Washington, D.C., September 30, 2024
Photo: eadiocese.org
St. John the Baptist Cathedral (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) in the nation’s capital celebrated its 75th anniversary in early September.
The parish was founded by the Holy Hierarch and Wonderworker St. John (Maximovitch) of San Francisco. He celebrated the first Divine Liturgy on the feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist on September 11, 1949. The present church was built in 1978 and consecrated in 1988, reports ROCOR’s Eastern American Diocese (see the report for more on the history of the cathedral).
Over the past 75 years, there have been 2,547 Baptisms, 630 weddings, and 814 funerals in the community.
Photo: eadiocese.org
The anniversary celebrations began on the evening of September 7 with the All-Night Vigil celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas, the First Hierarch of ROCOR, Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal, Bishop Luke of Syracuse, Bishop Jerome (Shaw), and 11 priests and 11 deacons.
The wonderworking and myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Iveron Icon was also present for the weekend, brought by its guardian Fr. Nectarios Yangson.
During the Little Entrance in the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, parish clerics Fr. Alexander Resnikoff was awarded the rank of archpriest and Deacon Gregory Trubetskoy was elevated to the rank of protodeacon.
After the service, a moleben of thanksgiving and a cross procession were held. Then Matushka Maria Potapov was awarded the Order of the Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign, and Fr. Victor was presented a Synodal certificate of merit for his 50 years of service to the Church. The entire parish was also given a certificate of merit for its anniversary.
Photo: eadiocese.org
A banquet was held that afternoon in the hall at Sts. Peter and Paul Antiochian Church in Potomac, Maryland. Four notable icons were present for the feast: the Hawaiian Icon, the icon of Christ painted by the martyred Br. osé Muñoz-Cortes, the icon of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist with a piece of his skull, and an icon of the St. John of San Francisco, the founder of the parish.
During the meal, Fr. Victor gave a presentation on the history of the parish, and several artistic groups from the parish presented dances and songs.
The entire parish gifted the Potapov family with a large family icon depicting their patron saints.
Later in September, Novo-Diveevo Convent also celebrated its 75th anniversary.
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