Photo report: Metropolitan Jonah consecrates Holy Chrism on Great and Holy Thursday
As widely reported, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, consecrated Holy Chrism during Holy Week, with the concluding rites being celebrated at the Monastery Church of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk here on Great and Holy Thursday morning, April 12, 2012.
The preparatory rites began on the morning of Great and Holy Monday, April 9, and continued through Great and Holy Wednesday. Clergy stirred the Chrism — a mixture of dozens of oils, herbs, fragrances — continuously, day and night, as Scripture was read.
The occasion marked the first time since 2004 that Holy Chrism has been consecrated and the first time that Metropolitan Jonah has presided over the rites since his election as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America.
A photo gallery of the consecration is now available on the OCA web site.