Hegumen Ignatiy visits San Francisco for the Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Royal Family

Hegumen Ignatiy (Krutkov) undertook a strenuous, whirlwind journey to spend 36 hours with the parish of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco on July 16-17, 2018.

Upon Fr. Ignatiy’s arrival at noon on July 16th, his parish hosts immediately took him to the relics of St. John at the cathedral in San Francisco, where he had the opportunity to sing an akathist to the saint and to remember in prayer many Orthodox people from Russia and around the world.

Fr. Ignatiy served the vigil that evening at our church in South San Francisco, and on July 17th, served both the liturgy and a moleben.

Fr. Ignatiy’s homilies and conversations touched everyone with their sincerity and spiritual depth. The trapeza on Sunday marking the centenary was particularly special and included a dessert decorated in white, blue, and red.

Following the meal, a film was shown about the 1998-99 “uprising” that occurred in Russia for the canonization of the Tsar Martyr and his family, which included the appearance of a myrrh-streaming icon of the Tsar Martyr in Russia.

This film is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qJIqp9UNns.

By 9:30 pm on July 17th, Fr. Ignatiy was back at San Francisco airport to board the all-night flight returning to New York for the July 18th celebratory liturgy at the St. Sergius of Radonezh Church on the grounds of the Tolstoy Foundation.

Hegumen Ignatiy’s visit and his efforts on our behalf gave us a tremendous uplift and were very much appreciated.