On August 25, 2026, on the eve of the feast of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk and the Leave-taking of the Transfiguration of the Lord, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, Temporary Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, celebrated a moleben and glorification of St. Tikhon.
Praying at the service were a cleric of the cathedral, parishioners and participants of the traditional Tuesday youth gathering.
At the end of the service, the archpastor addressed those gathered with a sermon on the life of this glorified hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, after whom the future Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’, St. Tikhon (Bellavin), was named at his monastic tonsure. After the construction of St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York, St. Tikhon gave his blessing for an icon of his heavenly patron to be painted for the local tier of the iconostasis, where it remains to this day. In honor of his saint, St. Tikhon consecrated the monastery he founded in Pennsylvania, glorifying the name of the Wonderworker of Zadonsk throughout Orthodox America.
The bishop gave his blessing to all participants of the youth gathering, who, after the moleben, as part of a series of cultural and educational meetings, watched the documentary film “Zapovednik” (“The Preserve”) by director Pavel Fattakhudinov. The host of the youth gathering, director, sound engineer and composer Ivan Shirshov, spoke about the making of the film and its subjects, after which the participants shared their impressions.
