On Thursday, December 4, the great feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America & New York celebrated Divine Liturgy in the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City. Concelebrating with the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad were cathedral clerics: dean Archpriest Andrei Sommer, Archpriest Seraphim Chemodakov, and Protodeacon Serge Arlievsky.

The Synodal choir sang at Liturgy under the direction of Isaiah Trofimenko.

Cathedral parishioners and faithful from other churches prayed at the divine services, the majority of them communing of Christ’s Holy Mysteries.

Upon completion of the service, Metropolitan Nicholas greeted the worshippers and especially noted that we must come to church for prayer not only in body, but in mind, heart, and a right understanding of where we are going and why.

"The Most Pure Virgin spent years in prayer, reading, obedience, and silence, and became the Birthgiver of God. We too have every opportunity to raise ourselves up in this way, particularly in church, and to bear our God in our lives, in our heart and in our mind. We ought to think on this, and try to come to God’s church properly for our formation, in order to come to our senses and be spiritually reborn."

His Eminence also spoke about how we remember the Holy Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow on this day, the day of his Patriarchal enthronement in 1917.

"Here in church we keep the ryassa, icon, and relics of the Holy Hierarch Tikhon, and today he is with us – his prayers, his protection, and his example: not to abandon God’s church, not to abandon the Faith. Let us pray to him, that we too might preserve the Orthodox Faith throughout the world, not compromising, and remaining in the canonical Church. And Patriarch Tikhon is an example for us, how we might always preserve our inner church, even when noise, debauchery, and godlessness surround us. Let preserve the peace of the Church with prayer, fasting, and spiritual labors. We must accomplish this in our lives."