Jordanville, NY, Sept. 9, 2015
Every year in September, on the Sunday of Labor Day
weekend,
Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY triumphally
celebrates the memory of its heavenly intercessor,
Venerable Job of Pochaev. This year, the celebration of
St. Job took place on September 5-7th and was led by His
Grace, Eastern American Diocesan vicar Bishop Nicholas of
Manhattan. Pilgrims from across the Diocese traveled to
Jordanville to continue the tradition of the Labor Day
pilgrimage.
The festivities began on Saturday
afternoon, when the monastics, clergy, and pilgrims
gathered at Holy Trinity Cathedral and performed a
procession to the monastery cemetery, to Holy Dormition
Church, to greet a miraculous copy of the Pochaev Icon
of the Mother of God. Upon returning to the main
cathedral, the icon was greeted by Bishop Nicholas, who
then led the faithful in singing the akathist to the
great God-pleaser St. Job before the icons of the
Pochaev Mother of God, the Kursk Root Mother of God,
and St. Job. That evening, the All-Night Vigil was
served.
On Sunday morning, the early Liturgy was celebrated in
Holy Trinity Cathedral’s lower Church of St. Job of
Pochaev. The festal Divine Liturgy in the upper church was
celebrated by Bishop Nicholas, co-served by monastery and
visiting clergy.
Upon completion of the Liturgy, His Grace addressed the
faithful with a sermon on the Gospel reading of the day,
which related the parable of the wedding feast.
"The Lord summons all of us to the
wedding feast of His Son, where the Divine Liturgy is
celebrated, and the Holy Gifts – the Body and
Blood of Christ – offered. In order to be with
Christ, we must approach this correctly, with
preparedness and in a worthy manner. We must prepare
for the service. This does not apply to the clergy and
monastics only, but to the laity, as well. The divine
services must proceed properly, worthily, and
triumphally, with prayer and repentance. Confessions
should be made prior to the Liturgy, not during its
celebration. Prayers, canons, and akathists should be
read at home, and in this way we can come to the
services radiant, clad in wedding garments. Thus will
we truly be great guests of our King and Lord Jesus
Christ, and will take active part in the feast, that
is, in the Divine Liturgy… May the Lord God help
us to hear this invitation. …We find sufficient
time for every worldly undertaking, so why can we not
find the time to prepare for the service – to
make confession, to reflect on our salvation? May the
Lord God and our Heavenly intercessor Venerable Job of
Pochaev, whom we especially reverence today, aid us in
this. He did not merely vest himself in wedding
garments, becoming a monastic athlete, but invited many
others, as well, and defended the Orthodox Faith. So
must we invite others, and explain to them our Faith.
By our lives, by our Christian example, we can bring
many to the Faith, to salvation. May the Lord God, the
Most Pure Mother of God, and St. Job help us to
understand, to heed this invitation, to come with joy
to the wedding feast – the Divine Liturgy –
and to take active part in it."
After the sermon, a moleben with a
procession around the cathedral was served. After the
service, on behalf of Metropolitan Hilarion, Bishop
Nicholas greeted Fr. Luke and his brother clergy and
all of the faithful on the occasion of the
feast.
"Our First Hierarch, His Eminence, Metropolitan
Hilarion, congratulates all of you with the feast, and
sends down his archpastoral blessing to you all. I thank
the fathers for their participation in the Divine Meal,
the singers for their hymnody, the servers for their help
in the altar, and you, brothers and sisters, for your
prayers. I also personally congratulate the brethren with
this marvelous feast. It is always a delight for me to
come here on this day, to pray, and to celebrate the
Divine Liturgy. And it is so wonderful to see so many
pilgrims from far and wide: from Brooklyn, New York,
Boston, Canada, and even from Europe. It is so wonderful
that we have all gathered here in one place to pray. Let
us continue to gather in these days, and glorify Venerable
Job, seeking the aid and intercession of the Mother of
God, and supporting our Holy Trinity Monastery."
On behalf of the gathered pilgrims,
diocesan secretary Archpriest Serge Lukianov greeted
His Grace on the occasion of the feast, and thanked Fr.
Luke and the brethren for their continued prayers and
monastic struggles. Addressing the gathered pilgrims,
Fr. Serge urged them to generously support the
monastery not only with their prayers, but with alms
and monetary donations. A special collection was then
undertaken to help the brethren continue working on the
much-needed renovations of monastery churches and
buildings. Those who wish to participate can donate to
the monastery directly through their official website
www.jordanville.org.
A festal luncheon was served in the monastic refectory,
during which the pilgrims attentively listened to readings
from the Lives of the Saints. After lunch, pilgrims had an
opportunity to interact with one another on the monastery
grounds, where various kiosks were set up, offering
handmade products from the monastery and the neighboring
St. Elizabeth’s Skete.
The pilgrimage concluded with a Divine Liturgy on Monday
morning, September 7, during which many of the pilgrims
once again partook of Holy Communion before returning to
their homes, glorifying God through His chosen
wonder-worker, Ven. Job of Pochaev.
A photo gallery of the weekends events may be viewed
here.
10 сентября 2015 г.
