Archimandrite Job (Bandmann) was consecrated as the new Bishop of Stuttgart of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia during the Divine Liturgy at the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City on 10 December. The Liturgy, celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral), the First Hierarch of ROCOR, together with several other hierarchs and clerics of ROCOR, coincided with the cathedral’s patronal feast of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God. Both the wonderworking Kursk Root Icon and the wonderworking Softener of Evil Hearts Icon from Moscow were present to bless the faithful and the newly-consecrated Bp. Job, reports the Eastern American Diocese of ROCOR.

Fr. Job was elected by the ROCOR Holy Synod last December, following the repose of His Eminence Archbishop Agapit of Stuttgart last May. The official Rite of Nomination of Archimandrite Job was celebrated at the Synodal Cathedral on 9 December. And during the Liturgy, he was consecrated to the episcopate. Watch scenes from the Liturgy in a video from the Eastern American Diocese.

Met. Hilarion addressed the new hierarch with words of exhortation:

By the all-merciful Providence of God, by the election of members of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad and by the permission of the Most Holy Patriarch and Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, through the laying on of our hands you have now been placed to the highest degree of great and responsible service, having joined the host of archpastors of our Church. On this significant day “may your soul rejoice in the Lord!” With brotherly love we congratulate you, blessing your entry into the path of bishop service in the strong hope that you will justify our election!

When the holy apostles, having received the Holy Spirit, began to build the Church of Christ, they considered it best for themselves to stay in prayer and serving the word (Acts 6:4). By this, they clearly defined the area in which they were to ascend. Taking care of the souls of believers was their main concern: all their attention was directed to ensuring that believers were living stones and made out of themselves a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5) and a temple of God, so that the Spirit of God would live in them (1 Cor. 3:16). The relationship between the Apostle Paul and his flock was touchingly touching, as evidenced by the Holy Scriptures. This, of course, is the lofty ideal of service and counseling, to which all of us, servants of the Church of Christ, are obliged to strive. The ministry of your blessed predecessors in the Stuttgart Vicariate—Archbishops Paul (Pavlov) and Agapit (Gorachek)—also turned out to be instructive.

The archpastoral staff is a sign of the power and strength of Christ, bestowed in ordination. The rod of power send the Lord out of Zion (Psalm 109:3), sings David. In your hand, he should be guarding and guiding for the flock. The rod is also a symbol not so much of power in the Church as of responsibility and a responsible attitude towards the ministry entrusted to you. In commemoration of the lofty and arduous service that is entrusted to you, accept this rod. May this rod remind you of the glorious deeds of the saints of the Russian Land, of Saints John, the Archbishop of Shanghai, the Wonderworker of San Francisco, and Jonah, the Bishop of Hankouski—these first fruits of holiness in the diaspora, who carried their ministry in difficult conditions, so that you too can be like and they, by the rule of faith, the image of meekness, the teacher of abstinence, so that you too may acquire high by humility and rich in poverty.

So, take this rod, go up to the pulpit and bless the people who have prayed for you today.

His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Toronto was also awarded the Order of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, 2nd Class, for his many years of service to the Church, in connection with the 25th anniversary of his consecration to the episcopate. (Quelle: www.orthochristian.com, 13. Dezember 2021)