100th Anniversary of Repose of St. Tikhon of Moscow to be Commemorated in Joint Celebration

CHICAGO, IL [DOM/Mid-America] – The Diocese of the Midwest of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), along with the Mid-American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR), is pleased to announce the upcoming joint celebration honoring the 100th anniversary of the repose of St. Tikhon of Moscow, Enlightener of North America.

The two dioceses will come together on Saturday, February 22 at 9:30a to celebrate the Hierarchical Liturgy. The centennial celebration will take place at the historic Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, IL, the first Orthodox church in Chicago. The Cathedral shares an intimate and personal connection with the saint who selected the current site and design with his priest, Hieromartyr John of Chicago, and consecrated the holy temple with St. John and Hieromartyr Alexander Hotovitsky in 1903.

Hierarchs from the OCA, ROCOR, and other local churches will lead the liturgy, with clergy from both dioceses serving with them. The responses will be sung antiphonally by the Virgin Mary Protection Cathedral Choir, under the direction of Michael Gill, and the Chicago Deanery Choir by Reader Philip Sokolov.

Following the divine services, those gathered are invited for a festive meal and concert that will take place in the Grand Hall of St. George Cathedral (OCA), less than a mile away from where Divine Liturgy will be celebrated.

The two dioceses came together for this centennial observance due to the significant tie the territory has to the saint. On September 14, 1898, Bishop Tikhon was made Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska, and in 1905, the American Mission was made an Archdiocese, and Saint Tikhon was elevated to the rank of Archbishop. In 1907 the holy hierarch returned to Russia and eventually was elected as the Patriarch of Russia during one of the most turbulent times in the country’s history. Patriarch Tikhon fell asleep in the Lord on April 7, 1925. He had suffered greatly during the years of turmoil and persecution that followed the Russian Revolution. He was laid to rest in the monastery’s small “winter” cathedral. Subsequently the monastery was closed and repurposed, and the relics of Saint Tikhon were moved for safe keeping. The Donskoy Monastery subsequently was returned to the Church and has been restored. It was on Saturday, February 22, 1992, that Saint Tikhon’s relics were discovered, hidden deep beneath the floor of the small cathedral.

Clergy and faithful are invited to participate in this event in the coming weeks as we honor a great laborer and missionary saint of the Midwest.

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