It has been the tradition of the Holy Monastery to take advantage of the long Labor Day weekend for the spiritual benefit of the faithful, by holding an All-People’s celebration of the memory of St. Job of Pochaev together with the Pochaev Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The traditions of the monastery in large part hark back to the Pochaev Monastery in Volynia, Ukraine, a great center of Orthodoxy and missionary work in defense of our holy faith from the times of its first abbot, the Venerable St. Job.  Known for his printing efforts in defense of the faith against the inroads of Uniatism in the southwestern part of Holy Rus,” the monastery founded by Archimandrite Vitaly Maximenko, later Archbishop in North America and abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery and first Rector of the Holy Trinity Seminary, in Slovakia, was consecrated to his memory.  Under his protection, the monastery continued the printing efforts of the famous printing presses of Pochaev both for the Church Abroad as well as smuggling literature into the Soviet Union, during the seventy-year communist persecution of the Church.

An exact copy of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Pochaev was gifted by the brotherhood in Pochaev to the monastery in Slovakia, and from there was taken into exile with the brotherhood during World War II, eventually finding its way to the New World.  At first the icon was kept in a cathedral in the Bronx, later being brought to stay in Holy Trinity Monastery.  From those times, it became the tradition to hold a Meeting of the Icon on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, a time when hundreds of pilgrims, taking advantage of the civil holiday, made their way to the monastery.  Many of these pilgrims came from what is now known as Ukraine and were familiar with St. Job, the Pochaev monastery and its miraculous icon of the Theotokos. 

We continue these traditions until this day, having a meeting of the Icon at 3PM, followed by a moleben to the Mother of God and St. Job with an Akathist to St. Job, before the Vigil service Saturday evening. 

Once again, our shores have filled with many immigrants from the Ukrainian land.  And thus, the desire to especially pray to St. Job and the Pochaev Icon continue to be relevant to us, especially in light of what is going on in Ukraine in our days.

On the Sunday itself, besides an early liturgy in the basement church of St. Job, His Grace, Bishop Luke, abbot of the monastery, together with monastery clergy and guests, served a hierarchal liturgy at 9AM in the cathedral, followed by a moleben with a procession around the cathedral with the icons of St. Job and our copy of the Pochaev Icon, which is held by many of the faithful to be miraculous, having received cures of spiritual and medical problems from it.

At the end of the service, the traditional monastery trapeza was open to all of the pilgrims.  Again, on Labor Day itself, Vladyka served a hierarchal liturgy.  After the noon-day meal, His Grace, along with the monastery clergy, served a general pannikhida for members of the brotherhood, whose anniversaries of death were in recent days, including the every-memorable Metropolitan Laurus.  And thus concluded our celebration.