On Saturday, June 24, 2023, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America will serve Divine Liturgy at the Kazan Church in Guerneville, CA

Schedule:
8:40 am Hours
9:00 am Divine Liturgy
Potluck in the churchyard (lenten)

Archpriest Peter Perekrestov, Dean of Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco and Secretary of the Diocesan Council of the Western American Diocese made a spring pilgrimage to Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. He participated in the celebrations of the great feast of Mid-Pentecost, May 10th of this year. Below is a photo report of the Feast.

On the occasion of its 90th Anniversary the youth of Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Seattle, Washington, created the following film.

On Tuesday, 16 May 2023, the feast day of St Theodosius of the Kievan Caves, and the anniversary of the repose of Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral), His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, having prayed at the monastic midnight office at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, officiated at early Divine Liturgy in the monastery’s Cathedral. A special commemoration was made for Metropolitan Hilarion during the service.

After a memorial trapeza luncheon held at noon, His Eminence performed a pannikhida service at the grave of the sixth Primate of the Russian Church Abroad at the monastic cemetery.

The celebration of the holy memory of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker falls on Saturday July 2nd, 2022. This year the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia celebrates the 30th anniversary of the opening of his honorable relics.

Schedule:

Thursday, June 29th at 7:00 PM -- Translation of the honorable relics and Akathist Hymn to Saint John
Friday, June 30th at 6:00 PM -- The Greeting of His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America and All-night Vigil
Saturday, July 1st at 9:00 AM -- The Greeting of the Bishop and Divine Liturgy

With the blessing of His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, all are welcome to join members of the Western American Diocese for the traditional pilgrimage to Fort Ross on Memorial Day, May 29th, 2023.

The Holy Trinity/Saint Nicholas Chapel at Fort Ross is the first Russian Orthodox Church in the contiguous United States. Fort Ross is holy land – where two saints have labored: St Innocent of Alaska/Moscow and the Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut. Two other saints, St Tikhon and St John of Shanghai, have prayed here and sanctified the lands, the chapel, and the cemetery.

After the liturgy a procession to the cemetery with a "Litya for the Departed." 

On behalf of our Rector, Dean, faculty, and students, I am excited to announce the details for Holy Trinity Seminary's 75th Anniversary Celebration, which is set to take place this coming September 15-17, 2023

For more information, including the schedule of events (also printed below) and to purchase tickets for the Anniversary Concert on Friday evening and the Benefit Banquet on Sunday afternoon, visit the dedicated page on our website HERE.

EVENT SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, SEPT 15
8:00-10:00 pm – Anniversary Concert: Bells, Choirs, and Resounding Virtuosity
Location: Christ Episcopal Church in Cooperstown, NY (5 min. away from Otesaga Hotel).
Advance ticket purchase is required. See the website link above.
SATURDAY, SEPT 16
9:00 am-3:00 pm – Public Program: The Orthodox Christian Seminary in the 21st Century: Pathways, Questions, and Historical Dilemmas
Location: Holy Trinity Seminary Nicholas Alexandrov Building - The Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov Hall
7:00 pm – All-Night Vigil in the cathedral.
SUNDAY, SEPT 17
9:00 am – Entrance of His Eminence, Metropolitan NICHOLAS, First Hierarch of ROCOR followed by Hierarchal Divine Liturgy.
3:00 pm – Otesaga Hotel - Cooperstown, NY / Benefit Banquet
Advance purchase of tickets or tables required. 

With questions or for additional information, contact our 75th Anniversary coordinator John Keller by email at 75th@hts.edu or call him at 315-409-1445.

We hope to see you here for this wonderful milestone in the life of the Seminary!

In Christ,

Deacon Michael Pavuk
Director of Development
Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary

Paschal Message from Patriarch KIRILL of Moscow and All Russia to Archpastors, Pastors, Deacons, Monastics and All Faithful Children
of the Russian Orthodox Church

Beloved in the Lord archpastors, all-honourable presbyters and deacons, God-loving monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters,

I address all of you, Orthodox Christians living in many countries of the world, who are now in churches or praying in your homes, to extend greetings to you on the great feast of Holy Pascha with my heart full of spiritual joy, and to proclaim victoriously in accord with the ancient tradition:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

 Reverend Fathers, Venerable Monastics, and Pious Faithful of the Western American Diocese:

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

With a sense of Paschal joy and special spiritual closeness, despite the distance separating us, I greet you, Eminent Brother Archpastors, honorable fathers, dear brothers and sisters scattered throughout the world, on this great and light-bearing day of the Pascha of Christ!

CHRIST IS RISEN!

On the Feast of the Annunciation, George Fokin was ordained to the diaconate, and shortly thereafter on the Feast of the Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem, he was ordained to the holy priesthood.

Priest George is attached to the Holy Virgin Cathedral. 

With the blessing of His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America and under the Protection of the Wonderworking Myrrh-streaming “Iveron-Hawaiian” Icon of the Mother of God the clergy of the Western American Diocese held a pastors’ retreat at Saint Paisius Monastery in Safford, Arizona, from March 13-15, 2023.

The registrants of bishops, priests, and deacons numbered a record 43 indicating that the retreat had been met with great enthusiasm by the clergy of our Diocese — in part because such a gathering had not been held since the fall of 2019, and partially due to the fact that the venue was being held at Saint Paisius Monastery situated in the high Sonoran Desert at the base of Mount Graham. Of course, the presence of our Lady the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary through Her miraculous myrrh-streaming “Iveron-Hawaiian” Icon was seen as an immeasurable consolation as well...

A leaflet on the Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian was prepared by Andre Kusubov, a parishioner of the Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco..

At the beginning of Great Lent, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev & All Ukraine, called upon and blessed the faithful to fulfill a special rule of prayer for peace. The rule is as follows: throughout the fast read the 45th and 90th Psalms, do 12 full prostrations, and read the Lord’s Prayer daily, for peace in the Ukrainian Land. With the blessing of Archbishop Kyrill we are posting the text of this “Rule for Peace” for the members of the Western American Diocese and website visitors.

Pastors' Retreat, Great Lent 2023

With the blessing of His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America
and Under the Protection of the Wonderworking Myrrh-streaming
“Iveron-Hawaiian” Icon of the Mother of God

Dates: March 13-15, 2023
Location: Saint Paisius Monastery, Safford, AZ

Lenten Retreat with His Grace Irenei Bishop of Great Britain & Western Europe
Event Date: March 17-19, 2023
Event Location: 4700 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507

The event is free but donations are welcome! Please register so we can ensure plenty of seating for all attendees.

Lecture 1- "The Lamb Slain Before the Foundation of the World Moving Beyond Creationism and Evolution."
Lecture 2 - "The Order of Salvation: The Creation of the Cosmos as the Beginning of the Church in Genesis."
Lecture 3 - "The Creation of Man: The Pinnacle of Creation"
Lecture 4 and Q&A - "Creation and Its Consequences: The Sanctity of Life and Ecology"

to the Archpastors, Pastors, Deacons,
Monastics and All the Faithful Children
of the Russian Orthodox Church

Beloved in the Lord archpastors, all-honourable
presbyters and deacons, God-loving monks
and nuns, dear brothers and sisters,

Today, as the Heavenly and earthly Church in conciliar unity glorifies God Incarnate, I extend my heartfelt greetings to all of you on the great and radiant feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The XVI Annual Saint Herman’s West Youth Conference was held from December 26-30, 2022. Being supported by several diocesan clergymen and many youth counselors, the conference hosted just under 50 youth of the Western American Diocese at Christ the Savior Orthodox Church in Youngtown, Arizona.

The conference met its aims by providing educational and social opportunities for our diocesan youth. Lectures, panel discussions, workshops, and exposure to a broader range of clergy and peers heighten an Orthodox formation in our youth and provide them with a much-needed authentic, spiritual context, as their young and fresh minds are forming opinions, coming to conclusions, and establishing convictions about the path they will take in life.

With the blessing of His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, diocesan clergy gathered around His Grace JAMES Bishop of Sonora, who presided over the conference.

Two holy icons graced the occasion:

Eminent Fellow Archpastors, Honorable Fathers, Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

Greetings with the Nativity of Christ!

In these days of great joy, the thoughts of the archpastors, pastors, monastics, parishioners, and faithful of the churches and monasteries of our dioceses, scattered like God’s wheat over the vast earth, meet in the meek Bethlehem cave, in the semi-darkness in which was lit the unquenchable Light of the world — our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God! Spiritually gathering with all of you in the modest cave near Bethlehem, and kneeling down before the poor manger of the Divine Infant and His Most Pure Mother, I join my prayers to yours and implore God the Word incarnate to grant His Church grace-filled mercies and blessed success in Her ministry, and to all Orthodox peoples speedy deliverance from fratricidal war, restoration of justice and peace, that peace of which the angelic choir sang over the city of David on that holy night of the Nativity!

As the Biblical book, “The Wisdom of Sirach” narrates:

The Deputy Abbot of St. Silouan's Monastery, monk Ignatius, peacefully reposed in the Lord on Saturday, December 18/31, 2022, at 10:30 am, surrounded by diocesan clergy and close friends of the monastery. 

The funeral will take place at Saint Susanna's Orthodox Church (OCA, Priest Peter Runyan, Rector) in Sonora, CA, on Wednesday, January 4th, 2023. The abbot of the monastery, Bishop James of Sonora, will be presiding. 

FUNERAL SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023: Panykhida at 6:00 pm
Wednesday, January 4th, 2023: Divine Liturgy at 8:00 am, Funeral at 10:00 am

Address:
10825 Robinwood Ln, Sonora, CA 95370 
 Phone: (209) 352-6791

Burial at Saint Silouan's Monastery
Meal to follow at Union Hill Inn, 21645 Parrotts Ferry Rd, Sonora, CA 95370

On Monday December 19th, 2022, on its Patronal Feast Day of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, the northernmost parish of the Western American Diocese, Saint Nicholas Cathedral, celebrated its 90th anniversary. The parish members which built the seven-domed cathedral in the Capital Hill area of Seattle, Washington, received the blessing for its founding in 1932 from Archbishop Tikhon, who was at that time the ruling bishop of the San Francisco and Western American Diocese.  The founding fathers of the parish, many of whom were former officers in the Royal Imperial Navy of the Russian Empire, had a profound reverence for the last Tsar, the Holy Passion-bearer Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II, and they chose to dedicate the parish to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker – the Patron Saint of the Tsar-Martyr.  The cathedral is one of the first churches in history to be designated as a memorial to Tsar Nicholas and his family.

The festal services were exceptional due to the presence of the ruling hierarch of the Diocese, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, and his auxiliary bishop of the Northern Deanery, His Grace Bishop THEODOSY of Seattle, who were accompanied by...

On Sunday, November 6, the Holy Virgin "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Cathedral in San Francisco will be marking its parish feast day. The feast day Vigil is on Saturday, November 5 at 5:00 pm, and there will be ONE Liturgy on Sunday, November 6 at 9:00 am. Following the Liturgy, the Cathedral Sisterhood invites the faithful for a feast day meal. Please join us for this joyous celebration.

A monthly Liturgy is scheduled at the Kazan Church in Guerneville, CA, on Saturday, November 12th, 2022, at 9:00 am.

Archbishop Kyrill is presiding. An outdoor meal will follow.

Schedule:
Hours at 8:40 AM
Divine Liturgy at 9:00 AM

Address:
Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Church
17370 Neeley Rd,
Guerneville, CA 95446

St. Herman's West 2022 will be held this year at Christ the Savior Orthodox Church in Youngtown (near Phoenix), AZ. Arrival is December 26 with departure on December 30. The conference will include a work project -- building a walkway for processions at the church, panel discussions, lectures by Fr. George Kaplanov, liturgical workshops, a hierarchal liturgy, and social interaction in beautiful areas of Phoenix and Old Town Scottsdale. Come out for a break from winter weather and an injection of new life into your Orthodox life! Registration for parishioners of the ROCOR Western American Diocese opens October 1 via the link HERE.

On Tuesday, 13 September, 2022, the members of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, led by His Eminence Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany, celebrated Divine Liturgy at the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” in New York City. At the end of divine services, the archpastors performed a moleben for the opening of the Council, invoking the Holy Spirit to help in their work.

Attending the Council of Bishops were Metropolitan Mark; His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of Western America and New York; His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada; His Eminence Archbishop Peter of Chicago and Mid-America; His Grace Bishop John of Caracas and South America; His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe; His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan; His Grace Bishop Theodosius of Seattle; His Grace Bishop Luke of Syracuse; His Grace Bishop Alexander of Vevey and His Grace Bishop Job of Stuttgart. His Grace Bishop George of Canberra participated electronically.

To the Pastors, Monastics and the Pious Children of the Church Abroad

Beloved brethren and sisters!

We, the Hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, having assembled together in Sacred Council on the eve of the Ecclesiastical New Year in the Synodal Residence in the God-protected city of New York, in the presence of our Hodegetria and guide, the wonderworking Kursk-root icon of the Mother of God, greet you with the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, which He spoke unto His disciples after His Resurrection: ‘Be of good cheer: I have overcome the world!’ (John 16.33).

We are of good cheer, because we are witnesses to the Lord’s great mercy unto His children and the continuity of His headship of the Church. Having seen fit to call unto Himself our pious and humble First Hierarch, the blessedly-reposed and much-beloved Metropolitan Hilarion, He has not left us bereft of order and care. We began our Council with the election of Metropolitan Hilarion’s successor, the seventh Primate of the Russian Church Abroad, following the order of election approved and sanctified by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco. By the Will of God, His Grace Nicholas, Bishop of Manhattan, was elected to bear this yoke of service - he who for many years has borne the obedience lain upon him by our Synod of accompanying the miraculous Kursk-root icon in its travels throughout the Russian Orthodox Diaspora, and over the last one and a half decades, all across Russia.

On Tuesday, 13 September, 2022, the member hierarchs of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany, celebrated Divine Liturgy at the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” in New York City. Afterwards, the bishops performed a moleben for the opening of a Council of Bishops, invoking the aid of the Holy Spirit for their work.

After a luncheon in the main hall of the Synodal residence, the Council began. Vladyka Mark delivered the keynote address, after which His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America was elected Vice President, and elected as Council Secretaries were His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, His Grace Bishop Theodosius of Seattle and His Grace Bishop Job of Stuttgart. Appointed as members of the election Counting Committee were His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe and His Grace Bishop Luke of Syracuse.

The hierarchs then proceeded to the Synodal Cathedral for the election of a new First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia...

Please, register to join us for a ZOOM fundraising event on Sat Oct 1, 2022  from 11 am to 1 pm (PDT).

On Tuesday, 13 September, 2022, the election of the new Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia by its Council of Bishops took place. In accordance with the Act of Canonical Communion, signed on 17 May, 2007, the Council will send the Act of the election, drafted by the counting committee to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with a request to bless the electee to assume the duties of the First Hierarch entrusted to him by his brethren archpastors, and for confirmation of the election by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The rite of enthronement of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York, newly-elected First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, will take place on Sunday, 18 September.

The schedule of divine services associated with the enthronement is as follows:

The Iveron-Hawaiian Myrrh-streaming Icon is scheduled to visit Holy Virgin Cathedral on September 3rd and 4th, 2022.

Schedule:
Saturday September 3rd from 5:00 PM through All-night Vigil.
Sunday, September 4th from 7:30 AM until 1:00 PM

Address:
Holy Virgin Cathedral
6210 Geary Boulevard
San Francisco, CA 94121

A monthly Liturgy is scheduled at the Kazan Church in Guerneville, CA, on Saturday August 13th, 2022, at 9:00 am.

Archbishop Kyrill is presiding. An outdoor meal will follow.

The miraculous myrrh-streaming Iveron-Hawaiian Icon of the Mother of God visited parishes in the San Francisco Bay Area from the 9th to the 12th of July, 2022.

On Saturday, July 9th, the holy Icon, in the company of its guardian Deacon Nectarios Yangson, visited the Saint John of Kronstadt Health Care Center in Castro Valley at 3:00 pm. They were met by Archpriest Stefan Pavlenko who led them to all the rooms of patients who are Orthodox and they were anointed. Soon after that, the holy Icon visited the Old Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, CA. His Grace Bishop James of Sonora greeted at the icon at 5:00 pm and the All-night Vigil to the Resurrection of Christ was celebrated.

On Sunday, July 10th the myrrh-streaming Icon visited the Holy Resurrection Church (Romanian Episcopate, OCA) in Hayward, CA, for the Divine Liturgy. The Rector of the church, Father Octavian Mahler, presided over the Divine Liturgy. Later that day the Iveron-Hawaiian Icon traveled to Sacramento, CA, and was present at an Unction service held at the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel Church (Romanian Episcopate, OCA) on Raley Boulevard, CA. The parish offered hospitality to the clergy and parishioners in the parish hall after the Divine Service.

On the Feast of the Holy, Glorious All-praised and Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul, Monday, July 11, and on Tuesday, July 12,...

On July 2, 2022, the funeral service for Archpriest Alexei Poliakov took place at the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA. The parishioners of two parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia – where Fr. Alexei served on a permanent basis in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior since 1999, and also in the Church of the Protection of the Mother of God on a temporary basis for a year –– merged into a single prayer and love for their good shepherd, whose sudden departure was echoed by deep sorrow in the hearts of the parishioners of both parishes.

On Sunday, July 3, 2022, Father Deacon Sebastian Craffey was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America at the Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, CA. Father Sebastian will be assigned to Holy Archangels Orthodox Church in Phoenix, AZ, which is under the rectorship of Priest John McCuen. Father Sebastian was ordained to the diaconate at Holy Virgin Cathedral on November 6th, 2021, and has served at Holy Archangels in Phoenix since that time, and joins a growing number of clergy serving the Orthodox churches in Arizona.

On Friday, June 24, on the day of the celebration Icon of the Mother of God "It is Truly Meet,” at the age of 63, Archpriest Alexei Poliakov, a cleric of the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA, reposed in the Lord. Father Alexei reposed unexpectedly in the presence of his beloved family,  Matushka Marina, and their children.

Father Alexei Petrovich Polyakov was born on February 5, 1959, in a priest's family. His father, Archpriest Peter Poliakov, served for more than 50 years in the Moscow Diocese and served as a Rector of several consecutive parishes in both the rural and suburban regions around Moscow.

On Sunday, July 31, 2022, His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America will celebrate the Patronal Feast of Saint Elias Church in Placerville, CA.

Schedule for Sunday, July 31:
Greeting of the Bishop at 9:30 am
A festal meal in the church hall.

Address:
St. Elias Orthodox Mission
4253 Fowler Lane
Diamond Springs, CA 95619

The Parish Feast Day of the Kazan Church in Guerneville, CA, is to be celebrated on Saturday, July 23, 2022. 

Schedule:
Friday, July 22: Great Vespers, Litya and the Blessing of the Five Loaves
Saturday, July 23 at 9:00 am: Divine Liturgy. His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America presiding. Festal meal to follow.

On July 2, 2022, the great feast of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker, His Grace Nicholai Bishop of Manhattan and Deputy Secretary of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, on behalf of the Synod of Bishops, awarded His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America with the Order of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, First Degree. This highest award of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was bestowed upon His Eminence for his thirty years of service in the office of the Episcopacy (June 7th, 1992) and for his forty years in the office of the priesthood.

On Saturday, July 2, 2022, a multitude of clergy and laity gathered together at Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, CA, to celebrate the memory of our Father among the Saints John Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker.

“Love never fails” (I Cor. 13:8), nor does Saint John the Wonderworker who incarnated love, who converted the self-love of our fallen nature into Divine love for God and man. Following in the footsteps of all the Saints, he crucified his “flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof” (Gal. 5:24), denying himself, taking up his cross, and following Christ. The great number of people who joyously came to the Feast Day to venerate Saint John’s honorable relics in the cathedral and glorify his holy memory are filled with grace, as the Saints never die. What they give in Christ to their neighbors while alive on earth, they continue to share in abundance from beyond the grave. All who were present sensed this, experience Saint John’s love, and are not left bereft of consolation. How many problems are resolved, and how many sorrows are forgotten through the intercessions of Saint John and his love for all people.

This year, after two difficult years of abiding by quarantine restrictions,...

We are pleased to announce the Wonderworking and Myrrh-streaming Iveron Icon of Hawaii will be brought to the San Francisco Bay Area in July 2022. She is being escorted by her guardian, Father Nectarios from Hawaii.
The current schedule is provided below:
July 9, 2022, Saturday
Old Holy Virgin Cathedral
864 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
4:50pm, Arrival of the Wonderworking Iveron Icon
5:00pm, All-Night Vigil
July 10, 2022, Sunday
Holy Resurrection Church
26050 Kay Avenue
Hayward, CA 94545
9:00am, Matins
9:45am, Arrival of the Wonderworking Iveron Icon
10:00am, Divine Liturgy
12:30pm, Akathist to the Mother of God
1:00pm, Reception in honor of the Mother of God
Orthodox Hawaiian Iveron Icon Association (OHIIA)
PO Box 251
Aiea, HI 96701
Website

On Thursday, 30 June 2022, a remote meeting of the Synod of Bishops of the Russia Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was held, presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany. Participating in the meeting were His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America, Secretary of the Synod of Bishops; His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada; His Eminence Archbishop Peter of Chicago and Mid-America; His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe and His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, Deputy Secretary of the Synod of Bishops.

The bishops heard a report by Bishop Irenei, Secretary of the Synodal Inter-Orthodox Relations Department, on recent developments; Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), Chief of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem on affairs in the Holy Land.

Dear in the Lord Matushka Marina Alexandrovna!

Accept our deep condolences for the sudden repose of your spouse, Father Alexei. As the Holy Fathers say, with the repose of those close to us, we together with them, bury a part of our soul. For the widow and children, it is a tremendous loss. In such sorrowful moments, we are always looking for consolation in the words of the Holy Scriptures: “I am the Resurrection and the Life; He who believes in Me, if he dies, will live” (John 11:25). And in another place: “Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For He is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him” (Luke 36-38).

On Friday July 1, 2022, clergy and faithful honored the memory of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker at Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, CA, by participating the vigil before his honorable and miraculous relics.

His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America was formally greeted at 6:00 pm before the start of the vigil. Concelebrating with him were His Grace Theodosy Bishop of Seattle and His Grace Nicholai Bishop of Manhattan along with many priests and deacons.

On Thursday, June 30th, 2022, on the eve of St. John’s Day, the annual Akathist to Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker was sung before his honorable and miraculous relics in the Diocesan Cathedral dedicated to the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow.”

Immediately following the daily vespers and matins Services Saint John’s relics were translated from his shrine to the center of the cathedral. This year Archpriest Peter Perekrestov, the Dean of the Cathedral, Hieromonk Sofronie of the Dervent Monastery in Romania, and Priest George Kaplanov served the Akathist.

On June 29th, 2022, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America received at Holy Virgin Cathedral His Eminence JOSEPH Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America along with a group of pilgrims, both clergy and laity, that came to honor the memory of the Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker, venerate his honorable relics and ask for his intercessions.

Vespers was held by a guest archpriest and two choirs chanted, one consisting of clergy on kliros and another of the laity from the body of the church.

At the end of vespers, Archbishop Kyrill welcomed Metropolitan Joseph to the cathedral...

On Friday, June 24th, 2022, the monastic communities and parishes of the Western American Diocese served a panykhida for newly-departed Metropolitan Hilarion who governed the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia from 2008-2022. Memory Eternal to our beloved Frist-Hierarch.

On Sunday June 26th, 2022, on the Day of Commemoration of All the Saints that have shown forth in the Russian Land, All Russian Saints Church, it’s clergy and faithful, in Burlingame, CA, celebrated their Patronal Feast Day.

The Divine Liturgy was presided over by His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America. Substituting for the Father Rector, Archpriest Stefan Pavlenko, was Archpriest Peter Perekrestov, Dean of Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, CA. Also, concelebrating were Archdeacon Peter (Karakozoff) and Deacon Alexei Baranoff.

The Funeral for newly-departed Archpriest Alexei Poliakov will take place at Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA, on the day of the celebration of the memory of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker, which is also the 9th Day from the repose of Father Alexei. 

Schedule
Friday, July 1 –– Panykhida at 6:00 pm
Saturday, July 2 –– Funeral at 10:00 am, pominki in the church hall of the cathedral will follow
Burial to take place in Russia

Address:
Holy Transfiguration Cathedral
5432 Fernwood Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027

В субботу 2-го июля в день Празднования Иоанна Шанхайского - в 10 утра будет Отпевание (это будет как раз 9-ый день).
После отпевания - Поминки в большом зале при Соборе.
Хоронить батюшку будут в России.

In preparation for the impending celebration of their patronal feast day, a group of four motivated parishioners of Saint Seraphim of Sarov Church in Seaside, CA, generously donated a week of their time, showing devotion and love for Saint Seraphim of Sarov the Wonderworker by replacing the floor in the Holy Altar. In addition to this, the brand new flooring material used was considerably discounted.

A Long-time cleric of the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral on Los Angeles, Archpriest Alexei Poliakov, reposed in the Lord in the early hours of the morning yesterday the 11/24 of June, 2022.

Yesterday evening a panykhida was performed in Father Alexei’s name...

On Memorial Day, May 30th, 2022, clergy and faithful of the Western American Diocese took the annual trek to Fort Ross Historic Park to participate in the Divine Liturgy, procession to the cemetery and a litya for those departed who are buried at Fort Ross, who lived, labored and reposed at there about 200 years ago.

His Grace Theodosy Bishop of Seattle presided over the festivities. Concelebrating with him were Archpriests Peter Perekrestov, George Kurtow, Paul Volmensky, Alexander Krassovsky, Priest George Kaplanov and Deacons Nicholas Stoltz, Paul Kozachenko and Alex Baranoff. The choir was conducted by Konstantine Pavlov and its members consisted of the pilgrims of the diocese.

His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill greeted...

The celebration of the holy memory of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker falls on Saturday July 2nd, 2022.

Schedule:

Thursday, June 30th at 7:00 PM -- Translation of the honorable relics and Akathist Hymn to Saint John

Friday, July 1st at 6:00 PM -- The Greeting of His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America and All-night Vigil

Saturday, July 2nd at 9:00 AM -- The Greeting of the Bishop and Divine Liturgy

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia congratulated His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on the 30th anniversary of his episcopal consecration:

To His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill
of San Francisco and Western America

Your Eminence:

I send heartfelt greetings on this important day, the 30th anniversary of your episcopal consecration...

On Saturday, June 25th His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco will preside over the Divine Liturgy at the Kazan Church in Guerneville, CA.

Schedule:
Hours at 8:40 am
Liturgy at 9:00 am

Address:
17370 Neeley Road
Guerneville, CA 95446

On May 22, the 5th Sunday of Holy Pascha, the commemoration of the meeting of the Lord with the Samaritan Woman, and then the Holy Church honors the memory of the Holy Hierarch and Wonderworker Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, the burial of the newly departed First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America & New York, was held at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY.

The evening prior, the coffin containing the Metropolitan’s body was brought to Holy Trinity Monastery, where on May 22 Metropolitan Mark of Berlin & Germany celebrated Divine Liturgy. Concelebrated with His Eminence were: Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal & Canada, Archbishop Peter of Chicago & Mid-America, Archbishop Irenee of Ottawa (OCA), Bishop Irenei of London & Western Europe, Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, Bishop Luke of Syracuse, Bishop Gedeon of Makarovka (vicar of the Kiev Metropolitanate UOC), and Bishop Jerome (Shaw), as well as a multitude of clergy from various dioceses of the Russian Church Abroad...

On Monday, 23 May, 2022, a meeting of the Synod of Bishops of the Russia Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was held, presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany. Participating in the meeting were His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America, Secretary of the Synod of Bishops; His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada; His Eminence Archbishop Peter of Chicago and Mid-America; His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe and His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, Deputy Secretary of the Synod of Bishops.

A series of decisions were taken during the meeting:

On Saturday, May 21, the feast of the Holy Apostle & Evangelist John the Theologian, the monastic funeral of the newly reposed First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad ‒ His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York ‒ was held in the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City.

Metropolitan Mark of Berlin & Germany officiated the service, co-served by members of the Synod of Bishops: Archbishops Kyrill of San Francisco & Western America, Gabriel of Montreal & Canada, and Peter of Chicago & Mid-America; and Bishops Nicholas of Manhattan and Irenei of London & Western Europe. Also taking part in the funeral rite were hierarchs of other Local Churches: Metropolitan Joseph of New York (Antiochian Archdiocese of North America; funeral only), Archbishop Michel of New York & New Jersey (Orthodox Church in America; Liturgy only), and Bishop Gedeon of Makarovka (vicar of the Kievan Metropolitanate, with the blessing of Metropolitan Onufry), as well as a multitude of clergy of the Russian Church Abroad and guests.

On Tuesday, 4/17 May, 2022, the 15th anniversary of the restoration of the fullness of Church unity within the Russian Orthodox Church, and the eve of the anniversary of the enthronement of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, a session of the Synod of Bishops of ROCOR was held, presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany.

The members of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad announced with great sorrow that on 3/16 May, the feast day of St Theodosius, Abbot of the Kiev Caves, Metropolitan Hilarion reposed in the Lord.

In connection with this, it was DECREED:

Christ Is Risen!

Today, 16 May at 11 am PST, our First Hierarch Metropolitan Hilarion reposed in the Lord after a prolonged illness. He was 74 years old.
Tomorrow, 17 May at 7 pm a Panikhida at Holy Virgin Cathedral will be served.

MEMORY ETERNAL!

+ Archbishop Kyrill

Today, May 16, 2022, the feast day of St Theodosius of the Kievan Caves, at two o’clock New York time, following a lengthy illness, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, reposed in the Lord, in a NYC hospital.

His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese, performed the “Canon of Supplication at the Parting of the Soul.” His Grace was joined by Archpriest Serafim Gan and Hierodeacon Panteleimon (Jigalin). A pannikhida will be performed at the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” in New York at 7:30 pm tonight.

Further information will be provided shortly.

May God grant the Kingdom of Heaven to our Master and Father, the Eminent Metropolitan Hilarion!

SOURCE

With the blessing of His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, all are welcome join members of the Western American Diocese for the traditional pilgrimage to Fort Ross on Memorial Day, May 30th, 2022.

The Holy Trinity/Saint Nicholas Chapel at Fort Ross is the first Russian Orthodox Church in the contiguous United States. Fort Ross is holy land – where two saints have labored: St Innocent of Alaska/Moscow and the Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut. Two other saints, St Tikhon and St John of Shanghai, have prayed here and sanctified the lands, the chapel, and the cemetery.

After the liturgy a procession to the cemetery with a ‘Litya for the Departed’.  The names of the people buried there will be read and a brief story about the people and history of the fort and cemetery will be shared.

After the Divine Services, everyone is invited to Lady of Kazan Church in Guerneville with a greeting of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill. This is a potluck luncheon.

On the Feast of the Entry of the Lord into the Temple, Sunday 3/16, 2022, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America made a pastoral visit to the New Russian Martyrs Church in Mulino, Oregon.

During the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence ordained Deacon Boris Levashev to the dignity of the priesthood. Father Boris has already been a parishioner of the parish for 10 years, and has been preparing for the priesthood...

PASCHAL EPISTLE

of His Eminence HILARION
Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York,
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

Eminent Brother Archpastors, Honorable Fathers, Dear Brothers and Sisters:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

With a sense of jubilation in the Lord, the Victor over evil, hell and death, I greet you all on this luminous night of the Matins and Liturgy of the Pascha of Christ, this “feast of faith” which the great Chrysostom exhorts us to relish! Congratulations with the Bright Resurrection of Christ!

The Reverend Father Deacon George Kalousek reposed in the Lord on the great feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, March 25/April 7, 2022. 

George Kalousek was born on July 11, 1937, in Shanghai China where as a child he attended the Shanghai British School.  At the age of 12, he moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, where he later earned his medical degree at the University of Brasil. 

In 1962 he came to the United States to complete his medical training at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago.

On the major feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, March 25/April 7, 2022, His Eminence Kyrill, Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America made a pastoral visit to All Russian Saints Church of Burlingame, CA. Presiding over the Divine Liturgy, His Eminence was assisted by Archpriest Stefan Pavlenko (Rector), the Archpriests Andrei Sommer and Alex Kotar, Archdeacon Peter (Karakozoff) and several acolytes. 

On the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, March 21/April 3, 2022, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America made a pastoral visit to Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Church of Sacramento, CA. 

The Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco is holding a fundraiser where all proceeds will benefit UKRAINIAN REFUGEE HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS.We are pleased to announce Babushka’s Take ’N Bake Pascha Bazaar

We humbly ask that you share this information with your community/parish by email, bulletin and print outs to be posted/handed out.

Babushka’s Take ’N Bake Pascha Bazaar will feature items that may be purchased for your Pascha celebration including Cocktail Piroshki and Kotletki, Pirog, Beef Stroganoff, Pelmeni, Russian Pate, and other items. Since it is Palm Sunday, we will also be selling HOT Salmon Pirog by the slice.  

On Pick Up Day, Sunday, April 17 (from 9 am to 1 pm) local vendors will be selling Pascha-related gifts, kulich, and pascha and we will have a KULICH decorating workshop for the children.

All orders may be placed TODAY (including reserving limited spaces for the Kulich Workshop) at our website.  

Thank you for your community support!

Katya Able
HVC Fundraising Committee

On the Third Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Precious Cross, March 14/27, 2022, Archpriest George Kurtow, Rector of Saint Seraphim of Sarov Church in Seaside, CA, was elevated to the dignity of mitered archpriest in recognition of 41 years of service to Mother Church as a presbyter...

Dear in the Lord Fathers, Brothers and Sisters:

During these terrifying days when streams of blood merge with the flow of deceit and wickedness, we Christians cannot allow ourselves to submit to the spirit of war. The spirit of war is demanding. It requires us to divide into parties. It forces us to hate.

We Christians must understand: the wrath with which war burns is the wrath of hell. The enemy of God drinks in not so much human blood as human bitterness and division. The devil wants nothing more than to separate man from his neighbor, from the Church and from Christ...

With the start of Great Lent, the divine services with the reading of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete were held in the Church of the Iveron Icon in Kailua, Hawaii (Western American Diocese). From Monday the 7th, until Thursday the 10th of March, the divine services were served in English and Slavonic by the parish Rector Priest Athanasius Kone and Archpriest Anatole V. Lyovin (Pastor Emeritus).

Rumors surfaced this week of the discontinuance of commemoration of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in some parishes of the Russian Church Abroad, allegedly blessed by the Synod of Bishops. This report absolutely does not correspond to reality: the Synod of Bishops did not convene to discuss this matter and has made no such decision. In accordance with the Act of Canonical Communion signed by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus in 2007, the name of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church is commemorated in all parishes and monasteries of the Russian Church Abroad. These parishes and monasteries minister to a multitude of Orthodox Christian believers from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan and other countries...

On the Feast of the Laudations of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Fifth Saturday of Great Lent, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America will preside over Divine Liturgy at the Kazan Church in Guerneville, CA.

Schedule:
Saturday, April 9th, 2022
8:40 AM -- Hours
9:00 AM -- Divine Liturgy

Address:
17370 Neeley Road
Guerneville, CA 95446

On March 16, 2022, His Holiness Kirill Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia published Address No. 01/1215 in which he calls upon the entire flock, clergy and laity, to raise up prayers of repentance.

His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America turns to the clergy and children of the diocese entrusted to him with the following words.

Dear in Christ Reverend Fathers and faithful of Holy Mother Church!

In the letter, His Holiness Patriarch Kyrill speaks of the sorrowful situation...

On the First Sunday of Great Lent, March 13, 2022, the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, His Eminence KYRILL, Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, presided over the Divine Liturgy and the “Rite of Orthodoxy” at the Diocesan Cathedral in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in San Francisco.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were Their Graces THEODOSY, Bishop of Seattle and JAMES, Bishop of Sonora,...

His Eminence Kyrill, Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America is scheduled to visit Holy Archangels Church in Phoenix, AZ, on Sunday, March 20, 2022. The Greeting of the Bishop is scheduled for 9:30 am.

His Eminence Kyrill, Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America is scheduled to visit Christ the Savior Church in Youngtown, AZ, on Saturday, March 19, 2022. The Greeting of the Bishop is scheduled for 9:30 am.

Address:
11234 W. Alabama Ave.
Youngtown, AZ 85363

Website: https://christthesavioraz.org/

We are planning a Great Lenten concert on Sunday, April 3, will be a special fundraiser on behalf of the Bethany School.  As in previous years, our April 3 concert will have a Lenten motif.  Our program will feature a combination of "resurrected" works that we have not sung for some time, as well as prayers that will be sung in our upcoming Great Lent (Великий пост) and Passion Week (Страстная Неделя) services.  We invite you to join us for our musical Lenten retreat on April 3-rd and generously support the Bethany Orthodox School.    Save the date!

Rector, Archpriest Stefan Pavlenko

With the blessing of His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, the Western American Diocese is organizing collections to benefit the refugees and the other innocents suffering from the present military conflict in Ukraine. We urge our faithful to be zealous in their support of those suffering. Their need is great, as is our opportunity to help them. 

Today the eyes of many of us are affixed to varying sources of information, and our hearts, numb and in bitter distress, behold the events presently unfolding in the God-preserved land of Ukraine. Seeing everything that is taking place, we instinctively call to mind the words of our Saviour, “of wars and rumors of wars,” and His warning: “see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6). These words of the Son of God before His suffering on the Cross have resounded in our churches for many years, but it seemed to us that they were describing events from the distant past or some future beyond our reach. Today, however, we see that they are bearing their witness to each of us.

In these sorrowful days, it is impossible to disregard a mother’s tears, the wives and children that have lost their homes, or our family and friends who are caught up in this fratricidal war...

Dear Fathers,This is the prayer to use in connection with the situation in the Ukraine (...)

We are all in this together. We need to support each other and our flock...

Dear in the Lord Brothers and Sisters:

As we approach Great Lent, this salvific time of profound prayer and self-correction, and in connection with the events in the Ukrainian land, I turn to all with a heartfelt plea: to refrain from excessive watching television, following newspapers and the internet, to close our hearts to the passions ignited by mass media, while doubling our fervent prayers for peace throughout the world, for overcoming enmity and discord, for help for the suffering, for the repose of those who have departed into the eternal life and the consolation of their friends and relatives, so that we all first and foremost remain humane and Orthodox Christians in these difficult times...

His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America marked his Names Day on Sunday February 27, 2022, having been tonsured into monasticism in honor of Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Kyrill Teacher of the Slavs (celebrated February 14/27), at the Protection of the Holy Virgin Church in Hollywood, CA. Archbishop Kyrill was tonsured a monk at the Judgement Gates in the Holy City of Jerusalem in 1981.

His Eminence spent his Names Day presiding over the Divine Liturgy, ...

Homily Given at the Funeral of Fr. Ioan Comanescu
By the Right Rev. Bishop James of Sonora
At the Holy Virgin Cathedral  -  San Francisco, California
January 22, 2022

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

“My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.” (Ps. 119: 139). These words of the Prophet and King David in Psalm 119 capture the essence of...

On the 40th Day from the Repose of Archpriest Ioan Comanescu a biography written by one of his children is published here:

His Eminence KIRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America has published Decree No. 4/2022E throughout the Diocese for the end to conflict in Ukraine. The original may be found here.

In addition to the “Prayer for Ukraine,” which is inserted by the Priests of the Diocese into the appointed place in the Divine Liturgy, we urge all the faithful to pray for peace amongst those in conflict. The following are prayers blessed for this purpose.

His Eminence KIRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America has published Decree No. 4/2022E throughout the Diocese for the end to conflict in Ukraine. The original may be found here.

In addition to the “Prayer for Ukraine,” which is inserted by the Priests of the Diocese into the appointed place in the Divine Liturgy, we urge all the faithful to pray for peace amongst those in conflict. The following are prayers blessed for this purpose.

At approximately 3:00 am on the Great Feast of Theophany, a longtime member of the Western American Diocese and cleric, Archpriest Ioan Comanescu, reposed in the Lord.

Father Ioan is survived by his widow, Matushka Efthemia, and their four sons.

He was ordained to the deaconate for the Western American Diocese at Holy Virgin Cathedral in 2001...

Christmas Message by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the archpastors, pastors, deacons, monastics and all the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Beloved in the Lord archpastors, all-honourable presbyters and deacons, God-loving monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters, 

I extend my cordial greetings to all of you on the great Feast of the Nativity of Christ.

On this radiant night the whole creation rejoices,...

Nativity Epistle of His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America may be read HERE. 

With profound gladness I greet my fellow archpastors, honourable fathers, monastics, parishioners and the worshipers of our churches, scattered throughout the world, with the Nativity of Christ, the Baptism of the Lord and the New Year! May the Lord send us all the joy of the coming of the Son of God into the world. Both the struggle of our faith, and its fruits in our days, must be grounded in this joy: the joy that comes from hearing the angelic doxology and the triumph of the Incarnation of God the Word!

This past year was difficult and sorrowful for many of us, but it was also filled with divers blessings and gifts for which we must offer up our gratitude to our Benefactor. We have reached this festal season because Divine Providence did not abandon us. If we have been able to carry forth to this time the duties lain upon us, it is solely because the Lord Himself has granted us health, power, nourishment and clothing, and has poured out upon us His help, and the gift of patience for the unfolding of our life’s path. In addition to this, how many blessed gifts have been communicated to us in the holy sacraments, in the fast, and in the prayer and mystical life of the Church!

Christmastide always evokes feelings of love and gratitude in the believing heart. Let us also raise up in these days our own gratitude to God, let us bring our love to Him and to our neighbours, and let us convey our own Nativity gift to the temple, in which we are honoured with the wondrous, personal encounter with Christ and saving communion with Him. Let us open our hearts, dear fathers, brothers and sisters; let us receive the Son of God Who has come to earth; and let us worship Him together with the magi, rejoicing in His love and mercy towards us. Amen.

With love in the New-Born Christ,

+HILARION
Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York
First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad

The Nativity of Christ, 2021/2022

Source

On December 7, 2021 in the city of Kiev, the mother of Russian cities, a new church was consecrated in the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, The church is dedicated to the Venerable Monk Agapite of Pechersk, who is considered the first doctor of Kievan Rus.

Not arbitrarily does the Orthodox Church pray for deliverance from deadly pandemics (epidemics) and fatal ulcers in each Divine Liturgy, calling on the holy healers, including the Venerable Agapite. Through his prayers the sick were healed.  He also gave them herbs to take that he cooked as food for himself and because of the herbs they began to call him doctor. He treated the brethren of the monastery, ordinary laymen and even Prince Vladimir Monomakh himself expecting nothing in return. The venerable one was an image of humility, of unshakable  faith, and he turned many to Christ. And now we, too, have the audacity to ask that through the prayers of the Venerable Agapite, “the Lord heal us in body and spirit and help us live our lives so that we will be the children of eternal salvation” (in the words of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphrius).

In preparation for the 70th anniversary of the Church of All Russian Saints founding next year, the Burlingame CA parish successfully completed the renovation of church cupolas. The painting and gilding of five church cupolas were performed in less than 2 months. This was an expensive project encompassing scaffolding, painting the four blue cupolas, the cost of the double-weight 24k gold leaf, and the laborious work of applying 36,000 sheets of gold leaf to the cupolas and to the 132 stars on the blue cupolas.

The XV Annual Saint Herman’s West Youth Conference of the Western American Diocese was held at St. George Russian Orthodox Church in West Jordan, Utah, from December 27 to 31, 2021.

The Chairman of the Youth Department of the Western American Diocese, Archpriest Michael van Opstall, along with a committee of youth counselors and the parishioners (particularly the Sisterhood) of Saint George Orthodox Church, of which Father Michael is the Rector, organized the first in-person youth conference of the Diocese since the Covid quarantine restrictions of March 2020.

Over 50 youth participated in the conference representing a broad area of our Diocese. His Grace JAMES Bishop of Sonora presided over...

On Sunday, December 19, 2021, the Parish Choir of the Church of All Russian Saints in Burlingame presented a concert of Masterpieces of the Moscow School. Our program featured some of the most famous and beloved works by some of the most famous composers who were teachers and students at the Synodal School in Moscow in the early 1900s.  Although not originally planned, the conclusion of our concert included a brief service of the blessing of newly re-gilded crosses on the four lesser domes (cupola) of our church. 

We are excited to announce that "A Christmas Bazaar by Babushka’s Take ’N Bake" is LIVE and taking orders at www.HolyVirginCathedral.com

Order pick-ups will take place on Sunday, December 19 from 9am to 3pm at 6210 Geary Blvd, San Francisco

It’s always better to be prepared to handle unexpected situations rather than being caught off guard.  We should all have daily supplies of needed amounts of food and medication to cover us for extended periods of time in case it becomes impossible to go to stores or pharmacies. This is not to recommend hoarding, but to be conscious of our surroundings and developing trends.

We have all suffered the effects of COVID restrictions and related complications, so I won't go into details since we are all sadly aware of them.  Along with material concerns, we also have spiritual and religious responsibilities to ourselves, our immediate families, our loved ones, and neighbors. 

During the long period of time when our church and other parish communities were closed down or severely restricted, many people got used to watching LIVESTREAM SERVICES. 

Holy Virgin Cathedral, named in honor of the Holy Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow," will celebrate its annual Feast Day. His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America presiding.

Schedule of Divine Services

Friday, November 5th:
Eve of Cathedral Feast Day
Vigil at 6:00 pm

Saturday, November 6th:
Greeting of the Bishop and Divine Liturgy from 9:00 am

Address: 
Holy Virgin Cathedral
6210 Geary Blvd
San Francisco CA 94121

On Saturday September 18th  the miraculous myrrh-streaming Icon of the Mother of God “Softener of Stony Hearts” arrived from Moscow, Russia, with its guardian, Sergei Fomin, for the purpose of making a brief visit to the Western American Diocese. Upon arrival the wonderworking image was...

Please go to HVCParking.com to place your order ASAP

Pick-ups will be on both Saturday, October 16, and Sunday, October 17 from 9 am to 1 pm at 6210 Geary Blvd. SF on the outside playground (handicap access will be made available).

Proceeds benefit the Parking, Senior Housing, Playground Project.  Learn more at HVCParking.com about this exciting community expansion project.

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD:

We encourage you to print out the attached flyer and post it at your work, your school, in your neighborhood.  This is a SAN FRANCISCO BAY event — we want to share Russian Cuisine with EVERYONE!  The food that is being prepared is delicious and authentic!

Please also post this flyer electronically on your Social Media and email it to friends!!  We are eager to make this a SELL OUT event!

Available to volunteer?  Please email ablekatya@mac.com

The greeting of the miraculous Icon, which is coming from Moscow, will be at 5:00pm on Saturday, September 18th, at the Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco. This Icon began myrrh streaming in 1999.  The Icon was present when Patriarch Kyrill of Russia was selected in 2009.  There are several churches built to honor this Icon in Russia. Use this link to find more information about this icon.

JUBILEE EPISTLE of His Eminence HILARION, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, on the Occasion of the 800th Anniversary of the Birth of the Holy Right-Believing Great Prince Alexander Nevsky and the Centennial of the I All-Diaspora Council

Greeting my beloved in the Lord brother-archpastors, reverend fathers, and our dear brothers and sisters with love and a feeling of rejoicing in the Mother of God, I sincerely congratulate all of the archpastors, clergy, and laity with both the approaching celebrations of the 800th anniversary of the birth of the Great Prince Alexander Nevsky and the centennial of the I All-Diaspora Council!

His Eminence Archbishop KYRILL is scheduled to preside over the Divine Liturgy at the Kazan Church on Saturday, September 25, 2021, at 9:00 am. Trapeza will follow out in the church yard.

Address:
17370 Neeley Road,
Guerneville, CA 95446

Saturday, October 9, 2021
12:00 pm -- 2:00 pm
Please Register for the Zoom Event

His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America will preside over the Divine Liturgy at the Kazan Church in Guerneville, CA, this Saturday August 21, 2021, at 9:00 AM. 

All are welcome!

Location:
Kazan Icon of the Mother of God Church
17370 Neeley Road
Guerneville, CA 95446

With the blessing of His Eminence KYRILL, Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, the Wonderworking and Myrrh-streaming “Hawaiian” Iveron Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos will be escorted from the Hawaiian Islands to the Bay Area for the Dormition Fast.
This will be the first time in over a year and half that the Wonderworking Iveron Icon has left Hawaii. We humbly thank His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill and the Holy Icon’s Guardian, Father Nectarios, for this opportunity to once again venerate this great and sacred relic of the Holy Orthodox Church!

During these trying times, we need her more than ever! O Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
During the Dormition Fast, the Wonderworking “Hawaiian” Iveron Icon will also be brought to the East Coast and the South. A schedule will be forthcoming.

The Holy Icon‘s visitation schedule to the Bay Area is below:
Sunday, August 15, 2021
Holy Virgin Cathedral “Joy of All Who Sorrow”
6210 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA
7:30am - Arrival of the Holy Icon and First Divine Liturgy
9:45am - Second Divine Liturgy
The Holy Icon will remain in the Cathedral for veneration until 2:00pm

Monday, August 16, 2021
Holy Resurrection Church
26050 Kay Avenue
Hayward, CA
6:00pm - Akathist service to the Holy Theotokos

Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Holy Cross Church
1401 S. White Road
San Jose, CA
6:00pm - Paraklesis / Akathist service to the Holy Theotokos

Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Church of All Russian Saints
744 El Camino Real
Burlingame, CA
6:00pm - All-Night Vigil

Thursday, August 19, 2021
Old Holy Virgin Cathedral
864 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA
9:00am, Hierarchical Divine Liturgy

Christ the Savior Church
490 12th Avenue
San Francisco, CA
6:00pm, Moleben / Akathist to the Holy Theotokos

On the 21st of July, the Orthodox Church celebrates the appearance of the Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the city of Kazan (1579). The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is the most famous and especially revered icon of the Virgin in Russia. The shrine is truly the guardian of Russia: the Blessed Holy Mother of God has repeatedly saved the country from catastrophe by prayers before Her Kazan image.

In anticipation of impending Feast Day of the “Kazan” of the Mother of God on July 21 of this year, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America arranged for the gilding of the cupola that crowns the Kazan Church along the Russian River in Guerneville, CA.

Artisan Valeriy Kagounkin of Sacramento, CA, labored for several days...

This talk was given at the Symposium entitled “St. John and His Legacy” held from June 30 to July 1, 2016, which was dedicated to Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker. It was organized by the Saints Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria Institute of San Francisco on the eve of the day of memory Holy Hierarch John in the 50th year from the latter's repose.

Although he did not know Saint John personally during his lifetime, Father Victor relates his close relationship with the Saint from his youth up to this day. SEE VIDEO...

The clergy and faithful of Church of All Russian Saints in Burlingame, CA, will be celebrating their Patronal Feast Day this Sunday July 4th, 2021.

Included in the festivities will be the blessing of new church bells, which the parish has recently acquired from Yekaterinburg, Russia. The consecration will be considered part the local parish’s celebration of the Centennial of the Formation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (1920) and in conjunction with the approaching 70th Anniversary of the founding of All Russian Saints Church. The faithul are welcome to the festivities.

Schedule:
Saturday July 3rd
All-night Vigil

Sunday July 4th
8:30 AM – Blessing of the Waters
9:00 AM – Hours
9:30 AM – Greeting of His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, Divine Liturgy & Procession with the “Order of Blessing of Bells.” (Unfortunately, there will not a festal meal for the general public).

His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America welcomes clergy, parishioners and pilgrims to Holy Virgin Cathedral for the Feast of our beloved Holy Hierarch John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker being held on July 2nd  and 3rd, 2021.

This year the number of clergy permitted to serve in the Holy Altar during the Divine Services of the Feast will be limited to a select few.

 NOTE: Only those clergy who have received a personal summons will be permitted to concelebrate...

On Monday June 28th, 2012, at the parish of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco Orthodox Church in Kennewick, WA, clergy and faithful reach a milestone in their parish life with the crowning of their holy temple with at beautiful gold dome.

A CONVERSATION WITH THE DEAN OF JORDANVILLE’S SEMINARY 

Nicolas G. Schidlovsky speaks with the HTS Alumni Association

Professor Schidlovsky, you have held the Dean’s position at HTOS for well over a year now. This has obviously been a lot of hard work, and we now feel that it is a great time for many of us who are not regularly on campus to get to know you better. It seems that under your guidance the Seminary is energetically moving ahead with interesting projects. May we ask you a few questions?  Please start by telling us about your family background, education, and professional experience...

On Saturday July 24th, 2021, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America will preside over the Divine Liturgy at the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God Church. 

Schedule:
Hours at 8:40 AM
Divine Liturgy at 9:00 AM

Address:
Kazan Icon of the Mother of God Church
17370 Neeley Road,
Guerneville, CA 95446

Dear Parishioners, Friends and Pilgrims, greetings on the upcoming 55th repose anniversary (+1966) of St. John of Shanghai & San Francisco, and the 125th anniversary of his birth (1896). Let us offer thanksgiving to God that our cathedral is now fully open to the public for services and most limitations lifted. The schedule of St. John's feastday celebration at Holy Virgin Cathedral is as follows:

THURSDAY, July 1
5:00 pm – Daily Vespers & Matins.
7:00 pm – Transfer of St. John reliquary to the center of the cathedral and Akathist to St. John before his relics.

FRIDAY, July 2
8:00 am – Daily Divine Liturgy.
5:00 pm – Confessions.
6:00 pm – Vigil to St. John.

SATURDAY, July 3
7:30 am – Early Liturgy (Hours at 7:00 am, "Blessed is the Kingdom" at 7:30 am).
9:30 am – Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, Moleben and Procession (unfortunately, no common meal will be offered this year).

Paschal Message of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the Archpastors, Pastors, Deacons, Monastics and All the Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Your Graces the archpastors, reverend pastors and deacons, all-honourable monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters: 

On this chosen and holy day, full of Paschal joy and glorious light, the life-affirming glad tidings are being passed on from mouth to mouth, from heart to heart: 

CHRIST IS RISEN! 

PASCHAL ADDRESS
of His Eminence
Hilarion
Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York
First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Reverend Fathers, Venerable Monastics, and Pious Faithful
of the Western American Diocese ROCOR:
Precious Children of the Church, my beloved flock:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

On Monday, March 15, 2021, the first day of Great Lent, Archpriest Viktor Tseshkovsky, cleric of the Western American Diocese and Rector of Protection of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Hollywood, CA, died at the age of 62.

Two of the three churches of the Russian tradition in Los Angeles are located in Hollywood. Of them, Protection of the Holy Virgin Church is closest to Hollywood's landmarks. Fr Viktor was from the Kamenko-Dneprovsk region of the USSR, and during the decade between 1982-1992 he served as Rector of St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Melitopol.

Fr Viktor was drawn to the Church from an early age, loving the church temple and divine services. All five sons of his parents became priests, and his sister is married to a priest. They all served in the Crimean and Dnepropetrovsk Dioceses....

Dear brothers and sisters!
 
During Great Lent the commemoration of the dead should, and must, be done daily in our personal prayers, at the liturgy on the weekends, and especially – on Soul Saturdays.  The Church’s main method of commemorating the dead is done through prayer at the proskomedia (preparatory part of the Liturgy). The priest, while in the altar, extracts a piece from the prosphora as the names, submitted on slips of paper by the faithful, are read. The commemoration slips are read at Liturgy as well. However, during the  Great Fast the entire structure of life within the Church changes, including the Divine Services – full liturgies on weekdays are not performed, and therefore the prayers for the dead are offered less often.

In order to compensate for the absence of daily church commemorations for the departed, ...

As we approach Great Lent, at the request of several clergy our Diocese and with the blessing of His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, the following DVD Tutorial on serving the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is being made broadly available through our Diocesan media.

This presentation by Archpriest Alexis Kotar of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Seattle, Washington, was originally given at the 2006 Lenten pastoral retreat of the Western American Diocese (ROCOR). It is presented here, enhanced with additional footage of the service, for the instruction and edification of clergy and those wishing to learn about the structure of the Divine Service.

Fr. Alexis begins with the historical roots and development of this unique Lenten Service. His lecture helps us understand why we...

During the week of January 25th, 2021, Saint Silouan's Monastery in Sonora, CA, enjoyed snowfall. The welcome precipitation to be soaked into the parched land of California was recorded by a monastery laborer, Geoff Brim.

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

GREETINGS ON THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST!

By God’s ineffable goodness, we enter once more into the joyous days of the great feasts of Christ’s Nativity and Theophany. I sincerely greet you all with this world-saving joy! The feat of faith and its fruit in life must be this joy: from the triumph of the Theophany - God’s manifestation and incarnation - and the sound of the Heavenly doxology and otherworldly peace being sung over Bethlehem.

Everything that transpired in that simple cave in Bethlehem and in the holy River Jordan, both especially revered by the entire Christian world, bore the deep hallmarks of modesty and humility. In His Nativity, the Creator of the universe, Who holds all things in His right hand,...

Christmas Message

by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia

to the Archpastors, Pastors, Deacons, Monastics

 and All the Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church

Beloved in the Lord archpastors, all-honourable presbyters and deacons, God-loving monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters,

From the depths of my heart I congratulate you all on the radiant feast of the Nativity of Christ.

Today the Church in heaven and on earth is triumphant as she rejoices at the coming into the world of our Lord and Saviour and lifts up praises and thanksgiving to God for His mercy and love for the human race. It is with spiritual trembling that we listen to the words of the hymn: “Christ is born; glorify Him! Christ comes from heaven; go out to meet Him” (Hirmos for the Canon of the Nativity of Christ). With reverence and hope we set our gaze upon the cave of Bethlehem where the Divine Infant lies wrapped in swaddling clothes in a lowly manger.

NATIVITY EPISTLE
of the Ruling Archbishop
of the Western American Diocese ROCOR

Reverend Fathers, Vernerable Monastics, Pious Faithful,

Text may be read here.

The 14th Annual Saint Herman's West Youth Conference
will be held remotely over Zoom
in the evenings
of December 28-30, 2020.

Participation is free.
However, registration is necessary. Registar here.
________

Submit anonymous questions for the clergy panel here.
_______________

Submit  anonymous questions for the youth counselor panel here. 

Your Graces Brother-Archpastors, Honorable Fathers,
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord!

I sincerely greet you with the 725th Anniversary of the appearance of the miraculous Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God of the “Sign,” and with the Centennial of the founding of the Higher Church Administration Abroad, which later was transformed into the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad. We are not marking the events that destroyed all the foundations of Pre-Revolutionary Russia, and which hit extremely hard on our dear Mother – the Local Russian Orthodox Church – having pushed Her, together with the whole country, onto a path of great suffering, repression, martyrdom and confession. Rather, we raise up gratitude to God, Who has preserved us under the shelter of our precious Orthodox Faith, in the traditions of the glorious Russian Church. We bow down before the memory of those ascetics,...

Dear Friends of the St John Memorial Fund,

Please join us on October 18 for a virtual fundraising event in lieu of our annual luncheon!
 
The event will feature a presentation from the Mother Maria,  the Administrator of the Orthodox School in Bethany (Holy Land), beginning with a greeting from His Eminence, Bishop Theodosy of Seattle. In keeping with the tradition of our annual luncheon a live drawing for prizes will conclude the event. Prizes include the hand painted icon of Saint John shown on the left (8 x 11.5 inches, $500 value). 
Event information: Sunday, October 18, 2020 at 1:00 -2:30 pm (PDT)

Zoom Meeting ID: 881 9711 4332

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/ 88197114332

Join by Phone: 408-6380968 (enter zoom meeting ID followed by #)

For more information or to make a donation online please visit our website here.

Your donation is tax deductible and goes entirely toward the cause you choose. Your name will be included in the prize drawing.

Follow up on Facebook

Sincerely,
the Board of Trustees

It is with regret that I inform you that the Feast Day of the St. Silouan Monastery on September 23/24 will not be open to pilgrims this year. Due to the prevalence at the Monastery of thick smoke from the forest fires—which are predicted to continue through September and beyond; the risk of forest fires emerging near the property; the high outdoor temperatures and the possibility of rolling power outages, and the challenges posed by complying with the restrictions associated with the virus situation, it is clear that this is not the time for the Monastery to host a festal celebration.  Accordingly, the doors to the Monastery will be closed to pilgrims. We hope that the circumstances for the celebration next year of the Feast of St. Silouan at the Monastery will allow for our festive gathering. You may send your list of commemorations for the living and the departed to the following address: St. Silouan Monastery, 21285 Old Sonora Columbia Road, Sonora, CA 95370-8807.

+ Bishop James of Sonora

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...

Beginning Saturday, August 8, the weekly Saturday livestreamed Moleben (service of Intercession) to St. John, Wonderworker of Shanghai & San Francisco will now begin at 4:30 pm, 15 minutes later than previously. Please make a note of this.

Link to Holy Virgin Cathedral live-stream here. 

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...

In response to the growing desire of many families to continue educating their children at home during the current health crisis St. John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy, a K-12 Orthodox day school with instruction in English, is happy to announce that a distance learning program has been created for the 2020-2021 academic year...

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.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, greetings on the upcoming feast of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, the Wonderworker! Unfortunately, at this time all the services are still closed to the public, but we will celebrate them, pray, honor St. John and livestream the services for our parishioners and all those who love our Holy Virgin Cathedral and Vladika John. Here is the link to our livestream page, where you will find the upcoming livestream service times and the link to our channel. The St. John days schedule is as follows:

Thursday, July 2: AKATHIST before the relics of St. John at 6:00 pm.
Friday, July 3: VIGIL service to St. John at 6:00 pm.
Saturday, July 4: St. John feastday Divine LITURGY at 9:00 am.

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).

In other words, saying precisely when our lives will return to normal is very difficult. Like, on the other hand, answering the question will that life essentially be normal, i.e. as before. But we might, and I believe we should, take a different approach. That is to say we should try to understand the effect this ordeal has had on our thinking and what we have learned from it. Or otherwise on what should we have reflected and what should we have learned. Or still alternatively what insight can we obtain from it, how can our minds become enriched, disregarding the tragedy and incredible complexity of what has occurred.

I will attempt to share what I have come to understand.

1. It seems to me that it is worth placing first the obvious necessity of being prepared for anything in life. We often feel...

The annual Feast of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker scheduled for Saturday July 4, 2020, will be celebrated at Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco where the Saint’s honorable and miraculous relics repose.

However, based on the current information available, the Divine Services will not be open to the public in compliance with the Public Health Directive of the San Francisco City and County Department of Public Health dated June 13, 2020.

In general, Holy Virgin Cathedral has been closed to the public, even for private worship, as of Great Lent of this year...

The COVID-19 epidemic is gaining force and spares nothing in its path. In Kiev, some of the brothers of the Kiev Caves Lavra fell sick, as did the vicar archbishop of Obukhov, Jonah [who is now recovered.—OC]. We talked with Archbishop Theodosy (Snigirev), a vicar of Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, about the situation in Kiev, the future of the Orthodox Church, and its liturgical heritage.

I would like to share my thoughts in connection with the discussion that has unfolded around the decoration of the mosaics of the main Church of the Armed Forces of Russia, recently built in Moscow.

Since ancient times, temples and entire monasteries dedicated to various historical events have always been erected on Russian soil. Such churches and monasteries include the following: the Church of the Protection on the Nerl, the Sretensky Monastery, the Kazan Cathedral on Red Square, the Cathedral of Saint Vladimir in Sevastopol, which is called the "Admiral's Cathedral" of the Russian fleet, where Admirals Lazarev, Kornilov, Nakhimov and Istomin are buried. The names of all naval officers who fell during the defense of Sevastopol are engraved on marble slabs in the upper church of this temple. The churches listed above include the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, built in 1883 in honor of the victory over Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812, and the St. Nicholas Cathedral, dedicated to the Russian fleet and all reposed sailors, built from 1903-1913 in Kronstadt. Even now those temples that belonged to a particular military regiment in tsarist times have also been preserved.

As a rule, in addition to icon painting, these temples were also decorated with memorable statues depicting certain historical events, and military paraphernalia, and, of course, with the awards that fallen soldiers received during the war. The naves of such temples usually had marble slabs on which the names of the fallen defenders of the fatherland were engraved. Most of these churches and monasteries were built, as a rule, on donations of ordinary Orthodox people. And this was done primarily so that everyone, making his contribution, would feel this temple, erected with his help, would be a house of prayer: “My house will be called a house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13).

All Orthodox Christians, regardless of their country of residence, ...

Today, May 25, 2020, the Governor of the State of California, Gavin Newsome, has declared that churches and all houses of worship are now open.

The monasteries and parishes of the Western American Diocese within the State of California may enter into this new phase of reduced social distancing. However, all are required to observe the guidelines found in...

It is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge the cancellation of our the annual diocesan pilgrimage to Fort Ross on Memorial Day. It is always a joyous day with the concelebration of the Divine Liturgy led by our hieararchs and surrounded by many the faithful. The procession to the cemetery across the canyon is refreshing as prayers are raised up for the departed and the graves are blessed.

On Friday May 22, 2020, the opening of churches within the United States, after  their closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was announced by President Donald Trump; the opening of houses of worship beginning this weekend.

The President’s statement is welcome as the faithful look forward to the possibility of returning to the usual rhythm of Church life through attendance at the Divine Services and participating in other parish activities.

However, for now the practices for the ministry of the faithful that have been worked out successfully and maintained...

Below are listed several thoughts and quotes from the Holy Scriptures:

“Christianity is not a religion of a church-made-by-hands (like the Jews have). We are able to serve all Sacraments outside of a church building. During the first four centuries Christians existed without material temples. We read: “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people” (II Cor. 6:16).  And again: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies“ (I Cor. 6:19-20).

On April 9th, 2020, Deacon Alexander Gousev, a cleric and founder of Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia Church in Sparks, NV, reposed in the Lord.

Alexander Gousev (Sasha) was born in the former Soviet Union on May 10th, 1962. He came to Holy Ascension Church in Sacramento, CA, in 1989. Sasha lived for some time in San Francisco and eventually settled in Reno, NV.

Full Suite of Texts for Holy Week: Readers Services for Every Day of Passion Week, For Those Homebound During the Period of Covid-19 Pandemic Restrictions

Reverend Fathers, Venerable Monastics, and Pious Faithful
of the Western American Diocese ROCOR:
Precious Children of the Church, my beloved flock:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Reverend Fathers, Venerable Monastics, and Pious Faithful
of the Western American Diocese ROCOR:
Precious Children of the Church, my beloved flock:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

The voice of the Angel who proclaimed “He is risen!” has never been more longed-for than today, nor has our joy been deeper in hearing it.

Paschal Message of
Patriarch KIRILL of Moscow and All Russia
to the Archpastors, Pastors, Deacons, Monastics
and All the Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church

Your Graces the archpastors, venerable fathers,
all-honourable monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

By the grace of the All-Generous God, we have been vouchsafed to come to the radiant Paschal night and once again rejoice in the glorious Resurrection of Christ. From the depths of my heart I greet all of you, my beloved, with this great holiday and “feast of feasts.”

During these holy days of Great Lent and Passion Week throughout the world, churches have been closed. By Divine allowance, government officials of many nations have, from fear of the spread of COVID-19, announced general quarantines, including in the Holy Land. Christians have limited access to holy sites, deprived of spiritual support, common prayer and the partaking of the Holy Gifts of Christ in their churches.

His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia issues a  Personal Directive as the President of the Synod of Bishops concerning the Proposed Visit fo the "Kursk-Root" Icon.

His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion issues an Encyclical about the Coronavirus and the State mandated quarantine.

"Where can I go from Thy Spirit, and where can I escape from Thy presence? If I go up into heaven, Thou art there; if I go down into hades, Thou art present there. If I take up my wings toward the dawn, and make mine abode in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand guide me, and Thy right hand shall hold me." (Psalm 138: 7-10).

These divinely inspired words of the Psalmist David should be particularly in our thoughts during these days, when the entire world is literally quaking, and from every direction comes news of all kinds of distress, shocks and calamities.

Dear in the Lord fathers, brothers, and sisters!

I sincerely greet you with the very warmest well-wishes for the blessings of God, good health, spiritual calm, and the patience so needed in this trying time! I especially greet the doctors, nurses, and all who work in the hospitals, sincerely wishing them increased strength and Heavenly aid! I wish for those who are sick - and for their friends and relatives - comfort in the hope of God’s will, which always directs man toward the good. Our prayers are with all of you.

His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Franciso and Western America has issued Decree 6E/2020 in which he provides a directive for liturgical practices to be followed at all parishes, monsteries and missions of the Diocese in regions where new government quarantine restrictions relating to the coronavirus have made it impossible / illegal to serve public services for a time. 

Instructional Notice Concering Reception of Post-Communion and other Pracitices during the Spread of the Coronavirus:

On Friday March 6, 2020, His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill gave instruction to all of the clery of the Western American Diocese that zapivka (wine after communion) be served to the communicants from individual disposable cups until the Coronavirus ends. There is to be placed a paper bag for cup disposal next to the zapivka table.

On December 12/25, the St Herman of Alaska Church in Sunnyvale, CA celebrated their parish feast day. This was an especially joyful event for the members of the parish as both our ruling hierarch, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America and our new diocesan vicar, His Grace JAMES Bishop of Sonora presided together at the Divine Services.

The parish’s joy was multiplied as long time parishioner...

The XIII Annual Saint Herman’s West Youth Conference was held at Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA, from December 26th to 30th, 2019.

Under the grace-filled protection of Most Holy Theotokos through Her miraculous myrrh-streaming “Hawaiian-Iveron” Icon and in the spiritual care of His Grace James Bishop of Sonora and diocesan clergy, approximately 50 youth and counselors, gathered together from the far reaches of the Western American Diocese – Colorado, Idaho, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington -- being joined by more centrally located participants from the San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento and Los Angeles itself. Among the attendees participants even came from Vancouver, BC and Russia.

On November 20, 2019, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated Divine Liturgy at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. This day also marked His Holiness' 73rd birthday.

This year is also the 50th anniversary of the monastic tonsure of Patriarch Kirill. On April 3, 1969, Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) tonsured Vladimir Gundyaev, then a seminary student, and was given the name Kirill. On April 7, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and on June 1, a hieromonk.

Among the many hierarchs and clergymen also serving on this day were His Eminence Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany and Vicar Bishop Theodosius of Seattle of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

On November 17, 2019, the parish choir of the Church of All Russian Saints in Burlingame presented a concert of Sacred works by contemporary composers.  The concert was dedicated to the memory of...

On November 21st, 2019, His Holiness KIRILL Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia congratulated His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Fransciso and Western America with his 65th Birthday. Below is a translation of the Patriarch's letter.

Your Grace, Bishop James!

This day, through the laying on of hands, you have received the Grace of the Holy Episcopacy. You have been summoned to the highest office of Holy Mother Church...

On November 5th, 2019, the eve of the Patronal Feast of Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco (Western American Diocese), the Rite of Nomination was performed for Archimandrite James, Bishop-elect of Sonora. 

Bishop James' Nomination Speech is below.

On November 6, 2019, Bishops, clergy and faithful of various Orthodox jurisdictions gathered in San Francisco, California, to celebrate the Patronal Feast of the Diocesan Cathedral of the Western American Diocese in honor of the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Joy of All Who Sorrow.”

The solemnity of the Feast was especially auspicious as on this day a new auxiliary bishop of Western American Diocese was consecrated – His Grace Bishop James (Corazza) of Sonora.

In June of this year the parish of St Seraphim began a building project to raise the roof of its church.  This project was expected to take 8-10 weeks. However, after removing the old roof, we found that the walls needed to be replaced as well. This situation resulted in the reconstruction of nearly the entire building.  Finally 5 months later, as we near the completion of our construction, we were able to bless the cross and raise it to the top of the new roof...

What is Holy Rus’? Is it some historical/geographical concept that belongs to past eras or an ideal we are expected to strive for? Does Holy Rus’ exist today? We asked some Russian priests these questions, and what meaning the concept of Holy Rus’ has for them personally.

On Monday November 4th, 2019, the Rector and community of the Church of the Mother of God of Kazan in San Francisco celebrated their Patronal Feast. It was marked by many preparations as the parish was also observing the 70th Anniversary from its foundation.

Presiding at the Divine Liturgy was Archimandrite James Bishop-elect of Sonora. Concelebrating with him were...

On Friday and Saturday, October 25 & 26, 2019, St. Martin the Merciful Church in Corvallis, Oregon celebrated its parish feast day.  His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America presided.

Over the last month, that parishioners of Saints Peter and Paul Church in Santa Rosa, CA, have been working on the installation of a new, carved iconostasis. Preparation of the new iconostasis, designed by Robert Latsko, a contracted architect of CJK Sacred Space in Novato, CA, was completed by the artisans of the George Loykakis studio in Crete. The initial design idea was taken from the Church of Christ the Savior “On-the-Blood” located in St Petersburg and then, under the direction of the rector, Archpriest Alexander Krassovsky, was adapted to the church building in Santa Rosa.

The first liturgy celebrated in the “new” altar was presided over by the Chief of the Russian Ecclesiastic Mission in Jerusalem, Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky) who, together with Fr Alexander, carried out the main cross of the new iconostasis into the middle of the church, where it was blessed and given to the people present to reverence, prior to having it installed on the highest point of the iconostasis.

Theme: "Conforming the Will of Man to the Will of God." Lectures, panal discussions, community service, tacos, beach volleyball, and more...

Registration: $299.00 by mail, $310.00 online.

Registration details at: wadyouth.wordpress.com

COMMENTARY OF THE SECRETARIAT OF THE SYNODAL BIBLICAL-THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION
on the invalidity of episcopal ordinations of Ukrainian schismatics and non-canonicity of the ‘Orthodox Church of Ukraine’

The unilateral actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine, which concluded with the signing of the so-called ‘tomos of autocephaly’ in January 2019 in defiance of the will of the episcopate, clergy, monastics and laity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, have provoked a bitter debate among churches...

The Fall Pastoral Retreat of the clergy of the Western American Diocese is to be held at the Saint Paisius Monastery in Safford, Arizona from October 21-23.

This  is the first time that a pastoral retreat of the Diocese will be held at the monastery and this gives the clergy an opportunity to become acquainted with this holy place.

The program will include worship at the Divine Services (at times with the chanting led by the nuns of the monastery), liturgical practice, lectures and a round-table discussion. The retreat will conclude on the Feast Day of the Holy Fathers of Optina (October 23) with the solomn performance of the "Rite of Consecration of the Temple" of the monastery. His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill will be presiding. 

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, during a meeting on August 30, 2019, at Danilov Monastery in Moscow, deliberated on the confirmation of a decision of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on the candidacy of Archimandrite James (Corazza) for Bishop of Sonora, Second Vicar of the Western American Diocese.

On August 28, 2019, the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America received in His Cathedral dedicated to the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” five bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who are presently visiting the Diocese of Western America in conjunction with the celebration of the 800th Anniversary of the Autocephaly of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Concelebrating the Divine Liturgy with Archbishop Kyrill were the follow guests: His Grace TEODOSIJE Bishop of Kosovo and Metohija, His Grace MAXIM Bishop of Western America, His Grace SERGIJE Bishop of Bihac and Petrovac, His Grace DIMITRIJE Bishop of Herzegovina, and His Grace DAVID Bishop of Stobi (Archdiocese of Ohrid). Bishop Theodosy of Seattle, auxiliary bishop of the Western American Diocese, concelebrated as well, along with clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church and our diocesan clergy.

On Saturday 13 July, 2019, the “Iveron-Hawaiian” Myrrh-streaming Icon of the Mother of God shall be greeted at Holy Virgin Cathedral at 5:55 pm.

The icon will be present during Vigil, and at both Liturgies on Sunday 14 July.

On Sunday 14 July, the custodian of the Icon, Sub-deacon Nectarios, will be ordained to the Diaconate at the late Liturgy.

On June 27-29, 2019, the Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev) Memorial Library at the headquarters of the Western American Diocese hosted a regular session of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which coincided with the 25th-anniversary celebrations of the canonization of St John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Miracle-worker. The building was once an orphanage dedicated to St Tikhon of Zadonsk, which houses a chapel to the saint, as well as the humble residence of St John (Maximovich), the great archpastor of the Russian diaspora. Here, St John would bring the Bloodless Sacrifice “on behalf of all and for all.”

A regular meeting of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which has coincided with the day of celebration of the memory of Holy Hierarch John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker and the 25th Anniversary of his canonization, is being convened within the borders of the Western American Diocese.

Most of the senior bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia have arrived San Francisco to discuss and...

On June 27th, 2019, the faithful gathered in the Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of all Who Sorrow,” to prayerfully celebrate the Akathist to St. John of Shanghai and San Fransisco the Wonderworker. The congregation was lead in singing the Kontakia of the Akathist by His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe and His Grace Bishop Nicholai of Manhattan; their voices were complemented by the other clergy present. Members of the congregation held copies of the service, following the example of the clergy in hymning the memory of St. John. 

Everyone present felt the blessing of being able to stand in the cathedral built through the prayers, determination and inspiration of St. John, and to perform the akathist to his memory...

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the
Canonization for St. John Shanghai and San Francisco
(Holy Virgin Cathedral)

Schedule of Divine Services

Thursday Evening, June 27
AKATHIST before the honorable relics of Saint John at 7:30 pm

Friday Evening, June 28
Confessions at 5:00 pm
Vigil 6:00 pm

Saturday Morning, June 29
Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco
Greeting of Metropolitan Hilarion 8:45 am
Liturgy at 9:00 am

Luncheon-Banquet Following the Saturday Service
Reservations Mandatory
Lenten Buffet and Wine will be included
Tickets: $60.00 per person
To Purchase Tickets:
Sold out!
For questions, please email StJohnSFSobor@gmail.com

Russian Center of San Francisco
2460 Sutter Street
San Francisco CA 94115

Doors Open 1:00pmHoly Virgin Cathedral wishes to thank Russian Center for Donating the Hall!

The Diocesan Youth Workweek at Saint Silouan’s Monastery in Sonora starts in less than two weeks: June 12-22, 2019.

There are still some places left. Register here NOW!

Below is a link to a film that depicts last year’s workweek. As you watch please, note, this year will be a little different. The girls will not be staying at the lake as in the past, which was a ½ hour drive one way. This time the girls will stay up that hill in the large private residence  5 minutes from the monastery. The boys will be staying at the monastery in tents.

The Administrator of the Orthodox School of Bethany Nun Maria will be speaking at Holy Ascension Church on Wednesday, May 15, at 7:00 pm. Come, see, hear and support this school. Further details about the Bethany School here. 

For the first time in the history of the Western American Diocese a representative of the Orthodox School in Bethany in Palestine will be visiting the West Coast from May 4th to 22nd, 2019. Mother Maria (Wall), is the Administrator of the school, which is of extreme importance in the region of the Palestinian and Israeli States as a great witness of Orthodoxy. The Orthodox School in Bethany provides an excellent primary and secondary education in a nurturing environment.

Reverend Fathers, Venerable Monastics, and Pious Faithful
of the Western American Diocese ROCOR:
Precious Children of the Church, my beloved flock:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Today we bear witness to the Resurrection of Christ and cry out from the depths of our hearts with joy. There is no other response that is possible for man, beholding the defeat of death, except joy, and we will never cease to experience it so long as we are faithful in following Him.

On Sunday, March 24, 2019, the Parish Choir of the Church of All Russian Saints in Burlingame, California, presented its annual “Lenten” choral recital, featuring works heard at Great Lent and Passion Week services. The concert was dedicated to the memory of long-time choirmaster Vladimir Pavlovich Roudenko, who peacefully departed this world on February 8, 2019, after a 7-decade career of conducting youth and adult choirs on three continents.

We, the clergy of the Western American Diocese, committed in humble service to the Gospel of Christ and obedient to the life of His Church, having gathered for three days in the presence of the myrrh-streaming “Hawaiian” Iveron icon of the Theotokos for our Lenten pastoral conference, humbly address ourselves to our faithful flock and all pious Orthodox Christians. Standing, as we have during these days, before the wonderworking icon amidst throngs of faithful from every land — from America, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Syria and many other places — who came to venerate the Holy Virgin and pray with us in spiritual unity,...

On the First Sunday of Great Lent, March 17, 2019, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America celebrated the Sunday of Orthodoxy at Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) in San Francisco, California.

The Primate of the OCA the Most Blessed Tikhon Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada presided over the Vespers Service for the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

St. John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy celebrates 25 years of providing Orthodox education in a loving environment with a 25th Anniversary Gala to be held on Friday, February 22nd at St. John the Baptist Serbian Orthodox Church (910 Baker Street, San Francisco).

The theme of the annual fund-raising Gala this year is "Around the World" in celebration of the diversity of cultures of the student body of the school.

Reverend Fathers, Venerable Monastics, and Pious Faithful

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Eminent Brother Archpastors, honorable Fathers, 
beloved Brothers, Sisters and Children in Christ:

I offer my words of greeting, which are inspired by Christian love, on this great feast of the Nativity of Christ! With a warm heart I wish you all that profound and inalienable peace, which was heralded by the angels above the town of Bethlehem on the holy night when "the Word was made flesh" (John 1:14).

Youth from throughout the Diocese gathered in Placerville, CA, from December 23-28, 2018.

Excursions included trips to Sutter’s Mill where the 1849 Gold Rush began and a decent into Black Chasm Cavern...

Parish schools throughout the Western American Diocese will be organizing their annual Christmas programs for children. Below is a parish list:

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you”(John 14:27).

Having gathered in an expanded session of the Synod of Bishops as we approach the feast day of the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” in New York City, we, the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, warmly greet the clergymen and God-loving flock with the all-diaspora celebration of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign", the “Protectress” of the Russian diaspora.

We are approaching the centennial of the founding of the Russian Church Abroad, which continues to minister to its flock, scattered like Divine kernels of wheat throughout the world. Over the course of that time, the work of its Councils, the sessions of its Synod of Bishops, important ecclesiastical-social gatherings and various Church celebrations have all taken place under the auspices of the Kursk-Root Icon. This miracle-working image has accompanied Russian refugees fleeing cruel persecutors who dared to desecrate or destroy the holy sites of our Fatherland, murder archpastors, pastors and a multitude of believers, including the Royal Passion-bearers. The hundredth anniversary of the martyrdom of the latter was prayerfully marked in all the dioceses of our Church this year.

On Sunday, November 25th, 2018 His Grace Bishop Irenei arrived at the Monastery of St. Paisius with the sounding of the bells for an extended visit in anticipation of its patronal feast day. On the days preceding the feast, His Grace spoke at length in the monastic trapeza to the sisterhood, in company with clergy and guests. 

On the day when the Church commemorates the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (October 22/November 4, 2018), the parish choir of the Church of All Russian Saints presented a concert of works glorifying the Queen of Heaven, dedicated to the memory of reposed benefactor Nikolai Vasilyevich Misersky, in Burlingame, California.

An Appeal through the Russian American Community Services (RACS).
 
The deadliest fire in California's history affects thousands. We have been asked to assist the Chico, CA Sts. Cyril and Methodius parish to help reconstruct the lives of area families who suffered in this tragedy. 

100% of funds received will benefit victims.

Please contribute.
 RACS
300 Anza Street
San Francisco, CA  94118

On Tuesday November 6, 2018, the clergy and faithful gathered together with His Eminence KYRRIL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America in the Diocesan Cathedral to celebrate the Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow.”

The Patronal Feast was concelebrated by His Eminence Peter of Chicago and Mid-America, His Grace Theodosy Bishop of Seattle, the cathedral clergy, and other priests from the Western American Diocese and the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). 

On November 10 and 11, 2018, the miraculous Iveron-Hawaiian Myrrh-streaming Icon of the Mother God visited parishes of Central California.

On November 13, 2018, Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Seattle, Washington, will be sponsoring an all-Diocesan a lecture and banquet to mark the Centennial of the Martyrdom of the Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia. The cathedral is a memorail church dedicated to the memory of His Imperial Highness Emperor Tsar Nicholas and His August Family. 

This event, open to all the members of the Western American Diocese, is being combined with fall retreat of our clergy.

Schedule:
Monday November 12 at 6:00 PM: Greeting of His Grace THEODOSY Bishop of Seattle, All-night Vigil serverd by the clergy of our Diocese.
Tuesday November 13 at 9:00 AM: Divine Liturgy
Tuesday November 13 at 6:00 PM: Litya for the Departed, lecture "The Holy Royal Martyrs" by Russell Marten, performance by graduates and choir, Banquet.

For tickets call Tatiana Bilibin at (425) 478-7997 or Natalie Kotar at (206) 499-2886.

Locations:
Divine Services:
St. Nicholas Cathedral
1714 13th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122

Lecture & Banquet
Women's University Club
1105 6th Ave.,
Seattle, WA

His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America issued a Memorandum in which he outlines the duties of His Grace Bishop Irenei of Richmond and Western Europe.

An Evening Lecture
Historical Significance of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

With the blessing of His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America an evening lecture (bi-lingual) will be presented by His Eminence Archbishop Peter of Chicago and Mid America.

The year 2020 marks 100 years since the founding of ROCOR. In order to prepare for this important anniverary, the Synod of Bishops has established a Centenary Committee headed by Archbishop Peter.

Schedule:
7:00 PM Complimentary hors d'oeuvres and wine, cocktails, refresments.
7:30 PM Presentation by Archbishop Peter
Q & A to follow, and an opportunity to meet Archbishop Peter

Location:
Russian Scout House
6231 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA

On October 19, 2018, The Most Blessed Tikhon, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada made a private pilgrimage to our Diocesan Cathedral dedicated to the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in San Francisco to venerate the honorable relics of Holy Father John Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker. Metropolitan Tikhon was accompanied by The Most Reverend Benjamin Archbishop of San Francisco and the West, his auxiliary The Right Reverend Daniel Bishop of Santa Rosa and His Eminence Abel Archbishop of Lyublinsk and Kholm (Polish Autocephalous Church).

The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia communicates to the plenitude of her clergy and faithful, and to her fellow Orthodox Christians throughout the world, her profound sorrow at the uncanonical undertakings perpetrated by the Church of Constantinople over the past days; in particular with regard to its Message of 11th October 2018. Simultaneously we express our complete support of the position taken by the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow, following its meeting of 15th October 2018 and announced in its statement of the same date.

The illicit actions of the Church of Constantinople are able to suffer no canonical defence and constitute a grave and dangerous injustice against the traditions of Orthodoxy, as well as a shocking disregard for the spiritual welfare of the sheep of Christ (cf. John 10.3, 11). Having expressed its intention to establish stravropegia of its Church in the Ukraine, Constantinople thus solidifies its intrusion into another Local Church’s canonical territory, an anti-canonical violation of the highest order which the Synod of Constantinople has no power or right to undertake. We make explicit that under no circumstances will we consider such institutions to have any legal substance, nor will we acknowledge any legitimacy whatsoever to those who, deeming themselves shepherds, submit to these non-Church establishments.

In commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Translation of the honorable relics of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker, (September 28/October 11, 1993), the Media Department of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has published a lecture by Sergei Kalfov of Seattle, WA, which he presented during the Symposium entitled “St. John and His Legacy.”

This Symposium was sponsored by the Saints Cyril and Athanasius Institute for Orthodox Studies, which was dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of the Repose of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker, held from June 30 through July 1, 2016.

Holy Trinity Publishing at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, has published two new books to mark the centennial of the martyrdom of the Holy Royal Family of Russia.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

With the blessing of His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, the community of the Royal Martyrs of Russia in Reno/Sparks, NV, is organizing a pilgrimage to Alaska for 7 days from the 28th of July to the 4th of August, 2019, which will include visits to Orthodox churches in Juno, Sitka and also Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Seattle, WA. It is from here that we will depart for Alaska on a ship of the cruise company “Holland America Line.”

On Sunday October 14, 2018, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America is scheduled to preside over the patronal feast of Protection of the Holy Virgin Church in Los Angeles, CA. Starting at 10:00 am: Greeting, Liturgy, cross procession and festal meal.

The myrrh-streaming Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Softener of Stony Hearts" will be present at Liturgy.

Address:
Protection of the Holy Virgin Church
2041 Argyle Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90068

St. Herman's West youth conference will be held at St. Elias parish in Diamond Springs, CA near Placerville Dec. 23-Dec. 28 this year! Registration and more details of the schedule are coming soon.

We'll have Fr. Peter Perekrestov from San Francisco, CA and Fr. Moses Berry from Springfield, MO as speakers. We'll partake in local mining culture and pan for gold and gemstones. We'll get answers to our deepest questions in panel discussions. And we'll make friendships that last a lifetime. And it that isn't enough, we'll travel to the nearby Serbian church of St. Sava to venerate the relics of a saint close to us in place and time -- St. Sebastian of Jackson and San Francisco.

Arrival airport is Sacramento (SMF). Details and registration to follow here.

With the blessing of His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America the Fall clergy conference of the Western American Diocese will be held at Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Seattle, WA, from the 12 to the 14 of November, 2018. 

The clergy conference is being combined with the Diocesan-wide observance of the Centennial of the Martyrdom of Holy Royal Martyr Nicholas II of Russia and His August Family, which is being held in Seattle on Tuesday November 13. The key-note speaker will be Professor Russel Martin. Details to come. 

With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill the annual Mare Island Memorial service for Russian sailors is scheduled for SATURDAY, November 10th, 2018, at 11:00 am.

On September 24, 2018, His Grace THEODOSY Bishop of Seattle presided over the patronal feast day of Saint Silouan the Athonite Monastery in Sonora, CA. 

Concelebrating with His Grace were...

In September of this year, the Mexican Doctoral Council granted the Right Rev. Schema-Archimandrite Dr. Nektariy (Hajji-Petropoulos) an Honoris Causa Doctorate in Social Sciences and Humanities.  He was elected along with another nine people, who were selected due to "outstanding professional service" within the whole country. Among other chosen were deputies, senators, State Ministers...

Standing before God in prayerful solidarity with our long-suffering brethren of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine, who, being revered and respected throughout the whole of the Orthodox world, is primate of the only recognised canonical Orthodox Church of Christ in Ukraine, we, the members of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which carries out its ministry in the lands of North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other nations of the West, ministering to numerous emigres from the lands of historic Russia and their descendants, express our profound indignation at the blatant violation...

Saint Silouan's Monastery of the Western American Diocese will celebrate its patronal feast day on September 24th, 2018.

His Grace Theodosy Bishop of Seattle is presiding.

Schedule of Divine Services:
Sunday September 23: vigil at 6:00 PM
Monday September 24: Greeting of the Bishop at 9:00 AM, Liturgy, procession and festal meal.

This year’s conference will focus on the very foundation of Orthodox church singing – the Obikhod, or Common Chant Tradition. We will explore its rich diversity of liturgical expression and how this tradition facilitates prayerful and understandable singing/chanting in the Divine Services. 

As last year, we will continue to focus on the liturgical artistry of the clergy – reader, priest, and especially the deacon – and the necessary techniques to achieve prayerful singing/chanting of the highest quality in harmony with the singers.

Throughout the three-day  program, an exciting blend of historical, theoretical, and practical considerations will prepare Orthodox singers, both in the choir loft and in the altar, to sing praises to our Lord reverently.

This year’s conference brings together choir members, conductors and clergy of all levels of experience to explore the wealth and beauty of the Divine Services of the Orthodox Church.

Join us in October!

More information and registration here.

On August 2, 2018, His Grace IRENEI Bishop of Sacramento presided over the Altar Feast of Saint Elias Church in Diamond Springs, CA. 

The friendly mission parish conducts its Divine Services in English, though its membership consists of many ethnicities who share a bond of love for God and His Church. 

For the first time in many years there was a cross procession led by Bishop Irenei, who at that time blessed the parking lot as it was soon to undergo a substatial upgrade, improving its use, safety and logevity. The choir for the day was conducted by Alexandra Volmensky who was joined by several members of her choir at Holy Ascension Church in Sacramento. The Sisterhood of St. Elias Church prepered sumptious, festal meal in the church hall. 

This summer the Lord vouchsafed my daughter and me to spend a striking week at Saint Silouan’s Monastery in Sonora, CA. This wonderful place is difficult to put into words: scenic mountains, forest, a wide stream with clear, cool water, horses ambling on the hills. The monastery is in the process of being built and this is a remarkable particularity. It is a great fortune to see with your own eyes and by the participation of your own hands how, to the beauty of God’s creation, beauty created by man is added...

On Sunday July 22, 2018, we continued our solemnities. That day we greeted our Rector, His Grace Bishop Theodosy. Vladyka flew directly from Yekaterinburg where he had participated from July 16 to 17 in the traditional All-night Vigil and procession that begins at the Memorial Church on the Blood and finishes at Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs in the grove of Ganina Yama (Ganina Pit). The march rout of the cross procession is around 20 km. It takes about 5 hours. Vladyka told us that before the cross procession a church choir performed the Hymn of the Russian Empire “God Save the Tsar” in honor of the Holy Royal Family.

Our solemnities began on July 22 at 8:45 am with the...

On July 21, 2018, His Eminece Kyrill, Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America presided over the Altar Feast at the Kazan Church on the Russian River. Concelebrating with him were priests and deacons of our Dicoese as well as of the Moscow Patriarcate.

The choir sing the Divine Liturgy prayerfully and beautifully under the direction of Matushka Ioanna Sharkov. The warm, sunny weather permited the clergy and faith to enjoy a delicous and abundant meal out of doors in the church yard.

Toward the end of the festal meal Archbishop Kyrill present the parish with two new icons to adorn the church yard.

On July 17th, 2018, the community of the Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia in Reno/Sparks, Nevada, celebrated its Patronal Feast Day marking 100 years to the day of the Martyrdom of Holy Martyr Tsar Nicholas and His August Family, and dedicated servants (+July 4/17, 1918).

Priest Andrei Kudryavtzev, Father Deacon Alexander Gousev and the parishioners marked the day with...

To My Eminent Brother Archpastors, Honorable Fathers, Dear Brothers and Sisters:

The 20th century was a difficult time for Orthodox Christians on the territory of the Russian Empire, which became the USSR after the Great War, the October Revolution and Civil War. But the more the Church endured persecution, the brighter the lanterns of faith and piety shone in the Russian land. From the Tsar and the members of the Royal Family close to him in spirit, from archpastors and simple monastics, priests, deacons to laypersons came forth a powerful spiritual army of the Church Militant. By 1918, the Russian Church showed two sorts of podvig—that of martyrdom and that of confession. Thank God, today we see how the blood of many millions of the host of Martyrs and Confessors who turned the Russian land red became the seeds of salvation for the spiritual rebirth of our people, in the Fatherland and in the diaspora.

The Western American Diocese marked the annual memory of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco on June 30, 2018. Below is a photogallery of the celebration.

The Youth Department of the Western American Diocese is sponsoring the 2018 Summer Workweek at Saint Silouan's Monastery in Sonora, CA, from July 22nd to July 28th of this year.

The event starts with Divine Liturgy in Sparks, NV, marking the 100th Annivesary of the Martyrdom of the Royal Family of Russia on Sunday July 22, 2018. After the festal dinner the youth travel to Saint Siloun's Monastery.

Projects include the repair of the bank by the bridge, building a staircase for a monastic cell, rebuilding the roof on a car port and more.

The daily schedule includes prayer, spiritual talks, swimming and an evening campfire.

Special activities include a day trip to Yosemite Valley (Thursday July 26th) and the Feast of St. Vladimr Enlightener of Russia (Saturday, July 28th).

Ages: 15 to 25.
Cost: $125.00/person
Register here.
Questions: email here.

On the Day of the Holy Spirit, May 15/28, 2018, clergy and laity of the Western American Diocese gathered around their three hierarchs at Fort Ross for the annual pilgrimage.

His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America presided over the Divine Liturgy. Concelebrating with him where the two auxiliary Bishops...

In May of this year the clergy of the Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Seattle, WA, performed an "instructive" Divine Liturgy during which young children were taught about the Eucharist at this Divine Service.

On May 17, 2018, the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Church of Sacramento celebrated its Patronal Feast Day.

His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America presided over the Divine Liturgy and festivities. Concelebrating with him were Archpriest Paul Volmensky (Rector), Archpriest James Steele (St. Elias Church of Diamond Springs, CA), Archdeacon Peter (Karakozoff), and deacons Nicholai Lenkoff and Nicholas Stoltz.

The Annual Feast of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker will be held on June 30th, 2018, at the Diocesan Cathedral of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow." His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill is presiding.

Schedule:
Friday June 29th at 6:00 pm: All-night Vigil
Saturday June 30th at 9:30 am: Greeting of the Bishop, Divine Liturgy, procession and Festal Meal

The annual pilgrimage to Fort Ross, CA, will take place on the Day of the Holy Spirit, Monday May 28th, 2018. 

Schedule:
9:30 am Liturgy in the chapel
Procession to the cemetery and Litya for the Dead
Lunch at the Kazan Church on the Russian River
Address: 17370 Neeley Road; Guerneville, CA 95446

On Sunday, May 6, 2018, The 5th Sunday of Pascha and the feast day of St George the Victory-Bearer and Great Martyr, His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America celebrated Divine Liturgy at the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” in New York City, along with the Senior Priest of the cathedral, Protopriest Andrei Sommer.

The Head of the Russian Imperial House, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna and her son, Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich, who was celebrating his namesday, prayed at the service.

On Saturday the 5th of May, 2018, the 8th Annual Children’s Cossack Games were held at Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Church of Sacramento under the direction of Stanislav Holokov a Semirechniy Cossack, Ataman of the Cossacks’ National Union and Dean of the Western American Cossack Cadet School in honor of the “Don” Icon of the Mother of God.

On Pascha night, April 8th, 2018, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America resumed his duties as Ruling Bishop after a brief leave of absence for health reasons, which had been blessed by Metropolitan Hilarion First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

This year on April 29th marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Emperor Alexander II is remembered mainly for his progressive reform in the abolishment of serfdom in 1861 that served as a prototype to President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

On Pascha night, divine services were celebrated at the Cathedral of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" in San Francisco, CA, the home of the uncorrupt relics of St John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Miracle-worker. Leading the services was His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, who returned from a brief leave of absence. His Eminence was joined by the cathedral's clergymen, as the Cathedral Choir and SS Cyrill and Methodius High School Choir sang antiphonally.

I express my heartfelt greetings to you my brother archpastors, dear in the Lord fathers, brothers and sisters, on this holy, brightest and all-joyous day of the Resurrection of Christ, and in the name of the Three-day Risen God, the Lover of Mankind, extend to you the embrace of Paschal rejoicing and fraternal love! Bowing down to Christ, the Giver of Life, together with the entire Church, I fervently pray for His mercy, that He grant us the unearthly, desired peace that He gave His disciples, and blesses our prayerful and fraternal communion in His name.

On Sunday March 25, Holy Virgin Cathedral, which is dedicated to the honor of the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” hosted the Western American Diocese’s Tenth Annual Great-Lenten Retreat: “Bringing the Church to the World.”  This year’s speakers were Bishop Irenei of Sacramento and Hieromonk Alexii (Altschul).  From the beginning connections were found between this retreat and those held previously. Fr. Alexii had been baptized into the Orthodox Faith by last year’s speaker Fr. Moses Berry, while Bishop Irenei had been the speaker of the first ever Great-Lenten retreat back in 2007 (before his monastic tonsure and episcopal consecration) as Oxford University Fellow Dr. Matthew Steenburg.

Dear Fathers, Brothers and Sisters,

With incredible pain we have received the news about the tragic events in the Kemerov Diocese which swept away the lives of a multitude of children. Now, moved by the Christian sense of sympathy and brotherly love, we are praying for the repose of those who have been lost and for the health of those lying in hospitals. And, we call for all possible assistance to all affected families through the Benevolent Memorial Fund of St. Archbishop John (Maximovich).

This great archpastor of the Russian Diaspora always hastened to the aid of the suffering, those in tribulation and those weighed down by the cross of life. He hastened with concrete help, with kind words of love, consolation, hope and prayer.

Let us follow, even if in small measure,...

On Sunday, March 18, 2018, the Parish Choir of the Church of All Russian Saints in Burlingame, California, presented its annual “Lenten” choral recital, featuring works heard at Great Lent and Passion Week services. The concert was dedicated to the memory of Metropolitan Laurus, who reposed ten years ago on March 16, 2008.  Before the first selection, all who were present chanted “Eternal Memory” for +Metropolitan Laurus, Prince Vladimir Galitzine (+ 22-FEB-2018) and Dmitri Hvorostovsky (+ 22-NOV-2017).  Several concert selections are familiar sacred works performed by Hvorostovsky.

On behalf of the Diocesan Council of the Western American Diocese an Appeal for the collection of funds for the renovation of Saint Tikhon's House in San Francico, CA, was read to the diocesan clergy at their Great-Lenten Retreat held from March 12 to 14, 2018. 

SCHEDULE OF ICON'S VISITS

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Cathedral
"Joy of All Who Sorrow"
6210 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA  94121
7:50 am Arrival of the Holy Icon 
8:00 am Divine Liturgy
* Holy Icon will remain at the Cathedral until 3:00 pm

Saint Seraphim Russian Orthodox Church 
Canyon Del Rey Blvd
Seaside, CA  93955
6:00 pm Arrival of the Holy Icon and All night Vigil 

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Saint Seraphim Russian Orthodox Church 
Canyon Del Rey Blvd
Seaside, CA  93955
9:40 am Arrival of the Holy Icon 
10:00 am Divine Liturgy 
* Holy Icon will remain at the church until 4:00 pm

Saint John's Greek Orthodox Church 
Lincoln and 9th Street
Carmel by the Sea, CA 
6:00 pm Arrival of the Holy Icon and Paraklesis Service
7:00 pm Lenten Sunday Vespers
8:30 pm Great Compline
* Holy Icon will remain in the church until 7:30 am

Published below is the schedule of hierarchical services performed in our Diocese from the 4th Sunday of Great Lent through Pascha. Please, note the good news that His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill is scheduled to preside over the Divine Services at Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco on Pascha night and Great Vespers that day.

As part of the program of the Lenten Pastoral Retreat of the clergy of the Western American Diocese which had been held from March 12 to 14, 2018, our bishops, priests and deacons gathered in Old Holy Virgin Cathedral to perform a panykhida for ever-memorable Metropolitan Laurus who reposed on the Sunday of Orthodoxy 10 years ago (+ 3/16, 2008).

Archpriest Alex Kotar, Dean of the Northern Deanery of the Western American Diocese and Archdeacon Peter (Karakozoff) performed the panykhida. His Grace Bishop Theodosy, His Grace Bishop Irenei and the participanting clergy of the conference chanted and prayed.

Memory Eternal to our beloved and ever-memorable Metropolitan Laurus, a true Teacher of the Faith and father to so many!

With the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, our Ruling Bishop, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America has been granted a leave of absence for the purpose of addressing his health.

The Orthodox holy object, myrrh-streaming icon of the Theotokos “Appeasing of Malicious Hearts”, otherwise named “Shot with Seven Arrows” has visited Los Angeles. The icon has arrived from Moscow and stayed in California for two weeks. On February 1, the icon was delivered to the St. John of Kronstadt Retirement Home. Russian Orthodox residents of the Home met the icon with joy and love. It was the first relic of such caliber that had visited their Home chapel.

1st / 14th January 2018: Significant progress is being made on a long-term frescoing project at the Monastery of St. Paisius in Safford, Arizona, a women’s monastery in the Western American Diocese that is operated with the blessing of both our Diocesan Bishop, His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill, as well as the Head of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America, His Grace Bishop Maxim.

Construction of the central temple of the Monastery, known in monastic terminology as the catholicon, was completed some years ago, and the enormous basilica-style edifice dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos (feastday 15th / 28th August) rises high above the desert landscape and is visible for miles in all directions. 

As the parishes of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia celebrate the feast of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, in the Diocesan Cathedral in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” His Grace Theodosy Bishop of Seattle and His Grace Irenei Bishop of Sacramento along with the clergy and faithful gathered around our Ruling Bishop His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America to perform the “Rite of Orthodoxy” with the solemn pronouncement of the Anathemas.

The Great Schema Archimandrite Averky (the former Archimandrite AnastassyZagarsky) passed away today, in Russia, at the age of 102. Father Anastassy served many parishes in San Francisco, including the Kazan church, Old Cathedral, St. Tikhon's and St. Sergius. Upon retirement, he was attached to the new Holy Virgin Cathedral for a few years and later moved to a monastery in Tula.

I was invited to attend as a young adult volunteer the Eleventh Annual Saint Herman's West Youth Conference, held in Seattle, Washington, December 26-28, 2017.  It was hosted by the St. Nicholas Cathedral Parish.  I was joined by seventeen other volunteers whose backgrounds ranged from being cradle Orthodox to recent converts.  Our ages spanned from the early twenties to the mid-thirties.  The common denominator for all of us was not only to grow our own spiritual lives, but to help grow the spiritual lives of the Orthodox youth. 

Beloved in the Lord Brethren Archpastors, Honorable Fathers, 
Brothers and Sisters, God-Beloved Flock of the Russian Church Abroad:

It is with a feeling of the greatest joy that I express my heartfelt greetings on the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ and the approaching feast day of the Baptism of the Lord!

As expressed in one of our church prayers celebrating this holy event, when God deemed it good to appear on Earth, the entire world hastened to bring him gifts: “The Angels offer a hymn; the heavens, a star; the Wise Men, gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; the earth, its cave; the wilderness, a manger.”

The Media Department of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has published two lectures from the XXVI Annual Russian Orthodox Church Musicians Conference held at the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA, from the 4 to the 8 of October, 2017. 

Beloved in the Lord All-Venerable Fathers, God-Loving Monks and Nuns, 
Dear Brothers and Sisters:

The Holy Council of Bishops, which took place in Moscow from the 29th of November to the 2nd of December 2017 in the city of Moscow in the Cathedral Church of Christ the Savior, greets all of you with the words of the apostolic salutation: “Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5-6).

In the early hours of the morning of Sunday November 13/26, on the day of commemoration of our Father among the Saints John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople, after an enduring and trying illness the long-standing cleric of the Diocesan Cathedral in honor of Her Icon “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” Schema-Archdeacon Ambrose (Taratuchin) reposed in the Lord.

 Father Ambrose, of aristocratic lineage, was born Alexei Michailovich Taratuchin in England on March 22, 1961...

On Sunday October 29, 2017, the choir of the Church of All Russian Saints in Burlingame, CA, performed a concert of sacred music which was dedicated to the memory of the reposed choir member Konstantin Senchukov.

The program included such hymns as Ave Maria (Optina Hermitage chant), Polyeleos at matins (Kastalsky), It is truly meet (Tchaikovsky), and more.

Proceeds from the concert went towards support of the parish stewardship program.

The Media Department of the Western American Diocese produced a video about the youth workweek organized at Saint Silouan's Monastery in Sonora, California, from July 2nd to 8th, 2017.

This was a pilot program, with the intention of making the workweek an annual event.

On the 8^th of November, 2017, the Autumn Pastoral Conference of the clergy of the Western American Diocese came to its conclusion.

The Eminent Bishops, priests and deacons of the Diocese have issued a Resolution in which are addressed the centennial of the Bolshevik Revolution with its tragic effects, and the joyous celebrations of the 10^th Anniversary of the signing of the “Act of Canonical Communion” between the two parts of the Russian Church and the 25th Anniversary of Archbishop Kyrill’s consecration to the episcopacy.

On Monday November 6, 2017, His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America presided over Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Diocesan Cathedral on honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in San Francisco as the clergy and faithful of the Western American Diocese gathered to mark the diocesan-wide celebration of the 10^th Anniversary of the restoration of Canonical Communion between the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate, and the 25^th Anniversary of Archbishop Kyrill’s consecration to the episcopacy.

On Sunday November 5, 2017, His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America presided over the All-night Vigil for the Feast of the Diocesan Cathedral on honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow.”...

On Sunday the October 29^th, 2017, His Grace THEODOSY Bishop of Seattle served Divine Liturgy at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Santa Rosa, CA, which has recently suffered from many wildfires in that region.

14 families (45 people) from the parish of Saints Peter and Paul and the parish of Saint Seraphim of Sarov (OCA) have lost their homes and possessions in the wild fires of Sonoma and Napa Counties.

The Media Department of the Western American Diocese has published a video report on the 26^th Annual Russian Orthodox Church Musician’s Conference held in Los Angeles, CA, from the 4^th to the 8^th of October, 2017.

On Saturday, October 8/21, the occasion of its 15^th anniversary, St. Martin the Merciful Church in Corvallis, Oregon received its Great Consecration. Presiding at this event was His Eminence, Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western American, assisted by Bishop Theodosius of Seattle and Bishop Irenei of Sacramento, eight priests, and four deacons. A great number of parish faithful, and visitors from as far away as Greece, attended this joyful occasion.

 His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America issued new petitions requesting God’s mercy for those who have suffered from recent natural disasters and at the hands of those who have committed violence.

On Monday November 6 and Tuesday November 7, 2017, there will be a diocesan-wide observance of the Centennial of the Bolshevik Revolution (October 25/November 7, 1917) also known as the Day of Irreconciliation, the celebration of the 10^th Anniversary of the signing of the “Act of Canonical Communion” between the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate (4/17 May, 2007) and the 25^th Anniversary of the consecration to the episcopacy of His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America (May 25/June 7, 1992).

This year marks the 10^th Anniversary from the appearance of the Iveron-Hawaiian Myrrh-streaming Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (2007-2017), which though was first manifest within the bounds of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, is venerated and treasured by the Orthodox throughout entire United States of America and beyond, as she has even been abroad traveling to the land of Georgia. The Most Holy Theotokos through Her fragrant and miraculous myrrh brings peace and healing to all.

The Liturgical Musical Commission of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia conducted its 26^th Annual Musicians’ Conference in Los Angeles, CA, from the 4^th to the 8^th of October, 2017.

This year’s conference, entitled “Prayerful Sound in the Orthodox Church: Vocal Artistry of the Deacon, Reader and Singer at Divine Services,” was attended by 70 participants including the clergy.

Please donate - URGENT
We at Russian American Community Services (RACS) are supporting the humanitarian efforts of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, our sister parish, which is welcoming refugees this very moment.
Five parish families have lost their homes and all belongings.

Letter from Archpriest Alexander Krassovsky, Rector of Sts. Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Church in Santa Rosa, CA:

On Wenesday the 4^th of October Nicholai (Kolia) Soin (1930-2017) peacefully reposed in the Lord after brief, unexpected illness. Known by his nickname “The Invisible Angel,” he was a tireless laborer, generous with his time, a unseen laborer of the diocesan cathedral of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in San Francisco, CA. He was always working at the cathedral when no one was around, sometimes late at night.

SAVE THE DATE:

The Youth Committee of the Western American Diocese announces the XI Annual Saint Herman's West Youth Conference to be held in Seattle, WA, from December 26th to 30th, 2017. Details coming soon!

With horror and pain in my heart I have followed reports of the recent atrocity in Las Vegas, as a result of which so many are dead and many more are injured. Our prayers, deepest feelings and sympathies are with all those affected by this unimaginable cruelty. We offer our prayers at the holy shrine of St John (Maximovich) the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, which contain his incorrupt, healing and life-bearing relics; and we fervently plead for his Godly intercessions, to warm and comfort the relatives of the reposed and those undergoing treatment in hospitals and elsewhere, and to appeal to the Lord of All that He would send His heavenly peace into the hearts of all men.

Finding of the Relics of St. John

The feastday of the lower church (ex-sepulcher) in honor of the Finding of the Relics of St. John, Wonderworker of Shanghai & San Francisco will be marked on Thursday, October 12. The Vigil to St. John will be served in the cathedral proper on Wednesday, October 11, at 6:00 pm, and the feastday Liturgy on Thursday – in the lower church at 8:00 am. This is also the patronal feast of St. John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy.

Saint John's relics were uncovered and found incorrupt 24 years ago, in 1993.

On Sunday the 24^th of September 2017 His Eminence presided over the patronal feast day of Saint Silouan Monastery in Sonora, CA.

On September 21, 2017, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America instructed his clergy and through them all the faithful of the Diocese to pray for those who have suffered from the recent earthquakes in Mexico City.

On September 19, 2017, the main building of the St Tikhon Humanitarian University in Moscow hosted an evening marking the 10th anniversary of the reestablishment of unity between two parts of the Russian Church—in Russia and in the diaspora—the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion. The event included the presentation of a new Russian-language book compiled by Protopriest Peter Perekrestov: Pastyr. Uchitel’. Drug. Svjatitel’ Ioann Shanghaiskij i San-Fransisskij v vospominanijakh sovremennikov [Pastor. Teacher. Friend. St John of Shanghai and San Francisco as Remembered by Contemporaries]. Attending the event were clergymen and students of the university as well as a multitude of venerators of St John.

Schema Archimandrite Nektariy and brethren of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Mexico City are alive and well after the 8.4 earthquake in Mexico. 

Fr Nektariy wrote to FFA: "You could only hear the cracking of walls and furniture and things falling down; our bells were ringing... it seemed that our time had come... we just kneel down in the confusion and darkness in deep prayer... after an eternity we realized that God was very merciful...  Slava Bogu !!!  We all are fine, scared but no tragedies, nor pain in our communities, so far.

You were born and reared in the Russian diaspora. Tell us about the people who influenced you in your younger years and nurtured in you a love for the Church and your historic homeland.

– I was born in Montreal, Canada. My father’s father was an officer in the White Army born in Yugoslavia (he was killed by the Reds in 1945), and my mother was evacuated by the Germans from the Soviet Union when she was 13 years old—her father was a regular soldier in the Red Army and disappeared without a trace. The Russian language was the only one used in our home, and when I started school, I didn’t speak a word of English. We often had Russian visitors, including, when possible, people from Soviet Russia, which was a rarity in those days. I remember 1967, when Montreal hosted the International Expo, and the Soviet Union had a huge pavilion and accompanying delegation. Over the summer we visited the expo every week, attended concerts, and we always had Russian guests come visit.

The 26th Annual Music Conference will be held in Los Angeles from October 4th to 8th, 2017. 

Along with many interesting lectures, this year's conference will feature special lessons and workshops for deacons. 

Archbishop Kyrill's Decree (scroll to second page for English).

Registration here. 

The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia held at the in the Convent of Grand Duchess Elisabeth the New-Martyr in Buchendorf, Germany, from the 27 May/6 June through the 3/16 of June, 2017, resolved that Archpriest Alexander Lebedeff, Rector of Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA, be elevated to the dignity of protopresbyter for his many years of zealous, pastoral service to the Holy Church.

From the 2^nd to the 8^th of July, 2017, over 20 youth of the Western American Diocese participated in a youth workweek at Saint Silouan Monastery in Sonora, CA.

The guest community, which included adult staff and skilled workers, entered into the rhythm of monastery life rising at dawn daily for Divine Liturgy, working throughout the day and finishing with Small Compline. The youth had time for recreation as well cooling off at midday in Lake Turlock, about ½ hour drive from the monastery.

On the 30 of June and the 1 of July, 2017, the Western American Diocese held the annual commemoration of our great local Saint, Holy Hierarch John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker.

On the 24^th of June, 2017, Archpriest Mark Gomez, a beloved cleric and spiritual father of the Western American Diocese, peacefully reposed in the Lord.

Below is a video of the presentation given by Matushka Maria Potapova at a symposium on Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker, which was sponsored by the Saints Cyril and Athanasius Institute for Orthodox Studies held in San Francisco, CA, on June 30 & July 1, 2016.

By Resolution of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia held at the in the Convent of Grand Duchess Elisabeth the New-Martyr in Buchendorf, Germany, from the 27 May/6 June through the 3/16 of June, 2017, Archpriest Vladimir Derugin, Rector of Protection of the Holy Virgin Church in Palo Alto, CA, has been awarded the dignity of wearing the mitre for 40 years of zealous, pastoral service to the Holy Church.

From May 11-22, 2017, with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and Ruling Bishop of the UK Diocese, His Grace Bishop Irenei of Sacramento, Vicar of the Western American Diocese, made an archpastoral visit to the United Kingdom, heading a pilgrimage with the myrrh-streaming “Hawaii-Iveron” icon on its first visit to the UK, as well as convey the archpastoral blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion to his flock...

After serving the Divine Liturgy at Christ the Savior Cathedral on Sunday, June 18, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia consecrated the new monument “Reunification,” dedicated to the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, reports Patriarchia.ru. The historic event took place on May 17, 2007 at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral, with the new monument being timed to its tenth anniversary.

We, the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, gathered for a Council of Bishops in the God-preserved city of Munich during the celebration of the Pentecost, in the blessed presence of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign.” This year we remember with sorrow the hundredth anniversary of the terrible, bloody events of 1917; we are at the same time filled with joy over the anniversary of the restoration of the patriarchate and the tenth anniversary of the reestablishment of unity within the Russian Church.

To His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York,
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia,

To the Eminent Archpastors, Members of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

On Friday, June 9, 2017, the feast day of St John the Russian, His Eminence Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany celebrated Divine Liturgy at St Elizabeth Convent in Buchendorf, Germany. Praying at the service were archpastors of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, who had arrived a day earlier.

On June 7, 2017, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sent congratulations to His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on the 25th anniversary of his episcopal consecration:

On 7th June 2017, the Ruling Bishop of the Western American Diocese, His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill, celebrates the 25th anniversary of his episcopal consecration — first as Bishop of Seattle (1992), and later as Bishop (2000) and then Archbishop (2003) of San Francisco and Western America. Not only is such an anniversary a moment of significance for the Archbishop himself, inviting his own private reflections on a quarter-century of Archpastoral service and labours before God; it is also a moment of significance for the Diocese, and indeed for the Church as a whole, which gives glory to God for the whole Hierarchy of her devout clergy of all ranks and offices, who in the long service of her Archpastor have been called to lead Godly lives and approach the Heavenly Kingdom in the ancient and essential context of our hierarchical life.

The biography of His Eminence is found below, together with a gallery of photographs from the past twenty-five years, in anticipation of more substantial materials to be collected...

From the 5 to the 10 of June, 2017, the Cossack Cadet School of the “Don” Icon of the Mother of God sponsored a children’s camp for its cadets and other youngsters at “Elim” in Marysville, CA.

On Monday May 29, 2107, the National Holiday Memorial Day, members of the Western American Diocese made an annual pilgrimage to Fort Ross State Historic Park on the shores of Central California about an hour’s drive north of San Francisco. The 100 or so pilgrims were a welcome sight this year!

With God's grace, another school year has been successfully completed. This Sunday, May 28, 2017, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary celebrated its 69th Annual Commencement with a Service of Thanksgiving, commencement exercises, and a reception. We graduated six students, four receiving honors ranging from cum laude to summa cum laude.

On May 25, 2017, the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia performed the rite of the great consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in Sretensky Stavropighial Monastery in Moscow, and officiated at the celebration of Divine Liturgy that followed.

Attending the services was Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After Liturgy, His Holiness met with bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York.

May 25, 2017, on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrated the rite of the Great Consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church in Sretensky Monastery and led the Divine Liturgy in the newly-consecrated church. Russian president Vladimir V. Putin was present at the Divine service.

“Be Thou exalted above the heavens, O God, and Thy glory is above all the earth.”

On May 4/17, 2017, His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop San Francisco and Western America issued Decree No. 7E/2017 in which he bids the clergy and faithful of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia to celebrate the 10^th Anniversary of the Reconciliation within the Russian Orthodox Church, which took place 10 years ago on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord.

On 4/17 of May, 2017, the Russian Orthodox Church marked the 10th Anniversary of the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion between its two parts that had been separted by historical circumstances for almost 90 years. 

It is easier for Western Christians to articulate how people are saved because their purpose for salvation is narrower and their audience is broader. From the eleventh century on Western salvation became preoccupied with justice and the wrongs our sins did against God. Salvation was suddenly a transaction Christ took care of on the cross when he purchased our debt owed to God and covered our filthiness with His righteousness. Beneficiaries of this transaction became individuals who pray the “sinner’s prayers”.

With the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Longin of New Gracanica and Midwestern America, the relics of St. Mardarije, which have laid in the Church of St. Sava Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois, since his internment in December 1935, were uncovered. The opening revealed St. Mardarije’s holy relics to be incorrupt.

On May 13, 2017, Archpriest Alex Kotar, clergy and laity of Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Seattle, WA, received the Holy Fire that descends on the Tomb of the Lord in Jerusalem on Holy and Great Saturday.

The annual pilgrimage to Fort Ross will take place on Memorial Day, Monday May 29, 2017. 

Schedule:
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 am
Procession to cemetery
Announcement from Archpriest Stefan Pavlenko, the Chancellor of the Western American Diocese:

MEMORIAL DAY FORT ROSS LITURGY, Monday, May 29th 

The 26th Annual Russian Orthodox Church Musicians' Conference, will be hosted by the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Los Angeles, California, October 4-8, 2017, with the sessions taking place at the Four Points Sheraton Los Angeles, Westside. The theme of the Conference is “Prayerful Sound in the Orthodox Church: Vocal Artistry of the Deacon, Reader and Singer at Divine Services.” Watch for the official announcement and registration information.

The Liturgical Music Commission

With the blessing of the Abbot of St. Silouan’s Monastery in Sonora, CA, His Grace Irenei Bishop of Sacramento and under the auspices of the Youth Committee of the Western American Diocese, chaired by Archpriest Boris Henderson, a volunteer youth workweek is being organized at the monastery from July 2 to July 8, 2017.

Archpriest James Baglien and the community of Saint Martin the Merciful Church of Corvallis, OR, will be marking their 15^th Anniversary this fall. In conjunction with this celebration, His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America will be performing the Great Consecration of the church on Saturday the 21 of October, 2017.

The Lenten Prayer — ‘of St Ephrem’? A Few Observations on a Varied Textual Tradition, a lecture by Right Reverend Professor Irenei, Bishop of Sacramento.

The Paschal Epistle of His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America may be read here.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all”
(Titus 2:11)

Beloved in the Lord Your Graces the archpastors, all-honourable presbyters and deacons, God-loving monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters!

            Оn the night imbued with the Divine light, replete with great solemnity and spiritual joy in the Lord of the world who has vanquished death, I address you all with the ancient exclamation that testifies steadfastly to our immutable hope:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Beloved Archpastors, Honorable Fathers, Dear in the Lord Brothers and Sisters:

With a heart filled with the endearing sensation of Paschal joy, I congratulate the hierarchs, clergymen, monastics, parishioners and worshipers of our churches, scattered throughout the whole world, on the joyful celebration of the glorious Resurrection of Christ, and I greet you with the angelic good news: CHRIST IS RISEN!

On Lazarus Saturday, April 8, 2017, Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), Chief of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and his monks celebrated Divine Liturgy and performed a moleben, during which they congratulated Sister Martha, the teachers and students of Orthodox Bethany School in Jerusalem.

On the school premises is a chapel built upon a square stone resembling a door beam discovered by archaeologists which bears the inscription in Greek: “Here Martha and Maria heard the words of the Lord about the resurrection of the dead… the Lord…” (the remainder is missing).

After services, the clergymen and worshipers were offered a trapeza luncheon.

PHOTO ALBUM here.

On the Sunday of the Cross, March 19, 2017, the parish choir of the Church of all Russian Saints in Burlingame, CA, performed selections heard at Divine Services during Great Lent and Passion Week.

On April 2, 2017, Holy Virgin Cathedral hosted the annual Western American Diocese Lenten Retreat.  This year’s retreat marked the tenth anniversary of the diocese putting on these retreats at the cathedral (but the 9th actual retreat, there was no retreat in 2014).  As has been the case every year, retreat attendees spanned a range of ages and came from a large number of parishes across northern California.   For the third straight year, attendees have also included people from out-of-state parishes who amended their travel plans so that they could attend.

The speakers this year were...

His Grace Bishop Nikolai (Soraich) and the community of All Saints Russian Orthodox Church moved into a new facility which was blessed on February 19, 2017. 

A photo gallery of that event and others in the life of parish may be seen here.

The Old Holy Virgin Cathedral will host the pastoral retreat of the clergy of the Western American Diocese during Great Lent from March 13 to 15, 2017. 

Priest Athanasios Kone has begun assisting Archpriest David Moser with the cooridantion of theological topics and keynote speakers.

The X Annual Lenten Retreat sponsored by Holy Virgin Cathedral will be held on April 2, 2017 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

The retreat's theme is "Love Your Nieghbor."

Keynote Speakers:

The X Annual Saint Herman's West Youth Conference was held at Holy Ascension Church of Sacramento and Saint Silouan's Monastery of Sonora from the 26th to the 30th of December 2016.

Over 60 youth from around the Western American Diocese came to Sacramento...

The Nativity Epistle of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill for 2016/2017 can be read here.

Nativity Epistle of
HILARION,
Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York,
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

Moved by the most profound feelings of fraternal love and joy for the Savior of the World born in Bethlehem, I congratulate the archpastors, clergymen, monastics and all the faithful flock of the Russian Church Abroad on this great and holy feast of the Nativity of Christ!

O, blessed Nativity night!

Your Eminences the archpastors, esteemed Fathers and deacons,

all-honourable monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters!

On this holy night I extend my heartfelt greetings to you all and from the depths of my soul I congratulate you on the great feast of the Nativity of Christ: the feast of the fulfillment of the promises of old for the salvation of the human race, the feast of the ineffable love of the Maker towards his creation, the feast of the coming into the world of the Son of God who is the Messiah...

On Sunday the 4^th of December, 2016, on the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America visited Holy Ascension Church of Sacramento, CA, and enthroned a new Vicar, His Grace IRENEI Bishop of Sacramento, in his city and vicariate.

On Sunday, November 13, the parish choir of the Church of All Russian Saints in Burlingame, CA, presented a choral recital of sacred music. The program featured prayers from the Vigil service and other selections that parishioners will hear in upcoming services.  The concert was dedicated to the memory of Anna “Annushka” Markevich, a long-time parishioner, choir member and friend, who reposed in the Lord on October 4 of this year.

The most recent Diocesan Assembly of the Western American Diocese was convened on November 15, 2016.

His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill presided over the meeting in the presence of His Grace Theodosy Bishop of Seattle, His Grace Irenei Bishop of Sacramento, His Grace Bishop Nikolai (Soraich) along with over 60 clergy and lay delegates from throughout the Western American Diocese who represented the majority of its monasteries and parishes.

On Sunday December 4th, 2016, the Feast of the Entry of the Most-Holy Theotkos into the Temple, His Grace Bishop Irenei will officially be introduced to the community of Holy Ascension Church in Sacramento, CA, by His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America. 

The greeting of His Grace is scheduled for 9:30 am. The Divine Liturgy, and a festal dinner shall follow in the church hall. 

Address:
Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Church of Sacramento
714 -- 13th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814-1903
Located on the corner of 13th & "G" Streets.

On Sunday November 13, 2016, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America served the Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Monastery in Mexico City, Mexico, celebrating its 10 Anniversary.

It is noon on a warm November day. The autumn air is saturated with the smell of eucalyptus, blending with the aroma of the censer’s smoke, the intricate coils of which turn into transparent streams that float out over the gravestones and crosses. People listen to the words of the prayers in absorbed silence, holding red carnations in their hands. Russian scouts stand all in a row, motionless.

On Sunday November 6, 2016, the day of the Patronal Feast of Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” His Grace Irenei (Steenberg) was consecrated Bishop of Sacramento.

His Eminence Kyrill Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America presided over the celebration. Concelebrating with him were Archbishop Peter of Chicago, Bishop Theodosy of Seattle, Bishop Nicholai of Manhattan and Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk (Moscow Patriarchate), as well as approximately 20 priests and 7 deacons from throughout the Western American Diocese, and other dioceses and jurisdictions.

On Saturday November 5^th, 2016, in Holy Virgin Cathedral of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” on the eve of the cathedral’s Patronal Feast, Bishop-elect of Sacramento Archimandrite Irenei (Steenberg) participated the “Rite of Nomination.”

His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill presided over the rite together with...

Below is the full schedule of the consecration of Bishop-elect of Sacramento Archimandrite Irenei (Steenberg). 

The "Rite of Nomination" takes place before the eminent and right-reverend bishops who will participate in the consecration, and in the presence of the assembled congragation. A significant portion of the rite includes a homiliy composed and read by the bishop-elect, the contents of which should demonstrate nominee's preparedness and qualifications for the high calling of archpastoralship both in terms of doctrinal understanding and pastoral care.

The "Rite of Confession of Faith" and "Bishop's Oath" both audibly review the doctrinal content of the Orthodox Faith and require the nominee's faithfulness to Orthodox Church and Her Episcopal Council, in particular the Council of Bishop's of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which in turn is part of the Council of Bishops of the Local Orthodox Church of Russia.

Schedule:

Saturday November 5th, 2016:
4:30 pm Greeting of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill
4:45 pm "Rite of Nomination" of Bishop-elect Archimandrite Irenei (Steenberg)
5:30 pm All-night Vigil

Sunday November 6th, 2016:
9:00 am Greeting of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill
9:10 am "Rite of Confession of Faith" & "Bishop's Oath"
9:30 am Divine Liturgy, cross procession and festal banquet in the cathedral hall

The oldest Russian school in San Francisco is soon to be ninety years old. Take a video excursion (in Russian).

His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill has called for a triennial General Assembly of the Western American Diocese to be convened on November 15, 2016.

Clergy and lay-delegates will gather from throughout the Western American Diocese to discuss important topics and issues of diocesan life. The assembly’s agenda includes a review of spiritual and material status of the diocese for the years 2012 to 2015, as well as a look at the budget as we close 2016 and look ahead into the near future. All of this will be manifest through the official report read by His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill, accounts from our four deans representing the four deaneries of the diocese, reports from the chairmen of the diocesan departments, such as communication, youth, education, etc.

These triennial gatherings are edifying and inspiring. Our diocese is vast with over 45 monasteries, parishes and missions, both Russian and English. The Assembly offers an opportunity for the delegates, both clergy and laity, to hear about and exchange experiences and ideas that may be taken back to their respective parishes.

Participants of this assembly are official delegates consisting of our bishops, diocesan council members, diocesan department chairmen, deans, father rectors, salaried clerics and laymen that have been elected at parish meetings, or sometimes appointed by parish councils.

The fall retreat of the clergy of the Western American Diocese will follow the next day.

Schedule of the Diocesan Assembly and Pastoral Retreat

Monday November 14
Travel Day

Clergy/Laity lodging, see the following options:

Geary Parkway Motel                    Holiday Inn Golden Gateway
4750 Geary Blvd.                           1500 Van Ness Ave
SF CA94118.                                    SF  CA  94109
415 752-9406. $100-270.            415 441-4000. Call for rates

Hotel Driscoll                                  Laurel Inn
2901 Pacific Ave.                            444 Presidio Ave
SF  94115.                                        SF CA   94115
415 346-2880 $325-425+.          415 567-8467

Inn on Broadway.                           Great Highway Inn
2201 Van Ness.                              1234 Great Hwy  (at Lincoln Blvd)
SF  94109.                                       SF   94122
415 776-7900  Call for rates.        415 731-6644 $125-225 (very basic 
                                                         clean)

Tuesday, November 15
Assembly Work Day

7:30 am Divine Liturgy
9:00 am Breakfast (first meal)
9:45 am Opening of Diocesan Assembly
1:00 pm Lunch
2:00 pm Assembly continues & concludes (lay delegates are relieved when Assembly adjourns)
5:00 pm Vespers & matins (confession)
7:00 pm Supper

Wednesday, November 16
Pastoral Retreat

8:30 am Greeting of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill, & Divine Liturgy (all clergy participate)
11:00 am Brunch
12:30– 4:00 pm Pastoral retreat

The End and Glory to Our God!

San Francsico, October 18, 2016:

To mark the 65th anniversary of the departure of the last Russian refugees from Tubabao, an exhibition opening in honour of the milestone was held at the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco.  The opening of the exhibition "Tiempo Russo Tubabao Island" was hosted by the Hon. and Mme. Henry S. Bensurto, Jr. - Consul General of the Philippine Republic together with Hon. and Mme. Sergei V. Petrov - Consul General of the Russian Federation and their respective staffs. 

On the “Lesser Feast of St. John,” that is on the day of commemoration of the revealing of his honorable relics (29^th of September/12^th of October, 1993) the Media Department of the Western American Diocese debuts a brief film covering the 50^th Anniversary of the Repose of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker (19^th of June/2^nd of July, 2016)...

News from the Liturgical Music Commission (LMC) of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia: Report on the 25^th Anniversary Russian Orthodox Church Musicians’ Conference (for North America), October 5-9, 2016, Montreal, Canada; and announcement of upcoming events in 2017

 The 25th Anniversary Russian Orthodox Church Musicians' Conference of church choir directors, singers and readers – attended by over 70 people – took place in the seat of the Canadian Diocese, Montreal, with great results and success.

On Friday, September 30, 2016, concluding his visit to Israel for the funeral of Shimon Peres, Prince Charles of Wales visited Gethsemane Russian Orthodox Convent. Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), Chief of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, greeted the royal guest at the gates of the convent and told him about the history and daily life of the monastery.

Fr Roman, standing on the courtyard of St Mary Magdalene Church, which overlooks the Old City of Jerusalem, showed Prince Charles the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and the other holy sites of the holy city. Abbess Elizabeth of Gethsemane Convent, standing in the doorway of the grand, royal church, welcomed the prince and offered him the traditional Russian bread and salt.

On Sunday the 2^nd of October, 2016, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western American and His Grace THEODOSY Bishop of Seattle made a pastoral visit to the All-Merciful Savior Monastery on Vashon Island, WA, to celebrate the 30^th Anniversary its founding.

Originating in the Fall of 1986, the All-Merciful Saviour Monastery is situated on 16 acres in the heart of a forest on the island, which is located a 30 minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle in the Puget Sound of the Salish Sea...

On Saturday September 24, 2016, the fathers and pilgrims marked the first anniversary of the founding Saint Silouan’s Monastery in Sonora, CA.

His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America presided over the patronal feast of the monastery.

On Friday the 23 of September, 2016, a panykhida will be performed in memory of Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev) at 4:30 pm at the holy monastery of Saint Silouan the Athonite in Sonora, CA.

His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America will be presiding.

This year marks the 16th Anniversary since the repose of Archbishop Anthony who was the Ruling Bishop of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia for over 30 years arriving in San Francisco from Melbourne, Australia, in the late 1960s, and inheriting the diocese after the repose of Holy Hierarch John the Wonderworker. Archbishop Anthony was instrumental in the Synodal Resolution to canonize St. John. Under his direction St. John's honorable, incorrupt relics were revealed. And, Archbishop Anthony is the author of much of the Divine Service to Saint John. Memory Eternal to ever-memorable Archbishop Anthony for these deeds and for many more great works he performed for our Western American Diocese!

After the panykhida, His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill will commence the vigil service for the monastery's Feast Day of St. Silouan the Athonite at 5:00 pm.

The monastery's address: 21285 Old Sonora Columbia Road, Sonora, CA 95370-8807.

The II Annual Patronal Feast Day of Saint Silouan's Monastery will be celebrated on Saturday September 24, 2016. His Eminence KIRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America will preside. The schedule is as follows:

Schedule of Saint Silouan's Day
Friday September 23
4:30 pm Panykhida for Archbishop Anthony (16th Anniversary)
5:00 pm All-night Vigil with litya & blessing of the breads

Saturday Septmeber 24
9:00 am Greeting of Archbishop Kyrill, Divine Liturgy, festal meal

Those wishing to attend the Feast Day are requested to contact the monastery guest master, monk Ignatius. This will assist the brothers in their prepartion of hospitality. Call (831) 345-8719.

The Consecration of Bishop-elect Archimandrite Irenei (Steenberg) as Bishop of Sacramento is scheduled to take place at Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, California, on Sunday November 6, 2016, the Cathedral's Feast Day -- the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow."

His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill will preside over the Divine Liturgy which will begin at 9:30 am. Bishops participating in the concecration will be His Grace Theodosy Bishop of Seattle, His Grace Nicholas Bishop of Manhattan, His Grace John Bishop of Naro-Fominsk (Moscow Patriarchate), and others.

The community of the Holy Virgin Cathedral will host a festal meal on the occasion of its patronal feast day.

An update with a detailed schedule of the consecration is expected soon.

Choir of All Russian Saints
744 El Camino Real, Burlingame, CA 94010
1:00 pm
Free Admission. Donations to the Stewardship Program gladly accepeted.

In June, 2016, a group of pilgrims, led by His Grace Bishop Theodosius of Seattle, traveled to the holy sites of Greece. The male pilgrims began with a 6 day pilgrimage to Mount Athos. We were based at the Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi. During those days, we visited many of the monasteries along the peninsula, including Iveron, the Great Lavra, Stavronikita, Docheiariou, Pantokratoros, and a few sketes. We were fortunate to venerate the Holy Belt of the Mother of God, countless miracle-working icons and relics of saints, and we drank water from miraculous springs. We spent the Feast of Pentecost in Vatopedi, being blessed by Geronda Efrem, the abbot of the monastery, to serve Divine Liturgy in Church-Slavonic in one of the many chapels within the monastery walls. Our last night on the Holy Mountain was spent at the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon.

On August 19, 2016, the Western American Diocese celebrated the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Los Angeles, Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America celebrated both the All Night Vigil and the Divine Liturgy with the parish...

On August 14, 2016, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, made an archpastoral visit to Saint Innocent Russian Orthodox Church in Rogue River, OR.

His Eminence performed Divine Liturgy with the Father Rector Archpriest Seraphim Cordoza and guest clergy...

On Sunday, August 7, the Old Cathedral of the Holy Virgin in San Francisco celebrated its annual Patronal Feast Day in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” (with coins).  His Eminence, Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America celebrated the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with the Deputy Rector of the Old Cathedral, Abbot James (Corazza), and visiting priests Rev. Ioann Comanescu of the Holy Protection Russian Orthodox Church in Palo Alto and Rev. Florin Lapustea of the Holy Cross Romanian Orthodox Church in San Jose, along with Rev. Deacon Nikolae Lapustea and Rev. Hierodeacon Peter (Karakozoff)...

His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill will preside over the Patronal Feast Day of Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA, on August 19, 2016.

The Schedule is as follows:
Thursday August 18 at 6:30 pm: Vigil
Friday August 19 starting at 9:30 am: Greeting of the Bishop, Festal Liturgy, procession with the Blessing of the First Fruits.

Address:
Holy Transfiguration Cathedral
5432 Fernwood Avenue; Los Angeles, CA 90027 

With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, the Synodal Liturgical Music Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Montreal, Quebec, present the 25th Annual Russian Orthodox Church Musicians' Conference, Montreal, Canada, October 5-9, 2016:

The Music of Today's Russian Orthodox Church: Perspectives in Creative Artistry and Technique

Featured faculty: Choir director and composer Mother Juliana (Denisova) of St Elizabeth Convent, Minsk, Belarus.

The purpose of this conference is to bring together choir members and conductors to explore the wealth and beauty of Russian Orthodox church music. Participants will gain practical and theoretical knowledge and experience through lectures, workshops and rehearsals which culminate in festive pontifical services. Further, participants will have the opportunity to exchange ideas, get to know like-minded people and expand their liturgical repertoire.

The All-Night Vigil and the Divine Liturgy will be held at the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral, located at 422 St Joseph Blvd. W., Montreal.

For more information see the conference website rocmconference.org or write to info@rocmconference.org.

His Eminence Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea celebrated festive Divine Liturgy on Thursday, July 14, 2016, at SS Kosma and Damian Monastery in Crimea. He was joined by His Grace Bishop Theodosius of Seattle, Vicar Bishop of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, along with clergymen from the Alushtinsk, Simferopol and Saky Deaneries of the Crimean Diocese, as well as monks in the priestly rank.

By God’s grace, not long ago we lived to see another Holiday of Holidays, the Bright Resurrection of Christ, Pascha. How I wish that all of you, parishioners of our churches and pilgrims who visit us who live in the Holy Land could also experience the divine services of Passion Week, participate in the burial service of Christ the Savior at the Live-Bearing Sepulcher of the Lord, be honored to receive the Holy Fire on Great Saturday, 

On Tuesday August 2, 2016, His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America presided over the Divine Liturgy at Saint Elias Church of Diamond Springs, CA, marking the patronal feast day with the clerics, parishioners and guests of the community.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were Bishop-elect of Sacramento Archimandrite Irenei (Steenberg), ...

Priest Andrew Cuneo, Rector of Saint Katherine Orthodox Church (OCA) of Carlsbad, CA, gave a lecture at the 9th Annual Lenten Retreat sponsored by Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco entitled "Remembering Paradise." The video of his lecture can be seen below.

This Sunday, August 7, the Old Cathedral of the Holy Virgin at 864 Fulton Street in San Francisco will celebrate its parish feast day.  His Eminence, Archbishop Kyrill will serve the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m.  A 25-member Romanian Orthodox Choir from France will sing the Liturgy and, after the festal lunch, perform a concert of Romanian Liturgical and Folk Music. All proceeds from the concert will be sent to the St. Paraskeva Foundation which supports orphanages in Romania. 

On the day of commemoration of the Holy Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul (29 of June/ 12  of July) at the Livadia Place in Crimea the solemn ceremony of the unveiling of a portrait of the Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia took place.  This portrait augments a current collection, which has been gathered through the efforts of the Chief Procurator of Crimea ­­– Natalia Poklonskaya.

Excerpt from the minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Synod of Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia:

"At the meeting of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, which was held on June 18/ July 1, 2016 in the San Francisco on the eve of the celebration of the 50^th Anniversary of the Repose of Holy Hierarch and Wonderworker John (Maximovich), the petition by Archbishop Kyrill..."

Opening today, June 30, 2016, is a General Meeting of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in the presence of the Directress of the Russian Diaspora, the “Kursk-Root” Icon of the Mother of God. Sessions are being held in the Archbishop Anthony Memorial Library, a part of the Chancellery of the Western American Diocese at Saint Tikhon’s House in San Francisco, CA.

            This year, the parish school of Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Church of Sacramento held its annual Russian River camp from June 21, 2016 until June 25, 2016. On Tuesday, June 21, a group of participants gathered near the Holy Ascension Church. Once all belongings were safely stored in the vehicles, Father Paul blessed each car and we headed out to the Russian River. After a 2 hour drive, we arrived at the campground and set up two tents. Working together, we quickly assembled them and went to the molebin at the nearby Church of the Mother of God of Kazan in Guerneville, California.

The Wonderworking Iveron-Hawaiian Myrrh-Streaming Icon of the Mother of God will visit the Church of All Russian Saints in Burlingame, CA, on Saturday, June 25, 2016.

Greeting of the Icon is 6:00 pm.

Address:
744 EL CAMINO REAL
BURLINGAME, CA 94010

Please arrive early enough to park and be in place before the icon's arrival. The Icon will remain with us for the Vigil, which will begin immediately following the icon's arrival.

On the 9 of June, 2016, Holy Ascension Church of Sacramento, California marked its Patronal Feast Day of the Ascension of the Lord.

His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America presided over the Divine Liturgy. Concelebrating with him were...

For many decades the Russian Orthodox Church took and continues to take an active part in the preparation of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church. Since the 1st Pan-Orthodox Conference in 1961 on Rhodes, the outstanding hierarchs and the best theologians of our Church have made their contribution to the work on a great number of the Council’s topics, including those which were not to be included later in the agenda of the Holy and Great Council. For the sake of the earliest convocation of the Council, the Russian Orthodox Church has repeatedly re-affirmed her readiness to achieve decisions mutually acceptable for all the participants in the pre-Council process, even if such decisions diverted from the already agreed rules of the Council’s preparation.

Pascha night at Protection of the Holy Virgin Church in Hollywood, CA.

Saturday, July 2, 2016.

1:30 pm at the Russian Center
2450 Sutter Street, San Francisco 

RSVP: StJohn50Gala@gmail.com
To Susan Motoviloff and Veronica Belonogoff
Or call Susan: 650-888-6307
Reservations must be made in advance.

Cost $75.00
Pay Pal accepted
Checks payable and mailed to:
HVC St. John’s Banquet
6210 Geary Blvd.
San Francisco, CA 94121

Reservations confirmed once monies are received.
No tickets sold at the door.

On Friday, May 6, St. George Russian Orthodox Church celebrated their patronal feast with a liturgy.  It was the tenth such festal liturgy since the parish’s founding in the fall of 2005. Archpriest Michael van Opstall celebrated the liturgy together with five of his brother priests.

On Monday May 30, 2016, Memorial Day, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America presided over the Divine Liturgy at Fort Ross during the annual diocesan pilgrimage. His Grace Theodosy Bishop of Seattle concelebrated along with priests and deacons of the San Francisco and Northern Deaneries.

The faithful gathered at Fort Ross California State Park from various parts of the Bay Area and Sacramento...

Below is a photo gallery and a video from the IX Annual Lenten Retreat sponsored by Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco on Sunday April 17, 2016.

The retreat “Redeeming Modern Life” was centered on the theme of aesthetics in life and in the Orthodox Church. Attendees came from various Orthodox Jurisdictions.

On the 30 of May, 2016, members of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia will perform an annual pilgrimage to Fort Ross, CA. The greeting of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill and Divine Liturgy are slated for 9:30 am.

Fort Ross, a park in the California State Parks system, was founded by Russians in 1812.  Four Saints of the Russian church have prayed in that place. Many of the founders and laborers of the fort are buried on its cemetery. Holy Hierarch Innocent of Moscow (at the time priest-missionary John Veniaminov), Holy Hierarch Patriarch Tikhon, Holy Hierarch John of Shanghai and San Francisco and Holy Martyr Peter the Aleut sanctified the fort’s chapel and environs by there prayerful presence and holy labors.

The choir conductor, Alexandra Volmensky of Holy Ascension Church in Sacramento, CA, has been requested to conduct the choir. She invites choir members from other parishes of the diocese to join in singing the Divine Liturgy that day.

After the Liturgy there will be a procession to the cemetery where a “Litya for the Departed” will be performed.

At the end, all are invited to the Kazan Church on the Russian River for a picnic.

The Paschal Epistle of His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America may be read here. 

Christ is risen!

On Sunday, March 27, the “Choral Presentation Series” at the Church of All Russian Saints in Burlingame, CA, resumed with a choral recital of prayers from Great Lent and Passion Week Services. The program featured hymns from the Lenten Triodion that parishioners would hear in upcoming services.

On Sunday April 17, 2016, Holy Virgin Cathedral sponsored the 9^th Annual Lenten Retreat. 

The title of the conference was “Redeeming Modern Life” and the themes of the lectures centered on beauty. There were approximately 100 attendees.

With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill a special petition for the well-being of persecuted Orthodox Christians is to be raised up throughout the Western American Diocese. 

“Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants” (Leviticus 25:10).

 The Western American Diocese is announces the 50^th Anniversary from the repose of our Father among the Saints JOHN Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker from June 30 to July 2, 2016.

A large number of English-language articles by Bishop Alexander (Mileant, 1938-2005) of blessed memory has been published in a book titled “Orthodox Christianity.”

The large paper-bound book contains 492 pages and includes articles on a broad scope of topics on Orthodox Christianity: teachings, history, dogmatics and morality. The reader is offered an all-encompassing overview of the Orthodox faith, its essence and meaning, and most importantly, advice on its practical application in daily life. One might say that this compendium is a “mini-course” on Orthodox seminary training.

On the Sunday of Orthodoxy, March 20, 2016, His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America elevated Sub-deacon Edward Anderson to the deaconate in Christ in Holy Virgin Cathedral.

His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America announces the following schedule of General Unction Services throughout the Diocese:

• Monday April 4 at St. Herman of Alaska Church in Sunnyvale, CA, at 6:00 pm
• Tuesday April 5 at Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Church in Sacramento, CA, at 6:00 pm
• Monday April 11 at Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Santa Rosa, CA at 5:00 pm
• Monday April 18 at Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA, at 6:30 pm 
• Thursday April 21 at Holy New Martyrs of Russia Church in Mulino, OR at 5:30 pm
• Great Wednesday April 27 at Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, CA: Confessions from 3:30 pm, Matins at 4:00 pm, Unction to follow immediately (around 5:30 pm)

Russkaya zhizn’: We heard that the Cathedral Choir will sing the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts for the first time ever. Tell us how this idea came to be?

Vladimir Krassovsky: Yes, that’s true. Such Great-Lenten Liturgies are always celebrated at the Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in the morning,

During Great Lent this year the pastoral retreat of the Western American Diocese is scheduled for March 29 and 30, 2016. The theme of the conference is Orthodox Mission.

This year, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia marks the 50 th anniversary of the repose of the great hierarch, the “Russian Nicholas the Miracle-worker,” our holy father St John of Shanghai and San Francisco. The celebrations began with a visit of a large reliquary containing his relics to Holy Trinity Cathedral in Toronto, Canada. The region has many faithful who venerate his memory .

The Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts is performed exclusively during Great Lent and in most cases in the morning according today’s practice in the Russian Orthodox Church. However, for the first time in the history of the New Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” this Liturgy is scheduled for 6:00 pm.

The author of the Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts is our Father among the Saints Holy Hierarch Gregory the Dialogist (+ 604). Nonetheless preceeding that age, “it was established in even earlier times by the successors of the Apostles. This is proven by the prayers and ancient tradition. For that reason we believe, that its origins are Apostolic and was established because of Great Lent…” (Novaya Skrizhal, 'New Tablets', in Russian, St. Petersburg, 1908 page 265).

The event in the history of the diocesan cathedral is timed with the Lenten pastoral retreat of the clergy of the Western American Diocese. His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill is scheduled to preside amidst the multitude of diocesan clergy. The Archbishop’s choir under the direction of the choir conductor, Reader Vladimir Krassovsky, will perform the hymns.

Schedule for March 30, 2016:

4:30 pm: Rule before Holy Communion
5:45 pm: “Entrance Prayers” and the vesting of the bishop
6:00 pm: Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts

The Diocesan Council of the Western American Diocese seeks an individual with experience and enthusiasm in gathering financial resources, to assist in leading a special fundraising appeal which will shortly be launched in order to preserve an important legacy of St. John the Wonderworker of San Francisco: the urgent and essential work to restore the deteriorating orphanage and house containing his cell, library and other relics of our great Saint’s life and work.

“What a fabulous event!” was the oft-heard remark following the conclusion of the first-ever concert and silent-auction fundraiser held at Protection of the Holy Virgin church on Argyle Ave in Hollywood on Sunday, February 21. The concert featured the performance of classical guitarist Taso Comanescu, a decade-long parishioner of the Argyle church, playing compositions that ranged from...

A pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Israel, under the slogan "Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperors Constantine and Elena" is being organized from May 26 through June 3, 2016. 

The schedule includes visits the Holy City of Jerusalem and environs together with the Holy Sepulchre and the two Russian Orthodox monasteries on the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane; Bethlehem, Jericho, the Jordan River, Galilee and more.

Price from Los Angeles: $2,300.00 (departure from other cities is possible), which includes the cost of the program.

Accommodations are in a 4 star hotel, with two meals/day. Certain entry fees, etc., are not included.

Details (in Russian) can be found here.

INQUIRY:
For English, please, direct inquiries to Father Nicholai Gulin — telephone (646) 491-2926. Or email: n_gulin@yahoo.com.

For Russian— Father Alexander Revyuk: telephone (949) 899 0381. Or email: alexanderorthodox@yahoo.com 

On a cold night, in a cold room in late December people gathered; some Orthodox, some Protestant, some Catholic, some Buddhist and some who ascribed to no faith at all. We met to listen to an Orthodox priest. Why, because we all are cared about the plight of our world. The particular plight that evening was the Greek refugee crisis and the thousands who were coming to his island, a Greek island, Lesbos, Turkey’s closest neighbor. The story he told was of what it means to be a neighbor, a human,... a god.

The church choir of Saint George Church in Jordan, Utah, has always consisted of women and girls. Over the course of several years the Father Rector, Archpriest Michael van Opstall, has written three-part arrangements and original compositions for women’s and girls’ voices. For the most part Father Michael writes arrangements based on musical anthologies like those found in the “Chanter's Companion” (Sputnik psalomchika), which comprises single-voiced melodies of the Znamenii Chant printed in square notation.

Representatives of the Diocese of San Francisco and Western America traveled to Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, NY, for the II Annual Gathering of Alumni which was organized from the 10th to the 12th of February, 2016. 

Whether you know the term Modernity or it, it shapes the world we live, it defines what we think is important, what we strive to obtain, what we snub or praise...