On the First Sunday of Great Lent, the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the clergy of the Eastern States Deanery celebrated Sunday evening Vespers in St. John the Baptist Church in Little Falls, NJ. 

The service was led by the Chancellor of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Archpriest Igor Tarasov. Fr. Igor was co-served by the Dean of the Eastern States and parish rector, Priest Alexey Paranyuk; Archpriest John Kassatkin, rector of Elevation of the Holy Cross Church, Hackettstown NJ; rector of Three Saints Church, Garfield NJ, Archpriest George Konyev; Priest Dmitry Sukhorukhov, cleric of St. Nicholas Church, Bayonne NJ; Hieromonk Stephen Bushman, cleric of Three Saints Church; Deacon Andrew Massey, cleric of Elevation of the Holy Cross Church and Deacon Nicholas DeGraaff, cleric of Three Saints Church. 

At the conclusion of the service, Fr. Alexey greeted the clergy and faithful and thanked them for their join prayers and wished them fortitude for the remaineder of the Great Fast. 

A bountiful lenten luncheon was served in the parish hall by Matushka Natalia Paranyuk. 

Later in the evening, the clergy of the deanery gathered for a meeting to discuss pastoral and administrative issues.