“I would like to say that there is no place that gives such spiritual consolation to
her visitors as this humble little corner of the Russian Church.”
— Archbishop Serafim (Ivanov), Hermitage founder, on the 25th anniversary of
the Hermitage of Our Lady of Kursk in 1975.
The parish is under the jurisdiction of the
Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, a part of the greater Russian Orthodox Church. It is located on the 17-acre grounds of the Hermitage of Our Lady of Kursk,
an official residence of the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, which belongs to the Synod, and is consecrated to the miraculous “Kursk-Root” Icon of the Mother of God.
The parish itself is part of the
Diocese of Eastern America and New York, under
Metropolitan Hilarion, and Bishop
Jerome of Manhattan. Besides the parish church, the Hermitage contains a cemetery,
an outdoor chapel, several acres of forest, a small pond,
and various unrelated Synodal functions.
We are delighted to welcome our new Rector, Mitred Archpriest Viktor Tseshkovsky. After some eight years here, and about thirty years of priestly service, Fr. Ilya Gun has retired, with our deepest love and gratitude.
Fr. Viktor and his Matushka, Nina, have moved into the rectory house at the
Hermitage. Our church warden is George Temidis. Reader
Maxim Needlman lives on the Hermitage grounds. Contact information is available
at the
Contacts link, at the left.
All-night Vigil is served every Saturday evening, God helping, at 6:00. Divine Liturgy is served every Sunday morning at 10:00. For major Church holidays, the schedule is
almost always the same, but please check the Schedule link at the left to be
sure. The church is usually open. If you are
a first-time visitor, please try to find someone who lives on the property when you arrive.
As a rule, services are conducted in the Old Church Slavonic language. With advance notice, we can often furnish English-speaking attendees with a printed translation to read along with during the service. Most people here speak both Russian and English, but neither is a requirement.
The parish holiday is the Nativity of the Most-Holy Mother of God, on September
21st (new style); usually our main, “popular” celebration, with the gracious
participation of our Bishop, occurs on the Sunday immediately preceding or
following, should the actual holiday fall on another day.
Requests for special services (
molebens,
pannykhidas, weddings, baptisms, funerals, etc.) and for confession, should be directed to Fr.
Viktor. For Communicants at the Sunday Divine Liturgy, Fr. Viktor normally hears confession during the Saturday-evening vigil, or,
if absolutely necessary, before the Liturgy on Sunday morning (
i.e., between 8 and 10
am). Adults wishing to partake of Holy Communion should attend not only the Divine Liturgy, but the service (All-night Vigil, or Vespers and Matins) the evening before. All Communicants
age seven and above must confess their sins to the priest within a day before partaking of Holy Communion. If you have confessed to a priest other than Fr.
Viktor, you must inform Fr. Viktor of this prior to the Liturgy.
Special rules apply during Great Lent, and occasionally otherwise; please see
Fr. Viktor if you have questions.
Only Orthodox Christians in good standing may partake of Holy Communion. Anybody who desires may become an Orthodox Christian,
although generally not instantly, but after some preparation. Please speak with
the priest or another member of the clergy should you be interested.
For additional information, or to make a donation, please follow the
Contact Us/Donations link at the left.
First-time and infrequent visitors to the parish, please follow the
Visitors’ Guide link, also at the left.
The parish welcomes all who come with pious intent as visitors, and all God-fearing Orthodox people as members. Thank you for viewing our website. May Christ God and His Most-Holy Mother preserve you!