On August 24, the 11th Sunday after Pentecost and the Afterfeast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, His Eminence Nicholas, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, celebrated Divine Liturgy in the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City. Serving alongside the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad were cathedral clerics: dean Archpriest Andrei Sommer, Archpriest Seraphim Chemodakov, Hieromonk Theognost (Kogan), and Protodeacon Serge Arlievsky.

The Synodal choir sang at Liturgy under the direction of conductor Vadim S. Gan.

A multitude of the faithful prayed at the service and received Christ’s Holy Mysteries.

Upon conclusion of the service, Metropolitan Nicholas greeted the clergy and worshippers with the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, and in his sermon, said, in part:

"On the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Lord showed His divine glory to His disciples. This was meant to strengthen them during the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. This wondrous event occurred 40 days before the Passion of the Lord, and we celebrate it 40 days before the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord. This strengthens us, reminds us that we will be like this in eternal life, if here on earth we accept all that is given to us – things both pleasant and unpleasant – and overcome them with prayer for the sake of God. We should develop good qualities in ourselves: understanding and a Christian life. During His preaching, the Lord instructed not only the apostles, but all of us, how to live in the period of the New Testament. Today we heard one such example from the Lord Himself, in which He explains the meaning of His parable.

"There was a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants who were in his debt. One servant came to the king who owed him a large sum – ten thousand talents, but he could not pay it back, and asked the king to be patient. The king showed mercy and forgave him the entire debt.

"This servant went out and saw his fellow servant, who owed him 100 denarii – an amount incomparable with what the slave had owed the king. Forgetting his own experience, he did not forgive his fellow servant, and demanded that the debt be repaid in full.

"We often hear the saying that God is love. But as we understood today, the Lord is a righteous Judge: He can both forgive and punish a person... Therefore, let us try to behave with dignity, not only to forgive, but also to be able to ask for forgiveness ourselves. And so there will be peace within us and throughout the world."

His Eminence then explain how, on the eve of the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, according to local custom, a cross procession takes place in Jerusalem – the burial of the Mother of God.

The sisterhood organized a traditional luncheon in the cathedral hall, during which the clergy and faithful continued their interaction.