His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon Visits Springfield, Clinton, and Ansonia Parishes
On April 1-2, 2023 His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon made pastoral visits to the parishes of Saints Peter and Paul in Springfield, MA, Saint Alexis of Wilkes-Barre in Clinton, CT, and Three Saints Church in Ansonia, CT.
On Saturday morning, April 1, His Beatitude presided at the celebration of the hierarchical Divine Liturgy at which time he ordained Pdn. Zachary Wasuta to the Holy Priesthood. His Beatitude also awarded Priest Mark Korban the jeweled cross.
His Beatitude offered a homily on the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, which he encouraged the faithful to pray “more often and more attentively” in order to draw us deeper into the Christian mystery. His Beatitude concluded the day by visiting All Saints Church in Hartford, CT for Great Vespers.
On Sunday, April 2, His Beatitude presided at the celebration of the hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saint Alexis of Wilkes-Barre parish. During the Liturgy, His Beatitude preached a sermon on Saint Mary of Egypt where he spoke on the common misconception—both now and in history—that monastics who live away from the world are somehow not “useful” to people or society. His Beatitude remarked, “St. Mary, among the greatest of ascetics, was not abandoning the world, but benefitting the world immensely through her prayer. Indeed, it is the teaching of the saints that the world is only sustained by and for the prayers of the righteous. In this way, Saint Mary’s self-denial and retreat into the desert was not an abandonment of the world, but a profound act of Christian love.” Following the Divine Liturgy was a lunch in the parish hall.
That afternoon, His Beatitude visited Three Saints Church in Ansonia, CT for a deanery Unction service before concluding his pastoral visits for the weekend.