On Sunday, March 20th St George Serbian Orthodox Church hosted the Pan-Orthodox Vespers for the Triumph of Orthodoxy.  This annual event not only commemorates the return of icons as an integral and necessary part of Orthodox worship, but also serves as an opportunity for all the Orthodox communities of Stark County to gather in common celebration.

This year’s guest speaker was from within the ranks of Clergy Brotherhood of Stark County – Fr Stacey Richter from Holy Assumption Orthodox Church in Canton.  He offered a wonderful talk that outlined the history and purpose of our joint celebration, while also helping the faithful in attendance to connect the idea of ‘icons’ to every-day life.  Fr Stacey likened each person to an image of God, encouraging the faithful not to be ‘icon smashers’, destroying the image of God in other people.

The service concluded with a procession of Holy Icons and a reading of the Synodikon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.  The St George parish hosted a fish dinner for all in attendance.

Photo credit: Diakonica Litsa Veronis