At the end of the Divine Liturgy on November 20, 2022, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Outside of Russia, Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York, addressed the faithful with a sermon.
Beloved in the Lord fathers, brothers, sisters and children!
I greet you all with love on this Lord’s Day!
A great event for us today is the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in this majestic Patriarchal Cathedral, by which we have worthily honored both today’s little Pascha of Christ and the significant date we celebrate — the 120th anniversary of the great consecration of this cathedral church. Its history is illumined by the grace-filled labors, ministry and tears of St. Tikhon, the renowned confessor and Patriarch of All Rus’, who to this day enjoys the fervent veneration of all the Orthodox in the United States of America; of St. Raphael, Bishop of Brooklyn, a great friend of our people and a close helper of the future Patriarch, who as a pastor laid down his life for the life and flourishing of the Syro-Arab mission in North America; and of Protopresbyter Alexander Hotovitzky, a great missionary and new martyr, who together with the righteous Alexis Toth labored much for the return of the Carpatho-Rusyns from the Unia to Holy Orthodoxy. May their apostolic zeal be a constant example for us in that service “in a strange land” (Ps. 136:4) to which we too are called!
The sacred vaults of the Patriarchal Cathedral in New York have absorbed the prayers of these saints, and the righteous John of Kronstadt and the right-believing Emperor Nicholas II, passion-bearer and martyr, also contributed to its creation. Through the prayers of all the holy strugglers connected with this Altar, may the Lord strengthen us in this difficult time we are living through, when people, on the one hand, find themselves divided by a deep abyss of terrible enmity and suspicion, and on the other, actively seek reconciliation and spiritual unity among themselves. Now it is especially important and beneficial to develop, maintain and strengthen the friendship of our Orthodox peoples and the fraternal unity of their Churches, so that by the example of our relations we may help others find the path to peace and good cooperation. Following the instruction of the Apostle Paul “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3), we must prefer Christian love to any other relations and always seek “things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” (Rom. 14:19). For only in love in the Lord can we put the Gospel precepts into practice, and only in the love of Christ are peace and unity among people possible. The Church, in the words of Chrysostom, is the place where the divided are united. May he, together with St. Nicholas, the heavenly patron of this Patriarchal Cathedral, help us contribute to the great work of “the union of all,” for which we pray at every service, so that through the grace-filled influence of the good deeds of church people, divided peoples may find the path to peace, harmony and friendship.
Together with fervent prayers for the restoration of peace, we prayed for the health of today’s birthday celebrant — His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, who 19 years ago, as Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, consecrated this cathedral after its renovation. Commemorating him prayerfully today, we ask the Lord for heavenly help for His Holiness in his ministry.
Celebrating the Divine Liturgy with special feeling on this truly memorable day for us, “which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 117:24), I cannot help recalling decree No. 362 of St. Tikhon, issued on this day 102 years ago, which served as the foundation of the Russian Church Outside of Russia, and I give thanks to God for the mercies poured out upon the Russian diaspora.
I conclude today’s solemn concelebrated service with a heart full of love and gratitude to your new rector and Chancellor of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov, the cathedral clergy, the representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches gathered here, the servers, the singers, and all who labor in this cathedral and in the chancery of the Patriarchal Parishes. Please accept my sincere gratitude, dear parishioners who prayed with us today — gratitude from the first novice of the Russian Church Outside of Russia — and I ask for your holy prayers for our episcopate, clergy and flock, that, patiently bearing our cross, we may always love, value, preserve and multiply what we have, for the salvation of our souls. Amen.