NEW YORK: February 16, 2015
The Namesday of Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan is Celebrated at the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” in New York

On Monday, February 16, 2015, the feast day of St Nicholas of Japan, Equal-to-the-Apostles, His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan celebrated Divine Liturgy at the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” in New York. Joining him were Senior Priest of the cathedral, Protopriest Andrei Sommer, Vice President of the Synodal Youth Department, and a host of clergymen; the Cathedral Choir sang under the direction of Peter Fekula. At the end of the services, Fr Andrei expressed his heartfelt greetings to His Grace and gave him a relic: an ancient prayer rope from Mt Athos that had once belonged to Archbishop Nikon (Rklitsky) of blessed memory, which were given by him during the second visit of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign" to Australia in the 1960’s to Protopriest Rostislav Gan, who had been ordained to the priesthood on this day in 1936 in Kazan Mother of God Monastery in Harbin, China. The celebrations continued at a festive luncheon organized by the cathedral’s sisterhood, during which many congratulatory words were spoken in honor of Vladyka Nicholas.