Pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery opens May 22

The 105th annual pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery in South Canaan, will formally open on Friday, May 22nd, with the greeting of the Sitka Icon at the Archway at 3:30 p.m. followed by a procession to celebrate the blessing of the well. The Vigil will be celebrated at 4 p.m.

Fr. Kowalczyk, spokesmen for the Monastery stated, "This pilgrimage will also have the Miracle-Working Sitka Icon of the Mother of God. The Holy Icon of the Sitka Madonna will be available for Veneration throughout the Memorial Day Weekend. The Sitka Icon is one of the most revered icons of the Orthodox Church in America."
The Very Rev. John Kowalczyk, also stated that, "His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, the newly elected Primate of the Orthodox Church in America will preside at the four-day celebration. Kowalczyk said, "This is the first time in the history of the Orthodox Church in America, that a convert has been elected to the most important leadership position in the Church." Joining Metropolitan Jonah will be His Grace Bishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania; Archbishop Job of Chicago, Bishop Nikon of Boston, and other members of the hierarchy of the Orthodox Church in America; and numerous clergy and faithful from throughout North America."