The 13^th annual Holy Trinity Monastery Pilgrimage organized by the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Washington, DC, was spiritually filled to the brim. On October 30, over 65 pilgrims woke up very early, and at 6:00 AM departed by bus for far-off Jordanvilee. Among the pilgrims was Matushka Julia Sysoyeva, widow of Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, a young Moscow priest and missionary who was murdered one year ago. She was accompanied by S. V. Stanilovsky, director of the Priest Daniel Sysoyev Missionary Center's charitable foundation.

Annual pilgrimages to brother Joseph's grave are made as a reminder of the great sign given us - the Montreal Iveron Icon, which for many years sent forth grace into the lives of the faithful throughout the world, and its faithful custodian, brother Joseph Munoz-Cortes.

One pilgrim writes, “I first went [on the pilgrimage] in 2007, the 10^th Anniversary of brother Joseph's death. Everything I saw so amazed me that I realized how essential it was for me to show this, our holy treasure, to my children. The following year, in 2008, I took my daughter with me; for a whole year my 10-year old Vera remembered that journey, and looked forward to [making the trip again] the following year. This year, the main thing we felt was a sense of thanksgiving that filled our hearts to overflowing, thanksgiving for all of the miracles granted to our family.

So I would like to say to everyone who has not yet gone on this pilgrimage: Go. Put aside everything you have been doing, and spend two days that will give you inspiration and strength for the entire year to come. Already in the morning, as you board the bus waiting next to the church, as you pray together and set out along the as yet empty streets of the city, already you are being transported, taken far away from your usual activities. The film about brother Joseph that we watch along the way reminds all of us that righteous people do exist today, and that miracles do happen in our contemporary world. Don't take books and magazines with you. You don't need a lot of luggage, and you don't need to worry about your children. They, even better than we, will sense the peace and joy of the journey. Every time, the Monastery will impart to you and your children abundant grace: through bread and honey, books beneficial to the soul, monastic meals, stories from its history, monastic chant, serious and reflective Confession, and grace-filled Communion. You will take home with you a pinch of earth and some vigil-lamp oil from brother Joseph's grave, and you will write down the names of those near and dear to you for commemoration throughout the whole year.”

During the pilgrimage, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Hilarion served two Panikhidas at murdered Joseph Munoz-Cortes' grave.

After the first Panikhida, His Eminence gave a homily in which he noted in part:

"... Another year has passed since brother Joseph's martyric death. Our gathering together around brother Joseph's grave today reminds us of those days long-ago, when the Christians of the early Church would gather at the tombs of the martyrs and would pray there, serving the Holy Eucharist literally upon the tombs of the martyrs. [Doing so] strengthened them, for a martyric death demonstrates faith in our Lord Jesus Christ to the end, and the martyrs who were made worthy of such a crown were immediately recognized as Heaven-dwellers, as they had borne witness to the Truth, to the Christian Faith. We also should always strive to live according to the Commandments of God, so that we might be ready, and have the fortitude in prayer to bear witness to the Truth of Christ. Certainly, not all of us have that much strength of prayer; however, we should entreat our Lord that He grant us the grace-filled power to never renounce Him, but rather to be faithful to Him to the end, so that at the moment our Faith is so tested, we might be made worthy to be with Him.

Today we are also praying for another martyr for the faith and the preaching of Christ's Gospel: Priest Daniel Sysoyev. It is our hope that [a place in] the Kingdom of Heaven before the Throne of God has been prepared, for with faith and zeal, Fr. Daniel courageously preached the Truth of Christ. We believe that those who stand before the Throne of God pray for us. They are our brethren and our friends, and that their prayers fortify us. We believe that all of the New Martyrs and Confessors who in our much-suffering Homeland remained true to Christ liberated the Church from its long period of persecution, and that thanks to their ascetic struggle, the Church of Christ today has become able to set out on the path of renewal and open preaching of the Gospel, and her children are now able to openly confess their Faith.

Let us pray that the Lord might forgive the transgressions, both voluntary and involuntary, of our recently martyred brothers Joseph and Daniel. I am certain that they are looking down at us from the heights of Heaven, that they are praying to Christ for our salvation, for our Faith and piety, and that we might stand firm in the Faith."

At the beginning of the Vigil, a great Holy Icon, the “Hawaii” Myrrh-streaming Icon of the Mother of God, arrived at the Monastery. The Icon is a copy of the Montreal Iveron Myrrh-streaming Icon, which over the course of 15 years was in the faithful custody of brother Joseph Munoz-Cortes, who was murdered in Athens in 1997.

After the meeting of the “Hawaii” Icon and of Very Most Reverend Metropolitan Hilarion on Sunday October 31, the Feast-day of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, and the day brother Joseph was murdered, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Church of the Holy Trinity. During the Liturgy, Monk Gabriel (Astrakanin) was ordained to the priesthood. After the Liturgy, Vladyka Metropolitan once again spoke. He said kind words about the late brother Joseph, greeted the newly-ordained clergyman of Christ's Church, congratulated Archimandrite Luke, prior of the Holy Trinity Monastery, and warmly welcomed the pilgrims who had come to the monastery.

Following the Service and a festal meal, a film about the murdered Priest Daniel Sysoyev entitled “I Am Going Home” was shown in the seminary auditorium. After the showing, Matushka Julia, widow of the Muscovite priest murdered for the Faith, responded to a host of questions posed by the capacity crowd. At the conclusion of the meeting, its host Abbot Roman invited everyone to return to the cemetery for a second Panikhida for brother Joseph.

One of our pilgrims recollects:

“As in years past, we stood before brother Joseph's grave at the Monastery cemetery. The Panikhida is going on.... Light snowflakes swirl about the candles, and bursts of wind turn them into a white cloud. The candles do not go out; their flames, like monks at a service, stand upright, without moving. “Memory Eternal” is sung... and taking in the words of the Panikhida, singing along with the choir, we stand absolutely still.

Metropolitan Hilarion headed the service of the Panikhida. To the right of the grave was the Myrrh-streaming “Hawaii” Iveron Icon of the Mother of God and its custodian Nektarios. A flock of birds, uttering piercing cries, flies by above us. It is as if they know what is transpiring, and from above are making their contribution to what is happening below, on earth.

Everyone takes a portion of the commemorative kutia, approaches to receive a blessing from Metropolitan Hilarion, venerates the Icon, and then becomes frozen in place... The reason for the cessation of movement is not readily apparent. Nektarios looks amazed. People are standing stock-still, and are not moving away. Then, finally, you approach, and stop as well, having forgotten about everyone but the Mother of God, brother Joseph, and yourself. The Icon frame is open, the Mother of God and the Divine Infant appear alive under rivulets of abundantly flowing Myrrh. It is streaming not only across the wooden frame, but over the glass and the inner surface of the frame. From afar, you hear “Make way!” You go away in a reverie, wanting to return. Everyone seems to be moving in slow motion.

It is only when we are already aboard the bus that we learn that such abundant streaming of Myrrh has never happened before.”

“The Icon has never streamed Myrrh as much as it did today,” emphasized Nekatrios Yangston, custodian of the “Hawaii” Icon. Such abundant Myrrh-streaming at murdered brother Joseph's grave is yet one more sign of the righteousness of the Chosen One of the Mother of God.

Has not the time to glorify him come? Many people asked that question on that memorable day, the 13^th Anniversary of the murder of brother Joseph Munoz-Cortes.

Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese  

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