On Saturday September 13, the day of the Placing of the Cincture of the Most Holy Theotokos, the clergy of the Atlantic States Deanery celebrated Divine Liturgy at St. Andrew Cathedral in Philadelphia, PA.  The Divine Service was led by the rector of the cathedral, Archpriest Mark Shinn, and co-served by Archpriest John Vass (Atlantic States Dean and rector of Holy Trinity Church in Baltimore, MD), Archpriest Gregory Winsky (interim rector of St. Michael Church in Philadelphia), Archpriest Alexey Bocharnikov (rector of St. Nicholas Church in Chester, PA), Priest Alexander Tsygankov (cathedral cleric), Priest Daniel Meyer (rector of St. Nicholas Church in Reading, PA), and Deacon Michael Sidorochev (cleric of St. Nicholas Church in Chester, PA).

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Fr. Mark gave a sermon about the Placing of the Cincture of the Most Holy Theotokos and the commemorated saints of the day. In turn, Fr. John thanked Fr. Mark for hosting the gathering of the deanery and for the warm welcome from the parishioners of the cathedral.

Following the Divine Service, a festive dinner was served in the church hall generously coordinated by the Sisterhood of the cathedral.

Afterwards, Fr. John convened the deanery meeting to discuss the pastoral and administrative issues of the deanery. Much attention was focused on ways to enhance the educational and social outreach of our parishes. Also attending were several subdeacons, readers, and altar servers.

The deanery sincerely thanks the clergy and faithful of St. Andrew Cathedral for hosting such an uplifting and informative event.