The people, who have preserved faithfulness to the Julian traditional church calendar, have a peculiar custom of celebrating the Old New Year on January 1/14.

On that day the people, for whom there is no distinction between their lives and the life of the Church, magnify “the Lord Who hath been circumcised in the flesh” and honor the first of the Ecumenical teachers, Holy Hierarch Basil the Great.

This time of the year is known in the Central States of our diocese – which are neither in the North nor in the South thereof – to surprise their inhabitants with inclement weather. On the Sunday before the Nativity, the states of Kansas and Missouri were hit by an ice storm, followed by a snowstorm, which rendered driving impossible for many. After several days of waiting for the main roads to be cleared, and with the Orthodox Christians in the St Louis area beginning to recover from the once-in-a-decade weather, the patronal feast of the Gateway City parish arrived.

Unusual circumstances make feasts more impressive. And the fact that so many people were able to make their way to church safely amplified the joy of this feast.

The festivities, which opened the celebrations of the 40 th anniversary of the parish, began with the All Night Vigil on the eve of the feast. It was celebrated by the diocesan secretary, Archpriest Gregory Joyce (who was representing Archbishop Gabriel), along with Priest Zachary Rose (rector of Sts Peter and Fevronia Church in Kansas City) and the parish clergy: Archpriest Sergii Alekseev, Priest Thomas Nichols, and Deacon Ephraim Galloway.

On January 1/14, the day began with the Lesser Blessing of the Water. Then the Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great was celebrated by the same clergy who served the night before, with the addition of Priests Vladimir Terzic (Serbian Orthodox Church) and Tiberiu Opris (Romanian Orthodox Church). Archpriest Radomir Chkautovich – a retired Serbian priest, who is loved by everyone at St Basil’s – prayed in the altar and partook of Holy Communion.

Despite the recent dangerous weather conditions, the temple was full of parishioners and guests. The choir, conducted by Carol Surgant, sang prayerfully. The service concluded with a short Moleben in front of the icon of St Basil. After the dismissal, Fr Gregory greeted the faithful with their parish’s Second Pascha and read a congratulatory letter from Archbishop Gabriel. It was touching to hear the kind words our Locum Tenens wrote about the late Archpriest Martin Swanson, his wife Katherine, and all the founders of St Basil’s community. Our archpastor besought the faithful to “serve the Lord according to the talents He has given us,” so that we could attract those around us to His Holy Church by our good example of living a life according to the Gospel.

The festivities concluded with an abundant trapeza in the parish hall.