On Sunday April 20ththe Orthodox Church of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia will officially celebrate the 10th anniversary of its founding. April 20th is also the feast of the Entrance of the Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, also called Palm Sunday or Willow Sunday, according to the Russian Orthodox calendar. This church feast was the day upon which the parish celebrated their first Divine Liturgy having received the blessing of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad. The membership had been gathering together to hold services for months prior to this day at the Norwich Grange. The grange building served as the parish “church” for six years, until finally the congregation moved into its newly constructed parish center on Canterbury Turnpike, in Norwich.
The members of the congregation note that it has been a long and difficult road for the congregation, but they have accomplished many things. The beautiful site on Canterbury Turnpike has been the center of many activities of the small but lively group. There are concerts, lectures, bake sales and dinners. The annual Fall Festival which has become a mainstay event around the area each year now covers the entire property. Last year the congregation marked its tenth festival with well over 800 people attending.
The congregation holds services in a small chapel at one end of their building which rests upon a beautiful, eight acre parcel in a semi-rural part of Norwich which used to be home to many farms. The parish hopes to build an old-styled, Russian log church on the property in the future. The site for the proposed church is the highest point on the property, and its domes will easily be seen by those traveling on I-395 which backs up to the land.
On Sunday, April 20th the parish will host a visit from His Grace Bishop Gabriel of Manhattan, secretary of the Synod of Bishops, who will be present to serve the liturgy. Bishop Gabriel was instrumental in spiritually guiding and assuring the members and its pastor, Father Basil Grisel, during the trying days of separation from our former parish, toward the formation of a new church serving a multitude of people in eastern Connecticut of various nationalities and backgrounds.
Holy New Martyrs Church also wishes to express a debt of gratitude to their newly-departed archbishop, Metropolitan Laurus, who had visited the parish last year. The Metropolitan made an official visit to the parish last year on the church’s name day celebration in February. In May 2007 Metropolitan Laurus, along with a delegation of clergy from the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia, made a historic trip to Moscow for a ceremony marking the reunification of the two branches of the Russian Orthodox Church. The two had been separated forcibly during the Communist period of Russia’s history.
The greeting of Bishop Gabriel will take place at 9:30 a.m. which will quickly proceed to the vesting and the beginning of Divine services. Following the Liturgy there will be a festal meal to mark the occasion. Palm Sunday is a joyous feast day normally in the Orthodox Church, but it is also the start of “Great and Holy Week” which is the most solemn and holy week of the entire Church year.
For directions to the church, church schedules of services or events, or for more information please visit our website at: www.holynewmartyrs.com
