Over the second weekend in Great Lent, our community of Christ the Savior in the Appalachian mountains of northeast Tennessee were blessed by the first archpastoral visit of our new Metropolitan. His Eminence arrived on Saturday in time to enjoy lunch at the home of Fr. Stephen and Pres. Jocelyn Mathewes, and then to the church for a series of meetings with the parish leadership, the Building Committee, as well as an informal Q&A with our Catechumens and newly-Illumined. His Eminence presided at Great Vespers, and lastly enjoyed a relaxed dinner with our Youth Group, where the teens peppered their Metropolitan with questions.

Sunday morning was crowned with the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, where His Eminence preached to the packed church to never cease pursuing Christ. The Litany for the Catechumens was included, during which His Eminence blessed our 40 souls currently preparing for entrance into the Church. The Liturgy concluded with the tonsuring of six new Altar Servers and three new Readers, two of whom are about to begin the Diaconal program. Afterward Fr. Stephen thanked His Eminence for his visit and his pastoral guidance, and presented him with a “thank you” card signed by the parish leadership, a donation to His Eminence’s agape fund, and a coffee mug branded with our parish logo. We all enjoyed a robust potluck meal before bidding His Eminence farewell.

Like many others in our Metropolis, our once-little community has exploded with growth over the last few years, and we find ourselves urgently trying to catch up and plan for the future. His Eminence offered us both loving praise as well as encouraging direction. And, inasmuch as our combined, pan-Orthodox community is a little unusual among the parishes of our Metropolis, we are grateful to His Eminence for embracing our uniqueness while also shepherding us in the key matters of the Faith. Eis polla, eti Dhespota!