On the weekend following the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ His Grace, Bishop Peter of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America, visited St. Vladimir Parish in Ann Arbor, MI. Having served the Bright Saturday Divine Liturgy at St. George Church in Michigan City, IN, His Grace traveled to Ann Arbor in time for Vigil that evening. Joining Bishop Peter at St. Vladimir’s were the Rector of the Parish, Priest Gregory Joyce, the Dean of the Dormition Cathedral in Ferndale, MI, Priest Victor Trotskyy, as well as Protodeacon Vadim Gan and Deacon Alexander Kitchakov of the Diocesan Cathedral of the Protection of the Mother of God in Des Plaines, IL. The choir sang beautifully under the direction of Julia Easson-Meyer. On the morning of Thomas Sunday Bishop Peter was greeted by the peal of the parish bells upon his arrival at St. Vladimir Church. The Parish Starosta, Mercurius Meyer, the Parish Assistant Starosta, Konstain Poplavsky, and children dressed in traditional Russian costume met His Grace at the entrance to the church and welcomed him to the parish. During the hours Bishop Peter ordained Reader John Zroika of St. Vladimir Parish and Reader Dimitry Gorelov of St. Seraphim Mission (Okemos, MI) as Subdeacons. Joining Bishop Peter at the Divine Liturgy were Priest Gregory Joyce, Priest Kristijan Petrovich (St. Petka Serbian Church, Troy, MI), Protodeacon Vadim Gan, and Deacon Alexander Kitchakov. Following the Anaphora His Grace ordained Subdeacon John Feloniuk a Deacon for service at St. Vladimir Parish. The Sunday following the Lord’s Resurrection is known as Antipascha, and as His Grace noted in his sermon, this denotes our celebrating Thomas Sunday as Pascha once again. The ordination of Deacon John indeed brought forth the feelings elicited only otherwise by the blessed Paschal night, and truly this Antipascha, with the ordination of Fr. John, was a second Pascha for the St. Vladimir Parish family. Following the Divine Liturgy one of the parish Church School classes under the direction of Joanna Skalitzky performed a special Paschal play they had prepared especially for Bishop Peter’s visit. After the play a festive meal was held in honor of Bishop Peter’s visit and Fr. John’s ordination. The parish presented Fr. John with a beautiful green vestment on the occasion of his ordination. Following the meal the parish bells again tolled marking the departure of Bishop Peter and the beginning of the first Divine Service at which the newly-ordained Deacon John would lead the parish community in prayer. That afternoon both Vespers and Matins were served by Deacon John and Priest Gregory, and on the morrow Fr. John’s first Divine Liturgy. With God’s help the parish hopes to serve evening services and Divine Liturgy every day the week following Fr. John’s ordination.

Pictures of Bishop Peter’s visit can be found on the parish photo album web site.

A Participant