NEW YORK: August 17, 2018
The First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad calls for special prayers for the fallen Orthodox Christian warriors of the Great War

From the Editors: The following is the text of a directive sent to all ruling bishops from Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York:

August 3/16, 2018
St Anthony the Roman

TO ALL DIOCESAN BISHOPS

The fall of this year is the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War (1914-1918). The heroic deeds of Orthodox Christian warriors from this time were always honored throughout the Russian diaspora, among whom were many eminent ancestors of ours, clergymen and flock alike. They established monuments in Belgrade, Berlin and Mourmelon, France. In connection with this, not only this year, but every year, blessing is given to perform pannikhida memorial services for them on September 1/14, the day of the August Icon of the Mother of God, created during the appearance of the Mother of God to Russian soldiers in 1914, or on the nearest Saturday, before all-night vigil, in order to preserve the memory of the heroism and self-sacrifice of the soldiers who laid down their lives for the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland.

Metropolitan Hilarion
of Eastern America and New York,
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.