With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas, of blessed memory, a Diocesan Pilgrimage to the Holy Land took place from May 9-17, 2011. The 32 members of the group visited all of the holy sites associated with the life of our Lord Jesus Christ including the site of the Annunciation in Nazareth, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem where an Orthodox Church has been built over the cave of the Lord's birth, Cana where our Lord worked his first miracle, the Mount of Beatitudes, the Jordan River and Mt. Tabor: the site of the Transfiguration. As they visited each holy place the group paused to read the Gospel account of the event and also prayed. In Jerusalem the pilgrims visited the Eleona Convent on the Mount of Olives, the Chapel of the Ascension and the Monastery of St. Mary Magdalene which enshrines the relics of the Holy New Martyrs of Russia Grand Duchess Elizabeth and the Nun Barbara. While in Jerusalem the group retraced the final hours of the Lord's life as they prayed at each of the holy places where our Lord suffered: the chapel of the Flagellation, the Ecce Homo Arch, the Prison of Christ and finally the highlight of the journey: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built in the 4th century which marks the place of our Lord's crucifixion and also the tomb of His resurrection. The pilgrimage included a midnight Divine Liturgy conducted at the very place where our Lord rose from the dead and each person shared in His Passion, Death, and Resurrection as they received the Holy Eucharist in that most sacred place on earth. While in the Holy Land the tour was escorted by an Orthodox travel guide, Mr. Tanas Baddour, the son of an Orthodox priest. The Holy Land pilgrimage was led and organized by Father Edward Pehanich and is accompanied by Diocesan clergy: Very Rev. Myron Zuder, Very Rev. Kenneth Bachofsky, Father Nicholas Wyborski, and Deacon Edward Brisbine. Additional photos of the Pilgrimage may be found at the St Nicholas Orthodox Church of Warren, Ohio Website Day 1-3
www.stnicholaswarren.org/news/holyland Day 5
www.stnicholaswarren.org/news/holyland2 May 15
www.stnicholaswarren.org/news/holyland3 May 16
www.stnicholaswarren.org/news/holyland4 Holy Sepulchre
www.stnicholaswarren.org/news/holyland5 May 18
www.stnicholaswarren.org/news/holyland6 View photos »
