On the evening of May 23, 2025, on the eve of the day of remembrance of the holy equal-to-the-apostles Methodius and Cyril, teachers of the Slavs, after the end of the first day of the XV Congress of Clergy and Laity, its participants gathered in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Passaic for prayer at the Great Vespers, which was led by the temporary Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh. The Bishop was assisted by members of the Episcopal Council in holy orders, deans of the districts and the clergy of the cathedral. Before the beginning of the service, a reliquary with a particle of the relics of St. Patriarch Tikhon was brought into the church.
At the Little Entrance, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, in recognition of his diligent labors for the good of the Church as legal counsel of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, the rector of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Priest Gregory Winsky, was elevated by Bishop Matthew to the rank of archpriest.
For the feast of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, as a blessing for diligent pastoral ministry, a number of clergy were awarded regular priestly awards by the bishop: the cleric of St. Nicholas Church in Bayonne, New Jersey, Priest Dimitri Sukhorukov, and the rector of Holy Cross Church in Hackettstown, New Jersey, Priest Andrew Macy — the right to wear the gold pectoral cross; the rector of St. Andrew Church in East Lansing, Michigan, Priest Basil Gross, and the rector of St. Nicholas Church in Reading, Pennsylvania, Priest Daniel Meyer — the right to wear the kamilavka; the cleric of Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Passaic, New Jersey, Hieromonk Seraphim (Balagtas) — the right to wear the nabedrennik.
The liturgical hymns were sung by a combined choir of the Eastern States deanery parishes under the direction of the choir director of St. Nicholas Church in Bayonne, Matushka Ekaterina Kapcicz.
At the end of the service, the rector of the cathedral — Bishop Matthew — was warmly greeted by the cleric of the parish, Hieromonk Seraphim. In turn, the archpastor, personally and on behalf of all participants of the 15th Assembly of the Moscow Patriarchate parishes in the USA, warmly thanked the dean, clergy and parish council for their hospitality and the excellent organization of the general assembly. Bishop Matthew addressed those gathered with a sermon devoted to the memory of the Equals-to-the-Apostles Teachers of the Slavs and to the Heavenly Patron of North America — St. Tikhon, under whose protection the 15th Assembly of Clergy and Laity of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA is being held.
As a blessing for diligent labors and in gratitude for the hospitable reception of the Assembly delegates, the archpastor awarded hierarchical certificates to the president of the parish council and active parish members.
For 15 years of impeccable service as treasurer of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Bishop Matthew awarded Panayiotis Billis a hierarchical certificate.
In memory of the 100th anniversary of the repose of St. Tikhon of Moscow, the bishop presented all participants in the service with copies of a book, published with his blessing, containing the text of the new akathist to the saint, approved by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on March 20, 2025, and translated into English by clergy of the Patriarchal Cathedral in New York, Archpriest Alexander Golubov and Hieromonk John (Shefler). This gift edition of the akathist was produced by the Dean of the Central States, Priest Joshua Genig.
Fellowship between the bishop, clergy and laity continued at an evening meal prepared by the cathedral sisterhood and by longtime benefactors of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Brooklyn’s PEP Bakehouse and Coffee Shop.
