San Francisco, April 25, 2024
Photo: 2024lentenretreat.tilda.ws The Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia held a pastoral conference over the weekend in honor of the Holy Hierarch and Wonderworker St. John (Maximovitch).
The conference, held at the Holy Virgin, Joy of All Who Sorrow Cathedral, home to the relics of St. John, was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of his glorification, reports ROCOR.
The event, entitled, “The Aroma of Holiness: Vladika John,” began with the early Divine Liturgy, during which His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco awarded the double orarion to Deacon Symeon Noon of St. Seraphim Church in Monterey.
The service was followed by several short presentations: “The Early Years of St. John,” by Elena Perekrestov, “The Teachings of St. John on Prayer,” by Fr. George Kaplanov, “St. John and the Forgotten Relics of the West,” by Reader Basis Thompson, and “The Teachings of St. John on the Divine Liturgy” by Archpriest Peter Perekrestov.
Fr. George’s presentation was based on a text from St. John that was recently discovered and translated from Serbian to Russian.
Later, Reader Vladimir Krassovsky presented a talk “The Vladyka I Knew,” and Archpriest Stefan Pavlenko read a lecture “Everday Saints in My Life.”
The conference concluded with 15 minutes of video footage of St. John from open sources and a unique private collection.
The 30th anniversary of the uncovering of the relics of St. John was celebrated in September last year. July 2 this year will mark the 30th anniversary of his canonization.
Watch the 1994 glorification of St. John:
Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!
