Wayne, WV: The Annual Pilgrimage to Holy Cross Monastery Concluded

On Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th of September, the annual Pilgrimage Weekend was held at Holy Cross Monastery in the rural mountains of West Virginia. Over 200 of the faithful gathered at the monastery’s outdoor chapel under a picturesque blue September sky, including two high-ranking pilgrims: His Eminence Gabriel, Archbishop of Montreal and Canada, and Archimandrite Luke (Murianka) – abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY.

The pilgrimage began with a procession and All-Night Vigil on Saturday, September 29, and concluded on Sunday, September 30, with the serving of a festal Divine Liturgy. The Liturgy was led by Archbishop Gabriel, who was visiting the monastery at the invitation of the rector, His Grace, Eastern American Diocesan vicar Bishop George of Mayfield. His Eminence was co-served by monastery and visiting clergy from the Russian Church Abroad.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Bishop George expressed his sincere gratitude to Archbishop Gabriel for visiting the monastery, and presented him an icon of the monastery’s patron saint, the Great-Martyr and Healer Panteleimon. In return, His Eminence thanked Bishop George, Abbot Seraphim (Voepel; the monastery’s deputy abbot), and the brotherhood for their hospitality and invitation to visit the monastery for the first time since 2003. Archbishop Gabriel said:

"It is a pleasure and an honor for me to visit a monastery that represents our Church further away from the big cities. Being centrally located between the North and the South, it is possible for many pilgrims to come here from all across America to receive Holy Communion and spiritual guidance during the pilgrimage weekend. Monasteries help people who live in the world, to come and cast away their earthly cares by partaking of the monastic life. We must support these monasteries because they are missionary centers that help people come to the True Faith by witnessing the lives of the monks and understanding that this earthly life is just temporary... These monks are people who were seeking the Truth. They were either Protestant or Catholic, or even atheists, but God showed them the path towards the True Faith and now their lives inspire us… I wish the brotherhood God’s help in continuing your struggle for the continuation and spreading of the Orthodox Faith."

Bishop George also presented an icon of St. Panteleimon to Archimandrite Luke (Murianka), Abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY. Fr. Luke visited the monastery for the first time, along with a group of seminarians from Holy Trinity Seminary. In gratitude for the invitation to visit Holy Cross Monastery, Fr. Luke presented the brotherhood with a reliquary containing the relics of six saints, and said:

"For us monastics, one of the major means of support are prayers to the saints, and especially their grace-filled relics, which protect us from many misfortunes. As the fathers say – if we approach them and venerate them, we can be healed from diseases of both and soul and body. Our monastery in Jordanville is rich in sacred objects and holy relics, and we have sent relics to you in the past. We are continuing this tradition today, and we will always support you and share the many blessings that we have received from the Lord in your mother monastery of the Holy Trinity."

Diocesan Secretary Archpriest Serge Lukianov read aloud a gramota from His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, to Reader Serge and Helen Kaminsky for their many years of consistent financial support of Holy Cross Monastery.

While awarding the gramota, Bishop George thanked the couple and said:

"I want to personally thank you for all that you have done to help our monastery over the years. As monastics, we try to support ourselves as much as possible but our production of soaps, incense, and candles does not provide enough funds for the expansion of the monastery and construction of new buildings and cells. We really depend on the generous hearts of Orthodox Christians everywhere, and everything that you see you around us is the result of the support of our benefactors. With God’s, help we are able to continue our obediences and thanks to your support, this holy habitation is growing for the glory of God."

Upon completion of the service, the clergy and pilgrims traveled to the nearby Holy Spirit Antiochian Church, where a festal banquet was held in the parish hall.