On December 3, the 26th Sunday after Pentecost, on the eve of the great feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America & New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, officiated the festal divine services in the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City.

Concelebrating with His Eminence at Divine Liturgy were: Archpriest Andrei Sommer (cathedral dean), Archpriest Seraphim Chemodakov (cleric of Our Lady of Kazan Church in Newark, NY), Hieromonk Theognost (Kogan; cleric of Holy Virgin Protection Church in Nyack, NY), Protodeacon Nicolas Mokhoff (cathedral cleric), and Hierodeacon Panteleimon (Jigalin; diocesan cleric).

The Synodal choir sang the services beautifully under the direction of conductor Vadim S. Gan.

A multitude of parishioners gathered to pray in the cathedral, most of whom communed of Christ’s Holy Mysteries.

Upon completion of the service, His Eminence greeted those gathered with the upcoming feast of the Entry into the Temple, which the faithful would celebrate on the following day.

The cathedral sisterhood invited the clergy and faithful to a traditional lenten luncheon.

Concelebrating with Metropolitan Nicholas at Liturgy on Monday, December 4, the very day of the feast, were: Fr. Andrei Sommer, Protodeacons Nicolas Mokhoff and Serge Arlievsky (cleric of Holy Dormition Convent "Novo-Diveevo" in Nanuet, NY), and Fr. Panteleimon (Jigalin).

Having greeted the clergy and faithful with the feast, the Metropolitan noted in his sermon at the end of Liturgy that today’s feast is a special event both in the life of the Most Holy Theotokos and in the life of our Church.

"From the earliest years of her life, the Mother of God prepared herself with humility for great service, and in the Temple she occupied herself with spiritual reading and obediences, offering us a lesson in how to receive the Savior into our lives, how to find a place for Him in our hearts."

Metropolitan Nicholas called on the faithful to purify their mind and heart in the Sacrament of Confession, to be united to Christ in the Sacrament of Communion for edification and spiritual illumination, to attend the church of God, and to climb the steps of the spiritual life.