Page 21 - Western Diocese Annual 2023

2023 DIOCESAN ANNUAL
The Feast of St. Sava
in San Gabriel, California
The Feast of Saint Sava was solemnly celebrat- ed in the Church dedicated to the first Serbi- an Archbishop in the Californian city of San
Gabriel. On that occasion, the parish of St. Sava had the honor of hosting twenty-two canonical Ortho- dox bishops from different jurisdictions that exist in the United States of America. Namely, bishops from different regions of America gather every year in one of the cities in America to witness Liturgical unity, exchange views on the state of Orthodoxy in America, solve various pastoral issues that everyone faces, such as visiting the sick and prisoners, orga- nizing aid for the poor, promoting work with young people, improving theological education, etc. It is an advisory body that works to promote the Orthodox mission in America.
This year, during the period when our Church celebrates Saint Sava, the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops was held in Los Angeles. On that occasion, the will was expressed to serve in the only Church dedicated to this Saint in the southern part of Cali- fornia. With the blessing of Bishop Maxim, the par- ish committee of this Church and School congrega- tion with its priest Predrag Bojović prepared an excellent welcome and program for all the guests present.
The Liturgy was presided by His Eminence Arch- bishop Elpidophoros (Greek Orthodox Church in America), with concelebration by Bishop John (An- tiochian Orthodox Church), the host Bishop Maxim (Serbian Orthodox Church), Metropolitan Nicolae (Romanian Orthodox Church), Bishop Saba (Geor-
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