Hundreds of pilgrims flocked to Fort Ross in October to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and honor the Orthodox legacy in America. Attending the service at the oldest Orthodox parish in the continental US makes you contemplate and imagine the struggles that Russian missionaries and settlers faced in establishing an Orthodox presence in the New World. ...
On September 18, the Sikorsky Aircraft company announced the sad news of the passing of one of Igor Sikorsky’s sons, Sergei Sikorsky. He lived to be exactly one hundred years old and made a significant contribution to the development of the American helicopter manufacturing industry. Because of his aeronautical achievements, name deserves to be remembered...
On October 4, 2025, Fort Ross welcomed around a thousand Orthodox pilgrims from across the country. They gathered for a Divine Liturgy marking one hundred years since services were renewed in the chapel of what is recognized as the first Orthodox parish on the North American mainland. The liturgy was concelebrated by three Metropolitans together...
This September marks twenty-five years since the blessed repose of the beloved archpastor, Archbishop Anthony (Medvedev) of Western America and San Francisco. For more than three decades, from 1968 until his passing on September 23, 2000, Vladyka Anthony ministered to his flock with a gentle spirit, deep humility, and unwavering devotion. His memory is sacredly...
The recent article “St. John’s Orthodox Academy Must Stand For the Sake of Our Children, Our Church, and Our Future” struck a chord far beyond its initial readership. Alumni, parents, and members of the community from across the decades have reached out in a show of overwhelming support, reaffirming the Academy’s vital role in shaping...
The days when thousands of visitors flocked to Sonoma’s coast to witness historical reenactments at Fort Ross State Historic Park are now gone. The traditional Fort Ross Festival—which for decades celebrated the 19th-century Russian-American Company’s presence in California—has been replaced by the so-called Ocean and Art Festival. Gone are the performances by Russian artists, frontier...
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 The possible closure of Saint John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy would mark a profound failure and a lasting shame for the Orthodox community. I can find no rational justification for...
On June 14th, the children’s dance ensemble “Matreshki D.C.”, under the patronage of the St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Cathedral (ROCOR), performed a new concert program in the Washington metropolitan area. The concert featured traditional Russian folk dances: “Moscow Kadrille” (Square Dance), “Kamarinskaya,” “Sudarushka” (Dance with shawls), “Volga Dance”, as well as the famous...
Radonitsa in the the Russian Orthodox Church is a commemoration of the departed observed on the second Tuesday of Pascha (Easter) or, in some places (in south-west Russia), on the second Monday of Pascha. The Slavs, like many ancient peoples, had a tradition of visiting family members’ graves during the springtime and feasting together with them. After their conversion to Christianity, this...