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Listed for holiday gift-giving 2022, these items are still available!
Many thanks to all of the volunteers who participated in the September and October work days. So very many projects were completed, thanks to pilgrims from as far away as Canada who came to the Queen of All Skete to participate in the work day! Special gratitude is due to The Reverend Father John Cook of Saint Tikhon’s Church in Ruther Glen, Virginia, who celebrated vespers for the Feast of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, assisted by Father Deacon Joseph Sirko of Holy Innocents and Saint Nina Church in Bristow, Virginia, and Brother Andrew of Saint Dionysius Monastery in Spotsylvania who participated as Reader. To the generous benefactors who provided funding to purchase supplies for these work groups, may God grant you many years!
On September 9th , 2022, the Queen of All Skete was blessed with a surprise visit from the Hawaiian Iverskaya Holy Icon of the Mother of God. Pictured with the Icon are (l-r) the guardian of the Holy Icon, Deacon NectariosYoungson, The Rev. Hieromonk Aidan (Keller), Mother Andrea, and Reader Christoper Lasek.
This is a reproduction from St. Sava Cathedral in Belgrade, Serbia,and will be housed at the Queen of All Skete.
The original is a famous wonderworking icon housed in the Serbian Orthodox monastery of Hilandar on Mount Athos. In the 8th century, St. John of Damascus brilliantly defended in writing the holy icons against the iconoclast Emperor Leo the Isaurian. It is alleged that Leo accused St. John of treachery to caliph Al-Walid I, in whose court St. John served as Vizier. As a result, St. John had his hand cut off. The Saint prayed before the icon of the Theotokos and his hand was miraculously restored.
In thanksgiving for this miracle he had a silver hand fashioned and attached to the icon.
Photo (l-r) The Rev. Fr. Daniel Gregoire and The V. Rev. Archpriest Anastasy Yatrelis of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church, Summerville, South Carolina (ROCOR) and Mother Andrea with the Holy Icon of the Mother of God known as “Three-handed” or “Тројеручица” (feast days June 28/July 11 and July 12/25).
Volunteers from area churches spend day at Skete
On Saturday, September 25th, throughout the day, an approximate seventy volunteers came and went from various area Orthodox Churches including Saint Herman’s in Stafford, Holy Myrrhbearers in Harrisonburg, Holy Innocents and Saint Nina in Bristow, Saint Tikhon’s in Ruther Glen, Saint Innocent’s in Salem, and others. Clergy who joined in with their parishioners were Father Gabriel Weller, Father Richard Reed, Father Alexander Laymon, Father John Cook, Deacon Joseph Sirko, and Reader Joseph McLeod.
A great deal was accomplished but most of all, the volunteers, some of them catechumens, enjoyed Orthodox fellowship in a casual setting. Children made new friends from other Orthodox parishes, an important aspect of this type of activity. Many thanks to the men, women, and even children who made the day a success!
The gift shop also had it’s grand opening, with the assistance of Penelope and David of Penelope’s of Greece, who spent two days pricing, stocking and displaying merchandise. Even though at least a dozen boxes remained unpacked, the store had many happy customers who went home with icons, vigil lamps, censers, reliquaries, books, incense, Baptismal crosses, bracelets, night lights, and so much more. The remaining boxes will be unpacked when the return to do Christmas shopping.
Vespers for the Feast of the Commemoration of the Consecration of the Church of the Resurrection at Jerusalem (The Holy Sepulchre) and the Forefeast of the Universal Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord was celebrated by Hieromonk Aidan of Saint Demetrios Monastery, Father John Cook, and Deacon Joseph (Sirko), and with Hierodeacon Silouan of Saint Demetrios helping Mother Andrea at the kleros.