The Feast of the Dormition falls closely with the monastery’s “People’s” feast of the Pochaev Icon and St. Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, celebrated for convenience’s sake on Labor Day weekend, as this usually falls within the afterfeast.
The Dormition is the patronal feast of our chapel in the cemetery. It has been the tradition to have a vigil and divine liturgy celebrated in this chapel concurrently with the services in the monastery cathedral. At the end of the cathedral liturgy, officiated by our bishop, it has been the tradition to have a Cross procession with our miraculous copy of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God, which was gifted to our brotherhood while still in Slovakia, by the Pochaev Monastery. This reveals the very close ties our monastery has with Pochaev, the fountain of many of our traditions.
At the end of the liturgy in the cathedral, the icon is taken in procession to the cemetery chapel, where the faithful are greeted by those praying in the cemetery chapel, and a moleben around the church is celebrated in honor of the patronal feast of the chapel. The icon is placed on the altar table in the chapel and left there until the beginning of the feast of St. Job, when it is brought back to the cathedral for the commencement of the festivities of the afore-mentioned people’s feast.
This year, as sometimes happens, due to inclement weather, the procession was cancelled, and a short moleben was served in the cathedral at the end of the liturgy.
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