On Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th of September, His Grace, Eastern American Diocesan vicar Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, visited Natvity of the Mother of God Church in Albany, NY, and led the divine services there. His Grace’s visit for the celebrations were planned in conjunction with the parish’s upcoming patronal feast day, which took place the following Thursday September 21.
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On Saturday, September 30, Metropolitan Herman of Kursk & Rylsk celebrated Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Holy Martyresses Faith, Hope, Charity & Sophia in Kursk in honor of the parish’s patronal feast day. Concelebrating with His Eminence were Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, parish rector and diocesan secretary Archpriest Andrey Ivanov, and local and visiting clergy.
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In the early morning of Monday, October, His Eminence Herman, Metropolitan of Kursk & Rylsk, celebrated Divine Liturgy before the wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign in the city's Diocesan Cathedral of the Sign, co-served by diocesan clergy.
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With the blessing of His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, the annual Saint Herman Youth Conference will be hosted by Holy Dormition Convent "Novo-Diveevo" in Nanuet, NY and Holy Virgin Protection Church in Nyack, NY.
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On Thursday, September 28, a press conference was held at Orenburg Theological Seminary to announce the arrival of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign" in Orenburg, Russia. His Eminence Benjamin, Metropolitan of Orenburg & Saraktash, met with journalists.
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Saturday, September 30, and Sunday, October 1, of this year will long be ingrained in the memories of the parishioners and friends of St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington, DC. On these days, the annual two-day fundraiser bazaar was held.
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The annual Pilgrimage Weekend on September 30 & October 1 was presided over by Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) and was begun with a moleben and procession from the church to the outdoor chapel on Saturday afternoon. The All-Night Vigil for Sunday was served at the outdoor chapel by His Eminence along with monastery clergy,
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On Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th of October, the feast of the repost of Venerable Sergius, Abbot of Radonezh and Wonderworker of All Russia, St. Sergius Mission Church at the Synodal Headquarters in New York City celebrated its patronal feast day.
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On Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th of November, Joy of All Who Sorrow Church in Atlanta, GA will host its parish feast and a conference on the theme "100 Years of the Russian Local Council of 1917-1918." All are welcome and entry is free of charge.
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On Saturday, October 14, the feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America & New York celebrated Divine Liturgy at Holy Protection Male Skete in Buena, NJ. Brought to the skete for the feats was an icon of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos currently traveling around the world, which contains a piece of the omophorion of the Heavenly Queen.
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On Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th of October, the feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, Bishop Jerome led the divine services for the patronal feast day of Holy Virgin Protection Church in Nyack, NY.
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With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian-Iveron Icon of the Mother of God is currently traveling to the churches and monasteries of the Eastern American Diocese.
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The schedule of events for the 2017 Pastoral Conference for clergy and matushkas of the Eastern American Diocese and Patriarchal Parishes in the USA is now available here. With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, the conference will be held at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY this October 23-26, and is dedicated to the Decennial of the Reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church and the appearance of the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. More information is available here.
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On Tuesday, October 24, the Pastoral Conference for Clergy & Matushkas of the Eastern American Diocese and the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA began at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY.
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Wednesday, October 25, saw the second day of the Pastoral Conference for Clergy & Matushkas of the Eastern American Diocese and Patriarchal Parishes in the USA at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY.
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On Thursday, October 26, the Pastoral Conference for clergy and matushkas of the Eastern American Diocese and the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, being held at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, concluded with a hierarchal Divine Liturgy.
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On November 5-6, we took our 8th annual parish pilgrimage to Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville. There were two panihida services at the grave of murdered Brother Jose Muñoz-Cortes, curator of the Montreal Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. The following is an excerpt from the homily Archpriest Victor Potapov gave on November 5 at the first panihida.
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The following is an account provided by Archpriest Stefan Pavlenko, an eyewitness to how Hieromonk Michael, a resident of Optina Hermitage, had given Fr. Victor a myrrh-streaming copy of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. Fr. Stefan is the rector of the Church of All Saints in the Russian Land, in Burlingame, CA.
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In 2005, I spent the first week of Great Lent at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville. There Monk Vsevolod gave me a present of a copy of an iconographic image of Brother Jose Muñoz-Cortes, curator of the Miraculous Iveron-Montreal Icon of the Mother of God. It was one of the images of Martyr Joseph written at Optina Hermitage. Although I was surprised to see an icon written before he had been glorified as a saint, I was grateful to receive the gift.
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The original miraculous Icon of the Iveron Mother of God is on Mount Athos, the famous center of Orthodox monasticism (known also as Agion Oros – Greek for the "Holy Mountain"). By tradition, it was painted by the apostle and evangelist Luke. In the 9th century, this Icon was in the possession of a widow who lived in Nicaea.
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At the end of October 1997, a terrible event took place that shook the whole Orthodox world – Jose Muñoz-Cortes, the guardian of the renowned wonder-working, myrrh-streaming Icon of the Portaitissa, was brutally murdered in Greece by a 20-year-old Romanian man. On the 12th of November, he was buried in the cemetery of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. The "Icon's House" society in Montreal published the following obituary:
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The last interview with the murdered Jose Muñoz-Cortes under the title "One Must Not Become Accustomed to a Miracle" was published in the 27th issue of "The Russian Pastor," a journal published three times a year in San Francisco, CA.
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Excerpts from the first interview given by Brother Jose Muñoz-Cortes to "Orthodox Russia" (1983, №s. 17, 18, 20)
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On Sunday, October 15, Matushka Martha Ermakov, of McKeesport, PA, reposed in the Lord. She was 88. She was born August 23, 1929 in Olyphant, PA (near Scranton) and was the daughter of the late John and Martha Russen Sweda. She was the wife of the late Archpriest Dimitri H. Ermakov.
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2017 is a year of many anniversaries, among which is the decennial of the appearance of the myrrh-streaming Montreal-Hawaiian Icon of the Mother of God. Traveling across the North American continent (as well as to the Republic of Georgia), the Mother of God brings peace and healing of soul and body through her fragrant myrrh.
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The year 2017 is significant for several reasons. This year, the children of the Church prayerfully commemorate the restoration of canonical communion between the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate (May 17, 2007), the 35th anniversary of the appearance of the myrrh-streaming Montreal-Iveron Icon of the Mother of God (November 24, 1982), and 20th anniversary of the martyr death of her guardian, Jose Muñoz-Cortes (October 31, 1997), and the 10th anniversary of the appearance of the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian-Iveron Icon of the Mother of God (October 6, 2007).
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On Thursday, October 26, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, celebrated Divine Liturgy in Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, on the feast of the Translation of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God to Moscow. The Liturgy was the culmination of the Pastoral Conference, which was held in honor of the Decennial of the Reunification of the Russian Church and the Appearance of the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian-Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, and the 20th anniversary of the martyrdom of Brother Jose Muñoz-Cortes. With the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion, Priest Stephen Kaznica (rector of Sts. Peter & Paul Patriarchal Cathedral in Passaic, NJ) delivered the following sermon upon completion of the Liturgy:
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On Friday, October 20, the Synodal Residence in New York City hosted a symposium entitled "The New Martyrs of Russia: 100 Years of Revolution & Our Future." St. Prince Vladimir Youth Association organized the event to mark the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia and the 10th anniversary of the reestablishment of unity within the Russian Orthodox Church in the fatherland and abroad.