On Saturday, July 18, the feast of the Holy New-Martyr Elizabeth, Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America & New York paid an archpastoral visit to the eponymous church in Rocky Hill, NJ, and celebrated Divine Liturgy on the occasion of the parish's patronal feast. For the veneration and prayerful consolation of the faithful, His Eminence brought a reliquary containing pieces of the holy relics of the Holy New-Martyrs Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Nun Barbara from the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City.

His Eminence was concelebrated at the Liturgy by:

• Archpriest Vasily Andrejuk (cleric of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, NJ)
• Archpriest Serge Lukianov (dean of New Jersey)
• Archpriest David Straut (parish rector)
• Archpriest John Parsells (rector of Christ the Savior OCA Church in Berlin, MD)
• Archpriest Leonid Goferman (rector of Holy Protection Church in New Brunswick, NJ)
• Priest Anthony Williams (cleric of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral)
• Priest Peter Markevich (rector of Holy Trinity Church in Mebane, NC)
• Priest Patrick Hinds (parish cleric)
• Protodeacon Paul Drozdowski (cleric of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral)
• Protodeacon Seraphim Komleski (parish cleric)
• Protodeacon Michael Pavuk (cleric of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY), and
• Deacon Stephanos Bibas (cleric of Joy of All Who Sorrow Church in Philadelphia, PA).

The parish choir sang prayerfully.

During the reading of the hours, Metropolitan Nicholas tonsured James Whitaker a reader and then ordained him as a subdeacon. Readers Innokenty Yanovsky and Michael Calabrese were ordained subdeacons.

In recognition of his 40th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood and many years of dedicated service to the Holy Church, by the resolution of the ROCOR Synod of Bishops, Fr. David was awarded the right to wear the miter.

The church was full of worshippers. Parishioners and guests from neighboring churches came to pray to the Holy Martyr Elizabeth. All their children and grandchildren traveled from various states to honor St. Elizabeth and to congratulate Fr. David and Matushka Faith – who has stood by his side and supported his ministry throughout the years.

Almost all the worshippers communed of Christ’s Holy Mysteries. A short moleben was served before the saint’s icon.

Metropolitan Nicholas congratulated everyone with their patronal feast and told those gathered about the life and martyrdom of the Holy New-Martyrs Grand Duchess Elizabeth and her assistant, Nun Barbara.

Fr. Serge Lukianov congratulated Fr. David on his anniversary and, on behalf of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, presented him with a jeweled cross and Matushka Faith with an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The celebration concluded with a large meal in the open-air pavilion, where the clergy and parishioners continued their fraternal fellowship.

Archpriest David Straut – Ministry & Family

Fr. David grew up in a Methodist family. There were four children in the family – David and his three sisters. His father, Dr. Charles G. Straut, was a Methodist pastor. From David’s early childhood, his father ministered in northern New Jersey, and then his father’s work led the family to Brooklyn, where David graduated from college.

At 19, while in college, David married and went with his wife, Faith, to study at Oxford, England. It was an Anglican theological college, where, among other subjects, he studied Eastern Orthodoxy. He became interested in Orthodoxy and began attending an Orthodox church in Oxford.

"The priest who received me into the Orthodox Church in 1981 was Archimandrite Michael (Graves)," Fr. David recounts. "Before converting to Orthodoxy, he was an Episcopalian priest. He founded the Orthodox Church of the Holy Archdeacon Stephen (a parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America) in South Plainfield, NJ. Fr. Michael sent me to St. Vladimir Theological Seminary so that I could be ordained to the priesthood and lead his parish when he himself went to Haiti on missionary service. By the end of my first year, in March 1986, I was ordained a deacon, and in July, a priest. That was 40 years ago. I later served at the Antiochian Church of the Holy Protomartyr Stephen for 12 years, until March 1998, before transferring to the jurisdiction of ROCOR."

"My time spent in the Archdiocese of Antioch revealed to me the beauty of the Orthodox Church and showed me that it is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church that gave us the New Testament, composed the Creed, and became the source of the most profound Christian hymnography. Orthodoxy revealed to me that Christianity is not just a system of beliefs, but a way of life and a path to Life."

On March 13, 1998, Bishop Gabriel of Manhattan received Fr. David into the ranks of ROCOR clergy. He served for approximately three months at St. Spyridon Church in Perth Amboy, NJ. From March to July, the family frequently attended services and events at Holy Protection Church in New Brunswick, where Fr. George Kallaur was the rector at the time.

"Bishop Gabriel blessed me to establish an English-language mission in Somerville, NJ, with my family (seven people) and six parishioners from my previous parish in South Plainfield. We began serving on July 18, 1998, in a specially equipped chapel set up in the front room of my home. After three and a half years, we moved to a more spacious chapel set up in a parishioner's home in Somerville. We held services there for another three years. By that time, our congregation numbered about 20 families. In February 2004, we purchased a small former Roman Catholic church building in Rocky Hill, NJ. Four years later, in 2008, we began a major renovation.

"My time in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has allowed me to deeply understand and embody in my own life the most important aspects of the Orthodox Christian tradition, as well as to celebrate divine services and sacraments in a setting where I feel completely natural and comfortable. This is the spiritual home I have been searching for my entire life."

What, in your opinion, is essential for the success of a modern Orthodox priest? What does "success" mean to you personally?

– I believe that an Orthodox priest should have a strong marriage, a good family, and a strong desire to serve the Church together. Parents should raise their family in the spirit of Orthodoxy so that their children do not drag along or so that they are not forced to go to church. It is good to convey to them that Orthodoxy is the most important thing in life. My five children are all deeply involved in church life.

I have four daughters: Emily (46), Anna (42), Katharine (39), and Juliana (37), and a son, Nicholas (31). Emily is married to Archpriest John Parsells, a priest of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA); they have three children. Anna is married to Subdeacon Justin Neidig; they have two children. Katherine is married to Priest Peter Markevich, a priest of the Russian Church Abroad; they have four children. Juliana is married to Alexander Cooley; they have three children and are active parishioners of the ROCOR church in Albany, NY. My son, Nicholas, is single. He lives in New York City and attends services primarily at the Synodal Cathedral.

My matushka, Faith, is from a Methodist family, like me. She also converted to Orthodoxy shortly after me. Faith raised her children, and when her youngest son was seven, she went to work in a Catholic school, where she worked for 20 years.

– What are the main characteristics that make your family unique? And your parish?

– I think it is because Matushka and I put the Orthodox Christian Faith first, pray together as a family, and strive to be good Christians ourselves and pass this on to our children. I hope our children will also have true Christian families.

One day, Fr. George Kallaur, when he first came to our church, said that our family reminded him of the royal family – five children: four daughters and one son. I was pleased to hear this.

Our parish is also unique. Although we began with American converts (new converts, like ourselves), we now have many Slavs – Russians and Ukrainians, as well as Bulgarians, Romanians, Greeks… It is a good example of a pan-Orthodox parish.

Our parish is English-speaking, and we do not often serve in Slavonic, but we are under the auspices of the Russian Church Abroad, and anyone here can feel the true spirit of the Church Abroad. Our church is Russian, but services are held in English, and I always say that we welcome everyone and invite everyone to come, get to know us, and become members of our parish. People feel at home here.

– Your favorite saint?

– St. Elizabeth is very close to us for two reasons. First, her relics are in the first antimension of our church. Everyone who founded our church and our parish were converts or children of converts, and it is important to us that St. Elizabeth was also a convert, specifically to Russian Orthodoxy. This resonated with us, and we named our church after her.