On a beautiful Sunday, the 15th in Philadelphia, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Cathedral had the privilege of welcoming His Eminence Metropolitan Antony and His Eminence Archbishop Daniel for the feast day of the Protection of the Holy Theotokos and the 97th anniversary of our Cathedral.

Our youth welcomed the Hierarchs at the doors with flowers and sweet greetings. The Hierarchs, showing their love, returned the flowers to the children and asked them to be distributed to the youth.

The liturgy served by the Heirarchs as well as visiting priests, deacons, seminarians, and our own Father Taras was truly beautiful. The choir sounded fuller with the added voices of seminarians and the altar was plentiful with the additional clergymen.

Following liturgy we welcomed everyone down to a homemade meal made by our own parishioners and sisterhood. After multiple speakers and performances including our very own seminarians, the day came to an end.

Looking back, another great moment of the day was seeing the faces of old and new friends. It's always lovely to see how such an event brings the parish together.

We would also like to wish a special shout out to Larysa Zaika who received a Testament of Blessings (a Hramota) from the Hierarchs for her services on the parish council for over 50 years.