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On Saturday, February 22, at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon celebrated the Divine Liturgy for Memorial Saturday. Prior to the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Tikhon celebrated the service of the prothesis during which he commemorated all the departed bishops, clergy, clergy wives, monastics, and prominent laity who have labored for Christ and His Holy Church from the days of the Russian mission to Alaska, through the time of the Metropolia, up until our very day as recorded in the newly updated and published Diptychs of the Orthodox Church in America.
At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Tikhon served a Trisagion Service for the departed during which he commemorated all the departed bishops who have served and labored in North America since 1794. Addressing the faithful, Metropolitan Tikhon encouraged all members of the Church to download the Diptychs to make them a part of their daily prayer rule noting that the Diptychs of the Orthodox Church in America is, “a moving and impressive list because it provides us a moment to pause and contemplate the lives and work of those who have prayed and labored for the building up of Christ’s Church here in North America.”
The diptychs have been updated and published as part of the Orthodox Church in America’s Churchwide celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the reception of the Tomos of Autocephaly from the Russian Orthodox Church and the canonization of St. Herman of Alaska. As has been announced previously, during this anniversary year the Orthodox Church in America will celebrate these milestones through liturgical celebrations, pilgrimages, lectures, and retreats. Metropolitan Tikhon encourages the faithful of the Orthodox Church in America to participate in local and Churchwide celebrations and to invite Orthodox Christians of all backgrounds to join in these celebrations, giving glory to God for these wonderful gifts that have allowed the Church to take root in North America
In related news, following discussions with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, and representatives of the Patriarchal Parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in the United States Metropolitan Tikhon received word this week from Patriarch Kirill that His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, will represent His Holiness and the Russian Church at the anniversary celebrations to take place in Washington D.C. in November, and His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, Interim Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the United States, will participate in the anniversary celebrations at the Monastery of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk in May, and on Spruce Island, Alaska in August.
Photo Credit: Victor Lutes, Adn. Joseph Matusiak
