Protocol Number 39/12

March 13, 2012

To the Very Reverend and Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Diocesan Board of Trustees, the Parish Councils of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Members of the National A.C.R.Y. and all the Youth, the Seminarians of the School of Christ the Savior, and the entire Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Family in America

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this the one year observance of the falling asleep in the Lord of the ever-memorable and thrice-blessed late Metropolitan Nicholas of Amissos, I convey to all the beloved faithful of the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church my deepest and heartfelt condolences. Even the passing of a full year does little to soothe the feelings of loss and bereavement, yet even as we prepare to mark his passing this coming Sunday, March 18th, we know that the beloved Metropolitan now stands before the throne of God, loosed of the weaknesses and infirmities of the human existence, and replete with the joys and the fruits of the Spirit.

On Sunday March 18th, I exhort all the Carpatho-Russian Flock to join in prayer and in memory of a truly beloved spiritual father and archpastor. I encourage you to share the wonderful memories and stories that each of you hold in your hearts with each other, and with the generation that did not know him well. I also want to assure all of you that together with the Chancellor and the Reverend Members of the Consistory, we continue to expend every effort to seek out a Hierarch worthy to succeed the charismatic Metropolitan Nicholas. With the heavenly help of the unforgettable Metropolitan who now prays with and for us in the celestial regions, and above all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and His assurance to us, we know that we who seek shall find, as the Lord says (Matthew 8:8).

I ask for your patience and prayers as we continue to measure those who would succeed this faithful fisher of men, and may the Lord grant eternal rest with all the Saints and Righteous to his precious soul, which he gave for the blessed Carpatho-Russian Orthodox flock of our Most Holy Ecumenical Patriarchate.

With warm paternal love and heartfelt consolations in Christ,

+DEMETRIOS

Archbishop of America
Locum Tenens of the American Carpatho-Russian
Orthodox Diocese of the USA
Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate