St. Tikhon’s Monastery Annual Pilgrimage set for Memorial Day weekend

St. Tikhon’s Monastery’s annual pilgrimage is set for Memorial Day weekend and nearly 5,000 people are expected on the grounds in South Canaan Twp., Wayne County.

And the newly constructed Liturgical Arts Center and School of Iconography will greet pilgrims.

St. Tikhon’s Monastery remains a historical center for Orthodox Christian faithful as the first and oldest Orthodox monastery in the nation, said Father John Kowalczyk, spokesman for St. Tikhon’s.

Pilgrims have an opportunity to attend the rich liturgical services and reconnect with old friends. Memorial Day is also a time to remember loved ones who have departed to the next life, and receive comfort from the many monastic clergy who are ready to help those who are in need of spiritual comfort, he said.

The pilgrimage will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday in the monastery church with the celebrations of Vespers and Matins with visiting hierarchs Metropolitan Tikhon, the primate of the Orthodox Church in America, and Archbishop Michael of New York, with local and visiting clergy.

The 82nd annual commencement of St. Tikhon’s Seminary is set for Saturday.

The hierarchical divine liturgy will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Sunday, followed by the blessing of the new Liturgical Arts Building and School of Iconography.

“The icon school is made possible by the vision and generosity of Frank and Victoria Kulik,” said Father Archimandrite Sergius, the abbot of the monastery.

“The School of Iconography has two teachers currently and seven students who are studying classical Byzantine-Slavic iconography in a classical style under Anton and Ekaterina Daineko,” he said. “The building has a chapel for the students to work in to apply the classic fresco techniques they will be learning along with a gallery area and a beautiful timber-framed work area to learn from the master iconographers.”

On Memorial Day, the divine liturgy will begin in the monastery church at 7:30 a.m.

The outdoor hierarchical divine liturgy will be celebrated at 10 a.m.

The Molieben to the Most Holy Theotokos with the anointing of the sick, infirm and all pilgrims will be celebrated at All Saints Bell Tower at 2:15 p.m.

The pilgrimage will close with the celebration of Vespers and Matins at 4 p.m.

On Memorial Day, pilgrims will have the opportunity to venerate the miraculous Icon of St. Anna housed at St. Tikhon’s Monastery.

The Very Rev. John Perich, historian and curator of St. Tikhon’s Monastery Museum, will give tours of the East Coast’s largest icon collection during the pilgrimage.

St. Tikhon’s newly expanded bookstore will be open, offering a large selection of Eastern Orthodox books, and religious and sacred items.

All events during the pilgrimage are open to the public, and ethnic foods and religious goods will be available for purchase.

For information on the pilgrimage, contact Kowalczyk at 570-561-8696.