Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 11, 1994 TAG: 9406140011
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SOUTH CANAAN, Pa. _ A priest who in the 19th century converted to the Orthodox Church in America and convinced thousands of others to join is the church's newest saint.
At least 10,000 people from around the world attended the canonization ceremony recently for St. Alexis Yurievich Toth on the grounds of St. Tikhon's Monastery in Wayne County.
St. Alexis served as pastor of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral in\ Wilkes-Barre from 1892 until his death in 1909.
The saint's body, exhumed from its grave outside the monastery in early\ April, was bathed in rose oil and wine before being revested and placed in a\ new coffin. The relics will be enshrined in the monastery's church.
St. Alexis is the second saint in the Orthodox Church in America to be\ canonized, said the Rev. John Kowalczyk, a spokesman for St. Tikhon's. The\ first was St. Herman, canonized in 1970. His relics are kept at the Holy\ Resurrection Church in Kodiak, Alaska.
Holsten Conference
About 1,400 clergy and laity from 1,000 congregations in East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and North Georgia are expected for the Holston Annual Conference of United Methodists from Monda through Thursday at Lake Junaluska Conference Center near Asheville, N.C.
A major task of the conference will be consideration of a report of church planning for the region, which includes Virginia counties west of New River. Proposals include new church development, mergers and other groupings to enhance ministry to people. Among the speakers will be Bishop Clay F. Lee and Bishop Ann Sherer of the Missouri Area of the church.
The final day of the convention will include the announcement of appointments to churches. United Methodist pastors are considered for appointment each year, but a stay of three to eight years is common.
by CNB