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DURING THE HIERIRCHAL VISITATION OF THE MAYFIELD PARISH

MAY 3, 1903

(See Russian American Orthodox Messenger, for 1903, #9, pp. 134-136

Christ is risen! Peace be with you! (John 20:20.)

My first visit with you, my beloved brothers, coincides with these days when the Holy Church joyfully remembers the appearance of the Resurrected Lord to his disciples. Late that Sunday evening, when the disciples were together behind closed doors, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. "Peace be with you!" He said. (John 20:20.) I come to you with the same holy greeting, my brothers, "Peace be with you."

Christ the Savior brought peace to all by his sufferings, and reconciled us with God, destroyed the curse, bestowed on us His blessing, overcame death and gave us eternal life. Today there is no condemnation for those who are united with Christ Jesus. God has justified - who can condemn? Christ Jesus, who died, has also risen from the dead. He alone is Truth and Peace. May the peace of Christ be with you also, my brothers!

Peace be with you, and the blessings of our Mother, the Holy Orthodox Church. Your fathers were Orthodox and fought for their Orthodox Faith, though you have only recently returned to the bosom of the Orthodox Faith. As once the Apostle Thomas, having touched the resurrected Christ, believed in Him and cried out, "My lord and my God!" so now you, with your own eyes and ears have become convinced in the truth of the Orthodox Church, your own natural Mother. In Her holy hierarchal priesthood you have recognized the true and canonical pastors and teachers, and in the unity of love with them you have found peace for yourselves. Therefore, brethren, stand firm in the Orthodox Faith, and cherish it as a great, priceless treasure. (I Cor. 6:13.)

Peace be with you and the blessings of the Holy Synod of Russia, which received the news of your return to the Orthodox Faith from me with expressions of joy and thanks to God, and which sends you a Blessed Scroll.

Peace be with you also from my unworthiness. By your reunion with the Orthodox Faith you have abundantly filled our heart with joy and happiness, having given us the consolation to see that the Lord has blessed your work here, and has increased the children of His Church.

Accept from me this blessed holy icon of the patron of your church, St. John the Baptizer of our Lord. For he was the candle, the light and the mountain; he witnessed to the Light, and he came to love the divine Truth above all, more than the truth of men. He suffered for the Truth, rejoicing. He prepared the way for the Lord, and towards Him he directed your steps, for he was the preacher of the Light, and he brought the Light to you, who keep his memory in this church. Therefore, walk in the Light of the Orthodox Faith; be lovers of the Truth, and rightly walk in the ways of the Lord.

May peace be with you and with your pastor, together with whom you have entered into the bosom of the Orthodox Church, and who to this day teaches you in Truth by his word and life. For his efforts, the Holy Synod bestows on him the holy cross. Hold him in your love for his efforts for your benefit.

May peace be in your midst. In your parish there are several brotherhoods; and you especially revere the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius. May this not be in name only, but in word and truth. Live one with another in a brotherly fashion - in peace, love and harmony - as lived the brothers Cyril and Methodius. Help one another; encourage each other in faith and love.

May the God of peace make firm and strengthen you in this by His Grace.

Archbishop Tikhon

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