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April 20th and 21st was marked by the Archpastoral visit of our Bishop MAXIM to the faithful of Saint Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church in Kalispell, Montana.

On Saturday, April 20th, His Grace blessed the new land that our community purchased in the Summer of 2023, and a cross was placed at the location of the future Orthodox Church building and Fellowship Hall. A large number of faithful attended the blessing and His Grace offered words of wisdom regarding the purpose and significance of the Orthodox Temple as an image of the Kingdom of God, the future expectation of us all. Special thanks to Altar Server and Churchwarden Caleb Proby, who sourced the wood and designed the cross that now marks the blessed property.

His Grace had lunch with parish members considering ordination to Holy Orders and their families, and offered them words of encouragement as they are preparing to serve the Holy Altar.

That same day, a unique event took place in downtown Kalispell when His Grace offered an iconography class and presentation at a public place where the class wasn’t the sole event occurring. In the middle of a spacious local coffee shop, Bishop Maxim taught numerous parishioners, young and old, how to write an icon, and spent time with each individual budding iconographer in this popular social hub with coffee guests and friends of Saint Herman from out of town in attendance. Many of the coffee guests new to iconography asked questions about the faith and were intrigued by a bishop teaching a class!!!

Many thanks to our own local artists, Photini Breckenridge and Georgina Sauls who assisted His Grace with setting everything up for the presentation.

We are also grateful to Black Rifle Coffee Shop owner and parishioner Alex Joudy, for offering the coffee space for His Grace’s presentation and class.

After the class, the faithful of Saint Herman had the opportunity to visit and interact with His Grace at our priest’s house for a tea and cake social.

In the evening, His Grace was greeted at our Church with joyful ringing of bells, by our priest, guest clergy and our faithful for Great Vespers. At the end of the service His Grace gave a brief word on the writing of icons as a follow up to the icon workshop that took place earlier that day.

In the evening, His Grace had dinner with the members of the Parish Council Board at the local Harbor Grill Restaurant in Lakeside provided by the Edins and Cousoulis families.

The following day, April 21st, on the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent when our Orthodox Church commemorates Saint Mary of Egypt, His Grace arrived at Saint Herman Orthodox Church as the Magnificat to the Theotokos was sung by the singers of Saint Herman. At the conclusion of the Great Doxology, His Grace tonsured Reader Stavros Aidan Tekosis, the oldest son of our priest, Fr. Panayiotis.

The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great began immediately after, with His Grace officiating, assisted by Fr. Panayiotis Tekosis, and Fr. Deacon Ananias Sorem who serves at Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Butte, MT representing our Dean, Fr. Russell Radoicich of Holy Trinity.

His Grace gave the homily after the reading of the Holy Gospel pericope from Mark 10:31-45, on the meaning of the sacrifice of our Lord expanding on the words of the Savior “behold we go up to Jerusalem…”. His Grace specifically made a connection between the sacrifice of the Lord and the sacrificial aspect of a life of repentance as illustrated in the life of Saint Mary of Egypt. At the Deacon’s intonation “in the fear of God, with faith, and love…”, many faithful approached and partook of the Holy Mysteries.

All the Divine Services were adorned by the singing of our faithful choir, and our Bishop gracefully thanked them and bestowed His Archpastoral blessing upon them.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy the faithful came together for a festive banquet at our fellowship hall where His Grace, the guest clergy, and the newly tonsured Reader were treated to delicious fasting food carefully prepared by the faithful of Saint Herman.

A short entertainment program followed with singing by the children of our homeschool co-op, the youth group, and our adult singers performing a combination of Church hymns and American folk songs for everyone’s enjoyment. Special thanks to Sara Nuila for organizing the children’s singing, Anna-Marie Joudy and the youth group, and John Peabody, Abraham Nuila and their group.

One of the many highlights of Bishop MAXIM’s visit was the taking of a memorable picture of all the faithful in attendance with our Hierarch in our midst after the Divine Liturgy, a true image of ecclesia according to the words of Saint Ignatius of Antioch “wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be…”