NEW YORK: 5 September 2024
Dormition of the Most-Holy Mother of God at the Synodal Cathedral “of the Sign”

On 27-28 August, 2024, the great feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York officiate the divine services in the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” in New York City. Concelebrating with His Eminence at Divine Liturgy were cathedral clerics: Dean Archpriest Andrei Sommer and Protodeacon Serge Arlievsky.

The Synodal choir sang beautifully under the direction of conductor Vadim Gan.

The shroud was magnificently adorned in the center of the cathedral. A multitude of parishioners prayed at the divine services for the Pascha of the Theotokos, as the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God is often called. Virtually all communed of Christ’s Holy Mysteries.

Upon completion of Liturgy, Metropolitan Nicholas delivered a sermon on the feast, in which he noted that, "Today is a joyous day, because even in her Dormition the Mother of God does not forsake us.

"Our church is dedicated in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos, as are many churches not only in our diocese, but throughout the whole world. This is love, this is gratitude, this is great joy. Today, as always, we pay for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, where this marvelous feast is being celebrated in the Kiev Caves Lavra, in the Pochaev Lavra, in the cathedral of Odessa; where Metropolitan Onouphry spiritually labors for the salvation of his flock. We are with them, and we pray for them always.

"After Jesus Christ’s Ascension, the Mother of God was the first pilgrim in Jerusalem. She would visit the places connected to the life and preaching of the Savior. We, too, can visit these places spiritual, and pray for the sisters in the Holy Land, who labor in Jerusalem in these difficult times."

Metropolitan Nicholas called on parishioners to pray and to thank the Most Holy Mother of God for her ascetic labors and for her obedience and humility and for the example that she gives us – to be humble Orthodox Christians, to be obedient and always rejoice in the Lord, to pray for peace throughout the world, that the Most Pure One might bless, grant wisdom, and comfort all who endure enmity and suffering.

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