Representation of the Orthodox Church in America
to the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate

News | 16-08-09 First Sunday of the Dormition Fast at St Catherine the Great Martyr Church

On Sunday, August 16, 2009, the first Sunday of the Dormition Fast, Archimandrite Zacchaeus, Dean, concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with the parish clergy of St. Catherine the Great Martyr Church. This was also the first service that took place under unique circumstances due to the renovation of the frescoes within the altar area of the temple. As announced earlier, due to the scaffolding in the altar, the Divine Services at St. Catherine the Great Martyr Church will be celebrated either in St. Nicholas Chapel at the parish or in the main temple, but with the Holy Altar Table and Table of Oblation placed on the solea, with a temporary partition serving as an iconostas.

Following the Divine Liturgy, Archimandrite Zacchaeus explained to the faithful the reasons for the celebrating the service in front of the iconostas, asked their patience and understanding, and thanked them for their intensified piety and decorum during the Liturgy. Likewise, Father Zacchaeus explained that he had the privilege to participate in a short pilgrimage to Diveevo where he venerated the holy relics of the Venerable St. Seraphim of Sarov from Monday to Wednesday of the previous week where he was able to offer prayers for the parish faithful. As a blessing from the holy habitation, he brought back blessed bread, which according to the monastery’s tradition, is received as a blessing from St. Seraphim himself.