Once a year during Great Lent, Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary celebrate the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts of St. James, the Brother of the Lord. This is a very unique service, not only because the Liturgy of St. James is the oldest of the eastern liturgies extant but also because this presanctified version of the liturgy was translated by ROCOR’s Bishop Jerome (Shaw).

Harkening to the Holy Sepulcher and to pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the liturgy creates an atmosphere that is distinctly its own while being clearly within the eastern ethos. It reminds those present of the ancient origins of the Church, creating a bond to the sacred spaces that may be forgotten about in America.

Also, this gives the seminarians the experience of the richness and variety of Orthodox tradition, whose differences are held together by the firm bond of Faith. Lord willing, they will transfer this spirit to their parishes when they graduate.