On Sunday, May 31, 2009 the community of Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral in Boston celebrated the 25 years of service of their beloved pastor, Very Rev. Fr. Robert M. Arida and his wife Susan Arida. The celebration commenced with the Divine Liturgy presided over by His Grace, the Right Rev. NIKON, Bishop of Boston, New England and the Albanian Archdiocese and attended by Very Rev. Fr. John Kreta, Chancellor of the Diocese of New England. The clergy of the Boston Deanery joined in the celebration following the Liturgy. A festive dinner for the parishioners and guests was held on the Cathedral property.

Bishop NIKON presented Fr. Robert with a Synodal Gramota, recognizing his twenty-five years of faithful service. The parishioners of Holy Trinity presented them with an icon of the Mother of God of the Sign written by the iconographer Mirra Meylakh, a commemorative book of 25 years of memories in photographs and stories and a financial gift.

Father Robert and Susan have served the Holy Trinity community in faith and with love for a quarter of its 100 year history, celebrating the reality of the presence of Christ in our midst and embodying the self-emptying love of the Lord in their service. The recent words of Patriarch KIRILL of Moscow could have been said about Fr. Robert, "(In our time) when people no longer believe in spoken words, the life of the priest must be a constant sermon in his acts."

Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral has been a solid presence in the Fenway since the 1950s when in moved from its first home in Roxbury. Not only has the community of believers been served, but the larger community has benefited from the help of St. Herman's Food Pantry. The continued service of Fr. Robert and Susan Arida is a blessing for the whole parish and for the Fenway neighborhood. God grant them many more years!

A photo gallery can be found on the Cathedral webpage.