On Friday, July 7, the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Rector of St. George Church Archpriest Igor Tarasov attended the patronal feast celebration at St. John the Baptist Church in Little Falls, NJ. Divine Liturgy in that temple was led by His Grace, Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA. His Grace was co-served by our Rector, as well as a multitude of clergy from the neighboring area:
- Archpriest Emil Minkovich (Rector of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Elizabeth, NJ)
- Archpriest John Kassatkin (Rector of Elevation of the Holy Cross Church in Hackettstown, NJ)
- Archpriest George Konyev (Rector of Three Saints Church in Garfield, NJ)
- Abbot Nicodemus Balyasnikov (Cleric of St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral in New York City)
- Priest Aleksey Paranyuk (Dean of the Eastern States and Parish Rector)
- Priest Stephen Kaznica (Rector of Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Passaic, NJ)
- Hieromonk Stephen (Bushman)
- Protodeacon Daniel Sudol (Cleric of Three Saints Church in Garfield, NJ)
- Protodeacon Serge Arlievsky (Cleric of Holy Dormition Convent “Novo-
- Deacon Alexey Golubov (Cleric of St. Nicholas Cathedral)
- Deacon Andrew Massey (Cleric of Elevation of the Holy Cross Church)
- Deacon Nicholas DeGraaff (Cleric of Three Saints Church)
During the Divine Liturgy, prayers were offered for the clergy and parishioners of the parish that have since reposed. Special petitions for peace in the Ukrainian land were also intoned at the Augmented Litany.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, His Grace congratulated Fr. Aleksey and the parishioners on the occasion of their patronal feast. In turn, Fr. Aleksey thanked the hierarch for his archpastoral visit and shared prayer. The protodeacons then intoned the Polychronion for the clergy and parishioners of the parish. Through the presentation of Father Aleksey, Bishop John awarded a number of parishioners with archpastoral letters of commendation (gramotas).
After the service, a luncheon was served in the parish hall under the guidance of Matushka Natalia Paranyuk.
