We, the brethren of Holy Trinity Monastery, now bid farewell to our dear Abbot, Archbishop Averky. The departure of our beloved Vladyka Averky is an irreplaceable loss for us. Vladyka Averky was gravely ill the last several years, but most recently, though he did not completely recover, he still participated in monastery life: he wrote articles for Pravoslavnaya Rus [Orthodox Russia�transl.], edited periodicals, taught the seminarians, reading 8 lectures a week on the New Testament; he also attended church and edified us with his wondrous sermons. �

But now the Lord has summoned him. We understand that this is better for him, but we have become orphaned, our monastery has become orphaned, as did our seminary, and the Diocese of Syracuse and Holy Trinity is left without a father.�

With the departure of our dear Vladyka Averky, a page in the history of our monastery turns. We, along with our Russian Church Abroad, with the loss of Vladyka Averky, have lost a wonderful preacher, an eminent theologian and an ecclesiastical writer and staunch defender of the truth and the way.�

Let us firmly remember and fulfill the legacy of Vladyka Averky, which he often repeated in his sermons: to be loyal to the Holy Orthodox Church, the Holy Church of Christ, and not to submit to temptations, which abound today and surround us from every side. May the Lord preserve us from them by the prayers of Vladyka Averky. �

We, the brethren of Holy Trinity Monastery, especially beseech everyone to pray for the repose of our dear Vladyka, and we ask for prayers for us, too, that the Lord preserve us and keep us from all troubles and sorrows. We ask that you pray the Lord for us, that He help us serve Him as we should, so that this holy place continued to be the way it has been. We beseech the Lord to help us preserve this monastery as a beacon of light, as it was during our blessed founder, Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko, +1960) and as it has been under his successor, Vladyka Averky.�

In conclusion, I will refer to an excerpt from the last will and testament of Vladyka Averky:

�I ask the honorable brethren to forgive me and not abandon me, accursed sinner, in your holy prayers, and after my death, I pray that the Lord forgive me my innumerable sins, knowingly or in ignorance. I forgive all and ask that you likewise forgive me!�

May the mercy of God be with you all! �

With love,�
Humble Archbishop Averky.��

Amen.