On Sunday, December 19, the feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, with the blessing of His Holiness KIRILL, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’, and at the invitation of Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, Temporary Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, the Divine Liturgy at St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York was celebrated by the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon.
Concelebrating with His Beatitude were the Chancellor of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Archpriest George Konev; the cathedral clergy; and staff of the chancery of the Orthodox Church in America, Priest Alessandro Margheritino and Deacon Peter Ilchuk.
At the end of the service, on behalf of Bishop Matthew, Hegumen Nikodim (Balyasnikov) greeted His Beatitude and, in memory of the service on the patronal feast, presented Metropolitan Tikhon with a communion spoon made by Russian jewelers, and conveyed congratulations on the coming Nativity of Christ and the New Year from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk.
His Beatitude the Metropolitan addressed those gathered with a sermon, in which he said in particular: “It is a great joy for me to be with you today in this historic Cathedral of St. Nicholas and to enjoy your hospitality. First of all, I am grateful to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for the blessing to serve in this cathedral, and I look forward to the opportunity to visit His Holiness in Moscow when the circumstances of the pandemic the whole world is going through permit.
I am also sincerely sorry that for the same reasons His Grace Bishop Matthew was unable to come to the USA and concelebrate today, but I am grateful for his invitation and value our friendship. I am also grateful to all of you, my beloved children, for the joy of common prayer on this festal day.
In today’s Gospel we read that crowds of people gathered around the Lord Jesus Christ and “sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all” (Luke 6:19). Perhaps, hearing this, we wish that we too could see Jesus with our own eyes, touch Him with our hands and receive healing from our wounds of body and soul. But of course the Lord is always present among us, not only spiritually, in our inner being, but also physically — through His saints.
Where there is holiness, there is Jesus Christ. And in some cases, according to God’s Providence, a person’s holiness is so great that even after his death his body remains with us, visibly filled with the healing grace of God. Such is the case with St. Nicholas, the patron of your holy church, whose memory we celebrate today. To this day his relics in the city of Bari in Italy exude myrrh, the so-called “manna of St. Nicholas,” which is collected once a year in May. And all year round his relics are a source of miracles for Christians who pray before them.
But we need not make a pilgrimage to Bari to receive the healing of Christ that comes through St. Nicholas. For although his relics lie in Bari, St. Nicholas is present everywhere in spirit. Just as his love for Christ and for his neighbor knew no bounds during his life, so his power to intercede before the Lord for all of us knows no bounds.
So, when we honor the memory of the saint and ask for his intercession — when we ask him to send us the power of Christ to heal us — let us also imitate his love for God the Father and for Jesus Christ our Savior. If we do this, then through the prayers of St. Nicholas we will be able to experience the real presence of Christ in our lives not only on the few days of the year when his feasts are celebrated, but on all the days of our life, and even unto the endless ages, giving glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
His Beatitude warmly greeted the worshipers and expressed his gratitude to the singers, those who adorned the church and the parish sisterhood.
After the fraternal meal, His Beatitude visited the Sunday School, where he blessed the teachers and students. The children sang for the distinguished guest several Christmas carols they had prepared for the feast of the Nativity of Christ.
