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Fixed internal link to Holy Trinity Monastery
With the beginning of World War II, Metropolitan Anastasy found himself once again in the zone of hostilities as German forces bombed and then occuppied Belgrade in 1941. The invasion of the Soviet Union in June, 1941, prompted Joseph Stalin to reconsider state policies vis-a-vis the Russian Church. Stalin released bishops from prison and allowed churches to be reopened. With his permission, hierarchs in the Soviet Union elected Metropolitan [[Sergius (Stragorodsky) of Nizhny Novgorod]] as the new Patriarch of Russia on September 8, 1943. On October 21, 1943, in Vienna Metropolitan Anastasy together with eight exile hierarchs denounced the election as uncanonical.
With the approach of the Soviet army on Belgrade in September, 1944, the Synod of Bishops relocated to Vienna, Austria, and then, in the summer of 1945, to Munchen, Germany. Starting in 1948, many Russian displaced persons began to relocate to the United States. This prompted many to call for the Synod to relocate accross the Atlantic, given especially the events of the 1946 [[Council of Cleveland]], where the American Metropolia voted to break ties with the [[ROCOR]] Synod. Given these circumstances, on November 23, 1950, Metropolitan Anastasy left Munchen for New York. Immediately after his arrival in the United States, on November 25, 1950, he travelled to Jordanville, New York, where he consecrated Holy Trinity Cathedral, the main church of [[Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, New York)|Holy Trinity Monastery]]. The consecration was followed by the first meeting of the ROCOR Council of Bishops on American soil with the participation of 11 hierarchs.
There also, and for the first (and only) time in the history of the ROCOR, Metropolitan Anastasy officiated at the blessing of Holy Chrism. Prior to this, the ROCOR received Chrism from the Serbian Church.
