Feast of Transfiguration - August 6, 2025

On August 6th, Fr. Aleksey celebrated the Feast of Transfiguration and the blessing of the first-fruits of our harvests with which God has blessed us this year.

In Your goodness You have sanctified the whole world with Your Light:

You were transfigured on a high mountain,

showing Your power to Your Disciples;

for You redeem the world from transgression.

Therefore we cry out to You, “O Lord of compassion, save our souls!”

O Master, Lord our God, You commanded everyone to offer to You Your own of Your own, according to our intention, granting us in return Your eternal blessings. You favorably accepted the offering of the widow, which was given according to her ability: Accept also now the first-fruits offered by Your servants, and count us worthy to offer the same in Your eternal treasury. Grant us an abundant harvest of Your earthly blessings, together with everything that is profitable for us. For blessed is Your Name and glorified is Your Kingdom: of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Fr. Aleksey is standing in front of the Royal Doors, holding the Royal Gifts and facing away from the altar. There's an altar server standing in front of the priest and facing him; the server's back is facing the camera. Both are wearing white vestmenets, and the Royal Gifts are covered with a light-blue cloth. There's also a light-blue cloth draped over the priest's left forearm.

View from the choir loft showing Fr. Aleksey walking down the center aisle as he blesses members of the congregation who are standing within the pews.

Fr. Aleksey is standing in front of the Royal Doors, facing the congregation and holding a cross in this right hand. He's wearing white vestments trimmed in gold. The center table fills the lower third of the frame, and it's covered in a light-blue cloth with several items placed on top of it, including a cross with flowers around the base, two vigil candles, and two white candles in tall, gold candle-holders. There are also two largish icons on the table in the bottom-center of the photo.

Fr. Aleksey is standing in front of the center table, which appears in the lower-left quarter of the photo. He's wearing a black cassock and is looking down at a black prayer book.

Fr. Aleksey is facing the camera and standing behind a table that appears in the lower quarter of the frame. The table is covered by a white cloth and has a metal collander and two baskets that all contain fruit and/or vegetables. He's looking at a large, black prayer book that he's holding in his left hand. His right hand holds a holy water brush that's resting on the edge of a gold vessel that contains holy water.

Fr. Aleksey is standing in the right half of the frame and is holding a censor that he's using to bless fruit and vegetables that are on a table in front of him. The table extends from the lower, left corner of the photo into the bottom third of the frame. There's a stained glass window behind Fr. Aleksey and a mural on the wall over his right shoulder. A pew is partially visible in the lower right corner of the photo, and part of the iconostas appears in the upper left portion of the photo. Fr. Aleksey is wearing white vestments with gold trim.

A round, wicker basket of fuit and vegetables, including peaches, cherry tomatoes, basil, plums, sweet peppers, and small, pickle-sized cucumbers. The background of the bottom half of the frame is a white, textured tablecloth, and the upper half is the back of a wooden pew.

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