NEW YORK: 8 April 2025
St Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral in New York holds celebrations on the 100th anniversary of the repose of St Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow

On April 7, 2025, the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos and the repose of Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow (1925), celebrations dedicated to his memory were held in St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York, built and consecrated by him in 1902.

Divine Liturgy on this festive day was celebrated by the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, His Beatitude Tikhon, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada. His Beatitude was co-served by a host of hierarchs and clergy of the Orthodox jurisdictions in North America: the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America & New York; Archbishop Iriney of Ottawa and Canada (OCA); Bishop Irinej of Eastern America (Serbian Orthodox Church), Interim Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA & Canada, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh; Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov (cathedral rector); Archpriest Thomas Zain (vicar general of the Antiochian Archdiocese in North America); Priest Alessandro Margheritino (acting chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America); Archpriest Serafim Gan (chancellor of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad), as well as the clergy of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA and the Russian Church Abroad.

The diaconal rank was headed by the head of the bishop's protocol service, Deacon Alexis Golubov. The liturgical hymns were sung by the combined choir of the cathedral and Patriarchal Parishes under the direction of Ksenia Afanasyeva.

Many parishioners and guests of the cathedral prayed at the service, as well as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the USA AN Darchiev, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN V.A. Nebenzya, Consul General of Russia in New York AK Zakharov, employees of Russian diplomatic missions. The service was also attended by the Advisor on Faith Issues to Mayor Eric Adams, Director of the Department of Religious and Community Partnerships of New York City Pastor Guilford Monroe.

Before Holy Communion Archpriest George Konyev (rector of Three Saints Church in Garfield, NJ), read the Patriarchal address on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the blessed repose of Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow & all Russia.

After Holy Communion, the bishops and concelebrating clergy performed a short moleben to the feast before the reliquary containing a particle of St. Tikhon’s holy relics, which arrived in the United States with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kyrill of Moscow and All Rus'. During the jubilee year, the reliquary will visit many parishes of the Russian and other Orthodox Churches in the United States, after which it will be transferred as a gift from His Holiness the Patriarch to St. Tikhon Church in Cambridge (Canadian Diocese of the Russian Church Abroad).

At the end of the service, Bishop Matthew warmly welcomed the distinguished guests: I cordially greet all of you gathered here to honor the memory of St Patriarch Tikhon on the day of the 100th anniversary of his repose, on the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, on behalf of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church – His Holiness, Kyrill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

Today, the host of archpastors and clergy of all jurisdictions, gathered under the vaults of St. Nicholas Cathedral built and consecrated by St Tikhon, represents the legacy of the entire multinational united Orthodox diocese of North America, which St. Tikhon headed more than a hundred years ago.

The tragic circumstances of the tumultuous 20th century forced our predecessors to choose different paths for the development of church life in America and to go through the bitter experience of mutual alienation and disagreement. By the grace of God and thanks to the prayerful intercession of St. Tikhon and all the saints who have shone forth in the American land, today we partake of Christ’s Holy Mysteries from the One Chalice in unanimity and with brotherly love, and with one heart and one mouth we glorify the day of the beginning of our salvation and the blessed repose of the great saint of the Church of Christ and our father - St Patriarch Tikhon. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart, Your Beatitude, dear hierarchs, fathers, brothers and sisters, respected high representatives of the Russian Federation, the Serbian Royal House and the mayor's office of New York City for this prayerful celebration, worthy of the memory of St. Tikhon - praise and affirmation of the Orthodox Church, for by his labors we now live and are moved (from the Akathist to St. Tikhon).

In prayerful memory of the celebration, Bishop Matthew presented His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon with a holy panagia, and all the bishops and priests with liturgical palitsas with an icon of the saint and the St Nicholas Cathedral built by him. All participants in the celebration were presented with small souvenirs with the name of the street on which the cathedral is located, “Saint Tikhon Way”, which was awarded to East 97th Street by a decision of the city authorities in January 2022.

His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon addressed the gathering with a word of greeting, saying, in particular: “Today, as we celebrate the feast day of the Annunciation, and as we also celebrate the centennial anniversary of the repose of the holy great hierarch Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, Enlightener of North America, it is my great joy to be here at St. Nicholas Cathedral, a temple built with seed money from St. Nicholas II and consecrated by the hand of St. Tikhon himself. For half a decade, St. Tikhon governed the church in America from this cathedral. Though he was engaged in tireless missionary journeys, this was his headquarters.

"Hence it is appropriate that, on this day, in this place, bishops of the Orthodox Church in America stand and celebrate alongside bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. St. Tikhon’s legacy is our shared inheritance, a bright guiding star for both of our autocephalous Churches, the Moscow Patriarchate and the Orthodox Church in America. As the bishop of New York, he laid down the blueprint for an American Church; as the first patriarch of Moscow in over two centuries, he profoundly shaped the ethos of the Russian Church, setting a direction for the Church to follow through the era of Soviet persecution and beyond.”

The First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Metropolitan Nikolai, said: “It is a great, profound joy for us today, on this festal and auspicious day on which Saint Tikhon reposed, to have prayerful fellowship with His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon; His Eminence, Archbishop Ireney; His Grace, Bishop Matthew; the clergy and the Orthodox people faithful to the Church of Christ, with whom we are bound by the bonds of a single Faith – this solid foundation of our fraternal friendship… May Holy Orthodoxy flourish in North America and may our brotherly love in Christ and in honor of the blessed memory of our common father, the Holy Hierarch Tikhon, be strengthened! May the Lord bless us to serve the further building of the Church here, so that through the blessed influence of the shared labors of the Orthodox, divisions among us and in society may be overcome, so that people may find the path to peace, well-being, and eternal salvation!”

In memory of the historic event, Metropolitan Nicholas presented Bishop Matthew an icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign" with the Saints Tikhon of Moscow, John of Shanghai, and Jonah of Hankow standing before her, the new martyrs, confessors, and ascetics of the Russian Diaspora, painted for the centenary of the Russian Church Abroad.

Those gathered were greeted by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the United States Alexander N. Darchiev: "Today we have gathered in this beautiful cathedral to pay tribute to the centenary anniversary of the blessed repose of Saint Tikhon, whose work is deeply respected in the Orthodox world. The diocese under his leadership became a true spiritual home for all Orthodox people in America, helping our compatriots to preserve the faith, native culture and the great Russian language. Saint Tikhon nourished his flock with wise and kind words, brought the light of Orthodoxy and spirituality to the most remote corners of the American land. Thanks to the tireless labors of Saint Tikhon, this cathedral was built, and with his righteous life he gives us strength and hope to overcome adversity and modern temptations of lack of spirituality and permissiveness. I would especially like to note the fruitful interaction of Russian diplomats with Orthodox parishes in America. I am grateful for your contribution to the consolidation of the Russian-speaking community. May your laborious service continue to give parishioners pure faith and good hope!"

After the service, an official reception was held in the cathedral refectory, at which greetings were said by Bishop Irinej, administrator of the Eastern American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Thomas Zain, Vicar General of the Antiochian Archdiocese, Vasily A. Nebenzya, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, and pastor Guilford Monroe, representative of the Mayor of New York.

mospatusa.com