On 15 February 2017, on the feast of the Meeting of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, the rector of Saint Alexius Church, Priest Igor Babakov, celebrated the Divine Liturgy.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy the feast of the Meeting of the Lord was glorified in song.

In his sermon Fr. Igor spoke to the parishioners about the meaning of the feast:

"The Meeting is an encounter with the Lord. The Elder Simeon and the Prophetess Anna left their names in Holy Scripture because they gave us an example of how to receive the Lord with a pure and open heart.

After meeting Christ, Simeon departed to his forefathers to await the Resurrection of Christ. And imagine: death became a great happiness for him! The righteous elder had lived a long life; according to tradition, he was more than three hundred years old. Many would say "lucky man", because they dream of living forever. But read the stories of long-lived people who have exceeded the age allotted to man by God, one hundred and twenty years. So Simeon, too, awaited deliverance from the burden of a long life. And when he received the God-Child from the hands of the Virgin Mary, he rejoiced.

"Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart," says Simeon. Now that he has seen the Savior with his own eyes, the Lord releases him from the corruptible world into the world on high.

So we too, having once met God, must understand that the time of sin, weakness and self-will is over. The time of blessedness is coming!

It is no accident that the Meeting takes place with a forty-day-old Infant. He is small and defenseless, yet at the same time great and full of triumphant joy. So should a person be who has come to know Christ: a newborn Christian, full of rejoicing.

The Meeting is not just a day from distant New Testament history. At least once in life every person finds himself in the house of God, in a church. And there each person experiences his own Meeting, his encounter with Christ. How can you tell whether the Meeting has taken place in your life? Very simply: ask yourself, am I joyful? Have I changed? How much love is there in my heart?

So let us meet the Lord and see Him with our hearts!"

After the Liturgy the rector, Fr. Igor, congratulated the parishioners on the feast, and the Akathist to the Meeting of the Lord was read.