His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus Performs Funeral and Burial of
Hegumen Gerasim (Romanov, +2005)

Hegumen Gerasim, long-time clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, died in New Jersey last week. Heguman Gerasim was born on June 2/15 1928 in Paris and baptized with the name Leonid. Joining the brotherhood of St Job of Pochaev in Switzerland in 1946, he departed to the USA, to Jordanville, where in 1948, Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko, +1960) tonsured him into the rassophore. In 1949, he was tonsured to the minor schema by the same Archbishop Vitaly and given the name Gerasim. On September 10, 1950, on the feast day of St Job of Pochaev, Archbishop Vitaly ordained him as a hierodeacon, and on the Transfiguration of the Lord in 1958, Blessed Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky, +1965), ordained him a hieromonk. That same year, with the blessing of Metropolitan Anastassy, Fr Gerasim appealed to Hegumen Julian, head of St Panteleimon Monastery on Mt Athos, who once served in Sremski Karlovci, to accept him among the brethren of his monastery. Fr Gerasim served in Teheran, and also in the dioceses of Western European, of Berlin and Germany, of Chicago and Detroit and in the Eastern American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

Fr Gerasim was renowned for performing divine services frequently, especially Divine Liturgy, which he performed with great piety and love despite his many illnesses. When in 1973, the Lord visited upon him a terrible illness, Fr Gerasim, addressing his spiritual children, wrote: "I plead for your holy prayers, that if I am soon to appear before the Lord, that I would not be ashamed of my hope for His mercy despite my many sins. And that the Lord gives me courage and wisdom to bear as a Christian properly should the suffering that lies ahead. The Lord is never left in debt, and in praying for mercy towards me, you will gain God's mercy for yourselves. And when needed, the Lord will send each of you support in the form of prayerful and sympathetic people." Let us thank God that Fr Gerasim found such people in life, who would care for him and help him until the end of his days.

On February 24, His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus, along with the monastic clergymen, performed the funeral and burial of Fr Gerasim at the new monastic cemetery at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville.