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Published by the
Orthodox Church in America,
August 1, 2005
Archbishop
Leo of Finland, Valaam Icon of Mother of
God, begin pilgrimage visit to OCA |
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On Friday, July 29,
2005, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman; His
Grace, Bishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada; His
Grace, Bishop Nikon of Boston and the Albanian
Archdiocese; and members of the Orthodox Church
in America chancery staff welcomed His Eminence,
Archbishop Leo of Karelia and All Finland [third
from left], at the John F. Kennedy Airport, New
York, NY.
SYOSSET, NY
[OCA Communications]
— His Eminence, Archbishop Leo of Finland and a
delegation from the autonomous
Orthodox Church of Finland arrived in New
York on Friday, July 29, 2005, for an official
14-day visit to the Orthodox Church in America.
Accompanying Archbishop Leo is the wonderworking
icon of the Valaam Mother of God, enshrined in
Finland's New Valaam Monastery.
The visit comes at the invitation of His
Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, who had made an
official visit to the Finnish Church in 2004.
Metropolitan Herman, accompanied by His Grace,
Bishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada; His Grace,
Bishop Nikon of Boston and the Albanian
Archdiocese; Protopresbyter Robert Kondratick,
OCA chancellor; and members of the chancery
staff, met Archbishop Leo and his entourage at
New York's Kennedy Airport on Friday, July 29.
Metropolitan Herman officially welcomed the
Archbishop at the chancery's Saint Sergius of
Radonezh Chapel, where a Service of Thanksgiving
before the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God was
celebrated.
The
Orthodox Church in America is the first
autocephalous church that the Valaam Icon of the
Mother of God is visiting since it was enshrined
in Finland's New Valaam Monastery over 100 years
ago.
On
Saturday morning, Prof. John Erickson, dean of
Saint Vladimir's Seminary, Crestwood, NY,
welcomed Archbishop Leo in the seminary chapel
and hosted him for breakfast with members of the
seminary faculty. Later the same day, the
Archbishop and the Valaam Icon were greeted at
the entrance to Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk
Monastery, South Canaan, PA, by His Grace,
Bishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania;
clergy and members of the monastic brotherhood;
and numerous faithful. The icon was carried in
procession to the monastery church, where
Metropolitan Herman presided at the celebration
of a Service of Thanksgiving. That evening,
Metropolitan Herman celebrated the All-Night
Vigil for participants in the conference of
monastics that was being held, while Archbishop
Leo and Bishop Tikhon attended Great Vespers at
Saint Michael the Archangel Church, Jermyn, PA,
where they were welcomed by the rector, the Very
Rev. John Kowalczyk, chancellor of the Diocese
of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania.
On Tuesday,
August 2, Metropolitan Herman and Archbishop Leo
and the Finnish delegation will travel to Alaska
to participate in the celebration of the 35th
anniversary of the glorification of
Saint Herman of Alaska.
Accompanying Archbishop Leo are Archimandrite
Sergey of New Valaam Monastery, Mother Marina of
Finland's Lintula Monastery, Protodeacon Kimmo
Kallinen, and Mrs. Sirpa Anttonen of the New
Valaam Lay Academy.
The Orthodox Church of Finland is an autonomous
Church within the jurisdiction of the
Patriarchate of Constantinople. For many years
it has enjoyed a close relationship with the
Orthodox Church in America, in part due to the
fact that Saint Herman and his missionary
companions came from the Valaam Monastery in
Russian Karelia. During World War II, the
monastery was evacuated, with many monks
relocating to Finnish Karelia, where they
established the New Valaam Monastery. The Valaam
Icon of the Mother of God was saved from certain
destruction and enshrined in the New Valaam
monastery church, where it remains to this day.
Click
here for photos of Archbishop Leo's
pilgrimage visit to the OCA.
Click
here for a history and story of the The
Wonderworking Icon of the Valaam Mother of God
[scroll down near the bottom of the page].
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