1000th Anniversary of St. Vladimir in Ann Arbor, MI

The millennial celebration of the repose of the Holy Great Prince Vladimir was celebrated in the parish named after this great favorite of God on July 27 & 28 in Ann Arbor, MI. With the blessing of Bishop Peter, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America, His Eminence Metropolitan Jonah led the Divine Services for this significant celebration in the life of the parish family.

His Eminence arrived at the parish church to the peal of the traditional trezvon on the eve of the feast. The litya for the Vigil was served as a procession around the temple, with all of the faithful participating. The choir of the parish sang magnificently under the direction of Dr. Roman Vershynin. Following the evening service at which many of the parishioners and guests confessed their sins in preparation for Divine Liturgy the next day, a reception in honor of Metropolitan Jonah was held at the home of the parish's Assistant Starosta, Konstantin Poplavsky.

The day of the feast dawned with beautiful sunshine and blue skies. His Eminence was again met by the peal of the trezvon as he arrived at the parish church. Several of the parish young people greeted him in English, Spanish, and Russian. The parish's Starosta, Nathaniel Longan, then welcomed His Eminence officially to the St. Vladimir parish and thanked him for his graciousness in agreeing to lead the community in prayer on this jubilee day. Many of the faithful partook of Holy Communion from two chalices at the Liturgy. The parish choir again sang beautifully under the direction of Dr. Vershynin. Following His Eminence's hierarchal address to the faithful at which he called them to emulate the Holy Great Prince in his Christian life, the requisite procession was held using the holy water that had been blessed before the morning's Divine Liturgy in addition to blessing the faithful with the Holy Cross and the icon of St. Vladimir. The bells rang in a triumphant greeting to all within earshot – today is the Second Pascha of this community! Come and join us! And in fact, many did. Visitors from throughout the Michigan Deanery joined their brothers and sisters in Ann Arbor for the feast, and the parish's St. Xenia Sisterhood did not disappoint with a bountiful and delicious lunch served under a huge big-top tent on the parish's festival grounds.

In addition to His Eminence the following clergymen participated in the patronal feast day Divine Services and the parish is greatly indebted to them all for joining us in prayer on this great day:

Archpriest Roman Star, St. Innocent Church, Redford, MI

Archpriest Andrei Alexiev, St. Stefan Decani Church, Warren, MI

Archpriest Gregory Joyce, Rector

Archpriest Victor Trotskyy, Dormition Cathedral, Ferndale, MI

Priest Joshua Frigerio, Holy Ascension Church, Albion, MI

Hieromonk Alexander, Sts. Sergius & Herman Church, Houghton, MI

Priest Joseph Towne, Sts. Sergius & Herman Church, Houghton, MI

Protodeacon Alexander Kichakov, Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral, Des Plaines, IL

Deacon Ioann Feloniuk, Dormition Cathedral, Ferndale, MI

Deacon Nicholas Olsen, Parish Cleric

Shortly after the end of the festivities the excavating contractor that the parish has chosen to begin phase one of its building project began to stage equipment on the property to begin the work. God-willing next year's celebration in Ann Arbor, the parish's 35 anniversary, will see phase one complete and phase two well underway!

1000th Anniversary of St. Vladimir in ORPR Camp - Lost Lake, Rock City, IL

Divine Services in ORPR Camp at Lost Lake "Vladimirovo" were attendend by the 70 scouts of the camp and  led by:

Archpriest John Sykaluk, Rector

Archpriest Martin Swanson, St. Basil the Great Church, Saint Louis, MO

Archpriest Vasily Kuzmic, Holy Trinity Church, Milwaukee, WI

Priest Sergi Aleskeev

Priest Antony Alekseyenko, St. Panteleimon Church, Minneapolis, MN

Hieromonk Timothy Tadros, St. George Church, Michigan City, IN

Deacon Nicholas Lochmatow, Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral, Des Plaines, IL

Deacon  Dimitri Kulp, Nativity of St. John the Baptist Church, Blue River, WI

1000th Anniversary of St. Vladimir in Houston TX

July 28, 2015, His Grace Bishop Peter led the Patronal celebrations dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the repose of St. Vladimir at St. Vladimir's Church in Houston - the church, which was consecrated in 1988;  1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus.  The celebration was attended by clergy from Orthodox parishes ... and a lot of Russian-speaking and English-speaking pilgrims. On behalf of the parish of St. Vladimir Church in Houston rector Priest Lubomir warmly thanked Bishop Peter for celebrating the Patronal Feast with them and wished him strength, courage, blessed success in all his endeavors for the glory of God!

In addition to His Grace, the following clergymen participated in the patronal feast day Divine Services:

Igumen Gregory (Zaiens)

Archpriest John Whiteford

Priest Seraphim Holland

Priest Cassian Sibley

Priest Anthony Baba

Priest Matthew Floyd

Priest Beningno Pardo

Priest Lubomir Kupec, Rector

Deacon Nicholas Park 

Deacon David Companik