The Holy Trinity Chapel at Fort Ross. This year's feast day began with the Divine Liturgy Service at the Holy Trinity Chapel in Fort Ross. Concelebrating were Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the United States, Archbishop Justinian of Naro-Fominsk and the head of the Bashkortostan pilgrims group - Bishop Nicholas of Salavat and Kumertau. Worshipers from all over California came to pray at the Divine Liturgy on this holiday. The abbess of the Theotokos-Tabynsk women’s monastery of the Ufa Diocese Johanna (Smolkina) and the sisters came together with Bishop Nicholas. A moleben to St. Vladimir was sung after the Divine Liturgy.
After this Archpastors consecrated new bells for Fort Ross. The bells are the gift from the citizens of Tot’ma, Vologda province—the place where the founder of the Russian settlement in America Ivan Kuskov was born. For the efforts in delivering the bells all the way from Russia to the United States Mark Galperin was honored with an award by Vladika Justinian.
In the ancient cemetery not far from the Trinity Chapel, Archbishop Justinian, concelebrating clergy and all the people in attendance remembered in prayer the founders, builders and all who worked and lived at Fort Ross.
Some high-ranking guests arrived to the feast—the ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States Sergei Kislyak, Consul General to San Francisco Vladimir Vinokurov, the Special Presidential Envoy for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi and other officials, with whom Archbishop Justinian exchanged mutual congratulations after the service.
From the website of the Moscow Patriarchate in the U.S.
Translation by Ksenia Dolgova
