Saint Tikhon’s Monastery
South Canaan, PA
May 29, 2023
Your Eminences, Very Reverend and Reverence Fathers, Venerable Monastics, and all you faithful pilgrims, beloved in Christ the Lord:
With joy I welcome all of you to the annual St. Tikhon’s Memorial Day pilgrimage. I extend a special welcome to my brother His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia. With him I welcome the members of his official delegation: Archpriest Serafim Gan, Chancellor of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia; Protodeacon Eugene Kallaur; and Hierodeacon Panteleimon.
I am further pleased to be joined for this splendid occasion by my brother bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, His Eminence Archbishop Michael of New York and New Jersey and His Eminence Archbishop Melchisedek of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. I also welcome the official representative of His Eminence Archbishop Daniel of Chicago and the Diocese of the Midwest, Priest Alexander Koranda and all the clergy who have gathered here from the various dioceses.
As I indicated in my sermon, this is a place of sanctity, of tradition, of heritage, a place where saints walked and worked. St. Tikhon’s, founded as a Russian Orthodox monastery, is now a monastery of the Orthodox Church in America, but it remains always a point of contact with our holy heritage from the lands of Rus.
It is thus a special joy for me as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America to welcome Your Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas to this celebration, where, filled with joy at our common heritage, venerating together the saints whom we hold in common esteem, strengthened in our common faith, we can look with a common hope toward the upbuilding of holy Orthodoxy in America and all the lands of the West and enter deeper into the bonds of mutual love in Christ.
And, indeed, this is true for all of us. Regardless of our own ethnic heritage, regardless of our jurisdiction, as Orthodox Christians, we all share in the heritage of this holy place. Just as we are all sons of Abraham, so are we, right-believing Christians, all sons and daughters of St. Tikhon, St. Alexis, St. Nikolai of Zicha, and of all the holy fathers who have flourished in this place and throughout this land.
These saints are our saints; this heritage is our heritage. God has given to us this precious tradition; he has preserved for us this wonderful monastery, with its sacred relics and icons, its history and its present vibrancy. We are grateful for the warm hospitality offered by Archimandrite Sergius, the Abbot of this sacred monastery, and the brotherhood in Christ with him, who daily offer prayers on behalf of all the world.
We are also blessed to be graced once again by the presence of the wonderworking icon of the Hawaiian Iveron Mother of God and we offer our thanks to Fr. Nektarios for bringing this sacred treasure to offer to the pilgrims for their veneration.
It is a joy to celebrate here with you all, as a manifestation of the unity which exists among Orthodox Christians and to be inspired by the prayerful and uplifting singing of the choir this morning, under the direction of Benedict Sheehan, who has provided us with a taste of his newly-composed musical setting of the divine liturgy. I invite all of you to take the opportunity of this pilgrimage to enter deeper into the heritage and history and life of St. Tikhon’s Monastery, a heritage that is common to us all.
Your Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas, once again, it is a joy to welcome you, as the newly-enthroned First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and to celebrate in this holy place with you as a sign of the deeper unity in Christ the Lord to which we aim;
Joyous feast! S prazdnikom!