EASTERN AMERICAN DIOCESE: 28 January 2026
The 75th anniversary of Epiphany Church in Boston is celebrated by the First Hierarch

On Saturday the 24th and Sunday the 25th of January, 2026, Holy Epiphany Church in Roslindale (Boston), MA, celebrated the 75th anniversary of the parish’s founding. The celebrations were timed to coincide with the parish’s patronal feast day – the great feast of the Lord’s Baptism (Theophany) – which had taken place the Monday prior, January 19. Arriving to officiate the jubilee celebrations was His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York.

Accompanying the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was the Protectress of the Russian Diaspora – the wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God. The icon remained in the church throughout the divine services, to the joy and consolation of the faithful who venerated it.

His Eminence led the all-night vigil on Saturday evening, co-served by His Grace Bishop John of Worcester (Antiochian Archdiocese of North America), and parish and visiting clergy:

• Archpriest Victor Boldewskul (parish rector)
  
• Archpriest Thomas Reske (parish cleric)
  
• Archpriest Kirill Tatarka (cleric of St. Sergius of Radonezh Church in Hungary)
  
• Priest Georgy Mashtaler (rector of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Luxembourg)
  
• Protodeacon Paul Wolkow (cleric of St Seraphim Memorial Church in Sea Cliff, NY)
  
• Protodeacon Alexander Jarostchuk (parish cleric)
  
• Protodeacon Michael Soloviev (cleric of Nativity of the Mother of God Church in Albany, NY)
  
• Protodeacon Eugene Kallaur (cleric of St Seraphim Memorial Church)
  
• Protodeacon Victor Ganson (parish cleric)
  
• Protodeacon Alexander Kurenkov (parish cleric)
  
• Protodeacon Michael Pavuk (cleric of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY), and
  
• Deacon Dimitry Doohovskoy (cleric of St Xenia Church in Methuen, MA).

Protodeacon Alexander Doohovskoy (cleric of St Xenia Church) prayed on the kliros.

After vigil, the sisterhood prepared a festal dinner for clergy, choir, and guests. At the meal, Metropolitan Nicholas greeted Bishop John and presented him with a panagia, which had once belonged to Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral; +2022).

The following morning, the First Hierarch was greeted at the entrance to the church. During the hours, Reader Nicholas Solovieff was ordained a subdeacon, Alexey Vikhlinin was tonsured a reader, and alter server Victor Boldewskul, Jr. was blessed to wear the horarion.

Concelebrating with His Eminence at Divine Liturgy were the above-mentioned clerics, with the exception of Bishop John, and joined by Priest Kevin Kalish (rector St. Mark of Ephesus OCA Church in Kingston, MA) and Priest Alexei Klar (cleric of St Xenia Church).

At the Little Entrance, Fr Thomas was awarded the right to wear the jeweled cross, and Fr Alexander Kurenkov was awarded the right to wear the kamilavka.

After the Great Entrance, Fr Victor Ganson was ordained to the priesthood and presented the nabedrennik and kamilavka. After the Eucharistic Canon, Subdeacon Nicholas Solovieff was ordained to the diaconate. The newly ordained Priest Victor and Deacon Nicholas will continue their service in Holy Epiphany Church.

The thirty-person choir, which sang festively and prayerfully under the direction of Subdeacon Nicholas Ganson, included many young singers, who not only chanted but read major parts of the services. The diverse repertoire, which seamlessly combined monastic and obikhod chants (Athonite, Byzantine, Kievan, Synodal), works by prominent Russian composers (Arkhangelsky, Chesnokov, Evetz, Kastalsky, Lirin, Lvov, Mormyl, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tretiakov, Turchaninov, Veliumov, Yaichkov), as well as numerous compositions of the parish’s own church musicians (Ganson, Nucci, Schuler), sought to honor both the parish’s singing traditions and the rich, centuries-long development of Russian Orthodox chant.

Metropolitan Nicholas delivered the sermon in Russian and English.

Upon conclusion of Liturgy, the First Hierarch greeted the clergy and parishioners with their recent parish feast and their milestone anniversary, and presented the parish with the Synodal gramota to honor the occasion. Also presented a Synodal gramota was Vera Ganson. Diocesan gramotas were presented to Dr Natalia Ganson, Reader Alexander Bardow, Oleg Kishkovich, and Tamara Boriakova.

In spite of the parking ban instituted by the city of Boston due to the impending snowstorm, the church was full to near capacity, and the snow only began as Liturgy (which had begun earlier than scheduled in anticipation of the inclement weather) drew to a close. Nonetheless, over 200 people attended the festal banquet held at the hall of nearby St John of Damascus Antiochian Church.

At the hall, a diocesan gramota presented to head sister Natalia Efimova, who had to leave before the end of the divine service to prepare the banquet. The children sang a Nativity carols, Professor Leonid Heretz read on the history of the people of the parish, and Fr Kirill and Fr George each offered warm greetings to the faithful.

Fr Victor ended with a few words congratulating the newly ordained clergy and those who received awards. He particularly thanked Fr Thomas for his invaluable service to the parish and to the rector personally, noting that Fr Thomas, although an American convert, has shown for more than 30 years at the parish a reverence for the Russian Orthodox spiritual and cultural legacy and a love for the Church Slavonic language. Fr Victor concluded by noting how the 75th anniversary serves as a bridge from the 50th to the 100th. The parish looks back with gratitude to all who came before and continues its mission going forward as witnessed by the day’s events.

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