His Eminence Metropolitan Christopher Visits Hibbing Parish

Sunday, October 22nd was a big day for our little parish in the middle of the Iron Range. Everybody was so excited about the visit of His Eminence Metropolitan Christopher, especially the women from our Kolo (Serbian Sisters Circle) because on this day they also were celebrating their patron Saint's Day [Slava]--Venerable Mother Paraskeva, St. Petka of Serbia. In preparation, everyone took their part seriously: those who helped with cleaning and decorating church and parish hall, those who were preparing food for this occasion, our choir singers. For me as the parish priest, it was more than just a church supreme authority visit; it was a great spiritual experience as well! Everytime I've participated in Divine Liturgy performed by a Bishop, I have felt the unity between us, today's Christians and those from ancient times, in the bosom of the one and only Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic- living Church. Thanks to this ancient tradition, kept by our Church for twenty centuries, you can feel that a Bishop isn't just a "boss," an untouchable, and unmistakable supreme authority. He is a living symbol of Christ and His Disciples who became the first Bishops in the ancient cities of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch. His mission is to pray, teach, intercede, sometimes to correct, to instruct, just as the Apostle St. Paul instructs the new appointed Bishop of Ephesus, Saint Timothy: "Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." (2 Tim. 4:3)
Now and ever, and unto ages of ages, Amen!