Hierarchs Celebrate Pentecost Across ROCOR Dioceses
Metropolitan Nicholas in New Jersey and Archbishop Kirill in San Francisco mark the Great Feast with honors and blessings.
JUNE 12, 2025 — On Sunday, June 8, the Feast of Holy Pentecost, hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) led festive liturgical celebrations on opposite coasts of the United States.
In Vineland, New Jersey, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York celebrated the Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Church, joined by parish rector Archpriest Lubo Milosevic, Archpriest Luka Novakovich, and Protodeacon Evgeny Kallaura. During the service, Fr. Lubo was awarded the mitre in recognition of his many years of devoted service to the Church and parish. At the conclusion of the Liturgy and Vespers, Metropolitan Nicholas preached on the feast and distributed icons from the Holy Land as a blessing.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, His Eminence Archbishop Kirill of San Francisco and Western America celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Joy of All Who Sorrow. He was assisted by cathedral clergy, with choral responses provided by the cathedral choir under Vladimir Krasovsky. Archbishop Kirill also tonsured Ilya Kulish as a reader at the start of the service. The celebration concluded with Great Vespers and the kneeling prayers of St. Basil the Great.
The next day, the Feast of the Holy Spirit, there was a large gathering of clergy at Holy Trinity Church in New Jersey for the parish’s patronal feast. Archpriest Serge Lukianov (dean of New Jersey) celebrated Divine Liturgy in Holy Trinity Church, joined by: Archpriest Vasily Andrejuk (cleric of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, NJ), Fr. Ljubo, Abbot Eutychius (Dovgan; cleric of St. Vladimir Memorial Church in Jackson, NJ), Archpriest Leonid Goferman (Rector of Holy Virgin Protection Church in New Brunswick, NJ), Archpriest Valery Sukholobov (rector of Joy of All Who Sorrow Church in Philadelphia, PA), Archpriest Serge Ledkovsky (Deputy Rector of St Vladimir Memorial Church), and Protodeacon Paul Drozdowski (cleric of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral).
Previously, UOJ reported on Metropolitan Nicholas’ return to the U.S. after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
