Optina Elders Skete Celebrates Feast Day With Ordinations

The ordination of Fr. Jonah Evans. Photo: Luke Albanase/UOJ-USA

ATLANTA — St. Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church is a flourishing parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR) within the Atlanta area, and while they are indeed a rapidly growing parish, also attached is a Monastic Brotherhood dedicated to the Holy Elders of Optina. Met. Hilarion of blessed memory blessed the foundation of the skete back in October 2020, with Archimandrite John Townsend as the head of the brotherhood.

The Feast Day of the Holy Elders of Optina was composed of concelebrants from the other priests at St. Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church: Fr. Daniel Iliev and Fr. Isaac Weaver, as well as visiting priest Fr. Elias Crowder, from St. Martin of Tours Orthodox Church. 

His Eminence Met. Nicholas served a Hierarchical Liturgy on Oct. 22 and during the Reading of the Hours, Jonah Evans was tonsured as a subdeacon, with his son Seraphim being tonsured a reader. Towards the end of the service, Subdeacon Jonah was ordained into the Holy Diaconate and on Thursday, Oct. 23, the Feast Day of the Holy Elders of Optina, Reader Victor Ovtchinnikov was tonsured as a subdeacon, and Deacon Jonah was ordained into the Holy Priesthood. 

Fr. Jonah Evans will be serving as the priest at St. Katherine of Alexandria Mission in Dallas, Georgia, which currently holds services in the home of the Evans family. They are in the process of looking for a building and, anyone who would like to help contribute to the mission can find the website here: https://stkatherineofalexandria.org

At the end of the divine service, Met. Nicholas touched on how, even during the chaos and troubled times after 1917, the Holy Elders of Optina still remained steadfast in the virtues of love, humility, patience, forgiveness, kindness, fortitude, and steadfastness. He also mentioned how we should learn from the example of the Holy Elders of Optina who conversed with angels, speaking against idle talk. 

"We often have amongst ourselves unnecessary language, useless dialogue that leads to nowhere. We want to prove something, we want to be noted. We want to be awarded, to be praised. Where is our conversation with the angels? Where is our talk and our prayer with God?”

He encouraged the faithful to read books about the Holy Elders as well as their words themselves. He closed with a quote from St Barsanuphius stating that if we understand these words, all of our questions will be answered. 

"We cannot demand prayerful rapture from God. We are required to work in prayer. Joy is sent from God when it pleases Him and is beneficial to us. We always look for this joy to be content we want, we need, we expect. We'll know, joy is sent from God when it pleases Him and is beneficial to us. Therefore, let us pray to Him and rely on His holy will in all things."

Previously, UOJ reported that ROCOR celebrated the first Feast of the Uncovering of the Relics of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco.

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