everybody for the common prayers on that festive day. ‘Today is a really special day, special for both the Orthodox Church in America and this representation and the Russian Orthodox Church which has sown sacrificial seeds on the American continent’, he said. He also asked to convey gratitude to His Beatitude Tikhon for his message of greeting and congratulated the congregation of the anniversaries celebrated by the Orthodox Church in America this year and pointed to the contribution made by the OCA Moscow representation to the preservation and strengthening of fraternal relations between the two Churches.
DECR Communication Service
With the use of reports from the official websites of
Moscow Patriarchate
OCA Moscow Representative
Sretensky Stauropegial Monastery
Patriarch
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