Richmond ordination ceremony shines light on expanding membership

Source: centralmaine.com

September 17, 2017

Nathan Williams, second from left, is greeted Sunday by his mother, Cindy, after his elevation to the priesthood in the Russian Orthodox Church during services at the Saint Alexander Nevsky Church in Richmond. Staff photo by Andy Molloy

Toddlers, babes-in-arms, and other young children populating the church yard and inside St. Alexander Nevsky Church showed just how rapidly the parish family has grown.

Inside in the sanctuary was another sign: the ordination of the Rev. Nathan Williams to the priesthood, the ordination of Joseph Kimball to the deaconate and the investiture of two tonsured Readers, Patrick Kimball and Matthew O’Donnell. Tonsured Reader is a first step toward priesthood.

The ordination was performed by Metropolitan Hilarion, who is First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, and informally referred to by congregation members as “the bishop.”

The event started with the celebration of the feast day — or in this case week — of the church’s patron saint, St. Alexander Nevsky, a Russian prince who lived and fought during the time of the Crusades.

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