His Grace Bishop Seraphim (Sigrist), former Bishop of Sendai, fell asleep in the Lord on the morning of February 7, 2026.

Bishop Seraphim was born Joseph Sigrist on December 13, 1941 in New York and baptized in a Presbyterian Church. He was brought up in Pleasantville, NY and studied at Nyack College. While studying at Nyack he began to attend the Orthodox Church…

The faithful of the Diocese of New York and New Jersey are warmly invited to gather for the celebration of Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers on Sunday, March 1 at 4:00 PM, hosted at St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

Jacob’s Well is looking for a new Print Designer to do layout and graphic design. Ideally, this person would have some experience in layout for print and magazine publications. They should also have familiarity with Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. It is a volunteer position that comes with a modest honorarium dependent on budget capacity. For more information, to recommend someone, or for those interested in the role, they should contact Fr Matthew Brown at editor@jacobsmag.org.

[Watertown, NY] - On 31 January 2026, Father Gregory Fedorchak celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St John the Soldier Mission in Watertown, NY. Forty-one faithful gathered in our chapel, the largest service held so far at St John the Soldier. The deep snow and ice-like cold couldn’t stop the gathering. Many of the faithful are soldiers in the US Army’s 10th MTN Division who will deploy in the spring on a regularly scheduled overseas rotation. The liturgy was followed by a parish meal. Going forward, we will hold regularly scheduled liturgies on the last Saturday of each month, in addition to our readers' vespers on Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. and Hours and Typica on Sundays at 9:45 a.m.

On January 18, 2026, the St. Olga of Alaska Orthodox Mission marked a historic milestone by celebrating the first Divine Liturgy in its new permanent home. Following a rapid two-week transition after acquiring the property on December 30, a dedicated crew of volunteers quickly prepared the space with a donated iconostasis and furnishings to ensure the building was ready for worship. Despite the hurdles of addressing immediate infrastructure needs, 23 faithful gathered for the inaugural service, which included the blessing of the building and the Great Blessing of Water. With regular Sunday services now established at 9:30 AM, the mission community looks forward to a new chapter of spiritual life and growth in their own dedicated sanctuary.

[Brooklyn, NY] - On Sunday, January 25, the Transfiguration Cathedral in Brooklyn celebrated the feast of the Holy Martyr Tatiana, maintaining its remarkable 117-year tradition of never closing for a Sunday service—even amidst the pandemic or natural disasters. Despite severe weather and city-wide storm warnings, parishioners gathered from across the five boroughs for the Divine Liturgy, while others joined via a live online broadcast. The day concluded with a special prayer service for students, honoring St. Tatiana as their patron saint and reaffirming the cathedral’s role as a resilient spiritual home for the New York community.

[Jewell, NY] - The faithful of Saints Peter and Paul and St. Andrew's Camp went to the shore of Lake Oneida on January 18th, 2026 for the Great Blessing of Waters, followed by the third annual Theophany Cross Plunge. There was a youth division, where five brave youths plunged into the icy cold waters to retrieve the cross, followed by an adult division. Many hours were spent beforehand carving out the ice path for the plunge. This year's path was the largest to date. The event was captured on video and compiled with interviews from some of the participants.

[Jackson, NJ] - On Sunday, January 11, 2026, Archbishop Michael made an archpastoral visit to Nativity of the Holy Virgin Church in Jackson, New Jersey.

His Eminence presided at the Divine Liturgy, concelebrated by Archpriest John Prokopiuk, rector of the host parish, together with Archpriest Volodymyr Zablotskyy, rector of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Yonkers, New York. The clergy were joined by Deacon John Suchernick.

With the start of the new year, Orthodox Journeys are pleased to launch our latest resource: “The Power of a Word,” a 12-page resource for middle school, high school, and college aged youth dealing with the realities of civil unrest.

[East Meadow, NY] - On January 5-6, in celebration of the Feast of the Theophany of Christ, His Eminence, Archbishop Michael, led the festal services at Holy Trinity in East Meadow. Following the Divine Liturgy on Tuesday, clergy and faithful gathered at the Great South Bay, where Archbishop Michael led the traditional prayers and blessed the waters, asking God’s grace upon all creation and our local community.

The blessing of the Bay served as a visible reminder that Christ’s baptism sanctifies not only the Jordan, but the whole world — including the places where we live and work each day. We are grateful to Archbishop Michael for his pastoral presence and to all who joined in this meaningful celebration of Theophany.