Church/OCA Archives
October 3, 2006 - This photoreport covers the visitation of Rev. David Garretson (above), Rector of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in South River, New Jersey, to the Metropolitan's Residence and Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America. This photoreport is in two pages and what follows is the second of those two pages. Page one reviews the OCA Chancery and its grounds and the search by Rev. Garretson for text and photographic documentation pertinent to the early life of our parish. What follows is photo documentation of some of the iconography and portraiture present at the archives as well as a photo review of St. Sergius Chapel which is contained within the Metropolitan's Residence and Chancery. Also shown at the conclusion are several photos of personages who played a role in the history of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church.
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Above is a portrait of His Eminence LEONTY (Turkevich), Archbishop of New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada. Vladyka LEONTY led the national Church during the time period 1950 - 1965. Below right is a portrait of His Eminence THEOPHILUS, Archbishop of San Francisco, Metropolitan of All America and Canada. He served as the First Hierarch of our national Church from 1934 - 1950, having succeeded Metropolitan PLATON (Rozhdestvensky). Metropolitan THEOPHILUS dedicated his life to serving God subsequent to having been healed as a boy by Fr. John of Kronstadt (portrait below left). Fr. John of Kronstadt has sinced been canonized a saint by the Orthodox Church and is now revered as St. John Kronstadt.
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Above left, OCA Archivist, Mr. Alexis Liberovsky, makes a point during a guided tour of the Alaska Room on the second floor of the OCA Chancery. Above right is a Corporal (Antimins) which was signed by Bishop INNOCENT (now St. Innocent of North America). Below, an icon depicting the life of St. Innocent hangs on a wall in the Alaska Room.
Above left is one of several paintings of churches in Alaska which hangs on the walls of the second floor. The photo above right shows the honorary Doctor of Theology degree which was conferred upon His Eminence, Metropolitan LEONTY, by the St. Sergius Institute in Paris, France. This is the same academy from which Archivist Liberovsky graduated. The diploma was penned in Russian and was dated November, 1953. Below is an elaborately colorful painting entitled "A hundred centuries" by Ilya Glazunov. The work depicts a panorama of Russian history and depicted on the canvas are both saints and the not-so-saintly.
You may click on the above photo to view an enlargement.
The hallway leading to the St. Sergius Chapel gives one a foretaste of the iconography to be found in the Chapel itself. Above left are icon reproductions of the Sitka Icon of the Madonna whose prototype resides in Alaska. Also in the hallway are reliquaries of several saints (above right). Above the reliquary is an icon depicting scenes from the life of that particular saint (photos below). Each reliquary contains a very small portion of that saint's earthly remains (generally a small bone fragment).
You may click on the photo above left to view an enlargement.
Above and below are closer views of some of the reliquaries. Below left is the reliquary of the highly venerated Russian saint, the Wonderworker Seraphim of Sarov. Below right is the reliquary of the New Martyr Elizabeth.
Above - among the icons just outside the door to the Chapel are icons of St. Herman of Alaska (enlargement below left) and the highly venerated saint of Russia, Sergius of Radonezh (enlargement below right). The inscription (in Church Slavonic) below the icon of St. Herman says, "Venerable Father Herman, pray to God for us."
The block of four photos below shows overall views of the interior of St. Sergius Chapel. Divine services as well as meetings pertaining to the well-being of the national Church are conducted on a regular basis in the Chapel whether Metropolitan HERMAN is present or not.
You may click on the photo above right to view an enlargement.
You may click on the photo above left to view an enlargement.
There are saints' reliquaries within the Chapel as well. Above left is the reliquary of St. Innocent of North America. Above right is the reliquary of St. Tikhon of North America. Inscribed in gold in the reliquary lid is an illustration of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow where the earthly remains of Patriarch TIKHON repose (April 7, 1925). Below is the iconostasis icon of St. Tikhon of North America. In 1905, St. Tikhon was one of two founders of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in South River, N.J.
Above - on the right side of the iconostasis is the icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh, to whose glory the Chapel is consecrated. Below left and right - above a small tetrapod dedicated to Metropolitan LEONTY'S memory is a beautiful Cross (enlargement below right).
Above right and below are views of the Sanctuary of St. Sergius Chapel. Below left is shown the Table of Oblation in the Sanctuary. An icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov appears in the upper right of that same photo.
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Three photos - all of which have yet to be shown and all of which pertain to the history of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church - are presented as the conclusion to this two page photoreport on the visit of South River delegates to the Metropolitan's Residence and Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America in Oyster Bay Cove, New York. Above is a portrait of St. Patriarch TIKHON to whom we have already alluded as one of the founders of our Church. Below left is a clerical entourage headed by Metropolitan PLATON (extreme right in photo). Second from left in the photo is V. Rev. Jason Kappadnadze, a priest who spent a brief time as rector of our parish. Fr. Kappadnadze then went on to spend the better part of his clerical career at St. Theodosius Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio. This was the parish of V. Rev. Sergius Kuharsky - Pastor Emeritus of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in South River - prior to his coming to serve as our rector in the 1970's. Below right is a portrait of Choir Director, Nicholas P. Afonsky. In addition to his serving as Choirmaster of our Church Choir in the late 1940's and early 1950's, Mr. Afonsky was also choir director of Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral (2nd Avenue and 2nd Street in Manhattan) which was at the time the national headquarters of the Orthodox Church in America (Metropolia).
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Rev. David Garretson and your reporter take this opportunity to express gratefulness for the kindness, time, and hospitality extended to us by the staff of the Metropolitan's Residence and Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America - primarily with regard to Mr. Alexis Liberovsky, Archivist, and his co-worker and wife, Zinaida. Should one be in the area, it is a stop well worth the time (appointment necessary for archive inspection). Many Thanks and Many Years! to the staff of the Metropolitan's Residence and Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America. Your reporter also offers sincere thanks to Mr. Liberovsky who graciously offered critical review of the text of this photoreport so that it might be as accurate as possible before publication.
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