Monasteries prepare for annual August pilgrimages
The word “pilgrimage” means “a journey of spiritual significance.”
And every year, the month of August proves to be significant for three monastic communities of the Orthodox Church in America observing their annual pilgrimages in conjunction their patronal feastdays.
- The Monastery of the Transfiguration, Ellwood City, PA, will celebrate its annual pilgrimage and patronal feast day on Wednesday and Thursday, August 5 and 6, 2015. The pilgrimage will open aith the celebration of Vigil and dinner at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday evening. The following morning, the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated in the outdoor pavilion at 9:30 a.m. The guest homilist will be His Eminence, Metropolitan Savas of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh. Lunch will follow at noon. The Sacrament of Holy Unction with the anointing of pilgrims will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. The pilgrimage will close with the celebration of Vespers at 6:00 p.m. Additional information is available here.
- The New Skete Monasteries, Cambridge, NY, will celebrate its annual pilgrimage on Saturday, August 8. The Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m., after which a full day of events, including photo exhibits, talks, and other activities will be available, together with Greek and Lebanese food booths and a gift shop. At 1:15 p.m., Dr. Tony Vrame, this year’s guest speaker, will deliver a presentation titled “Does the Future have a Church?” A friend of the New Skete communities since the late 1980s, Dr. Vrame is Director of the Department of Religious Education for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Adjunct Associate Professor at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA. The pilgrimage will close with the celebration of a Healing Service with anointing at 4:45 p.m., followed by Vespers. A detailed flyer may be accessed here.
- The 28th annual pilgrimage to the Dormition of the Mother of God Monastery, Rives Junction, MI, will coincide with the celebration of the community’s patronal feast day Friday through Sunday, August 14-16. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon will join His Eminence, Archbishop Nathaniel of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate for the celebration of the festal Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. A complete schedule of the weekend’s many services is available here.