Theophany in New York 2020

Details: Created on Friday, 24 January 2020 01:11

On Sunday, January 6/19, 2020, the Orthodox Church celebrated the Feast of Holy Theophany, and once again, the blessing of the harbor of New York City took place at Battery Park, conducted by clergy of our Cathedral and accompanied by many faithful Orthodox Christians.

With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Demetrius of America, following the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Saint Markella in Astoria, New York, His Grace Bishop Christodoulos led the clergy and faithful to the harbor where he conducted a service to bless the waters of the great city. His Grace completed the blessing by casting a Cross into the icy waters. This symbolizes the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan at the hands of St. John the Baptist. Ten men dove into the harbor to retrieve the Cross, and Jacob Roettger reached the Cross first and returned it to Bishop Christodoulos.

This ancient and holy Christian ritual, dating from the time of the emperors in Constantinople, was witnessed by the people of New York through the cooperation of the local authorities, and assisted by FDNY harbor launches, and NYPD scuba divers.

The clergy, faithful, public servants, and onlookers present shared this blessing and were spiritually edified. The procession was led by the incomparable Monaghan Bag-Pipe Band, as it has been every year for the past seventeen years.

Photos and videos are available courtesy of the Cathedral: https://www.facebook.com/groups/73824775727?view=permalink&id=10156452226010728

Orthodox Awareness

Ecumenism in the Homestretch and the Orthodox Witness of a Contemporary Saint and Confessor

A Synodal Gathering of the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece at the Port Authority of Piræus

Keynote Presentation on the Sunday of Orthodoxy: February 16/March 1, 2015 by His Grace, Bishop Klemes of Gardikion, Secretary of the Holy Synod

Ecumenism in the Homestretch and the Orthodox Witness of a Contemporary Saint and Confessor

Ἡ Τελικὴ Εὐθεῖα τοῦ Οἰκουμενισμοῦ καὶ ἡ Ὀρθόδοξη Μαρτυρία Συγχρόνου Ὁμολογητοῦ Ἁγίου

Missions

Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Mission, Tucson, Arizona

Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church is a beautiful mission parish near downtown Tucson, a city in southern Arizona. It was started in 1997 by Father John Bockman, who was a missionary Priest formerly serving missions in Tennessee and Massachusetts since 1990. Father John served the faithful in Tucson and the surrounding area in his home Chapel until his repose in November of 2000. His wife, Presbytera Valerie, continued to make her home Chapel available for the mission, with clergy from Saint Nectarios Orthodox Church in Seattle and His Eminence, Metropolitan Moses of Toronto (then of Portland), visiting to provide the Divine Services.

Youth

2023 Youth Conference

Please join us for the 2023 youth conference in Chicago, IL! To learn more, visit the home page or visit the conference website.

Ask A Priest

Fasting

Q. There seems to be a lot of variation in how people observe fasting, but my confessor told me to fast from oil on Wednesday and Friday. Oil is a pretty vague category, though, and I was wondering if I could get a more explicit description of what kinds of food and drink are excluded on strict fast days. Read more...

Menu