THE FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IN THE ELIZABETH PARISH
Elizabeth, NJ - The Presentation of the Lord is the feast of the encounter of the Old and the New Testaments and the day when all the prophecies are fulfilled because the elder and prophet from the Old Testament holds in his hands the promised God-child, the Beginning of the message of salvation and the King of the Kingdom to come. All of us witnessed this today in St George Church in Elizabeth, NJ – old promises were fulfilled, the hope was confirmed, and all this is just the beginning of a new era for this God-saved parish.
His Grace Bishop Dr MITROPHAN of Eastern American Diocese paid an Archpastoral visit to this parish and officiated at the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the recently renovated church. Before the Liturgy His Grace performed the small blessing of the works completed on the reconstruction of the interior of the church. Protopresbyter Stavrophor Sinisa Jocic, the former parish priest in Philadelphia, Reverend Father Vladislav Radujkovic, second parish priest at St Sava Cathedral in New York, the host of this festive prayerful day of joy - Reverend Father Zoran Radovic, as well as Reverend Father Deacon Dragoslav Kosic served with His Grace.
In the crowded St George Church the faithful from this parish were joined in prayer by their brothers and sisters from the neighboring parishes. The reader from New York, Branko Zec, and seminary graduates Bosko Stojanovic from Paterson and Ratko Babic from New York, seminarians Jovan Marjanac and Miodrag Radovanovic from the Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, and David Radovic assisted at the Divine Liturgy.
In his homily His Grace Bishop Dr MITROPHAN reflected on the parable of the Prodigal Son, the story for all times that leaves a strong impact on the souls of the listeners. His Grace asked all the faithful present: “Haven’t we all been in this position of a prodigal son and don’t we all need to repent?!” With these very words our Archpastor called on all the faithful to take the spiritual road to the Kingdom sincerely and from the bottom of their souls.
After the homily the faithful venerated the holy relics:
A piece of the Cincture of the Most Holy Theotokos,
The relics of:
St George, Great Martyr, the patron of this parish,
St Nicholas the Wonderworker,
St Basil the Great,
- St John Chrysostom,
St Charalampus,
Venerable Parasceva of Trnovo, Martyr,
St Herman of Alaska, and
Venerable Xenia Holy Martyr.
After the Divine Liturgy toasts and greetings were offered in the parish hall.
Protopresbyter Stavrophor Toma Stojsic, parish priest in Paterson, and Protinica Biljana joined this celebration, as well.
The Deputy Consul of Serbia, Mr Vladimir Pavlov, greeted His Grace Bishop Dr. MITROPHAN, Father Zoran, the host, and all present, and wished them a happy holiday because the Presentation of the Lord is at the same time the national holiday of our homeland – Serbia.
In the name of all his parishioners Father Zoran thanked His Grace for having made this Archpastoral visit and for his wise words of spiritual advice and consolation. His Grace talked about true Christian values and the significance of beautifying our churches. He said that he had known Father Zoran ever since he had attended the Seminary of the Three Holy Hierarchs in the monastery of Krka in Dalmatia, that he had closely followed his missionary work while he had been serving the parishes in Argentina for more than six years and also considering the transformation through which he was leading his present parish in Elizabeth, he decided to elevate him to Protonamesnik with the right of wearing a red belt. Deacon Dragoslav read the Act of Recognition. This started the flood of emotions among all the present and Father Zoran was congratulated by everybody. His Grace, the clergy and the faithful present sang “Axios” and “Mnogaya lyeta”.
Evidently touched by such attention, Father Zoran thanked His Grace the Bishop. He also gave credit to his parishioners and all the others who contributed in any way. He stressed that all the efforts made towards the growth of this parish present just a beginning of a new chapter in its long history.
We join the greetings to Father Zoran and his hard-working family, as well as the parishioners of this God-saved parish, and wish them all good health, God’s blessings and strength to continue good work. Mnogaya lyeta!
Reverend Father Vladislav Radujkovic