On March 30, 2024, on Saturday of the second week of Lent, the rector of the St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral in New York, Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov, took part in a retreat for the laity, organized at the Novo-Diveyevo Monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. This retreat, according to the long-standing Russian Church tradition, is a special time for the preparation of believers for communion the Holy Mysteries of Christ, the Holy Eucharist.
From Friday March 29 to Sunday, March 31, the monastery organized аppropriate spiritual events for fasting and the edification of laity and parishioners including participation in the daily cycle of services, lectures and round table discussions on a variety spiritual topics. The organizer of this event was the monastery cleric, Fr Artemy Sys.
On Saturday, March 30, after the Divine Liturgy, which was led by the sacristan of the Monastery’s St. Seraphim's Cathedral Archpriest Alexander Fedorovsky, also scheduled was a memorial service scheduled for later that day. Following Divine Liturgy a lecture was held by Professor of St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary of the Orthodox Church in America; Deacon Vitaly Permyakov on the topic: “By prayer and fasting; the theological significance of the services of Great Lent.” Then the participants of the retreat divided into thematic groups to discuss previously formulated questions of spiritual life. Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov took part in the work of a group discussing the question: “How should a Christian behave if there are non-believers in his family?”