On Sunday, September 22, His Eminence Nicholas, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, performed an archpastoral visit to the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos at the New Kursk Root Hermitage in Mahopac, NY, and celebrated Divine Liturgy there, co-served by His Grace, Bishop Jerome (Shaw), who resides at the New Kursk Root Hermitage, during the traditional celebrations in honor of the patronal feast of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Concelebrating with the hierarchs were Archpriest Alexander Donchenko (rector of St. Nicholas Church in Poughkeepsie, NY), hermitage rector Archpriest George Temidis, Hieromonk Peter (Karakozoff; cleric of Our Lady "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Cathedral in San Francisco, CA), Protodeacons Serge Arlievsky (cleric of the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City) and Serguei Mikhailov (cleric of Holy Intercession Church in Glen Cove, NY), Deacon Alexey Pnev (cleric of Holy Dormition Convent "Novo-Diveevo" in Nanuet, NY), and parish Deacons Konstantin Aleshin and Theodotus Conrad.

In keeping with tradition, the parish of St. Nicholas Church in Poughkeepsie came to Mahopac to pray and celebrate the feast together.

The services were held in the recently renovated summer chapel, according to the old tradition of the Hermitage. The chapel was built in 1969. The main builder was Michael S. Ryl, assisted by Abbot Arseny (Kondratenko), Priest Peter Simovskikh, Fr. Alexander Mitryakov, and Alexey Solodovnikov. The icons were painted by Tamara A. Lyzlov. After this summer chapel-altar was built, the festal Liturgy on the patronal feast of the hermitage was almost always served in it in the open air.

Many communed of Christ’s Holy Mysteries.

Metropolitan Nicholas congratulated everyone on the feast and addressed them with a sermon, in which he said, in part:

"We are fortunate people, because we have the Kursk Root Icon, we have this holy place that continues to be revived. We are able not only look at the icons, but also to pray – to the Mother of God and the Risen Savior and always have hope in God. You can turn to God at any time with repentance, ask for help in your spiritual life and forgiveness of sins and continue to work for the glory of God. You can glorify the Mother of God and take an example from her and her holy parents: they lived with hope, with humility, with meekness, with obedience to God, and fulfilled the Law.

"And we have the opportunity to spend our lives in the same way. We are constantly looking for something in our lives, asking God to enjoy the blessings of life on this temporal earth. But here is the example of the Mother of God: always and in everything to seek God, to listen, to obey, and with humility to thank her for everything...

"Today is a special service: silence, nature, real beauty. I hope that we will be able to continue to gather like this to glorify God, to sanctify this land and place, and to sanctify ourselves with prayer and this repentance, which is so important for our salvation… Wherever we pray, our prayers are heard by the Mother of God and are offered by her to our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us only hope in God and ask for what we need for our spiritual life. It is important for all parents, for our elders ‒ especially in this difficult time ‒ to raise their children and grandchildren, to show a Christian Orthodox example of how to pray, how to go to church, how to dress and talk, how to have true Christian love. After all, young people, children look at us, and much depends on us. Let us try to instill Christian ideals in our youth, to show them true love in Christ...

"Today we remember the past, and here we will lay the foundation for future feasts, where people could step away from the sinful world and at least for a couple of hours or for a whole day find respite, peace and God's blessing here. Let us hope, pray fervently, ask for what is needed, and take the example of the Mother of God in how to spend our lives and properly raise our children."

The clergy, parishioners, pilgrims, and guests then walked in procession around the main Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God and returned to the summer chapel.

After the service, a hearty meal prepared by the sisterhood was offered to everyone. As in previous years, Christian Richard delighted everyone by arriving with his field kitchen, treating everyone to traditional Greek gyros.

After the meal, the bishops blessed new granite crosses in the hermitage cemetery on the graves of Archbishop Seraphim (Ivanov), the founder of the hermitage, and his cell attendant, Schema-Archimandrite Theophan (Shishmanov), both of whom reposed in 1987. The new monuments were erected by the Mid-American Diocese, which Bishop Seraphim headed for many years. The parish is very grateful to the American-Russian Aid Association "Otrada" for financial assistance in renovating the summer chapel and for the donation for the monuments.

The weather was wonderful and warm… The clergy, parishioners, pilgrims, and guests had a warm and joyful conversation. Those who wanted went to the chapel on the lake. The last guests left in the evening, taking with them special impressions of the feast held in the New Kursk Root Hermitage.