Oregon Governor Kate Brown has invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act as wildfires continue to spread throughout the state.

There are at least 35 active fires, with more than 368,029 acres burning in the state, according to the Oregon Office of Emergency Management.

Parishes in the Northern Deanery of the Western American Diocese in Oregon are at risk of succumbing to the fires...

It is with pain of heart that I am following the events unfolding in California, which is engulfed in flames, making this the second worst fire season in the history of the state. And I hasten to express my profoundest sympathy to everyone. I prayerfully empathize with His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill, the auxiliary bishops His Grace Bishop Theodosy and His Grace Bishop James, the clergy, monastics and flock of the Western American Diocese, the citizens of California, all who have suffered from the flames and the tens of thousands of firefighters battling them.

Glory to God, the fire did not touch the Church of Our Lady of Kazan on the Russian River...

On Saturday, August 1, 2020 longtime cathedral Archpriest Fr. Serge Kotar retired from service at Holy Virgin Cathedral and left the Western American Diocese. Fr. Serge is moving out East and will be living with his son’s family, not far from the Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, NY).

The Monastery of the All-Merciful Savior is located in Washington State, which was one of the first epicenters of the coronavirus epidemic, then of the mass protests that have swept throughout most of the country. The head of this monastery, Abbot Tryphon (Parsons), a licensed psychologist before his tonsure, has for many years replaced his clients and patients with spiritual children.  

He not only discussed how to rid ourselves of the pandemic and what consequences we might face. The priest, who in his youth was a radical socialist, shared his thoughts on how faith can help overcome tribulations, and also compared today’s events in the USA with the pre-Revolutionary situation in Russia in 1917.

It is most difficult today for the elderly and youth

- Fr Tryphon, why did you, an American, choose Russian Orthodox Christianity?

- It came from the heart. I love Russian culture, Russian music, the Liturgical music of the Russian Church, her traditions. When I began to seek my path to Orthodox Christianity, it was natural for me to join the Russian Church.

- You live in the State of Washington, which became one of the epicenters of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. What do you think of this situation?

Right reverend brother-archpastors, reverend fathers,
beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord!

Pushkin’s chronicler Pimen, passing on his life’s work to his student, said:
"…To thee I hand my task. In hours exempt
From the soul’s exercise, do thou record,
Not subtly reasoning, all things whereto
Thou shalt in life be witness; war and peace,
The sway of kings, the holy miracles
Of saints, all prophecies and heavenly signs; -
For me ‘tis time to rest and quench my lamp…"

"Here is that which is most dear to the Russian people: the holy miracles of saints, prophecies, and heavenly signs. And truly, no celebration in Russia ever saw the coming together of such multitudes in Russia as the opening of new holy relics," said Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), who 100 years ago led the Russian Church Abroad, in one of his sermons.

As we know, the stages of the glorification of a saint in Christ’s Church take place gradually. We, the archpastors, pastors, and flock, examine ourselves against the dispositions of our forebears in the Faith, and in this way the canonization of God’s saints matures and takes shape...

OPEN LETTER
to the Honourable Gavin Newsom, Governor of California
from His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America 
in light of the decree issued by the Governor of California 
that forbids choral singing in churches.

Your Excellency,

I hereby express my protest against the recent prohibition of liturgical singing in houses of worship, which is an infringement of the rights and religious freedoms of the clergy and faithful of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Diaspora, the other Local Orthodox Churches, performing their ministry in this state, as well as other religious bodies.

On July 1st, 2016, Archpriest Sergei Kotar, a cleric of Holy Virgin Cathedral and founder of Saint John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy, shares his recollections of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker and many of the latter's miracles wrought in the school.

This presentation was one of many given at the Symposium sponsored by the Saints Athanasius and Cyril Institute for Orthodox Studies, which was entitled “Saint John and His Legacy”, and was dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of his repose (1966-2016).