On September 8/21, the Holy Church celebrates the first great feast of the church year, the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, as it is called in the service, “The beginning of our salvation.”
Our abbot, His Grace, Bishop Luke, returned from a week-long church council meeting in New York, accompanied by the vicar bishop of the German diocese, His Grace, Bishop Job. It was the first visit of Vladyka Job to our monastery. They brought with them the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God of Kursk, the guardian of our Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.
Bishop Job served the Litya durng the All-Night Vigil and served the Polyleos together with Vladyka Luke. On the following day, the two bishops concelebrated the Divine Liturgy, together with the monastery clergy. Many of the faithful came in order to venerate the holy icon of the Mother of God. After lunch, all of the rooms of the monastics and seminarians were blessed with the icon.
At the Small Entrance, Deacon Andrew Doubleday was given the title of Protodeacon for his many years of faithful and fervent service to the Church.
At around 3PM, Bishop Job departed for New York. In the evening, after Small Compline, a moleben with Akathist was served in front of the Kursk Icon. The following day, the icon was in church in the morning for the morning services and then departed for the Canadian diocese.
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