Holy Trinity Cathedral
Orthodox Church in America
1520 Green Street, San Francisco, CA 94123-5102 (415) 673-8565
http://www.holy-trinity.org; info@holy-trinity.org
Rev. Victor Sokolov, Rector
June 5, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Holy Trinity Cathedral hosts Diocese of the West farewell for Bishop Nikolai
SAN FRANCISCO - Holy Trinity Cathedral hosted the official farewell of the
Diocese of the West, Orthodox Church in America, for the Right Reverend Nikolai
(Soraich), newly consecrated Bishop of Baltimore, during its parish feast day
of Holy Pentecost.
Archimandrite Nikolai (Soraich), former Rector of Saint Paul the Apostle Church,
Las Vegas, NV and Chancellor of the Diocese of the West, was consecrated to
the episcopacy at Saint Seraphim Cathedral in Dallas, TX, on Saturday and Sunday,
April 21 and 22, 2001. His Grace is departing for his new assignment as Auxiliary
to His Beatitude, Metropolitan Theodosius, in the Diocese of Alaska this month.
The All-Night Vigil of Pentecost on Saturday, June 2, and the Divine Liturgy
the next morning were concelebrated by the ruling hierarch of San Francisco
and the West, His Grace Bishop Tikhon and Bishop Nikolai, assisted by the Cathedral
clergy and many priests from throughout the Bay Area. On Sunday, after the Divine
Liturgy, Kneeling Prayers Vespers, and the Molieben and Cross Procession, a
testimonial banquet was held in the parish hall.
His Grace Bishop Nikolai was presented with gifts of two sets of episcopal
vestments and a mitre. These gifts were purchased with monetary donations from
virtually every parish and institution of the Diocese. For many years, Archimandrite
Nikolai served the geographically-largest diocese in the United States as its
Chancellor. He tirelessly travelled to its parishes and missions. During Father
Nikolai's tenure the Diocese experienced both spectacular growth and, at the
same time, a blessed period of peace and stability. As a sign of love and appreciation
for Bishop Nikolai's many labors and his prayerful concern for the Diocese,
a substantial monetary gift was also made to sponsor a room in the newly established
diocesan retreat center. The room will be dedicated to Bishop Nikolai's patron
Saint, Nicholas of Myra, in memory of the pious parents of His Grace.
The pictorial report of the event can be found at Holy Trinity Cathedral's
web site on the Internet at http://www.holy-trinity.org. In addition, many pictures
from the weekend's events are posted by Anna Jarlson at http://photos.yahoo.com/pentecostsanfrancisco
(Saturday night and Sunday Morning at Holy Trinity Cathedral) and http://photos.yahoo.com/pentecostprocession
(Procession Sunday morning and the dinner plus another photo album which has
pictures from San Francisco).
Holy Trinity Cathedral, the oldest (est. 1857) Orthodox community in the contiguous United States, is the seat of Bishop Tikhon of San Francisco and the Diocese of the West, Orthodox Church in America. The Very Reverend Victor Sokolov has been Pastor of the Cathedral since 1991.
Last modified: June 7, 2001 - webmaster@holy-trinity.org.