St. Patriarch Tikhon is Remembered and Honored in California

The 14th Annual Lenten Seminar organized by the clergy of the Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” San Francisco, CA, was devoted to Holy Patriarch Tikhon, marking the centennial of his death (April 7, 2025). For seven years he had been the head of the Russian Orthodox mission in America and laid a solid foundation in the foundation of Orthodoxy, including in Northern California.

After Liturgy, the seminar participants gathered in the spacious hall of the cathedral. Presenting was Archpriest Peter Perekrestov of the cathedral, and the author of several books, also serving as the editor of the website of the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

It is worth noting that Fr Peter was also the main organizer of this traditional seminar.

Fr Peter began his report with a number of very important facts that parishioners of many Orthodox churches scattered throughout California and North America should be aware of.

“Can we talk about holiness in California? Do we know who, in addition to our oqn parishes, are the founders, heroes, saints and disseminators of Orthodoxy in our city, in California and North America? How does the awareness of our past determine our Orthodox identity?” the speaker asked.

Another interesting and informative report was an American historian Matthew Nami about St Patriarch Tikhon and his ministry in San Francisco. Mr Nami began the story of the future patriarch with the story of his childhood and youth, about his life in a small Russian town, studying at a seminary, his pastoral ministry, arrival to America, living in San Francisco and the enormous missionary work that he did in Uniate parishes which decided to return to the fold of the Orthodox Church.

The historian and lawyer Mr Nami is also the editor of the Orthodox History website. Matthew recently published a book on the origins of Orthodoxy in America title “Lost Histories.” He is currently teaching a course on the history of Orthodoxy at the Institute for Orthodox Studies at St Constantine College.

The seminar ended with a screening of a film about Orthodox parishes in Alaska.

For more information on the 100th anniversary of the presentation of St Patriarch Tikhon, see the April printed issue of the Russian-language newspaper Russkaya zhizn’.