Celebration of the Patronal Feast in the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh at the Tolstoy Foundation

For many years, the commemoration of the Venerable St. Sergius has been especially joyously celebrated at the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh at the Tolstoy Foundation.

On the eve of the feast day and on the very day of the repose of the venerable monk, October 8th, patronal celebrations were conducted at the church. On the feast day, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Archbishop Andronik of Syracuse and St. Nicholas. The Archbishop was concelebrated by Mitered Archpriest Gregory Kotlaroff, Archpriest Sergei Klestov, Priest Dmitry Dobronravov and Hegumen Ignatiy (Krutkov).

Hegumen Ignatiy traveled from St. Petersburg to spend several months with us and to serve in churches where there is no permanent priest, including the Cathedral of the Holy Assumption in Trenton, NJ, and at the Church of St. John of Shanghai in San Francisco, CA.
To share the joy of the feast and to glorify the wondrous God-pleasing St. Sergius, our parish’s prayerful were joined by parishioners from the Church of the Holy Assumption in Richmond Hill, NY, and the Church of the Holy Trinity in Astoria, NY. Our church was thus full of worshipers
and many of the faithful took communion of the Sacred Mysteries, despite the feast day falling on a weekday. Even the young altar boys served with particular fervor and earnestness. The choir prayerfully and majestically sang the glorification of one of the greatest men of faith of
the Russian Land, and the Lord comforted all who prayed with peace and spiritual joy.

In the morning the weather was very rainy and we contemplated cancelling the procession of the Cross. But just as the Divine Liturgy concluded, the rain stopped and the whole church, with enthusiasm and singing, took part in the procession of the Cross. The clergy generously
blessed the parishioners with holy water and the atmosphere was most festive. Finally, after the service, holiday refreshments awaited everyone.

We offer our deep gratitude to all the clergy who took part in the celebrations and to the sisterhood of the parish for such
touching care and a wonderful trapeza.

O Venerable father Sergius, pray unto God for us!