Visit of Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad
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Sunday, August 20 Metropolitan Hilarion, the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia visited the Holy Trinity Church in Mebane, NC. At the Divine Liturgy hegumen Gabriel, archpriest Alexander Logunov, rector of the Derjavnaya Mother of God church in Charlotte, NC, Alexander Stepanenko (priest of the same church), protodeacon Dionisus Lvov (priest of Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign in New York accompanying metropolitan), deacon John Makarov (Derjavnaya Mother of God church in Charlotte, NC) and archpriest Sergiy Orzhakhovsky (rector of church of Resurrection of Christ in Voskresenskoe, Leningrad area, Russia), he is the U.S.A with pilgrimage visit.
After the Liturgy His Eminence Hilarion provided comforting sermon about one of the most important christian virtues: necessity and ability to forgive, starting with the Lord’s Prayer “…and forgive us our debts…”, and relating it with the Gospel Parable of the Two Debtors reminded us about need to forgive, so we will be forgiven.
The service was accompanied by euharmonic singing of the church choir lead by the cantor Andrey Semyanko.
After the service, while the trapeza was prepared His Eminence had fatherly conversations with perishers, answering their questions, comforting then with honest participation. The conversation continued during the trapeza.
This visit of His Eminence, as well as all previous ones has been great comfort for parish members and guests of our church.