On Saturday, March 30, the senior-most cleric of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, rector emeritus of Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Elizabeth, NJ Archpriest Emil Minkovich, reposed in the Lord.  The day before, he received the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

The Interim Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, deeply grieves for the newly-departed and calls on the clergy and parishioners to pray for the repose of his soul and for the granting of strength and Christ’s consolation to his wife Matushka Natalie.

Information about the funeral service and burial of Archpriest Emil Minkovich will be published later.

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Archpriest Emil Minkovich was born in 1940. After receiving his theological education, Bishop Dositheus of Brooklyn, he was ordained a deacon and then priest in September 1967. During his many years as a cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was rector of Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Elizabeth, NJ, dean of the Eastern States and secretary of the Bishop’s Council under the Administrator of Patriarchal Parishes in the United States since its inception in 1970.

The active pastoral activity of the newly reposed, his many years of assistance in the management of parishes to bishops, earned him the well-deserved love of his flock, the respect of his fellow priests and the gratitude of the hierarchy, who noted the work of Fr. Emil by presenting him with numerous awards. Archpriest Emil celebrated his 55th anniversary of serving in the priesthood in September 2022, when His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' awarded him one of the highest awards of the Russian Orthodox Church - the Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, II degree.

May Christ the Savior, risen from the Dead, grant the Kingdom of Heaven to His faithful servant, the newly reposed Archpriest Emil, and grant him eternal memory!