Wayne, West Virginia, September 9, 2026
holycross.org
A piece of the hand of St. Anna, mother of the Theotokos, arrived at Holy Cross Monastery for a three-day visit over the weekend of September 4, marking the only stop on the East Coast for public veneration of the Athonite treasure.
The relic, normally kept at the Skete of St. Anna’s Theophileon Kellion on Mount Athos, had been touring parishes on the West Coast with the blessing of Elder Cherouvim Apostolou. Holy Cross Monastery was added as its sole eastern stop, the monastery reports.
Abbot Gabriel and the monastery’s vested clergy welcomed the relic on Friday afternoon with incense and the ringing of bells. Clergy then served Vespers for the Leavetaking of the Feast of the Dormition, followed by a trapeza and a period of public veneration.
That evening, Abbot Gabriel and the brotherhood served a moleben with an akathist to Sts. Joachim and Anna. Numerous clergy from the surrounding region joined in, some concelebrating and others simply praying alongside the hundreds of faithful who came to sing. Veneration continued into the night.
On Saturday, the relic remained in the church from the start of Matins through Divine Liturgy, during which many of the faithful received Holy Communion. Around noon, clergy carried it through the monastery grounds to bless the buildings and monastic cells before bringing it back to the church, where the faithful continued to venerate it through Vigil that evening.
Sunday brought another wave of visitors who joined the brotherhood and local parishioners for Divine Liturgy and trapeza. The relic stayed in the church through the afternoon for continued veneration before its departure, which the brotherhood marked with hymns, incense, and the pealing of bells in thanksgiving for the visit of the mother of the Mother of God.
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