Life in the parish of St. John the Baptist in January was particularly eventful. Divine services for Nativity and Theophany attracted a great multitude of the faithful. Now, although the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord has passed, the five parish priests continue to make Theophany visits to the homes of parishioners.

On Friday, January 24, the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, the Protectress of the Russian Diaspora, visited the parish. To the sound of festive bell-ringing, the wonderworking icon was welcomed by cathedral clergy and a multitude of parishioners and other faithful coming from various Orthodox parishes in the greater Washington area. Following a moleben and akathist, Archimandrite Ambrose (Yurasov), a visitor from the city of Ivanovo, Russia, gave a remarkable sermon, in which he reminded the gathered faithful that each time one crosses the threshold of an Orthodox church, he crosses over from this world to "Heaven on earth," to the Kingdom of the Most Holy Trinity. Fr. Abrose noted that this is especially evident when a great holy treasure, such as the Kursk Icon, is present in the church. Archimandrite Ambrose is the founder and spiritual director of the large Convent of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, a convent in Ivanovo that is home to 250 nuns. He is also the director of the prison ministry for the Diocese of Ivanovo-Voznesensk and of the diocesan commission for canonization of saints. He is also spiritual director of the Orthodox media complex "Radonezh." Father Ambrose is frequently heard on Radio Radonezh, where he delivers homilies and responds to questions from his audience.

After the akathist, the wonderworking icon was brought into the parish hall. A large audience gathered, eager to hear a lecture by Nun Vassa (Larin), a professor at the University of Vienna, Austria, who also appears on a weekly YouTube program called "Coffee with Sister Vassa." The program includes reflections on matters related to the church calendar for the week. Subjects include the Lives of the Saints, readings from Holy Scripture, and the divine services of the Orthodox Church. Sister Vassa begins each presentation of her YouTube show with a cup of fresh coffee in her hand, and in thanks for her efforts, viewers attending the lecture presented her with several coffee mugs. The subject of her address to our parish was "Living Tradition in the City." A recording of Sister Vassa’s talk presented at the Parish of St. John the Baptist is available here.

The next day, January 25, the parish priests began their round of visits to parishioners’ homes with the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God. Visits continued throughout the week, until February 3, when the Icon was returned to the Synodal Cathedral of the Mother of God of the Sign in New York City.

In the course of these visits, two stood out as particularly memorable: the touching greeting of the Icon by two remarkable people: the 104-year-old Lydia Feoktisova, the cathedral’s eldest parishioner, and the blind 7-year-old Zlata (Nadezhda) Chernoknizhnaya. They each prayed aloud before the Icon, conversing with their Mother, and asking for her help and protection. It brought tears to those who witnessed the encounter of these children of God with the Mother of God…

The later Sunday Liturgy on January 26 was headed by Fr. Ambrose. He delivered a homily on the subject of humility. A recording of that homily in Russian is available here.

After the meal in the parish hall following the Slavonic Liturgy, Fr. Ambrose gave an extended talk about church life in Russia and spiritual life in general, which can be viewed here.

In Archimandrite Ambrose, parishioners found a new spiritual friend and prayerful intercessor.

...The wonderworking icon returned to New York, Archimandrite Ambrose returned to his homeland, and now the parishioners of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist are turning their attention to the period of the Church year in which to prepare for the beginning of Great Lent.

Glory to God for all things!

Archpriest Victor Potapov

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