A brief history of Chrism consecration in the Orthodox Church in America

As has been announced, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, OCA Primate, will consecrate Holy Chrism during Holy Week this year at St. Tikhon’s Monastery in Waymart, Pennsylvania.

In the sacred Tradition of the Orthodox Church, Holy Chrism is used to anoint the faithful with “the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit”, either immediately after baptism or when those converting to Orthodoxy are received into the Church. During the rite of consecration of a church building, the altar table and walls are likewise anointed with Chrism. Chrism is prepared continuously during the first days of Holy Week and consecrated at the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil on Holy Thursday. Generally, the Chrism is consecrated by the Primate of an autocephalous Church every few years as necessary to maintain a sufficient supply.

From the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th, when clergy and hierarchs of the Russian Church were sent to the North American Mission they were provided with Holy Chrism from Russia sufficient for pastoral needs. In the OCA Archives, there is a pewter flask engraved in Russian “Holy Chrism 1904 Bishop Innocent”. This flask containing Chrism and originally encased in a wooden box with a handle for easy transportation, was likely given to Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) of Alaska at the Holy Synod office in Saint Petersburg, Russia as he was leaving to begin his archpastoral ministry in North America in early 1904. Upon arrival in New York, he would have delivered the Chrism to Bishop Tikhon, the ruling hierarch of North America. Eventually, this historic vessel - once no longer in use - came to be preserved in the OCA Archives.

The Revolution that erupted in Russia in 1917 wreaked havoc in the life of the Church in North America as normal contact between the American diocese and the Patriarchate in Moscow was abruptly broken. In addition to a myriad of crippling administrative and financial woes, one dire consequence was that the Church in North America could no longer depend on a supply of Holy Chrism from Russia. Several months after returning to America from his travel to the historic All-Russian Church Council of 1917-18, Archpriest Leonid Turkevich (who would later become Metropolitan Leonty) submitted the following report in January 1919 to Bishop Alexander (Nemolovsky), Administrator of the North American Diocese, regarding the need for Holy Chrism. Striking is the concern to procure and maintain for distribution to clergy a supply of properly consecrated, unadulterated Holy Chrism, that tangibly manifests the bond of the priest to his bishop and thereby to the Holy Apostolic Church.

On Chrism preparation in America
(Report to His Grace Bishop Alexander,
Administrator of the North American Diocese
January 29, 1919, No. 513)

With heartfelt sorrow, I venture to address to Your Grace, Most merciful Archpastor and Father, the following.

In July 1917, I was sent by our Mission to Russia, with the goal of, among other things, receiving Holy Chrism for the diocese. Unfavorable political developments prevented me from accomplishing this task. An empty vessel for Holy Chrism was stored for safekeeping in the quarters in the Kremlin where Metropolitan Platon was staying, but I could receive Holy Chrism only by directive from Archbishop Evdokim who was then also in Moscow, but he did not issue such a directive, not even when I was departing from Russia.

Now I must report to Your Grace as Administrator of the North American Diocese, that the supply of Holy Chrism in the diocese is running low. As a result of it being doled out in reduced quantities of late by the diocesan administration to the churches, there is still a minimal supply of Holy Chrism remaining. Word is that priests are seemingly even ready to add Holy Chrism to regular oil so that they would have a supply sufficient for more Holy Baptisms. It would be a sin to even speak of what might happen later should such occurrences actually transpire when the diocesan administration refuses requests for Holy Chrism. In addition to the possible obliteration of the sacred idea that is inherent to the system of using Holy Chrism according to the custom of the Orthodox Greek-Catholic Church, the result will be Holy Chrism in name only as it will be left to the volition of individuals and devoid of the corresponding reality of Holy Chrism. Such Holy Chrism may no longer be the chrism distributed by the hierarchy of the Church and then it will no longer express the idea of hierarchical dependence of a priest on his bishop and the entire Universal Orthodox Church.

In order to avoid or avert this danger or more importantly, to avoid the danger to the whole diocese of ending up entirely without Holy Chrism, I dare to most humbly present the following for Your Grace’s Archpastoral consideration:

A plan to contact Bishop Sergius of Japan and Archbishop Evsevy of Vladivostok concerning a supply of Holy Chrism for our diocese;

A plan to prepare Holy Chrism in our St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York during the upcoming Great Lent when three hierarchs are due to be in New York; the timely gathering of requisite ingredients should begin immediately.

At this time when the circumstances of our Orthodox Church life in America are so difficult, there can be no other solution for this existing need. Of course, this action of preparing Holy Chrism in America in the image of its preparation in autocephalous churches could appear to those who wish to look for only the bad in our Church as something akin to separation from the Mother Church. However, neither Your Grace nor the clergy and laity of your flock have any thoughts of establishing such autocephaly. This action will be justified by very right thinking and will not be met with disapproval of His Holiness, the Patriarch, but will be recognized as an action by “economia” or due to “pressing need”.

Submitting this for the Archpastoral consideration of Your Grace, I remain your most humble servant,

Cathedral Archpriest Leonid Turkevich

In response, Bishop Alexander issued the following resolution:

January 29, 1919. The idea of preparing Chrism in the New York Cathedral does not appear uncanonical to me. If we are unable to gather all the fragrant herbs, the holiness of the Chrism would not be diminished. To avoid any reproach, we should try to reach by cablegram the Bishop of Vladivostok who could find an opportunity to send us some Holy Chrism with a reliable pious layman, as there are quite a few who come to America through Vladivostok.

+ Bishop Alexander

Download the original handwritten report and resolution in Russian

Indeed, just a few months later in August 1919, a faithful Orthodox layman, the noted inventor Vladimir Zworykin returned to New York from Siberia by way of Vladivostok, bringing, according to both his published biography and unpublished memoirs, a vial of Chrism entrusted to him for delivery to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in America. How this matter was further resolved after 1919 and how Chrism subsequently was obtained for the needs of the North American Metropolia (now the OCA) before the granting of autocephaly in 1970 is scantily documented. Some oral testimonies from senior clergy suggest, that through personal contacts, hierarchs or priests obtained Chrism from their counterparts in other jurisdictions. An old Chrism bottle stored at Westwood with a handwritten label marked “Holy Chrism” in Serbian and “Serbia” elsewhere on the label in a different hand provides evidence that Chrism was received from the Serbian Church, possibly during the visits to Serbia of Metropolitan Platon in 1926 or Metropolitan Theophilus in 1935.

Eventually, the second option presented in the 1919 report by Fr. Turkevich came to pass. In March 1951, the Great Council of Bishops, as the Holy Synod was called before autocephaly, decided that Holy Chrism should be consecrated during Holy Week the following year. When the Council of Bishops met again in early April 1952, the vessels for Chrism-making were blessed and two weeks later, on Holy Thursday, Holy Chrism was consecrated by Metropolitan Leonty at Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral in New York.

The issue of a supply of Holy Chrism was definitively resolved with the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in America. In the words of the Tomos issued by the Patriarch and Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, the OCA shall “enjoy all the authority, privileges and rights usually inherent in the term ‘autocephaly’ in the canonical tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church, including the right of preparing and consecrating Holy Chrism.” The Tomos confirmed a stipulation in the earlier formal agreement on autocephaly between the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America - now the OCA - and the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). This prerogative of autocephalous churches was then codified in the OCA Statute where it is listed among the duties within the competence of the Metropolitan: “the Metropolitan shall … consecrate and distribute Holy Chrism to the Diocesan Bishops.”

In accordance with this provision of the Tomos of Autocephaly, the consecration of Chrism, presided by each successive OCA Primate, has taken place eight times since 1970, to wit: by Metropolitan Ireney in 1973 and 1977 at Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral in New York City; Metropolitan Theodosius in 1985 at St. Sergius Chapel, Oyster Bay Cove (Syosset), NY, and in 1992 and 1999 at St. Tikhon’s Monastery; Metropolitan Herman in 2004; Metropolitan Jonah in 2012; Metropolitan Tikhon in 2017. Since 1992, all consecrations of Holy Chrism have taken place at St. Tikhon’s Monastery.

Although clergy within reasonable driving distance were enjoined to participate in the lengthy process of preparation and consecration of Holy Chrism that is as a rule conducted during Holy Week, the consecrations in the 1970s were not widely publicized or chronicled, and scant information about them can be found in the OCA Archives. In 1985, a report on the consecration with photos appeared in The Orthodox Church newspaper.

With the advent of the internet in the mid-1990s, publicity became more widespread. In 1999, an article was published on the OCA website describing the second Chrism consecration at St. Tikhon’s Monastery presided over by Metropolitan Theodosius. When Chrism was consecrated by Metropolitan Herman in 2004, the upcoming consecration was announced on the OCA website and a photo report was later published.

The next Chrism consecration was announced eight years later in February 2012. Explanation by Metropolitan Jonah of the meaning of consecrating Chrism may be viewed in his video address on Palm Sunday and read in an Archpastoral letter issued on Holy Monday. The preparation of Chrism on Holy Monday was detailed in a news release and photos. The consecration was reported to the Church and documented with photographs.

The most recent consecration of Chrism, presided by Metropolitan Tikhon, occurred in 2017 and was chronicled through detailed articles, photos and a video on the OCA website:

After the Vesperal Liturgy on Holy Thursday at which Chrism is consecrated, a few drops of old Holy Chrism are poured into each container of newly consecrated Chrism and then the bottle that had contained the old Chrism is filled with new Chrism to be used at the next Chrism consecration. In this tangible way, the continuity of Chrism has been preserved since Apostolic times and will continue to be preserved into the future. This account has attempted to chronicle this continuity as lived out in the Orthodox Church in America. Even under extreme circumstances, the North American Diocese, later known as the Metropolia, sought means to receive Holy Chrism consecrated by her Mother Church. Having received autocephaly in 1970, she now, as the OCA, exercises the right inherent to autocephalous churches to prepare and consecrate Holy Chrism by the hand of her own Primate, which is then distributed by the Primate to the diocesan bishops for use throughout the Church.

After consecrating Holy Chrism in 1952, Metropolitan Leonty, echoing the words of his report in 1919 underscoring the importance of Holy Chrism, issued a resolution in the form of a prayer:

“April 30, 1952, No. 1200. May the blessing of God abide with those who labored in the sacred preparation and consecration of Holy Chrism during the days of Great Lent and especially during the days of Holy Week of this year, 1952. Conducted in brotherly love, with prayerful, pious observance and participation, invoking grace-filled aid from the wonder-working Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God, through the inspiration of the Holy, Life-Creating, All-Good Spirit of God – may this Holy Chrism serve to strengthen new children of the Holy Orthodox Church of Christ in their path from birth and baptism to entry into the Heavenly Kingdom by the prayers of the Most-Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and the intercessions of all the saints, to the glory of the Life-Creating, Consubstantial, All-Holy Trinity. Amen!”

May the gift of the Holy Spirit sacramentally imparted to the faithful through Holy Chrism continue to sustain the Church and let us pray that our Lord would strengthen Metropolitan Tikhon, as he prepares again for the sacred and solemn Primatial task of consecrating Holy Chrism.