St. Tikhon’s Community celebrates Founder’s Day
On Sunday, October 8, 2017, members of the communities of Saint Tikhon’s Monastery and Saint Tikhon’s Seminary gathered for their Founder’s Day celebration, held each year on the Sunday closest to the Feast of the Glorification of Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, who founded the monastery.
The day opened with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy by the monastery’s Abbot, Archimandrite Sergius, Archpriest Steven Voytovich, STOTS Dean, and clergy from the seminary and monastery.
In his homily, Archimandrite Sergius appealed to all gathered to continue pursuing the vision of Saint Tikhon with continual prayerful support of the mission of Orthodoxy in North America, aided by the daily prayers of the monastery community. This year, he noted, is special in that it marks the 100th anniversary of Saint Tikhon’s elevation to the Patriarchate.
Following the Liturgy, a festive luncheon was held, at which Father Steven thanked all of the members of the Fellowship of Saint Tikhon and Saint Nikolai for their support of the seminary. He then thanked the members of the Saint Tikhon’s Seminary Century Association, inviting Subdeacon John Lasichak, Association President, to address those gathered for the luncheon.
In the afternoon, the Association’s members held their annual meeting. Subdeacon John called upon the Association’s leadership to report on their successful fundraising activities through the course of the year. Archpriest Dennis Swencki, STOTS Chief Financial Officer, shared heartfelt gratitude on behalf of the seminary for all the Association’s efforts in supporting the seminary, including its annual event, Hospitality a la Russe. On behalf of the Century Association, Subdeacon John presented a check for $7,000.00 to Father Steven Voytovich.
Century Association members support the seminary with annual gifts of at least $100.00.