Patronal Feastday of St. Herman of Alaska Sobor, Edmonton, Alberta

On December 12, 2014, Vigil for the Feast of St. Herman of Alaska was celebrated by His Grace, Bishop Irénée at St. Herman of Alaska Sobor. He was joined by His Grace, Bishop Job (Moscow Patriarchate), His Grace, Bishop Ilarion (Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada), Dean of Alberta, Archpriest Phillip Eriksson, Priest-in-Charge of St. Herman's Sobor, Priest Vincent Lehr, special guest Archpriest Michael Oleksa, along with numerous other local and visiting clergy and faithful. At the conclusion of Vigil, Fr. Vincent presented Bishop Job and Bishop Ilarion with icons of St. Herman of Alaska on the occasion of the feast.

Following Vigil, a reception was held where Iguman Gerasim (Power) presented Bishop Irénée with a gift on the occasion of his recent enthronement and upcoming birthday. Fr. Michael Oleksa then began the first part of his lecture on Orthodox Spirituality in Alaska, which included history of Alaskan tribes, spirituality and the first Russian missionaries, including St. Herman.

On December  13, Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated, beginning with the greeting and vesting of Bishop Irénée. His Grace was joined again by His Grace, Bishop Job, Archpriest Phillip Eriksson, Priest Vincent Lehr, Archpriest Michael Oleksa and other visiting clergy and faithful. Upon completion of the Liturgy, Bishop Irénée conferred the Order of St. Tikhon to Reader Mark Petasky, Douglas Petasky, and Boris Ewanchuk and presented Archdiocesan Gramotas to Peter Korsos, Kirill Holden, and Maria Holden in recognition of their work with recent renovations at the Sobor and their many years of faithful service to St. Herman's and the Archdiocese of Canada. Following a banquet, Fr. Michael continued his enlightening lectures during two sessions in the afternoon, and after Great Vespers, the final session of the lecture.

Click here to view the full photo gallery on the St. Herman's website.