At the invitation of His Grace, Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon presided at the Divine Liturgy on the Great Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross according to the Julian Calendar at Saint Nicholas Cathedral here on Tuesday, September 27, 2016. Concelebrating with Metropolitan Tikhon and Bishop John were the cathedral clergy; Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, Secretary of the Orthodox Church in America; Archdeacon Joseph Matusiak, Secretary to His Beatitude; and Subdeacon Roman Ostash. Also in attendance was Archpriest John Jillions, OCA Chancellor.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, the hierarchs proceeded to the center of the cathedral to venerate the Holy Cross. Bishop John warmly welcomed Metropolitan Tikhon and his entourage. After conveying the greetings of His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Bishop John presented a panagia to Metropolitan Tikhon, who in turn presented Bishop John with an icon of Saints Herman of Alaska and the Great Martyr Catherine, patroness of the OCA’s Representation Church in Moscow.
During the luncheon that followed in the cathedral’s refectory, the hierarchs discussed joint projects between the OCA and the Patriarchal Parishes.
Greetings offered by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy
Saint Nicholas Cathedral, New York, NY
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
It is a great blessing to be here today, at the invitation of His Grace, Bishop John, to concelebrate this beautiful and inspiring Divine Liturgy in honor of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of our Lord. It is upon this Cross that Christ was lifted up at the center of the universe and upon which He united heaven and earth and joined together the length, the breadth, the height and the depth of the world in which we live and seek salvation.
In a similar manner, the Cross has united us today through this joyful celebration in which we partake together of the precious Body and Blood of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ. Through this sacred mystery, we are united with Him through the Eucharist and through the worship and veneration of the Cross, and by both these means, we glorify the Holy Resurrection.
I am pleased to be able to serve with all the clergy today, and I am especially filled with great joy in concelebrating with my brother in Christ, Bishop John. Your Grace: the good relations of the Moscow Patriarchate with the Orthodox Church in America are well known to all, and I, together with the members of our Holy Synod, remain grateful to His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill, and to all his predecessors in the great See of Moscow for their care and love, over many decades, for the Russian Mission here in North America and now, the Orthodox Church in America, which humbly stands as the youngest of the sister Churches.
I am always personally grateful to Your Grace for your hospitality and fraternal care, not only when I visit the Church of Russia, but in our continuing good relations here in North America. Your Grace has many responsibilities towards your flock here and with other important international and diplomatic work. Nevertheless, it is inspiring to observe that these heavy burdens do not take away from you the joy of Christ and the love for the people.
As a small expression of thanks for today’s visit, and as a reminder of the close relations between our two Churches, I am pleased to present Your Grace and the Saint Nicholas Cathedral with this icon which depicts Saint Herman of Alaska, the first saint of the North American lands, and Saint Catherine the Great Martyr, the patron of the podvorie of the Orthodox Church in America in Moscow. May this icon remind you of the continuing warm and fraternal relations between the Orthodox Church in America and the Russian Orthodox Church, and may it serve as an encouragement for your faithful to keep all of us in their prayers.
