Seven hierarchs gather in Chicago to celebrate Triumph of Orthodoxy Vespers (+VIDEO)

Chicago, March 12, 2025

Photo: domoca.org Photo: domoca.org     

Seven hierarchs representing four Orthodox jurisdictions came together in Chicago on Sunday evening for the annual tradition of Pan-Orthodox Vespers in honor of the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

This year, the service was hosted by Holy Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago.

The participating hierarchs were:

  • Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese)

  • Metropolitan Nicolae (Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas)

  • Archbishop Daniel of Chicago and the Midwest (Orthodox Church in America)

  • Bishop Serafim of Kostajnica (Serbian Orthodox Church)

  • Bishop Ioan of Canada (Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas)

  • Bishop Alexei of Sitka and Alaska (Orthodox Church in America)

  • Bishop Timothy of Hexamilion (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese)

The service was sung by the Pan-Orthodox Choir of Greater Chicago.

Photo: domoca.org Photo: domoca.org     

The guest homilist for the event was His Grace Bishop Alexei, who has been the ruling bishop of the OCA’s Diocese of Alaska since March 2022.

His opening remarks describe the theme of the homily:

What does it mean to be truly victorious? Tonight, we celebrate together the Triumph of Orthodoxy, a victory of faith over persecution, of light over darkness. We rejoice in the restoration of our holy icons, but do we ask ourselves, are we victorious in the faith? Do we struggle for Christ as those before us did? And most importantly, how do we make this triumph of our own? How do we live this triumph, not as a relic of history, but as a reality of our lives.

The answer is found in two great virtues, the very virtues that shaped the martyrs, the virtues that shaped the confessors, the saints. And those virtues are holy patience and hope.

Patience is not a weakness. It’s a strength to suffer without despair. And hope is not wishful thinking. It is a confidence in Christ’s victory. And together, they form the path to true triumph.

Watch a video of the service:

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Bp. Alexei also offered the Sunday of Orthodoxy homily at Divine Liturgy that morning at the OCA’s Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago and a clergy retreat the next day.

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3/12/2025

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