Allegan, Michigan, October 6, 2023
Photo: mitropolia.us
A Romanian Orthodox monastery in Michigan celebrated both its patronal feast and the consecration of its church this past weekend.
The feast at the Holy Protection Romanian Orthodox Monastery in Allegan was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Americas, His Grace Bishop Ioan of Canada, and a number of priests, beginning with Great Vespers on Saturday evening, reports the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas.
The monastery was initially established in Ellenville, New York, in 2001, but in 2018, it relocated to Michigan.
The Vespers service included the placing of holy relics of Sts. Epictetus and Astion, 4th-century martyrs, onto the holy paten in preparation for the consecration of the church the following day.
The Liturgy was celebrated the next day by Met. Nicolae and Bp. Ioan with a host of local and visiting clergy, including from as far away as Portugal.
Photo: mitropolia.us
The consecration began with a procession with the relics and the consecration of the outer walls of the church. The clergy and faithful then entered the church for the consecration of the holy altar, before which Bp. Ioan read out the history of the monastery, noting that the cornerstone for the new church was laid on the feast of Pentecost, June 17, 2019.
The text of the history of the monastery together with a list of all the founders and benefactors and the holy relics were then placed into the altar and the holy table was washed, sprinkled with rose water, and consecrated with Chrism. All of the necessary liturgical items were then placed on the altar table.
The consecration of the church ended with the consecration of the inner walls and the iconostasis. According to Romanian tradition, all the faithful were then able to venerate the newly consecrated altar table.
Photo: mitropolia.us
The Divine Liturgy was then celebrated in a special tent on the monastery property. Following the service, Met. Nicolae spoke about the importance of consecrating a church:
The building of the new church is first sanctified on the outside to mark out the sacred space as “the house of God” and “the gate of heaven” (Genesis 28:17). First, Solomon's prayer from the sanctification of the Temple in Jerusalem is read in front of the new church (III Kings 8:22-31), asking God: “Let Thine eyes be open day and night unto this house, and whatsoever they shall ask in this place, hear Thou out of the place of Thy Heavenly dwelling (...) and be gracious unto them.”
When we go around the new church, we carry in procession the relics of the holy martyrs who are then laid at the foot of the Holy Table. Because the martyrs showed the greatest love for Christ, a sacrificial love greater than the fear of death, the first Christian churches were built on the tombs of the martyrs. Since the entire consecration service of an Orthodox church is also a praise of the holy martyrs, this hymn was chanted several times: “Holy Martyrs who have fought the good fight and have been crowned, pray to God that our souls may be saved!”...
After the external consecration of the church, the church doors are opened and, entering inside, we see the iconostasis and the iconography. Orthodox iconography is both a visual memorial of the history of salvation and a prophetic anticipation of the Kingdom of Heaven... Then follows the consecration of the church altar, which represents Christ the crucified, dead and risen Lord, i.e. the holy table symbolizes all at once: the table of the Mystical Supper, the tomb of Christ and His throne of glory. After the consecration of the altar, the new church is consecrated inside, also with holy water and the Holy and Great Myrrh, and then all those present are blessed and sprinkled with the same holy water, in which perfume has been poured as a symbol of the good smell of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which simultaneously sanctifies the church, the souls and bodies of the faithful...
Photo: mitropolia.us
Gifts were then exchanged, and the monastery was blessed with several new icons.
The celebration ended with an agape meal for pilgrims.
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