All Saints of America Church
- DeQueen, Arkansas -
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
March Newsletter
March 2024

Liturgical Notes:

We have entered the four weeks leading up to Great Lent, known as the Triodion period. Great Lent official begins March 18/05. 

Father Nicholas celebrates his third anniversary of ordination on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, March 24/11. 

Parish Notes:

MARCH

02 - Fr Nicholas - Namesday

03 - Ricky Harrison - Birthday

10 - Lubov Harrison & Janet Gawrieh - Birthday

21 - Maria Silva - Birthday

 

From the Church Fathers - Concerning Great Lent:

“Let thy mind fast from vain thoughts; let thy memory fast from remembering evil; let thy will fast from evil desire; let thine eyes fast from bad sights: turn away thine eyes that thou mayest not see vanity; let thine ears fast from vile songs and slanderous whispers; let thy tongue fast from slander, condemnation, blasphemy, falsehood, deception, foul language and every idle and rotten word; let thy hands fast from killing and from stealing another’s goods; let thy legs fast from going to evil deeds: Turn away from evil, and do good.”
+ St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Fasting, prayer, alms, and every other good Christian deed is good in itself, but the purpose of the Christian life consists not only in the fulfillment of one or another of them. The true purpose of our Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. But fasting, prayer, alms and every good deed done for the sake of Christ is a means to the attainment of the Holy Spirit. Note that only good deeds done for the sake of Christ bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Everything else that is not done for the sake of Christ, even if it is good, does not bring us a reward in the life to come, nor does it bring the grace of God in this life. This is why our Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘Whoever gathereth not with me scattereth’ (Matt. 12:30).
+ St. Seraphim of Sarov
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Many human activities, good in themselves, are not good because of the motive for which they are done. For example, fasting and vigils, prayer and psalmody, acts of charity and hospitality are by nature good, but when performed for the sake of self-esteem they are not good.”
+ St. Maximos the Confessor
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” [Matthew 17:14-23]

If this kind goes out by the prayer and fasting of another person, then it is even less able to enter one who fasts and prays.

What protection!

Although there are a slew of demons and all the air is packed with them, they cannot do anything to one who is protected by prayer and fasting.

Fasting is universal temperance, prayer is universal communication with God; the former defends from the outside, whereas the latter from within directs a fiery weapon against the enemies. The demons can sense a faster and man of prayer from a distance, and they run far away from him so as avoid a painful blow.

Is it feasible to think that where there is no fasting and prayer, there already is a demon? Yes, it is.

The demons lodging in a person, do not always reveal their presence, but lurk there, stealthily teaching their host every evil and turning him away from every good thing; so this person is certain that he is doing everything on his own, but meanwhile he is only fulfilling the will of his enemy.

Just commence prayer and fasting and the enemy will immediately depart, then wait on the side for an opportunity to somehow return again. And he truly will return, as soon as prayer and fasting are abandoned."

+ St. Theophan the Recluse

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"...Adam chose the treason of the serpent, the originator of evil, in preference to God’s commandment and counsel, and broke the decreed fast. Instead of eternal life he received death and instead of the place of unsullied joy he received this sinful place full of passions and misfortunes, or rather, he was sentenced to Hades and nether darkness. Our nature would have stayed in the infernal regions below the lurking places of the serpent who initially beguiled it, had not Christ come. He started off by fasting (cf. Mk. 1:13) and in the end abolished the serpent’s tyranny, set us free and brought us back to life.”

+ St. Gregory Palamas

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

February Newsletter
February 2024

Liturgical Notes

**Father Nicholas and Father George are scheduling house blessings** 

02/04 - Annual Parish Meeting after the Divine Liturgy. We commerate the Holy New Martyrs & Confessors of Rus.

02/14 - Vigil for the Meeting of the Lord - there is no truer Valentines than this meeting.

02/15 - Divine Liturgy at 8am for the Meeting of the Lord.

02/18 - Typika will be served for those who cannot attend the Feast day at the Seeker of the Lost parish in Little Rock. 

02/26 - Fast free week in preperation for the start of the Triodian. 

Namesday & Birthdays

03 - Maximus Olsen - Namesday

06 - Ksenia Couch & Ksenia Fitzgerald - Namesday

25 - Andrew Sawyer - Birthday

27 - Nikolai Gaffney - Birthday

 

Why should I care about the New Martyrs & Confessors of Rus? 

"First of all, the New Martyrs and Confessors are multinational, not merely Russian, or even only East Slav, Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian. Like the Soviet Union, the Russian Empire was multinational. At once there comes to mind the heroic examples of the Royal Martyr Tsarina Alexandra and her sister the Grand Duchess Elizabeth who were Anglo-German by blood and upbringing. They represented the best of the West, but they were brought to Paradise by their faithfulness to Russian Orthodoxy. Then there were Nicholas (Johnson) (+ 1918), who was Anglo-Russian, or St John of Riga, who was Latvian. And there were many, many others of many nationalities, united by only one thing, the Russian Orthodox Faith.

 

Their witness is not political. They all witness to the Church; they are above party or partial politics of left or right. Christ and His Church are paramount for them and they were ready to die for Him...Their sacrifice is not political, it is spiritual – a witness to the values that are not of this world, a witness to the fact that our human destiny is not here, but on the other side, which all human beings are called to and for which we must prepare in the here and now.

 

Then there are the numbers involved. This is greater than the numbers who were martyred for Christ in the first three centuries. So far over 30,000 have been officially glorified by the Church, but there are many more. It has been noted that this number appears to be linked with the number of churches open in the Russian Orthodox Church. The consciousness of the New Martyrs and Confessors is what has changed Russia over the last 20 years and will change it further, if people continue to repent and be Churched, taking on the spiritual and so moral values of the Church.

 

We recall the words of Tertullian, repeated by St Cyprian of Carthage: ‘The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church’. I have baptized many people from Russia because of the witness of the New Martyrs and Confessors. ‘It cannot be that all was in vain’, said one of them. ‘I cannot live and ignore their spiritual feat’. In Russia of course tens of millions have been baptized over the last 20 years. 

 

In them there is an alternative to the empty consumerism and indebtedness to materialism of the West and the Western system which has spread worldwide. This system is based on individualism, the convenience and comfort of the ego bubble of self-absorption. Opposed to this is the spirit of sacrifice, to sacrifice us for a great and noble cause. The only alternative to the spiritual deprivation and poverty of Western materialism is the love of Orthodoxy of the Martyrs and Confessors, the New Saints. This is not of the political left or right, which simply argues about the details of distribution of material benefits. The Church offers another system, which says that justice and just societies are good, but that the salvation of our soul is more important. In fact there will only be just societies when the human souls which make them up are convinced that Christ and His Church, against which the gates of hell will not prevail, is at the aim and at the heart of our lives. Where is the proof of all this? It is in the New Martyrs and Confessors. If they were willing to die for Christ’s Church, then we must also be willing to do so. In this sense the example of the New Martyrs and Confessors is a warning to the West: Repent before it is too late." - Father Andrew Phillips, Rector of St. John the Wonderworker Orthodox Church in Colchester, England in an interview with the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (pravmir.com) 

January 2024 Newsletter
January Newsletter

LITURGICAL NOTES

The first weekend of January ushers in the adoration of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, Hosanna in the Highest! Please do try to make as many of the services as you can, starting with the Royal Hours on Friday morning. Each service reflects uniquely on God's awesome mystery of the incarnation of our Savior. Come all ye faithful and adore Him. 

 

The third week of January (18th & 19th) brings us to the Theophany of the Lord Jesus Christ. The blessing of the body of water, Lake DeQueen, will follow immediately after the Divine Liturgy. Father Nicholas and Father George will be scheduling times for home blessings with regenative waters of Theophany. 

 

**Special Note** the first Sunday of February, 02/04, we will hold our Annual Parish Meeting as in accordance with the Diocese by-laws for the parish. Please make every effort to make the meeting. That Sunday also happens to be the feast day of the New Martyrs & Confessors of Rus, may they every pray and be an example for us. 

 

BIRTHDAYS & NAMESDAYS

Sunday after Nativity - Fr. David Carder & David Cain - Namesday

9th Steven Johnson - Namesday

25th Tatiana Stone, Tatiana Skoumbourdis - Namesday

27th Anna Harrison - Birthday

29th Anna Collins  - Birthday

30th Anthony Khudoley - Namesday

December Newsletter
December Newsletter

Liturgical Notes

The Nativity Fast begins Tuesday Nov.28/15. Father Nicholas will serve divine services the first weekend of December. Father George plans to serve divine services on the weekends Fr. Nicholas is not serving.  Special feasts in December include: The Feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Mother of God is Monday, Dec.04/Nov.21., St. Nicholas on Dec.19/06, and St. Herman of Alaska on Dec.25/12.

Birthdays/Namesdays

12/07 Nicholas Gaffney – birthday

12/07 Fr. Nicholas Olsen – birthday

12/13 Steven Johnson – birthday

12/19 Nicholas Gaffney – namesday

From the Church Fathers – St. Theophan the Recluse on Psalm 118:2 “Blessed are they that search out His testimonies; with their whole heart shall they seek after Him.”

“…if God’s word is searched without ill will, without obstinacy, but with some, even if only a little, sympathy [nevertheless, even such knowledge can be to salvation]. God’s truths gather in the same consciousness where the darkness of the love of sin and vanity are present. God’s light cannot but expose this darkness, and conscience, listening to it, cannot but raise its reasoning and compelling voice. There will come a moment when he who studies the word of God intellectually will turn to its instructions with desire and will decide to follow them unswervingly. In such a case, all the previously accumulated information from God’s word will serve as ready material for the formation of the inner man, just as the nutrient elements in a seed are the first food of the sprouting plant.

            The search of the word of God in order to follow it may be done with the intent of beginning to follow it or, having begun, with the intent of following it better. One hears that all his thoughts and deeds are wrong and bad, that truth is only in God’s words. Such a one takes the word of God, reads it, listens to it, comes to his senses, and decides to follow its directives and its demands.

            …The blessedness of those searching out the word of God begins the very moment they decide to follow it. Although they have not yet become blameless in their way and pure in heart, as required of blessedness by the first verse, they have already started to move towards blessedness.

            Truly blessed of all those who search the testimonies of God are those who by their very actions search all that is mentioned in the word of God. And those beginning to follow the word of God are not immediately led into spiritual experiences. At this time, they are not ready for it, for there is yet too much noise and disarray in their souls and hearts. In time, however, when the emotions quiet down, spiritual experience will begin, from small occurrences to great ones. The further they continue, the more they experience, until they acquire senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Heb. 5:14).

            …How many inner changes occur in man! Now he is happy, now sad; now he is afraid, now feeling security and hope. But all these feelings can come from the right or from the left side. There is joy in the Lord, and there is sorrow in God; and there are joy and grief that are false. There is a fear of God and a hope that are to salvation; and there are unwarranted fears and deceptive hopes. All such manifestations of spiritual life are experienced in deeds learned by experience, and once learned, become guiding principles in life. How are such people blessed? By what they experience. The words the kingdom of God is within you (LK 17:21) can be applied to them.

            …The prophet puts seeking for the Lord with all one’s heart in direct relationship to searching out God’s testimonies: with their whole heart shall they seek after Him. The seeking of the Lord begins with the reading of God’s word with the intent to follow it. When someone then decides to follow its requests and directions, he then enters onto the path of actively seeking Him. After that, all steps he passes through in searching out the testimonies are also steps through which he progresses in seeking for the Lord. They mutually excite, support, and enliven each other…As soon as a person decides to follow the commandments in seeking the Lord, the Lord accepts him.

            …Blessed Anthimos of Jerusalem says: ‘In this verse the holy David shows a way for people to become followers of the law of the Lord. He says they begin to search out His testimonies when, with a sober and pure mind, they begin to examine the words of God, the truth of which has been testified and professed – then they will seek the Lord, not only through knowledge and understanding of His words, but with their hearts, loving Him, and always doing what pleases Him.”

 

November Newsletter
November Newsletter

Fall Back, Sunday (Nov. 05) morning at 2am. What does this mean for you? If you don’t set your clock back an hour before bed on Saturday (Nov. 04), you will miss an hour of liturgy! If you have a smart phone, it will take care of itself.

New Church Schedule
Beginning in November, Father Nicholas and family will only be able to make the 300-mile trip to DeQueen once a month. Father George will continue to offer reader services on the other weekends.

Birthdays/Namesdays
Nov. 01 – John Gawrieh – Namesday
Nov. 03 – John Olsen – Birthday
Nov. 06 – Mat. Euphrosyne Carder – Namesday
Nov. 10 – Theophil Carder – Namesday
Nov. 24 – Victoria Gawrieh – Namesday
   *May our gracious God grant them a prosperous and peaceful life, rich in blessing and joy, health and salvation, and good success in all things, and keep them for many years!

From St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
“The word of God is given and written equally for all in general, and for each person in particular, for me and for you, and for others. For God does not respect the human person, but will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth [1 Tim. 2:4]. Therefore, He willed His holy word to be written for each and every one, so that everyone might receive eternal salvation by reading or hearing it. As God speaks to me in His word: I am the Lord thy God; love thy neighbor as thyself, etc., even so He speaks to you. And Christ bids everyone to search the Scriptures: search the scriptures…They err, who believe and teach that the holy Scriptures should not be read by simple people, but only by priests and other ordained persons. It is certain, this opinion is the invention and plot of the devil, who leads people aside from this soul-profiting reading, so that without reading the holy Scriptures they would not have a true and living faith, and so would not be saved” -On True Christianity, Volume 1.

September
August/September Calendar

Parish Notes

   09/01 – Andrew Couch – Namesday/Birthday

   09/09 – Anna Collins – Namesday

   09/19 – Kirill Silva – Namesday/Birthday

   09/27 – Svetlana Weber – Birthday

   09/30 – Lubov Harrison – Namesday

May God grant them many years!

Liturgical Note

September 01 (14th n.s.), is The Indiction, or New Church Year. Saint Demetrius of Rostov, in the September Great Collection Lives of the Saints, he notes: “God, the King of the ages, Who has placed in His own power the times and seasons and Who has established various feasts to His glory and for the repose of mankind, gave a commandment in the Old Testament that each year the month of September was to be specially marked. During the course of this month the people were to be delivered from worldly tumult, laboring for God alone (Lev., ch.23)…”

 

“…The Holy Church has received the custom of celebrating the beginning of the indication on the first day of September because the New Year was celebrated throughout Judaea and the entire world on this day, and it was on this day that the Lord Jesus began to teach at Nazareth where He was reared (Lk., ch.4). It was on this day, a Sabbath, that He went into the synagogue, for it was the custom of the Jews to congregate in the holy place and to study the prophetic books, particularly on the Sabbath. Jesus came into the midst of the teachers and arose to read, and There was delivered unto Him the book of the Prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me; He hath sent me to preach to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk., ch.4; Is., ch.71).The present feast was enacted by the holy fathers at the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea when the great Emperor Constantine, after his victory over Maxentius the persecutor, renewed and enlightened the universe with the light of piety. Having uprooted the festivals of the demons, he delivered the Christian faith from the grievous yoke of persecution and granted it freedom.”

 

“The holy fathers then commanded that the New Year and the establishment of the indiction now be celebrated as the beginning of freedom for Christianity, commemorating as well Christ’s entrance into the midst of the synagogue of the Jews and His proclamation of the acceptable year of the Lord, spoken of in the Book of Isaiah. Thus, no longer do we celebrate the feast of the ancient law; we now celebrate the feast of the new dispensation of grace on this first day of the present month, on which the very Lawgiver has revealed Himself to the world, having come down from on high, bearing the Spirit of the Father in Himself and inscribing the Law of God not with His finger, but with His blessed tongue and most sweet lips, and not on tables of stone, but on the fleshy tables of our heart (II Cor., ch.3). He has established the noetic tabernacle of His Church, offering to God the Father sacrifice for our sins not without His own blood, being Himself the Great High Priest that is passed into the heavens (Heb., ch.4), Who has cleansed us from our sins by His blood poured forth, making us to be His holy temples, according to the word of the Apostle: The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are (I Cor., ch.3)…” (The Great Collection of The Lives of the Saints is published by Chrysostom Press).

 

From the Fathers

“All those who are baptized become members of the Church and are called Disciples of Christ, Christians. In Orthodoxy, we also add the title Orthodox to demonstrate the true faith. Orthodox means, ‘correct opinion’ or ‘right belief.’ Since there are [‘christians’] who have mistaken views about God, man and man’s salvation, it was considered necessary to talk about Orthodox Christians. The members of the Church were called Christians because they follow Christ in their lives. That is to say, they obey His will, his commandments and are united with him through the sacraments, especially through the sacrament of the Divine Eucharist.”

 

“…We are called Christians because we believe that He [Jesus, the Christ] is the true God and because we keep His commandments in our own personal life. We attempt to conform our lives to His own life…Accordingly, we are Christians, Disciples of Christ, because we are united with Him. Just like a school pupil has a teacher as a model for his life, we too have Christ as a model for…our lives and we want to transfigure our life, making it life in Christ.” (Entering the Orthodox Church: the catechism and baptism of adults. Metropolitan of Nafpaktos, Hierotheos).

 

*Please see the online calendar for service times*

August Newsletter
August

Liturgical Notes

Fast for the Dormition of our Sovereign Lady, the Theotokos begins August 14/Aug 01 and ends August 28/Aug 15. Please see the online calendar for the full cycle of services offered this month. 

Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky, St. Herman’s Press.

Note: Protopresbyter Michael Pomazanksy (1888-1988) graduated from the Kiev Theological Academy in 1912. Afterwards he labored as a missionary priest and as a teacher both in Russia and abroad. He taught Dogmatic Theology, Greek and Church Slavonic at Holy Trinity Seminary (Jordanville) for over 20 years. Orthodox Dogmatic Theology has been held as the standard source of Orthodox Theology and has been the main textbook at Holy Trinity Seminary since its publication.

“The inward life of the Church is mystical (or sacramental). It does not all coincide with the history of the Church, which shows us only the outward facts of the Church’s existence, and especially its coming into conflict with the life of the world and the passions of the world. The inward life of the Church is the mystical cooperation of Christ as the Head, with the Church as His Body, in the Holy Spirit, by means of all mutually strengthening ties: This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church, instructs the Apostle (Eph. 5:32)…The sacred rites called ‘mysteries’ are, as it were, peaks in a long mountain range composed of the remaining rites and prayers of the Divine services. In the Mysteries, prayers are joined with blessings in one form or another, and with special acts. The words of blessing accompanied by outward sacred acts are, as it were, spiritual vessels by which the Grace of the Holy Spirit is scooped up and given to the members of the Church who are sincere believers. Thus, a mystery (sacrament) is a sacred act which under a visible aspect communicates to the soul of a believer the invisible Grace of God.”

“For the life of the Church itself as a whole, both as Body of Christ and as the ‘courtyard of the flock of Christ,’ the following are especially important and stand in the chief place: (a) the Mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ, or the Eucharist; (b) the Mystery of the sanctification of chosen persons to the service of the Church in the degrees of the hierarchy, or ordination, which gives the indispensable structure of the Church; and together with these, (c) the Mystery of Baptism, which sees to increase of the numbers of the Church. But the other Mysteries also, which are appointed for the giving of Grace to individual believers, are indispensable for the fullness of the life and sanctity of the Church itself.

"One must distinguish the ‘efficacy’ of the Mystery (that is, that in itself it is an authentic Grace-giving power) from the ‘effectiveness’ of the Mystery (that is, the extent to which one who receives the Mystery is vouchsafed its Grace-giving power). The Mysteries are means which unfailingly act by Grace upon those who come to them…The great attainment of sanctity and righteousness…are the action of the invisible Grace of God, received in Baptism and Chrismation, kept warm through repentance and Communion of the Holy Mysteries, and preserved in the humble and trembling awareness that in every Christian ‘Christ is the One Who fights and conquers, and He is the One Who calls on God and prays and gives thanks and is reverent, and seeks with entreaty and humility. All this Christ does, rejoicing and being glad when He sees that in each Christian there is and remains the conviction that Christ is He Who does all of this.”

“To receive communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord is the essential, necessary, saving, and consoling obligation of every Christian. This is evident from the words of the Savior which He uttered when giving the promise regarding the Mystery of the Eucharist: Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, hath eternal life (John 6:53-54).

 "The saving fruits or effects of the Mystery of the Eucharist, if only we commune worthily, are the following: it unites us in the most intimate fashion with the Lord: He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him (John 6:56). It nourishes our soul and body and aids our strengthening, increase, and growth in spiritual life: He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me (John 6:57). Being received worthily, it serves for us as a pledge of the future resurrection and the eternally blessed life: He that eateth of this Bread shall live forever (John 6:58).

"However, one should remember that the Eucharist offers these saving fruits only to those who approach it with faith and repentance; but an unworthy partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ brings all the more condemnation: For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s Body (1 Cor. 11:29).”

[As it is only Christ Who can make us worthy to receive Himself in the mystery of the Eucharist, to approach without faith and repentance, is to partake unworthily. See bold above. -Fr. Nicholas]

 

Parish Notes

August 02/July 20 –Elias Gawriah – Namesday

August 11/July 29 – Priest David Carder – Birthday

August 15/Aug 02 – Marina deFligue – Birthday

August 21/Aug 08 – Subdeacon George Gawriah – Birthday

August 24/Aug 11 – Matushka Euphrosyne Carder – Birthday

August 25/Aug 12 – Tatiana Stone – Birthday

August 25/Aug 12 – Matushka Parasceva’s 40th day

July Newsletter
July 2023 Newsletter

Liturgical Calendar

The beginning of July brings the American Pillar, St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, and the Apostle Jude. Mid-July brings us to the close of the Apostles Fast, about a month’s break before the Dormition Fast in August. July also brings the Holy Russian Martyrs along with Ss. Elizabeth and Nun Barbara. We also celebrate the Holy Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council, and the Holy Prophet Elijah, to name a few.

 

Birthdays & Namesdays

July 05/June 22 – Maximus Olsen birthday

July 07/June 24 – Victoria Gawrieh birthday

July 10/June 27 – Joanna Gawrieh namesday

July 18/05 – Elizabeth Olsen & Elizabeth Skurina namesday & Marie Louise Carder birthday

July 24/11 – Ksenia Couch & Theophil Carder birthday

July 30/17 - Marina deFligue namesday

 

Living in and with God

“And Jesus answered and said to them, the sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those having been counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection which is from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage, for neither are they able to die any more, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses indicated in the passage concerning the bush where the Lord saith, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him” (Luke 20:34-38).

Do we live every single day with the firm conviction and ordering of life, that the All-Holy Trinity is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him? Do we live every day to Him? In the fullness of the breath of the Church, the Holy Scriptures, Hymnography, Iconography, Synaxarion, etc., our Lord Jesus Christ instructs us to live on this earth as a preparation for our life in His Kingdom, to not be weighed down with the cares of this life, to not be caught up in the corruption of the old man which was destroyed in baptism, but to be whole and united in the new life we were clothed in (Ephesians 4). The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church provides a pattern for life as it is the embodiment of Life and gives life to those who in faith seek after it.

The fullness of the breath of the Church teaches us, reveals to those who seek it diligently in faith, that death is but a transition from blurred vision on earth to full awareness in the Kingdom of Heaven. Death is not an unknown, it is not total absence of the person – for those who became sons of God, all live to Him (above Luke). We confess this faith and partake in the manifestation of this great and wonderous mystery of the Holy Eucharist; where here, the living on earth and the living in the Kingdom are joined together in Christ. Through faith we partake of Him who is the Life of all, and all are sustained through Him. All who are in Christ are united in Christ through faith, whether that be a thousand miles away, or the separation of the soul from the body.

To have Orthodox faith is to live the Orthodox faith. Orthodox faith never “is” but requires constant cultivation in the life of the Orthodox Church. If we do not take heed to our ways, and guard our heart and thoughts, some strange faith, like a pervasive root, may come and choke out our Orthodox faith. The full breath of the Church gives us ample warnings to this reality, how our enemy is cunning and crafty, and constantly seeks to pull us from hope to despair. But let it not be true in us, by God’s goodness and mercy, let it not be true in us.

Our life is not our own, we gave it to the Lord of life in baptism, our life is to live unto Him, in the salvation of our souls and bodies here, that we might be made perfect in His Kingdom. Let us hold true to our Orthodox faith, preparing and living every day in the hope and joy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us bind ourselves, our loved ones, our neighbors, our enemies, those living with us and those living before the very presence of our God, to hope, to joy, to eternal life (John 17:3). In love and faith, let us draw near to our loved ones through the partaking of Christ, being united in truth and life.

June Newsletter
June Newsletter

Liturgical Notes

 Starting in June, during the summer months, we will start vigil an hour later at 7pm to hopefully accommodate for the summer heat, even if but a little bit.

On June 04/May 22, we receive the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Pentecost. God willing, we will make Jacob Kincaid a catechumen at 9:30 am. At 1pm, after lunch, we will have kneeling vespers, please plan on making a day of it, as this is a very important weekend in the life of the Orthodox Christian. Following the Feast of Pentecost, June 05 – June 11 is a fast free week.

June 18/05 we celebrate our parish feast day, All Saints of America. May the Holy Pillars of this American land pray for us! We will be in the Apostles Fast, so food dishes need to be prepared accordingly. Also, the first Sunday in the Apostle fast is one of the four feast days of the Kaluga Mother of God icon. This wonder-working icon, of our Sovereign Mother holding a prayer book, is a part of our American heritage through the prayerful labors of Archimandrite Gerasim Schmaltz (1888-1969). It was before this icon of the Mother of God, that this warrior of Christ, of blessed memory, labored in prayer for this American land on Spruce Island, Alaska. A Moleben and Akathist to the Kaluga Icon will be prayed at 9am before the Divine Liturgy. *For a brief history of Archimandrite Gerasim, please see below.* 

The Apostles Fast begins June 12/May 30 and ends July 12/June 29. St. Leo of Rome (461) writes: “This fast has been given to us in order to preserve us from slackness, for it is very easy to become slack due to the long period in which we were allowed to eat various foods. If we do not cultivate the field of our flesh continually, thorns and thistles will easily grow there.” 

[Please see website calendar for all service times and dates]

Parish Notes

June 07/May 25 – Anthony Khudoley birthday

June 09/May 27 – Fr. George's birthday

From the Church Fathers

“God does not regard persons, and pardons all equally when they repent. Therefore, it is not the magnitude or the multitude of sins that destroys the sinner, but an unrepentant life. The one who has done many great and grievous sins will be saved, if he truly repents. Yet even if one does lesser sins, he will perish if he remains unrepentant. God does not judge those who had sinned, but those who had sinned and had not repented. He does not look at how the man had lived, but at how he lives and repents now, at his fervor, and at the disposition of his heart. He does not look at what the man had done, thought, and endeavored, but at what he does, thinks, and endeavors. That is: He requires an inner change and correction, and the renewal of the heart. He does not judge the man by what he had done before, but by what he does now, and by how he is when his end overtakes him…” St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, The Cell Letters, Nineteenth Letter.

“For true Christians, all their schemes, efforts, endeavors, and concerns are directed toward eternal life. There they expect their inheritance, wealth, honor, and glory, being travelers, strangers, and sojourners in this world. For there is their homeland also, for which they sigh, and to which they lift up their mind, heart, and desire.” St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, The Cell Letters, Twenty-Ninth Letter.

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Father (Archimandrite) Gerasim (Schmaltz) of Spruce Island in Alaska

“…A monk like me, fleeing the glory of men, will come and live on Spruce Island.”—St. Herman of Alaska
   This prophecy was fulfilled 100 years later in the person of Father Gerasim (1888–1969), who lived a hermitic way of life on Spruce Island, Alaska, for 30 years, praying alone for the world. His standard was Christianity of the heart.

Abbot Gerasim was the guardian of St. Herman’s grave.  He came to Spruce Island August 26, 1935, after seeing Saint Herman in a vision.  

As a hieromonk assigned to Alaska, in 1917 when the Revolution broke out in Russia, Fr. Gerasim saw in a dream:  “The whole sky was dark, fearful.  But in the midst of it there was light, and there was Christ crucified.  He was dying, His head was bent down and the muscles on His arms trembled from suffering.  And I heard a voice:  ‘Pray, Russia is crucified.’  And soon we in Alaska heard of the fierce persecution of Christian believers and the destruction of holy places,.” Like St. Herman, Fr. Gerasim reached out in his heart across the ocean’s expanse to his beloved native land; his tearful entreaties on behalf of his persecuted brethren in Christ served no less to bathe his own soul which was sorely wounded by the political strife within the Church.

Father Gerasim had served for 18 years as village priest in Afognak, when God answered the desires of his heart to move to Spruce Island. Although slander continued to be heaped upon him by the ‘Platonites,’ he was greatly consoled in being able to serve the memory of America’s Apostle of Orthodoxy. His love for the as yet uncanonized Fr. Herman was amply rewarded by the Saint’s firm support anti heavenly intercession. For 25 years he endured poverty and cold, standing before God in prayer as a solitary candle which shone brighter in the heavens than the stars in the sky looking down upon his labors through the tall firs of the dense Spruce Island forests. His converse with the saints secured for eternity a place in their midst, to which he was called on September 29/October 12, 1969.

He was a holy man who lived in the steps of St. Herman of Alaska.

Source: Father Gerasim of Spruce Island, Alaska,the guardian of St. Herman’s grave. | iconandlight (wordpress.com) 

Archimandrite Gerasim was an intstrumental pillar and teacher of Orthodox Monasticism to Father Seraphim Rose, of blessed memory, Father Herman, and the brotherhood of St. Herman of Alaska, in Platina, CA. Father Herman was a spiritual father and guide of Orthodoxy in America for our own Father George. In a way then, one could say that Archimandrite Gerasim is like a spiritual grandfather for our parish. We treasure the Orthodox teachings that he passed to Father Herman, whom Father Herman has passed to Father George, who has passed them to us. Holy pillars of America, pray to God for us! 

 

April Newsletter
April Newsletter

Liturgical Notes

“Be, and not merely appear to be” St. Philaret of Moscow. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we cannot be in Christ if we are not with Him. The liturgical life of the Church this month is mystically present with Christ in time, with His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, His betrayal, mockery, suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection. Will we abandon Him in His time of need, but come for the buffet; or will we follow, weep, pray, and rejoice in the triumph of life? Let us be, and not merely appear to be.

See the Calendar on the website for times of the services.

Choir Notes

Please do not sing over our choir director, Matushka Monica, because it is important for me to hear when she ends singing, so I know when to begin my prayers aloud.

Parish Notes

April 02 - Svetlana Weber Namesday

April 10 – Elizabeth Olsen Birthday

From the Fathers

“Our work is to preserve ourselves in the faith, and to keep ourselves from every sin, and entrust everything else to God” St. Nikon of Optina

The greatest commandment in the New Testament: “Thus also ye, whenever ye have done all things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable slaves, for we have done that which we were bound to do.’” Luke 17:10

 

Confession Part II

  1. Do not attempt to justify yourself in any way during confession: blaming weakness, custom, etc. The more one justifies himself during confession, the less one is justified by God. The more one denounces, judges and accuses oneself, the more one is justified in the eyes of God.

 

  1. When questioned by your spiritual father, do not say: "I can't remember, maybe I committed that sin." God commanded us to always remember our sins. In order not to justify ourselves with not remembering, we must confess our sins as often as possible. Those who, because of carelessness, confess and take communion infrequently, and because of this forget their sins, have no one to blame but themselves. They cannot hope for remission of the sins which they failed to confess. Thus, it is imperative that we try to recall all our sins. When someone owes us something we are sure to remember this. Yet we forget our own debts before God! Does this not reveal an utter absence of concern for our soul on our part?

 

  1. Unless asked by your spiritual father, do not list the sins you have not committed or things you have not done. Doing this, you liken yourself to the Pharisee of the Gospel. You do not confess your sins, but boast, thereby increasing your judgment.

 

  1. We must confess with sorrow and a contrite heart the sins by which we have grieved our Lord God. It is not good that many tell of their sins matter-of-factly, without any remorse. They speak as though they are engaged in some casual conversation. What is worse, some even allow themselves to laugh during confession. These are all signs of unrepentedness. Confessing in this manner, we do not cleanse ourselves of our sins, but rather increase them.

 

  1. Finally, confess your sins with faith in Jesus Christ, with hope in His mercy. Only with faith in Jesus Christ and hope in Him can we receive forgiveness of our sins. Without faith, we cannot receive remission. An example of this is Judas the traitor—who was remorseful of what he did, but did not have faith in Jesus, no hope in His mercy, and thus ended his own life. This then, is how we must confess in order to receive remission of our sins from our Lord God.

 

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)

March Newsletter
March Newsletter 2023

Liturgical Notes

March heralds the Lenten Spring, a time of spiritual renewal and growth. Just as the warmer weather brings green shoots from the earth, and budding flowers to the trees; so the warmth of repentance from the Lenten services renews life in our heart, soul, mind and body. As nature comes to life naturally in Spring, so to will the body of Christ, if our wills will not fight against what is natural and good. Through humility comes joy, for this is where Christ is waiting for us, and how can we not but sing joyfully at Pacha having budded new life in this Lenten Spring.

Forgiveness Sunday: This really starts our Lenten journey properly. After the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, the Church gathers to sing Forgiveness Vespers. You will remember that our Lord instructs us if we come to the temple with an offering, and remember that we have offended someone, we are to leave and reconcile with them, and then come back to offer our gift. And as it is said in the prayer to our Heavenly Father: “…forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…” Forgiveness is essential to putting us on the path of humility. At the end of this service, we go around the room and ask forgiveness of one another, either with a deep bow or a prostration. Each person asks in turn: “forgive me the sinner,” and each person responds in turn: “God forgives, and I forgive.”

Sunday of Orthodoxy: On this day the Church commemorates the final ending of the Iconoclast controversy and the definitive restoration of the holy ikons to the churches. Above all it is a celebration in honor of the martyrs and confessors who struggled and suffered for the faith; similarly, we are striving to imitate the martyrs by means of our ascetic self-denial. A procession of victory is made at the end of the liturgy with the holy icons.

Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas:  Defender of the Orthodox dogma and faith against heresy, in particular against the schismatic Roman Catholic Barlaam who denied hesychasm (simply: the ascetical prayer of the heart) and the Orthodox dogma of knowing God through his Energy. St. Gregory’s writings, and more over his way of life, provide us in modern days with the understanding to defend against the Western heresy of intellectualism that is so prevalent.

Sunday of the Cross: The veneration of the Cross on this Sunday in Lent prepares us for the commemoration of the Crucifixion which is soon to follow in Holy Week, and at the same time it reminds us that the whole of Lent is a period when we are crucified with Christ.

Sunday of St. John Climacus or the Ladder: By virtue of his writings and his own life, he forms a pattern of the true Christian ascetic. St. John is the author of The Ladder of Divine Ascent (or of Paradise), one of the spiritual texts appointed to be read in church during Lent.

           [For further reading on these Sunday’s, please see The Lenten Triodion].

Choir Notes

Please contact Matushka Monica if you are interested in singing the Lenten, Holy Week, or Pascha services.

Parish Notes

If you are absent from Orthodox services for three or more weeks, you need to make confession before receiving any of the sacraments. The preferred practice of our Diocese is at least once a week.

Birthday’s/Namesday’s:

March 02 – Fr. Nicholas Olsen – Namesday

March 03 – Ricky Harrison – Birthday

March 05 – Fr. Nicholas Olsen – Anniversary ordination to Priesthood

March 10 – Lubov Harrison – Birthday

March 10 – Janet Gawrieh – Birthday

From the Fathers: On Confession – Part 1

“1. Confess your sins honestly, remembering that you open them not to a man, but to God Himself. God knows your sins already and only wants your admission of them. You should not be embarrassed before your spiritual father: he is a person just as you are. He knows human shortcomings well, man's tendency towards sin. For this reason your spiritual father cannot be your terrible judge at confession. Is the reason that you are embarrassed before your spiritual father that you are afraid to lose his good opinion of you? On the contrary, your spiritual father will have all the more love for you when he sees your open, honest confession. Furthermore, if you are afraid to reveal your sins before just one person, your spiritual father, how will you overcome your embarrassment when you appear at God's Last Judgment? There, all your sins which you have not confessed will be opened before God Himself, the Angels and all the people.

2. Be specific when you confess, listing all your sins separately. St. John Chrysostom says: "One must not only say: I have sinned, or I am sinful, but one must declare each type of sin." "The revelation of sins," says St. Basil the Great, "is subject to the same law as the Declaration of physical ills..." The sinner is spiritually ill, and the spiritual father is the physician or healer. It stands to reason that one must confess or tell about one's sins in the same way as one who is physically ill describes the symptoms of his illness to a physician from whom he expects to receive healing.

3. Do not mention anyone else during confession, i.e. do not complain about anyone - what sort of confession is this? It is not confession, but judgment and a new sin.”

February Newsletter
February Newsletter 2023

Liturgical Notes

This year, February begins the Lenten Triodion, which are the liturgical services which have the ability to lead our hearts and minds toward repentance. The week of February 05 (Publican and Pharisee) is a fast fee week. The week of February 12 (Prodigal Son) is a normal fasting week, Wednesday (Feast of the Meeting of the Lord) and Friday. The week of February 19 (Last Judgment) we fast from meat products, but are still allowed dairy. February 26 (Forgiveness Sunday) is the last day to eat dairy products. Monday, February 27 begins Great Lent, also known as Clean Monday. 

Choir Notes

Father Nicholas humbly requests, if you would like to sing in the choir on Sundays, or for Holy Week or any of the feasts, please talk to Matushka Monica first before approaching the kliros. We would love for more people to sing in the Church; however, we want to make sure we are all on the same page on what and how we are singing. Church singing is not emotional, but beautiful and melodious music for the glory of God, and for the salvation of those who are hearing the words. 

Parish Notes

02/03 - Maximus Olsen - Namesday

02/06 - Ksenia Couch & Ksenia Fitzgerald - Namesday

02/25 - Andrew Sawyer - Birthday

02/27 - Nikolai Gaffney - Birthday

May God them many years +

From the Fathers

"The primary aim of fasting is to make us conscious of our dependence upon God. If practised seriously, the Lenton abstinence from food - particularly in the opening days - involves a considerable measure of real hunger, and also a feeling of tiredness and physical exhaustion. The purpose of this is to lead us in turn to a sense of inward brokenness and contrition; to bring us, that is, to the point where we appreciate the full force of Christ's statement, 'Without Me you can do nothing' (John 15:5). If we always take our fill of food and drink, we easily grow over-confident in our own abilities, acquiring a false sense of autonomy and self-sufficiency. The observance of a physical fast undermines this sinful complacency. Stripping from us the specious assurance of the Pharisse - who fasted, it is true, but not in the right spirit - Lenten abstinence gives us the saving self-dissatisfaction of the Publican (Luke 18:10-13). Such is the function of the hunger and tiredness: to make us 'poor in spirit,' aware of our helpessness and of our dependence on God's aid." From the Lent Triodion, on The True Nature of Fasting. 

January Newsletter
January Newsletter 2023

Change to Services:

The weekends that Fr. Nicholas is not able to come and serve, which will be marked on the calendar, Fr. George will do Reader Services. Please make sure you consult the online church calendar for any possible changes this coming year. Note: Fr. Nicholas will serve all Sundays during Great Lent. 

Up Coming Feasts:

January 06/07: This year's Nativity schedule will be Vigil Friday evening at 6pm, and Divine Liturgy on Saturday morning at 10am. We will have a meal afterwards and sing Christmas hymns. 

January 18/19: Theophany Vigil will be Wednesday evening at 6pm, Divine Liturgy on Thursday morning 10am, followed by the Great Blessing of the Water and the blessing of Lake DeQueen.

Choir Notes

The Nativity Troparion’s which we will be singing are on our Church Facebook page, please review.

Please let Matushka Monica know if you are interested in signing in the choir, or assisting with reading. Also, if you are interested in helping to sing for Pascha, please let her know soon. The Lenten Triodion begins the first weekend of February! 

Parish Notes:

Father Nicholas and Elizabeth had a wonderful time at the St. Herman's Youth Conference in Kansas City. Three youth from Seeker of the Lost mission also accompanied us. There were 65 youth from around our diocese who attended this year.  Matushka Monica will have some pictures in the parish hall, and Fr. Nicholas will get some of this pictures uploaded to our site soon. 

Birthday's & Namesday's

December 26th Father David Carder & David Cain - Namesday

January 8th Carmen Maria - Namesday and Birthday

January 9th Stephen Johnson - Namesday

January 25th Tatione Stone & Tatione Skoumbourdis - Namesday

January 27th Anna Harrison - Birthday

January 29th Anna Collins - Birthday

January 30th Anton Khueoley - Namesday 

December Newsletter 2022
December Newsletter 2022

Liturgical Notes

Nov.21/Dec.04 is the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple, with the Apodosis being Thursday Nov.25/Dec.08. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is commerated Dec.06/19. St. Herman of Alaska is commerated on Dec.12/25.

Homily on the Entry of the Theotokos by St. Theaphon the Recluse

We are now celebrating the Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos Into the Temple, which the Church calls the good favor of God by the transfiguration and preaching of human salvation. As the appearance of the morning star indicates the imminent appearance of the sun, so the Most Holy Virgin—the God-chosen Maiden, by her entrance into the Temple, heralds Christ to all, thereby loudly crying out to all: Behold, the promised and awaited Deliverer of all—the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God is nigh!

Night preceded this benevolent dispensation of God, and the people sat in darkness and shadow. Only in the nation of Israel did prophetic promises scatter this darkness a little, appearing at times on their spiritual horizon, like stars illuminating the nighttime darkness. These promises began already in Paradise, immediately after the fall, and they’ve been repeated with greater frequency ever since, identifying more and more the power of the expected deliverance of God and more clearly identifying the coming of the King, Prophet, and Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, with all the circumstances of His appearance, His miracle working, His teaching, His death, His Resurrection, and His Ascension into Heaven and session at the right hand of the God the Father. It was like the Milky Way in the night of the Old Testament canopy. Before the appearance of the Lord, the prophecies ceased, as the stars disappear before the dawn. And as only the morning star remains here in the end, shining and foreshadowing and portending the imminent appearance of the sun, so there shone the Most Pure Maiden, born and borne into the Temple, who foretold of Christ.

Then the Sun of Righteousness itself appeared, dispersing the darkness and enlightening all. Now Christ the Lord Himself shines a full light on the Christian world and enlightens every man who comes into the world. Glory to Thee, Who hast shown us the light! The holy Prophet Isaiah foresaw this blessedness of ours and, comforting Israel, foretold: And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem (Is. 2:2-3). This mountain is the Church of Christ. All nations have gathered and are still gathering in it. They were and are drawn by their thirst for spiritual light. Entering the Church, they satisfy this thirst, finding in the Christian law everything the soul can seek and desire. Among others, we Russians came and accepted the law of Christ and have followed it. Now we walk in the light of the face of God and rejoice in His name!

Glory to Thee, O Lord! As you know, the faith of Christ, which is the light of Christ, now reigns over us. Everywhere there are churches of God, everywhere the services are held freely and the preaching of the word of God is heard. The light shines. But has each of us in particular received this light and been enlightened by it? As at midday, a man sees nothing if he closes his eyes or goes into a dark place, so amidst the broad daylight of Christ shining above us, it may happen that some abide in darkness and walk in darkness. Let us be careful, brethren, that we not fall into their ranks!

The holy Apostle Peter wrote to the Jews: We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts (2 Pt. 1:19). This is what he says about the prophetic light, assuring the Jews that it existed, now as a light in the darkness, now as the dawn, now as fullness of day. But what the prophetic light was for the Jews, so the light of Christ, or the teachings of Christ, is for us. It’s also a lamp in the darkness for us, the sunrise, the full light of day. These are the inevitable indications when entering into the light of Christ! And he who has yet to experience them on his way has yet to see the light of Christ.

For the Apostle Peter, the starting point for movement towards the light is the vision of light: Ye take heed. Those who are surrounded by darkness will notice the light, will follow its indications and come first to such a light that can be compared with the dawn, or a sunrise, and then to a light that’s likened to broad daylight. Let’s clarify this comparison.

The sinner who labors according to his passions and neglects his salvation is in darkness, in a dark place. But if he hears a word, or reads something, or sees something, or the circumstances of his life arrange themselves so that he comes to himself, comes to his senses, and begins to concern himself with the danger of his situation and the need to amend himself, then this thought is, like a lamp in a dark place, lit in his soul. The more he hearkens to it, the more the light shines and the more forcefully the need, the demand, and the desire to amend himself flares up within him. Unless some form of distraction comes, this work of attention to the light of grace shining in his heart, calling him to correction, ends with a firm determination to leave the sin of passion, negligence, and all evil deeds, and begin to live properly according to the law of Christ. This time from the first thought of correction to the final determination to correct oneself is a period of repentance, the first step into the realm of the light of Christ, quite like how someone walks towards a light seen somewhere in the darkness.

Then the penitent begins to live properly, as he wanted, as he resolved to do, making a vow in spirit. He wants to do good, but the old habits, inclinations, and passions rise up and attempt to divert him from the good. Not wanting to submit to them, he fights with them, and it’s only through this struggle that he manages to do good. It’s so inevitable that no matter what good deed a man has conceived, he immediately meets resistance either within himself or from without, and he must by all means fight to stand firm in the good. It’s difficult, of course, but it’s comforting that the more a man stands in this struggle and fights more resolutely, the easier this struggle becomes. The passions weaken, and the good dispositions take precedence. Finally, the latter are so intensified that the former are nearly imperceptible. Holy feelings and dispositions are so deeply embedded in the heart that they as if become his natural state, and then man exercises the virtues as freely as he breathes.

This period from repentance to the purification of the heart, the period of battling with the passions and lusts is that which the Apostle calls the dawn, or sunrise: Until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. The passions are like a fog. As in nature, the longer the sun stands on the horizon, the less fog there is, until finally the sun appears in all its beauty, so with us, the more we hold on through the battle with the passions before the Sun—Christ, the more the fog of the passions thins out, until finally it completely disappears and Christ the Lord—the full and pure Sun—shines in the soul.

From this time begins a blessed state of purity, in which God is contemplated, as the Lord says: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Mt. 5:8). God shines in the pure heart, as the sun in pure water or a clean mirror; as the heart is rational, it contemplates the God shining in it, and as God is blessedness, then it is blessed in Him. “He who has been granted such a state while still in the flesh,” says St. John Climacus, “always has God dwelling within him as his Guide in all his words, deeds and thoughts” (Ladder 29.11); for he no longer lives for himself, but Christ lives in him (cf. Gal. 2:20).

Thus, repentance, the battle with the passions and the acquisition of purity of heart—these are the three turns in the movement towards the light of Christ! Everyone look at yourself now and determine where you are. If you’re on this path, glory to God; and if not, you must think about yourself and be afraid for yourself. You haven’t yet seen the light of Christ, you’re still walking in darkness, you’re wandering on the paths of destruction and hastening to the bottom of hell. May the Lord deliver you all from this! And if any are truly entangled in the passions and overcome by carelessness, force yourself to arise from the snares in which devil has caught you alive and in which he firmly holds your mind and your heart, preventing the light of the glory of Christ from shining there (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4).

God, Who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness, bring us all out of the darkness of sin into His wonderful light (1 Pt. 2:9). And may there shine in our hearts the light of the comprehension of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ! And the morning star of the Sun is the Most Immaculate Virgin, who heralded Christ by bringing her morning light into the Temple. May she enlighten us who faithfully confess her to be the Theotokos! Amen.

This homily was delivered on November 21, 1863.

St. Theophan the Recluse
Translation by Jesse Dominick

Azbyka.ru 12/4/2022

 

A Pillar of Orthodoxy in the American Land - St. Herman of Alaska (Dec.12/25)

An Article on the Life of St. Herman of Alaska: https://orthochristian.com/38611.html 

A Canon to St. Herman of Alaska: https://orthochristian.com/38615.html 

November Newsletter 2022
November 2022 Newsletter

Liturgical Notes

Nov.01/Oct.19 we remember our Father among the saints, St. John of Kronstadt. On Nov. 05/Oct. 23 we celebrate *St. James, Brother of the Lord. On Nov. 06/Oct. 24 we celebrate the Joy of All Who Sorrow Icon of the Mother of God. On Nov. 22/Nov. 09 we remember St. Nectarius of Pentapolis. On Nov. 27/Nov. 14 we celebrate St. Gregory Palamas. Nov. 28/Nov. 15 start of the Nativity Fast.

*There will be a joint service at All Saints of America with members from Seeker of the Lost, for the celebration of St. James the Brother of the Lord. In the Life of St. Papa Nicholas Planas, it is recorded that St. James would come and serve liturgies with St. Papa Nicholas. It is also recorded that St. James would visit people in need, at the request of St. Papa Nicholas. Out of love for St. Papa Nicholas, Father Nicholas, Father George, and Father David, invite you to join us in remembering and calling upon the prayers of the Brother of the Lord, St. James (Nov. 4 Vigil 6pm; Nov. 5 Liturgy 9am).

Some helpful reflections on the Nativity Fast (begins Nov.28/15):

Article by Priest Sergei Sveshnikov https://www.pravmir.com/on-the-beginning-of-the-nativity-fast/

 

Choir Notes

Nov. 20: There will be a meeting after the liturgy for those interested in singing in the choir, or if you are just interested in learning about the music we sing at All Saints of America.

 

Parish Notes

Day Light Saving Ends: Nov. 06 our clocks our turned back one hour.

 

Life of the Orthodox Christian

From Elder Nikon of Optina: "Place and way of life have an enormous significance in spiritual life in terms of convenience and inconvenience, but they do not save. The grace of God saves those who manifest their free will. One can be saved in any place, in any honorable way of life. It is said in the Psalms: In every place of His (that is, God's) dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul (Ps. 102:22)."

   "…We have received mercy-and what we have received obliges us to guard it. Let us humble ourselves even more…in order to guard and preserve what we have received, it is necessary to value it and hold it in reverence, or else we might lose it. Let us humble ourselves even more, seeing that our corrupted hearts tempted by our enemy and by sin, are inclined to be ready to exchange a priceless treasure for insignificant, temporary, earthly, and sinful pleasure. Let us pour forth a penitent prayer before the Lord for help and for an awareness of our own total impotence. By vigilance over ourselves and forcing ourselves, we will express our will (our love for God), and the Lord will not forsake us."

 

Birthdays/Names Days

Nov. 01 - John Gawrieh - Namesday

Nov. 03 - John Olsen - Birthday

Nov. 06 - Matushka Euphrosene Marie Carder - Namesday

Nov. 10 - Theophil Carder - Namesday

Nov. 24 - Victoria Gawrieh - Namesday

October 2022 Newsletter
October 2022 Newsletter

Liturgical Notes

On Oct.04/Sept.21 we celebrated the Apodosis (leave taking) of the Exaltation of the Cross. On Oct.14/Oct.01 we celebrate the feast of the Protection of the Theotokos. On Oct. 23/10 we celebrate the Seventh Ecumenical Council, and the Synaxis of the saints of Optina Monastery. On Oct.29/Oct.16 we remember, in particular fallen Orthodox soldiers who died in battle, and in general all departed Orthodox Christians, on St. Demetrius Saturday.

St. Demetrius Saturday was established by the Great Prince of Moscow Demetrius Ioannovich in the 13th century, after his army defeated the ruling Tartar army, and he commemorated his fallen soldiers. The Tartars had ruled over the lands of Rus from the 11-13th century, but, with the blessing of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the Grand Prince's army defeated their oppressors.  Today, the Orthodox Church remembers, in particular, the fallen Orthodox soldiers who died in a battle, and in general all departed Orthodox Christians, on St. Demetrius Saturday.

 

Choir Notes

There will be a meeting scheduled in November for anyone interested in learning about our parish's music.

 

October Birthdays/Names days

08 - Evgeny Harrison - Namesday

09 - Evgeny Harrison - Birthday

14 - Elias Gawrieh - Birthday

16 - Dennis Stone - Namesday

21 - John Gawrieh - Birthday

21 - Margaret Carder - Birthday

22 - Tatiana Skoumbourdis - Birthday

25 - Matushka Paraskeva Brooks - Birthday

27 - Matushka Paraskeva Brooks - Namesday

27 - Nikita Harrison - Birthday

 

The Life of the Orthodox Christian

The life of the Orthodox Christian is to be lived, not merely to appear to be. The practice of fasting for multiple days before receiving communion, for the lay person, is in place for the careless Orthodox Christian who is not living in an Orthodox manner. This type of person does not follow the Church Calendar in regards to fasting, is absent from Church services for long periods of times, and for the most part is being negligent about their salvation. This type of person needs to fast for multiple days in a row to help cultivate an Orthodox mindset in their heart, along with spiritual reading, and confession, so they can receive the sacrament, lest they be consumed for receiving without preparing themselves.

For the Orthodox Christian who is observing the fasting rules according to the Church Calendar, is struggling to work out their salvation, and is confessing on a regular basis, this person is not required to fast for multiple days before receiving communion, because they are living their life in an Orthodox manner. The preparation prayers before Holy Communion, found in Orthodox prayer books, are prayed prior to coming to Church, fasting from food and water begins at mid-night, and the habit of frequent confession is observed - all three are normal preparations to receive the Eucharist.

September 2022 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 2022 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

During the calendar month of September the church celebrates two more of the twelve major feast-days of the liturgical year and several other important dates. The liturgical year starts on Sept 14(OS Sept 1). This date is believed to be the date of the creation of the world. The church also remembers the execution of Saint John the Baptist on Sept 11(Aug 29) commemorating his beheading by the command of the wicked Herod. With the demise of St. John the Baptist the prophetic mission of the Old Testament/Covenant ceased and the fulfillment of the New Covenant began with the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day is remembered also with a strict fast from meat and dairy products.

 

On the calendar date of Sept 21(Sept 8 OS) the church celebrates the Nativity of the Theotokos. The Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, is the top of the mountain of the Old Testament. She is the pure vessel by which God would come into His creation. Her conception was miraculous as God answered the fervent prayers of her parents, Joachim and Anna. Anna was sixty plus years old and beyond child-bearing age for a woman. Yet they were a righteous couple in the eyes of God and He heard their prayers and gave them the precious vessel, the Theotokos. Note that the dismissal from most services in the Orthodox Church mentions “the righteous ancestors of God, Joachim and Anna”, the only Old Testament couple so remembered.

 

The second major feast-day is on Sept 27(Sept 14 OS). It is the feast-day of the Exaltation of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day celebrates the finding of the Holy Cross by Queen Helen in Jerusalem during the early fourth century. The Holy Cross as well as the crosses of the two thieves had been discarded and covered by trash for centuries and later a pagan temple was built over the area. This was done to prevent the place from becoming a pilgrimage site for early Christians. After discovering the location, Queen Helen had the temple torn down and uncovered three crosses. Unable to determine which was the Holy Cross, the Patriarch of Jerusalem had the three crosses laid upon the corpse of a dead man. Upon being touched by the third cross the dead man arose to life again. The patriarch raised up the Cross for all to behold and they all cried out, “Lord have mercy!”. This day is also commemorated with fasting from meat and dairy products.

 

Parish Notes

With the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God on Aug 28 the time of extended fasts has ended until the start of the Nativity Fast on Nov 28. As mentioned above in the liturgical notes there are several special fasting days this month.

Please keep Marina deFligue, Janet Gawrieh, and Anton Khudoley, Fr. George and Matushka Paraskeva in your prayers.

The parish will soon have a display case containing some aprons donated by Marina deFligue. These aprons were made for her mother when she was seven years old prior to the Russian revolution in a 1917.

Several of the parish members and friends have special days this month:

 

Andrew Couch Sept 1 Namesday/Birthday

Dennis Stone Sept 8 Birthday

Kirill Silva Sept 19 Namesday/Birthday

Svetlana Weber Sept 27 Birthday

Lubov Harrison Sept 30 Namesday

May God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

The sons of the world consider distraction to be innocent, but the Holy Fathers considerate to be the beginning of all evil.

A person who is entrenched in his scattered wayof living has a very superficial and shallow appreciation of all things, even the most important ones.

The scattered man is usually inconstant—the emotions of his heart are lacking in depth and strengeh, and so are feeeble and short-lived.

As a moth flutters from flower to flower, so the scattered man passes from one earthly pleasure to the next, from one useless activity to another.

The scattered man lacks love for his neighbor—he sees his neighbor 's suffering with no twinge of sympathy and very flippantly lays intolerable burdens on others.

The scattered man is profoundly affected by sorrows, since he never expects them, he always expects pleasures.

If the sorrow is heavy, yet short-lived, the scattered man quickly forgets it in the noise of his constant distractions. A long-lasting sorrow destroys him.

The scattered way of life itself turns on the one who is devoted to it—sometimes it becomes boring to him, as to one who has never acquired any real knowledge or impressions, he descends into a deadly, profound depression.

The scattered life, so dangerous in essence, is especially harmful in the doing of God's work, in the work of salvation, which requires constant vigilance and attention.

“Watch and pray, lest you enter not into temptation,” said the Lord to His disciples.

“I say unto all, Watch!”, He said to every Christian, consequently to us as well.

He who leads a scattered life directlly contradicts the commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ with his very life.

All the saints assiduously avoided distraction. Constantly, or at the very least as often as possible, they concentrated their thoughts within themselves, paying attention to every movement of the mind and heart, directing these according to the commands of the Gospels.

The habit of vigilance over the self protects one from an absent way of life, especially in the midst of loud worldly pleasures that surround one from every side. The attentive man remains alone within himself even in the midst of a crowd.

Having learned for himself the importance of attention and the harm of scattered thoughts, Abba Agathon said, “Without forceful vigilance over ourselves we will not progress in a single virtue.”

It is foolish to waste our short temporal life (given to us to prepare for eternity) on earthly concerns alone, on satisfying our insignificant, endless, insatiable desires and passions, frivolously rushing from one perishable pleasure to the next, forgetting about or only sometimes remembering about imminent, majestic, and terrifying eternity.

...The great work of God, the creation of man, and the renewal of man after the fall through Christ's redemption, should be studied in great detail by every Christian. Without this knowledge, he will never know and be able to fulfill the calling of a Christian, Knowledge of the great work of God cannot be acquired while leading a scattered life! Excerpts from The Field, Cultivating Salvation by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov.

 

 

 

August 2022 Newsletter

 

 

August 2022 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of August contains two of the twelve major Feast Days of the liturgical year. The first of these special days, the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ, occurs on August 19 (Aug 6 OS). “And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matt. 17:2). The event is a manifestation of God to man in that our Lord revealed His Divinity to Peter, James and John through a display of His uncreated, divine energy. During this event Moses and the Prophet Elijah appeared also. Christ revealed Himself as the Messiah and the Holy Trinity made an appearance through the voice of the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son' (Matt 17:5), the presence of the Son, and the revelation of the Holy Spirit in the form of a luminous cloud. Moses represents the Law and those who have died and Elijah represents the Prophets and—since Elijah did not die—all those who are alive in Christ.

 

The Transfiguration also calls us to look forward to Christ's Second Coming, when all of nature's original beauty will be restored. The faithful bring grapes, apples, and other fruits to church to be blessed and shared as a sign of this final transfiguration of everything. Grapes are a perfect symbol, growing, and changing colors as they ripen in the light. Also, in a beautiful series of gift exchanges between God and His people, certain grapes are turned into wine and offered to Him; then this sine, along with the altar bread, is turned into His Body and Blood by the action of the Holy Spirit and offered back to us. In the Holy Mysteries, the fruits of nature have become God. The Gospel proclaims that this kind of transfiguration is our destiny as well: “The the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:43).

The second of these special days is that of the Dormition of the Mother of God or her physical death in the world on Aug 28 (Aug 15OS). The Theotokos was fully human and therefore subject as we are to physical death. Her departure from this world was foretold to her by an angel and she requested that she be able to see the Apostles before her repose as the Apostles were dispersed by this time. The Apostles were brought to her bedside as by clouds with the exception of Thomas.

 

“The Apostles said all these things to the holy Mother of God, why they had come, and in what way; and she stretched her hands to heaven and prayed, saying: I adore, and praise, and glorify Your much to be praised name, O Lord, because You have looked upon the lowliness of Your handmaiden, and because You that are mighty have done great things for me; and, behold, all generations shall count me blessed. And after the prayer she said to the apostles: Cast incense, and pray. And when they had prayed, there was thunder from heaven, and there came a fearful voice, as if of chariots; and, behold, a multitude of a host of angels and powers, and a voice, as if of the Son of man, was heard, and the seraphim in a circle round the house where the holy, spotless Mother of God and virgin was lying, so that all who were in Bethlehem beheld all the wonderful things, and came to Jerusalem and reported all the wonderful things that had come to pass. (From the Apocryphal Book of St. John the Theologian).

 

The Apostles buried her on the site where her parents had been buried. Three days later the Apostle Thomas appeared and in his sorrow requested to see her body. The grave was opened and her body was no longer there. Her soul and body had been taken by her Son to be with Him in heaven. From there she is a constant intercessor and helper when we call upon her. She is proof of the promised Resurrection.

The fasting period related to the Dormition of the Theotokos begins on Aug 14 and ends on Aug 28.

 

Parish Notes

A person in today's social culture has a difficult time finding something solid to hold onto for safety. The devil is attacking at every quarter on the foundations of the Christian virtues of chastisy, obedience, and self-control. These attacks are evident in our modern society resulting in disobedience, criminality, perversion of family values and definitions and fear for the future. The Orthodox Church and its teachings are the only solid anchor we have to save us from these attacks. The statement below in the “from the fathers”section is presented to reaffirm and strengthen our personal knowledge of our Orthodox foundation.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Elias Gawrieh Aug 2 Namesday

Fr David Carder Aug 11 Birthday

Marina deFligue Aug 15 Birthday

Subdeacon George Gawrieh Aug 21 Birthday

Matushka Euphrosyne Carder Aug 24 Birthday

Tatiana Stone Aug 25 Birthday

Maximus Olsen Aug 26 Namesday

 

from the Fathers

Statement from the Diocesan Chancery on the Contemporary Question of Homosexual Marriage to the Clergy and Flock of the Diocese

March 16/29, 2013

Martyrs Sabinus and Papas

 

Updated November 8/21, 2014

Archangel Michael and All the Bodiless Powers

The Supreme Court of the United States and many State Courts have recently considered cases which deal with the question of homosexual marriage. Given the ubiquitous coverage the news media is providing on this issue it is important that our clergymen and parishioners fully understand the position of the Church in this regard.

  Living in a free society as we do, we should first be thankful that we have the opportunity to practice our Orthodox Faith without inordinate interference from the government. In recent history this was not the case in Russia, and is still not the case in many countries throughout the world. In a free society all views can be shared in the public arena – both views we agree with as Orthodox Christians and those we disagree with. We call upon our flock to be guided first and foremost by the Holy Tradition of the Church in discerning whether any contemporary question is something that is compatible to the Orthodox faith. If an Orthodox Christian chooses to engage in public political discourse this should be done with moderation and with a firm intention and watchfulness not to fall into extremism. Extremism is not conducive to softening hearts or bringing others to the faith. Laymen who choose to engage in political speech should not state that they speak on behalf of the Church. Strictly speaking such an authoritative statement can be made only by a bishop or with a bishop’s specific blessing.

It should also be made clear that living a homosexual or any other sinful lifestyle is not compatible with Christianity and this has always been the teaching of the Church. That being stated, it is also crucial to state that the Church is a Spiritual Hospital and all those wishing to receive the healing freely offered by God through their repentance and God’s Grace are fully welcome. This includes those who have participated in immoral or unnatural acts of any kind as well as those who are tempted by such sins. The Church is empathetic to those who suffer in such a way and offers them support, healing, and Christian love. Those actively engaging in any immoral or unnatural pursuits cannot live a full sacramental life within the Church. However, this does not mean that we seek to drive away or ostracize those who have transgressed in such a way. Rather, we must make all efforts to draw those in such an unfortunate situation back to chastity and the opportunity to again partake in the Life-Giving Mysteries of the Church and to engage the struggle for their salvation within the parish community.

It is entirely possible that the decision will eventually be made to recognize homosexual marriage by the federal government. Several states have already made such decisions. Under no circumstances will the Church recognize homosexual marriage, accord it the status of traditional marriage, or bless such unions. However, this is not to state that those who have entered into such a union have stepped beyond a line from which they cannot return. The Church has always strongly condemned heresies (such as Novatianism, Montanism, and Donatism) which deny the possibility of repentance for those having committed certain sins. It is crucial that our clergymen not shy away from the position of the Church as regards the sinfulness of homosexuality and other unnatural expressions of the God-given gift of human sexuality – but it is also crucial that such statements be made with love and with a corresponding invitation to repentance and reconciliation with the Church.

We call upon all to pray for our land – that the Lord will forgive us our collective societal sins as well as our personal sins and provide us a safe haven which allows us to work out our salvation in peace.

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n America it is evident that daily newspapers, radio and television, public schools, supermarkets, fashions – virtually everything that exerts any kind of influence upon the mind or taste is directly or indirectly involved in destroying the Orthodox World view, in making true Orthodoxy seem "fanatical," "out of step with the times," and in persuading Orthodox Christians to give up their high ideal of making Orthodoxy permeate the whole of their life in order to "get along" better in the world and "fit in" with other confessions and world views. Against this unrelenting attack the Orthodox Christian must wage a constant, conscious battle, or else he simply will not remain Orthodox, and most certainly his children will be lost.

☦️Father Seraphim (Rose)



June 2022 Newsletter

 

June 2022 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of June contains two of the twelve major liturgical feast days: the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ on June 2 and the Descent of the Holy Spirit/Pentecost on June 12.

“And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.” (Luke 24:50-53). For forty days, since His Resurrection, Christ had been appearing to His disciples. During that time He ate with them, taught them, and testified to the accomplishment of His Crucifixion and proved the reality of His Resurrection. Now they stand watching as the Son of God ascends, raising earth up to meet heaven. As they kept their eyes raised to heaven, two angels appeared to them to tell them that Christ would return in the same manner. The apostles were to follow His instructions and wait to receive the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem.

The Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit/Pentecost follows fifty days after the Feast of the Resurrection and is celebrated on Sunday, June 12 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on Me: Of righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye shall see Me no more: Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot hear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself: but whatsoever He shall hear, the shall He speak: And He will shew you things to come.” (John 16:7-13).

Ten days after Christ's Ascension, His followers gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Old Testament Feast of Pentecost, which recalled God's giving of the Law to His people. The apostles had remained together in obedience to Christ's instructions to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4).

This gift of the Holy Spirit completes the revelation of the Holy Trinity to the world. This day is also considered the Birthday of the Church and it continues until this day and is eternal as it is the Body of Christ. The week following Pentecost is fast-free. On the evening of Pentecost we serve “Kneeling Vespers”. At this service we begin making prostrations in church which was set aside at Pascha.
This service is done at 1:30PM on Pentecost Sunday. After this we begin our daily prayers with the invocation of the Holy Spirit, “O Heavenly King, Spirit of Truth...”

The Apostles' Fast begins on June 20 this year and ends on July 12 with the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul. This time of summer Lent is not as strict as Great Lent in that fish is allowed on the weekends and at various days during the fast. See the attached calendar for the other days.

The Parish Feast Day of All Saints of America is celebrated on Sunday, June 26 . This coincides with the Sunday of All Saints of Russia.

 

Parish Notes

On May 16 our Metropolitan Hilarion reposed in the Lord after a long illness. He was buried at Holy Trinity Monastery. A special session of the Synod of Bishops will be held Sept 13-21 for the election of a new metropolitan. Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany will be commemorated during divine services until the election of a new metropolitan.

Congratulations to Elias Gawrieh and Maximus Olsen upon completion of their first year of college.

Many thanks to Steven Johnson for his work on the parish facilities during this past month. His assistance in maintenance has been a great blessing.

Several members and friends of our parish have special days this month:

 

Anton Khudoley June 7 Birthday

Fr George June 9 Birthday

John Theophilus Olsen June 25 Birthday

Matushka Monica Olsen June 28 Namesday

May God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

...Before my thoughts stands the whole world, all the eras from the creation of the world to its end, all the events of the world, those that were and those that are and those that will be. My thought sees all the fates of every person in their infinite particularity.

It sees God, the Creator and omnipotent Lord of all creatures, Who sees everything, Who directs everything, Who gives to all things their goals and callings.

God allows man to see His direction of the world. But God alone knows the reasons for the fates of all things, the reasons for His commands. “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” And the fact that man is allowed to see God in His providence, in His direction of creation, is a great benefit given to man, a source of great spiritual benefit.

The vision of the Creator and Lord of all things visible and invisible gives the viewer supernatural strength, and with this vision comes the realization of the limitless power of the omnipotent King over all creation. Even the hairs on our head, hairs so useless according to the weak wisdom or mankind, are counted in this limitless, all-encompassing wisdom, and are protected by Him. Naturally, without His wish no catastrophe can possibly occur in a man's life. A Christian, who looks to providence without turning away, preserves constant courage and unshakable firmness, even amid the worst tragedies. He says together with the Prophet David: “I foresaw the Lord always before me, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.” The Lord is my helper, I will fear no evil circumstances, I will not give in to despair, I will not drown in the deep sea of unhappiness. For everything—Glory be God!

Endless submission to God is inspired by this vision of the providence of God. What if the slave of God is surrounded on all sides by various heavy sorrows? He consoles his wounded heart in this way: “God sees all this! If He, the all-wise one, knows of some reasons why such sorrows would not be beneficial and necessary to me, He would have prevented them, for His power is limitless. But He did not prevent them, and so it is His all-holy will that I suffer in this way. This will is precious to me, more precious than my own life! It is better to die than to reject the will of the Creator! In this will is true life! Whoever dies for the sake of fulfilling God's will, advances ever forward in the true life. For everything—Glory to God!” . Excerpts from The Field cultivating salvation by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov.

Ed. It is said that the last thing St. John Chrysostom uttered as he died in exile was: “Glory to God for all things!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 2022 Newsletter

 

May 2022 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

 

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN! The Church celebrates Mid-Pentecost on May 18. This a point half way between Pascha and Pentecost. Throughout this month we begin our prayers with “Christ is risen from the dead.” replacing the invocation of the Holy Spirit, “O Heavenly King,...” until the Feast of Ascension. From the Feast of Ascension until the Feast of Pentecost we begin our prayers with the Troparia of Ascension on June 2. Because of the late date of Pascha this year both the Feast of Ascension and the Feast of Pentecost occur during the calendar month of June. On May 3, Radonitsa, the Church blesses the grave sites of our reposed brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

Parish Notes

Please remember Marina deFligue in your daily prayers. A special thanks to Marina for she supplied the palms and pussy willows that were used for Palm Sunday this year. Because of physical problems she could not be with us for Holy Week and Pascha this year but she was here in spirit.

On Palm Sunday our parish welcomed Justin and Melinda Wood and their children, Josiah, Jayden, Meadow, and August, into our parish. They were made catechumens by Fr. Nicholas on that day. Another special thanks to Matushka Marina and Elisabeth Olsen for their decorative and liturgical efforts during Holy Week and Pascha this year.

Steven Johnson has been diligently working on our parish facility this past month. He has cleaned and renewed the roof coating on St. Mildred's guest house and St. John's parish hall. Work in progress to clean and stain the decks and walkways around the church. Steven will be helping with some needed repairs to the Church building.

Please keep Janet Gawrieh in your prayers for she is preparing for surgery to correct some physical problems this month.

Reader John Jones has decided not to continue with the diocesan pastoral studies program. He and his wife Elisabeth have returned to St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Shreveport. We appreciate the support that they gave our parish while they were with us.

Several members and friends of our parish have special days this month:

 

Fr. George May 6 Namesday

Subdn. George Gawrieh May 6 Namesday

Mark Shortridge May 8 Namesday

Monica Olsen May 17 Namesday

Monica Olsen May 30 Birthday

 

May God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

Prayer is the conversation of a fallen and repentant person with God. Prayer is the crying out of the fallen and repentant man to God. Prayer is the pouring of the heart's desires and request. It is the sighs of the fallen man, killed by sin, before God.

God is the only source of all true, good things. Prayer is the mother and the head of all virtues, as a path toward, and a state of communion with God. It takes good deeds directlly from the source of goodness, God Himself, and makes them natural in that person who tries to attain communion with God through prayer.

The path to God is prayer. The measures of this path are the various states of prayer into which the one who prays enters slowly, correctly, and through constant perseverance...

The proper amount of prayer is determined for each person depending on the manner of his life and the amount of his spiritual and physical strength. The two mites of the widow, whch were brought by her to the temple and made up the entirety of her earthly holdings, were counted greater on the scales of the just God than the large donations broughht by the rich from their excess money. You may judge similarlly with prayer: assign yourself an amount that accords to your strength, and remember the wise advice of the great ascetic guide: “If you force your weak body to work beyond its strength, you will darken your soul and bring it only confusion, not benefit.”

But from him who is healthy and full of strength is expected a correspondingly powerful prayer. “Any prayer,” said the same great Father, “during which your body is not forced to submit, and your heart is not brought to compunction, will not be accepted as fruiful, since such prayer is soulless.”

If you are busy with various responsibilities, or if you are a monk burdened with many obediences that do not allow you to dedicate as much time to prayer as you would like, do not be downcast. If your work is done properly and with a good conscience, it will prepare you for deep prayer and will replace quantity of prayer with quality. Nothing prepares a person for successful prayer as much as a clean conscience satisfied with God-pleasing work...

Do not search for exalted experiences in prayer—they are not proper to a sinner. Even the disire of a sinner to feel exalted is already delusion. Seek instead the resurrection of your dead, petrifird heart, that it my become open to the knowledge of its own sinfulness and the depth of its fall and its insighificance, to see it and to admit it with self-denial. Then you will find within hyourself the true fruit of prayer—sincere repentance. You will stand before God and will cry out to Him with prayer from this suddenly revealed state of spiritual helplessness. You will cry out as if from a prison, from the grave, from hell itself...

The labor of prayer seems heavy, boring, and dry to the mind that is used to entertaining itself with onl perishable things. Prayer becomes habitual only with great effort, but when one attains such a habit, it then becomes a source of endless spiritual consolation. Excerpt from chapter on Prayer from The Field cultivating salvation by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov.

 

April 2022 Newsletter

 

April 2022 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of April contains three major feast days of the liturgical calendar; Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, Palm Sunday and Pascha. The Annunciation celebrates the revelation of the conception of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. St. Luke records this event in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs on April 7 this year. The Feast will be celebrated at a Vesporal/Divine Liturgy on Wednesday evening, April 6 at 6:30PM.

Palm Sunday commemorates the Entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Many people were in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. On the day before Palm Sunday the Lord had miraculously raised Lazarus from the dead and His fame had spread throughout the city so there were those who believed Him to be the Messiah and those who wanted to make Him king. His entry in to the city was greeted with jubilation by some and mistrust by others. He enters not as a king in a royal chariot but humbly on a donkey fulfilling the sayings of the prophets. Palm Sunday celebrated this year on April 17 ends the season of Great Lent. Pascha will be on Sunday, April 24 this year.

After Palm Sunday the Church enters Holy Week following our Lord through His physical suffering in preparation for the joyous Resurrection of Pascha. See the Holy Week schedule for services. Some things change during Holy Week. After Holy Wednesday we no longer say the prayer of St. Ephraim daily as we have throughout Great Lent. The liturgical color changes to black from the Lenten purple color. This somber black color remains until Vespers of Holy Saturday.

The Holy Unction service is scheduled for Holy Wednesday. Since this is a forgiveness service the Church says that confession should be made prior to receiving the anointing of the Holy Oil. Father George will be available to hear confessions before the service which begins at 7:00PM.

Following Pascha there is a fast-free “Bright Week” where we continue the Paschal celebration. We enter the time when we do not make prostrations in the Church nor do we invoke the Holy Spirit when we begin our daily prayers. Following the Resurrection of Christ the holy Apostles were awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit as Christ had promised them so the Church awaits with them. So we do not say “O Heavenly King, Comforter....” but replace the invocation with “Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death be death and upon those in the tombs bestowing Life” saying this three times. This is done until Thomas Sunday, the first Sunday after Pascha. From thence we say only “Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death by death” in our prayers until the Feast of the Ascension on June 10.

 

Parish Notes

 

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Svetlana Weber April 2 Namesday

Elizabeth Olsen April 10 Birthday

Maria Silva April 18 Namesday

 

God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

Dear in the Lord Fathers, Brothers and Sisters:

During these terrifying days when streams of blood merge with the flow of deceit and wickedness, we Christians cannot allow ourselves to submit to the spirit of war. The spirit of war is demanding. It requires us to divide into parties. It forces us to hate.

We Christians must understand: the wrath with which war burns is the wrath of hell. The enemy of God drinks in not so much human blood as human bitterness and division. The devil wants nothing more than to separate man from his neighbor, from the Church and from Christ.

This is nothing new. Before the beginning of Great Lent, during Cheesefare Week, the Lord cautions us: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom… And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another... And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold... But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:6-13).

Ahead of us lies the just Judgment, the all-encompassing Divine Judgment. Those who forget this judge others quickly and carelessly-and this is already war, the ancient war of the devil against God. On whose side shall we stand?

This sermon is addressed to those who serve the Church, and to those who have newly come. The German Diocese is our local Church. Contained therein are priests and believers of various nationalities: Ukrainians, Russians, Belarussians, Carpatho-Russians, Jews, “Russian Germans,” migrants, and the local “native” Germans, Greeks, Moldovans, Serbs, Georgians, Poles, Czechs, Hungarians… Each of us loves our homeland. But the All-Merciful Lord united us, called upon us to establish Church life within this diocese, to the salvation of the present and future generations of Orthodox Christians in this nation. Here we must be the People of God, serving the One God.

If we allow this service to divide along national traits, we will commit a grave, most grave sin-the rending of the living, unified Body of the Church.

It is this rupture, this division that the prince of this world lusts after, and more persistently demands of us.

We recall that it was even demanded of Christ that He present Himself as a political leader and would destroy the occupiers. That He would separate Himself from the Roman invaders and would become the God not of all mankind but of a single suffering nation. And when He did not satisfy them-as many, many thought at the time to be well-deserved and righteous political expectations and imperatives-we recall what those who made these demands did to Him.

Politics always presumes division into “us” and “them.” But the bloodless Sacrifice of Christ is made “in all and for all.”

If our hearts are in disagreement with the words “in all and for all,” then can we partake of Communion? Are we truly Christian?

Let us for a moment lift our spiritual gaze to the heavens. Let us think of the invisible angelic world. The bond with that world is particularly noted by the Church during Liturgy: during the Minor Entrance, the Cherubic Hymn, the singing of “Holy, Holy, Holy…”

But the angelic world is not enclosed by the walls of the church. Even in the heat of battle, under bullets and bombs, when it seems that hell reigns over everything, each warrior is accompanied by his own Guardian Angel, who tends to and protects the person, cares and suffers for him. Demons, the servants of the devil, strive through their hatred to destroy human bodies, and mainly, their souls. The Angels, as heralds of Christ, strive to save each soldier with their love, no matter which side he fights for. And this pain is felt for the mothers praying in church, the wives and sisters of the warriors, praying for the salvation and consolation of the warriors on both sides.

To what shall we open our hearts-to love or to hatred? Whose side are we on this genuine war?

If we are Christians, let us reject the spirit of war which is alien to Christ.

May peace take hold in our hearts-that sole genuine peace which the Savior brought to us already.

Let us follow the Apostle’s call: “Neither give place to the devil... rather… labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption… Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:27-32).

Let us firmly trust in the words of Christ:

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Amen.

Commemoration of the Dead Saturday

March 6/19, 2022

+ Mark,

Metropolitan of Berlin and Germany

0 Comments



 

Tentative Holy Week Schedule

 

Palm Sunday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Monday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Tuesday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Wednesday Holy Unction 7:00PM

 

Holy Thursday Vespers/Liturgy 9:00AM

Matins-Twelve Gospels 7:00PM

 

Holy Friday Royal Hours 8:00AM

Vespers 2:00PM

Lamentations 6:30PM

 

Holy Saturday Vespers/Liturgy 10:00AM

Midnight Office 11:30PM

 

Pascha Matins 12:00AM

Divine Liturgy Following Matins

Agape Vespers 1:30PM

 

 

April 2022 Newsletter
March 2022 Newsletter

 

 

 

March 2022 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The Great Lenten fast begins on March 7this year. Sunday, Mar 6, is cheesefare Sunday right before Great Lent begins. On this Sunday we celebrate Forgiveness Vespers following our meal in St. John's Hall. Wine and oil are allowed on the weekends and on several special days during the fasting period. The restriction on oil applies to olive oil. With the later production of vegetable oils these oils are allowed during the fasting period. This is analogous to the restriction on butter versus margarine since the quality and taste of the two(olive oil and butter) cannot be compared to the imitation, vegetable oil and margarine.

During this month we celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great on Sundays. The music for this Liturgy is somewhat different from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the quiet prayers that the priest recites are longer. You might experience some quiet moments during these Lenten Liturgies. Any weekly Liturgy is that of the Presanctified Divine Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great. This Lenten Liturgy starts with Vespers and finishes with partaking of the Presanctified Host to give us strength during this fasting time. The Presanctified Liturgy is served at 6:30 PM. One should prepare themselves by the appropriate pre-Communion prayers and by abstaining from food and drink from noon of the day if they desire to partake of the Holy Mysteries.

On March 9 the Church celebrates the 1st and 2nd findings of the Head of St. John the Baptist. Since this feast will fall on the first week of great Lent its celebration will be on Sunday, March 6.

 

Parish Notes

One of the Great Lenten practices is the reading of the four Gospels during the first three days of Holy Week. This is very difficult for most people who have to work during this period. Another method to accomplish this reading is to begin now and read several chapters of a Gospel everyday going through St. Matthew's Gospel through St. St John's Gospel throughout the Lenten period. One can adjust the length of daily reading to accomplish reading the four Gospels. Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures is one of the Christian's greatest weapons against the devil. Ignorance of the Gospels, on the other hand, is inexcusable for the Christian.

Several members and friends have special days this month:

Fr Nicholas Olsen Mar 2 Namesday

Reader John Jones Mar 3 Birthday

Ricky Harrison Mar 3 Birthday

Elizabeth Jones Mar 7 Birthday

Luba Harrison Mar 10 Birthday

Janet Gawrieh Mar 10 Birthday

Maria Silva Mar 21 Birthday

 

God grant them many years!

 

From the Fathers

The primary aim of fasting is to make us conscious of our dependence upon God... The purpose of this is to lead us inturn to a sense of inward brokenness and contrition; to bring us, that is, to the point where we appreciate the full force of Christ's statement, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). If we always take our fill of food and drink, we easily grow over-confident in our own abilities, acquiring a false sense of autonomy and self-sufficiency. The observance of a physical fast undermines this sinful complacency. Stripping from us the specious assurance of the Pharisee-who fasted, it is true, but not in the right spirit-Lenten abstinence give us the saving self dissatisfaction of the Publican (Luke 18:10-13). Such is the function of the hunger and the tiredness: to make us 'poor in spirit', aware of our helplessness and of our dependence on God's aid...

As we fast from food, let us abstain also from every passion...

Let us observe a fast acceptable and pleasing to the Lord.

True fasting is to put away all evil,

To control the tongue, to forebear from anger,

To abstain from lust, slander, falsehhod and perjury.

If we renounce these things, then is our fasting true and acceptable to God.

Let us keep the Fast not only by refraining from food,

But by becoming strangers to all bodily passions...

Always in our acts of abstinence we should keep in mind St. Paul's admonition not to condemn others who fast less strictly: 'Let not him who abstains pass judgement on him who eats' (Rom. 14;3). Equally, we remember Christ's condemnation of outward display in prayer, fasting or almsgiving (Matt. 6:1-18). Both these Scriptural passages are often recalled in the Lenten Triodion.

Remmber it is not what goes into the stomach that defiles a man but what proceeds from his heart. Contol of the stomach gives us strength to control the heart.

The following prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is added to out daily prayers during Great Lent:

O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle-talking give me not . (prostration or deep bow)

But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience and love bestow upon me Thy servant. (prostration or deep bow)

Yea, O Lord King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother: for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen. (prostration or deep bow)

O God, cleanse me, a sinner. (Twelve times with deep bow each time)

O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle-talking give me not. But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience and love bestow upon me Thy servant. Yea, O Lord King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother: for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen. (prostration or deep bow)



Note: This is a good prayer to memorize and remember any time one feels under spiritual attack or temptation to do those things that do not befit a Christian!



February 2022 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 2022 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of February contains one of the major twelve Feast Days of the liturgical year, The Meeting of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the temple. On this day, Feb 2/15, the church celebrates the forty-day dedication of the first-born child, our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the Law given to Moses (Ex. 13:1-2, 14-15) by the Lord Himself. And so Mary and Joseph came after forty days of her purification to the Temple to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24).

Now there was a righteous and devout man named Simeon who had been guided to the Temple by the Holy Spirit. Simeon had been assigned to translate the Book of Isaiah from Hebrew to Greek in the year 270 B.C. When he came to the passage saying that a virgin should conceive and bear a son Simeon started to change the word virgin to young woman. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him not to do so and that Simeon would live to see this happen. Simeon's appearance in the temple was a fulfillment of this saying. (Note: Simeon must have been about 300 years old at this point).

St. Simeon, representing the Old Testament, took the Christ Child in his arms, and the Old and the New Testaments stood together: the Old, departing, held in its arms and blessed the New. Simeon was granted more than had been granted to any other man before him; he held the Almighty God in his arms and to him were revealed both the Glory and the Way of the Cross of his God: “for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of Thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:30).

As in ancient times today we bring our children at the fortieth day to be presented to the Lord and we bind them over to God. Baptized and sanctified by grace, our children, by being made members of the Church, take their first steps upon the way of grace and the way of the Cross that lies before those who would follow Christ.

On Sunday, Feb 13, we celebrate the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. The week following this Sunday is a fast-free week. This is also the first of the three preparatory Sundays leading up to Great Lent which begins on Mar 7. Pascha this year is celebrated on April 24.

 

Parish Notes

The annual parish business meeting is scheduled for Sunday, Feb 6 at 1:30PM. The parish reviews the previous year and sets new goals for the coming year. Mark your calendars and plan to be there for the meeting. If anyone has proposals or proposed projects for the coming year this is the time to bring them forward before the parish.

 

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

Maximus Olsen Feb 3 Namesday

Ksenia Couch Feb 6 Namesday

Andrew Sawyer Feb 25 Birthday

 

May God grant them many years!

 

 

from the Fathers

 

True Christians live in this world as travellers, pilgrims, and sojourners, and they look ever toward their heavenlly homeland with faith and with the eyes of the soul, and they strive to reach it. You should also be a pilgrim and sojourner in this world and constantly look toward that homeland and strive to obtain it, and so the world with its enticements and lusts will become abhorrent to you. Whoever seeks eternal blessedness and desires it and strives to reach it will despise everything temporal, lest while seeking the temporal he be deprived of the eternal.

 

We were created for eternal life by our Creator, we are called to it by the word of God, and we are renewed by holy Baptism. And Christ the Son of God came into the world for this, that He should call us and take us there, and He is the one thing needful. For this reason your very first endeavor and care should be to receive it. Without it everything is as nothing, though you have the whole world under you.

 

Every sin and attachment to the vanity of this world lays obstacles to the obtaining of eternal life. Then avoid all that, lest you be deprived of it. You cherish your temporary life, although you will inevitably leave it, yet you do everything so as not to be deprived of it. How incomparably more must you safeguard your eternal life and make every effort so as not to be deprived of it, for all things temporal are nothing as compared to the eternal. Seek, then, eternal life as your sole true good, and with every effort flee everything that closes the door to it. God Who loves man wishes you to be saved. Then let that be your desire too, and without fail you shall be saved. Desire it and seek it as a hungry man seeks food and a thirsty man seeks water, and you shall receive what you disire.

 

Do not imitate those Christians who desire and seek to become rich, to pass their time in honor, and to be glorified in this world. They have forgotten that Christ, the Son of God, died and suffered for them, and that by His Suffering and death He has opened the door to eternal life and has called them to it. It is evident that they only desire and seek what they see, but they do not desire and seek what they do not see. Everyday they stretch their hand out to the forbidden tree as Adam did in paradise, and they taste of it to their own misforture, and so they depart in their heart from God.

 

They are like those Israelites leaving Egypt who turned back in their hearts to Egypt and desired the stewpots of Egypt. For this reason the Lord was angered against them (Num. Ch 11). So these Christians, delivered from the slavery of the devil through holy Baptism, as were the Israelites from slavery to Pharaoh, are called to eternal blessedness, but in their hearts they have turned away. They are attached to earthly and visible things, and having abandoned the eternal they seek temporal things. For this reason the Lord is angered with them and they will be punished not temporally but eternally.

 

Do not, then, imitate such Christians, but strive for eternal blessedness with faith and with the heart. For a Christian's property and inheritance, honor and glory, riches and every treasure, are not in this world, but in the age to come, and in the heavenly fatherland. There, all good things are preapred for them by their Heavenly Father.

 

Seek these things with every effort, and use earthly things carefully and with fear, lest you anger the Lord God against you through excess. Remember what the Apostle wrote, For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content (I Tim. 6:7-8). Excerpts from Journey to Heaven by St. Tikhon of Zadonsk.

January 2022 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

January 2022 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of January contains two of the twelve major Feast Days of the liturgical year as well as one of the secondary Feast Days of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first of these days begins on Wednesday, Jan 6 with the Royal Hours of the Nativity of our Lord followed with Vigil in the evening. Divine Liturgy for the Nativity will be celebrated on Friday, Jan 7, at 10:00AM. This will allow several people who wish to celebrate Nativity on the old calendar to be with us. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is the culmination of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament between God and man. This is a Divine Condescension whereby God takes on the form of a man, a servant for mankind. It is a great mystery beyond comprehension in its majesty of the mercy and love of God for mankind.

The secondary Feast Day is celebrated on Jan 14. It is the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Giver of the Mosaic Law condescends to submit Himself as a man to that Law. On the eighth day after His birth his Mother, the Theotokos, and Joseph take the Christ Child to the temple to be circumcised according to the Law. In His submission Christ fulfills the Law as He said He would.

The third of these days is the Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day commemorates the baptism of our Lord in the Jordan river by St. John the Baptist. This occurs on Wednesday, Jan 19. After Pascha and Pentecost, this is the greatest Feast of the Orthodox Church, predating even the Nativity in celebration. This is the first public manifestation of God the Word Incarnate to the world. The Creator enters into the basic element of life, water, and thereby sanctifies fallen creation. The Lord by submitting to baptism institutes the Sacrament of Holy Baptism for the Church. Through this Sacrament we mystically die to the world and are joined to the Body of Christ and reborn a new creature cleansed of our former sins. The Great Blessing of Water is performed during this period and the water is used to bless homes during this Holy Season. Following Divine Liturgy we will proceed to De Queen lake to bless the waters with a Cross made from Theophany blessed water.

 

Parish Notes

The eve of Nativity is always a strict fast day. On the Sunday before Nativity, Jan 2 this year, wine and oil are allowed, but without fish. If there are questions please ask Fr. George or Fr.Nicholas for the appropriate guidance. During the weeks following Theophany, Jan 19, we will be doing the annual house blessings of the parish members. Please schedule this with Fr. George if you wish your home blessed during this season.

The proposed date for the parish annual business meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 6 following lunch after Divine Liturgy. Put this date on your calendar.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Carmen Maria Montero Jan 8 Birthday/Namesday

Fr. David Carder Jan 10 Namesday

Tatiana Skoumbourdis Jan 25 Namesday

Tatiana Stone Jan 25 Namesday

Anna Harrison Jan 27 Birthday

Anton Khudoley Jan 30 Namesday

 

God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

The all-powerful God enters time and space as a helpless baby to rescue us from sin and death. The Savior's mission goes beyond the expectations of His chosen people, who have been waiting for the Messian to free them from generations of earthly hardship.

After searching for a room in crowded Bethlehem, Joseph and young Mary could only find a cave that was being used as a stable. There, among the animals, Mary gave birth to the Son of God. The busy crowds had no idea of the great event that had taken place. The humble shepherds, having been visited by an army of angels, were the only children of Israel to go see the Baby in the mangger. The three wise men who followed the bright star from the East were not of the chosen people. They had been searching for truth in the lights of the heavens. Christ, the source of all truth and light, had come down from heaven for them as well. After honoring Him with gifts, they would listen to an angel's advice and take a different path back home to avoid King Herod, who didn't want anyone to threaten his earthly power.

Like the wise men, we must change our course to avoid the way of King Herod, who wanted so badly hold onto his manner of life, no matter how terrible the cost. Despite the efforts of earthly kings, the King of the Universe is here, shining in our darkness. He is born not to create a powerful kingdom in this world, but to plant the Kingdom of Heaven in the heart of every person. The world is now changed forever. “The Truth has come, the shadow has passed away” (St. Sophronios). It is the dawn of the Sun of Righteousness: let us run to the light! Excerpts from Heaven meets Earth, Celebrating Pascha and the Twelve Feasts

 

Why is it that man suffers on earth and is beset by affliction and adversity?

We suffer because we lack humility. The Holy Spirit dwells in the humble soul, bringing freedom, peace, love and blessedness.

We suffer because we do not love our fellow-men. The Lord said, 'Love one another and ye shall be my disciples.'(John 13:35). God's love comes with loving one's brother. Sweet is the love of God, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit and made known in full only through the Holy Spirit. But there is a lesser degree of love, to be found in the man who strives to observe Christ's commandments and goes in fear of grieving God in any way, and this love, too, is good. Every day we must urge ourselves towards what is good, and with might and main seek after the humility of Christ.

The Lord said to His disciples, 'My peace I give unto you.' (John 14:27).

We must entreat God for this peace of Christ's, and the Lord will give to him who asks; and when we receive it, we must watch over it with care, and seek to multiply it. But whoever has not submitted to the will of God in times of distress cannot know God's compassion.

If misfortune overcomes you, do not lose heart but recollect that the Lord in mercy looketh upon you, and do not allow yourself to think, 'Is the Lord going to look upon me when I grieve Him?', for mercy is the nature of the Lord. Instead, turn to God in faith, and like the prodigal son say, 'I am no more worthy to called thy son,' (Luke 15:19) and you will see how pleasing you will be to the Father, and your soul will be filled with joy indescribable. Excerpts from St. Silouan the Athonite by Archimandrite Sophony.

 

 

 

December 2021Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 2021 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of December is completely in the Nativity Fasting period. This is a period of forty days of preparation prior to the Nativity of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. In length like Great Lent prior to Pascha, this fast is not as strict wherefore fish is allowed on weekends and special feast-days during the week. However, like Great Lent, the Nativity fast is not optional for Orthodox Christians and must be observed to the best of one's ability. There are exceptions to the rule of fasting but these must be discussed with the priest.

December 4 (Nov 21 OS) is the Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos. This one of the twelve major feast-days of the liturgical year and commemorates the taking of the three year old Virgin Mary to the temple by her parents. Since the Virgin Mary was a miraculous gift to the aged parents, they decided that she would be dedicated to God. She was taken to be raised with the other virgins in the temple in Jerusalem. The young Virgin ran up the steps of the temple and as she reached the top she was met by Zacharias, the future father of Saint John the Baptist. Zacharias was a priest and was serving in the temple at this time. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and carried the young Virgin into the temple and into the Holy of Holies, the sacred place where only the high priest entered once a year. The Virgin Mary was to be the Holy of Holies as she would contain God Incarnate within her womb and carry Him in her arms. The young Virgin would be raised in the temple dedicating her life to prayer, fasting, and perpetual virginity. The angels attended her as she grew.

On December 19 (Dec 6 OS) the Church celebrates the feast-day of Saint Nicholas who is revered throughout the world as a great intercessor before God. His life may be read in the The Prologue of Orhid which is available in the church library. December 25 (Dec 12 OS) is the feast-day of Saint Herman of Alaska, one of the patron saints of our parish. Saint Herman was one of the seven initial missionaries sent to Alaska in 1794 to teach the native Alaskans Christianity. He was a wonder-worker both during his earthly life and now in his eternal life.

 

Parish Notes

Commercialism can easily overtake the real meaning for the time of Christmas with all of the tinsel, glitter, advertising, and shopping associated with this time of year. Struggle to remember the glorious Incarnation of our Lord Jesus. We are blessed to be on the old calendar for our celebration takes us past the distraction of Western Christmas. Remember that it is also a time for sharing the wealth that God has given us with others who are less fortunate in the spirit of Saint Nicholas. This generosity can open our hearts more fully to God's greatest gift to us, His Son our Savior.

 

There are members and friends of our parish who have special days this month:

Father Nicholas Olsen Dec 7 Birthday

Nicholas Gaffney Dec 7 Birthday

Steven Johnson Dec 13 Birthday

Father Nicholas Olsen Dec 19 Namesday

Nicholas Gaffney Dec 19 Namesday

Nikolai Gaffney Dec 19 Namesday

 

God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

With the sign of the Holy Cross I lead you, brother, to a spiritual vision. Our guide will be the great Father among the saints, Anthony the Egyptian desert dweller.

Through the power of divine revelation, he once saw the traps of the devil that were set all over the world to lure mankind into perdition. Having seen that there were an infinite number of these snares, Anthony implored the Lord with tears: “Lord! Who can avoid these traps and attain salvation?”

I contemplate these traps of the devil. They are set both outside and inside a person. One net is tightly bound to another...Involuntarily, I also ask the question of the blessed desert dweller: “Lord! Who can be delivered from these nets?”

...What does the Word of God say? It foretells of events that are already happening before our eyes, a prophecy of the last times, when “Lawlessness will abound, and the love of many will grow cold.” The Word of God, more immovable than the heavens and the earth, tells us that in the last times, the snares of the evil one will increase, as will the number of ensnared.

It is true! I look at the world, and I see that the snares of the devil have increased, especially when compared with the times of the early church. They have increased a countless number! The number of books containing false doctrine has increased; the number of minds that contain and teach others false doctrines has increased. More and more people honor so-called virtues that are openly pagan, contrary to one's very nature, which is disgusted by them. The understanding of Christian virtues has diminished, and I do not even begin to speak of the dearth of their actual practice. A carnal life is preferred; thespiritual life is disappearing. Pleasures and cares of this world eat up all our time, we have not time to remember God. And all this becomes not just a free choice but a requirement, a law. From abounding iniquity shall the love of many become cold, and this abounding iniquity makes ever fewer the nmber of tose who would abide in the love of God if it were not for the pervsiveness of evil and the increasing snates of the devil.

The sorrow of St. Anthony was warranted. How much more should a Chrisstian mourn our own times when he sees the snares of the devil? The sorrowful question is essential, in fact: “Lord! Who of us humans can avoid these snares and receive salvation?”

The answer to the righteous desert dweller was: “The one who is humbe-minded will avoid these traps, and they will not even be able to touch him.”

...Let us guard our senses, not allowing them to be the channel for sin to enter into the cell of the soul. Let us rein in our curious eye and our curious ear. Let us place a heavy bond on the apparentlly small tongue, which can wreak such tremendous havoc. Let us humble the irrational desires of our body with temperance, vigilance, ascetic labors, frequent remembrance of death, and attentive, constant prayer. Bodily pleasures are short lived! How foul is their inevitable end! In contrast, the body that is shielded by abstinence and the safeguarding of the senses, purified by tears of repentance, and sanctified by frequent prayer, mysteriously transforms into the temple of the Holy Spirit, making all the attacks of the enemy futile.

Humility avoids all the snares of the devil, and he cannot even touch it! Amen.

Excerpts from The Field Cultivating Salvation by St. Ignatius Brianchaniov, Chap 10, On the Snares of the Prince of This World.

 

Ed. During this season of Advent of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, we should remember His humble birth into this fallen world and struggle to emulate His humility. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:3)

 

November 2021 Newsletter

 

 

 

November 2021 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

Although there are no major feast-days in this month, there are several important saints that we remember. On the calendar date of November 1 (OS Oct 19) the church celebrates the repose of Saint John of Kronstadt, one of Russia's most famous people of recent history. Saint John was born to humble parents and had a learning disability as a child. He prayed to God to help him overcome this disability and his prayers were answered. God also revealed to him that he would be a priest of His Church. He became to pre-revolutionary Russia what Saint John the Baptist was to Israel. Saint John saw what was coming upon Russia and pleaded with her people to repent and to return to Godly ways. The church where he served would be packed with so many people that an apple thrown above the crowd would not hit the floor so closely were they together. Because of his holiness, Saint John was given the gift of healing and was called to the bedside of the poor and royalty. The story of his life is available in the church library.

On November 8 (OS Oct 26) the church celebrates the feast-day of the Great Martyr Demetrios who, like the the Great Martyr George, was a Roman soldier who suffered because he would not worship the Roman idols. On November 26 (OS Nov 13) we celebrate the feast-day of Saint John Chrysostom who was one of the greatest preachers of the church. He was archbishop of Constantinople during the 4th century. Because of his God-given gift of speaking he was given the name of Chrysostom which means “golden tongue” in Greek.

 

Parish Notes

This past winter's severe cold damaged some of the trees on the south side of the church to the point that dead branches were beginning to fall. The parish had to have three of the trees removed and two trimmed back to prevent damage to the buildings. This set our building fund back $1200.00 which effect the proposed cemetery sidewalk construction for a time.

Please remember that daylight savings time ends on November 7. Remember to set your clocks back one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night and you can enjoy that extra hour of sleep that you had to give up this past spring! The Nativity fasting period begins on November 28 and continues until the feast-day of Nativity on January 7 (OS Dec 25).

Saint Tikhon while archbishop of the Orthodox Church in this country blessed a special Thanksgiving service for the American Holiday of Thanksgiving. We will be doing this service on Wednesday evening, November 24, at 6:30PM. Join us in remembering on this day the real Source of all that we are and have, and offering heartfelt thanks for such blessings.

Several of our parish members and friends have special days this month.

 

John Gawrieh Nov 1 Namesday

Matushka Euphrosyne Carder Nov 6 Namesday

Theofil Carder Nov 10 Namesday

Mark Shortridge Nov 20 Birthday

Victoria Gawrieh Nov 24 Namesday

 

May God them many years!

 

From the fathers

 

On Thankfulness to God.

 

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20.

 

“Always give thanks,” Paul explas, “not only when you find yourself in comfort, health and happiness, but expecially when you undergo affliction, illness and misfortune. And do not give thanks only for the good things you have received, but also for the sorrows; and in short, for every benefit that comes to us from God, though we may not know how or why we have received benefit. And so, let us give thanks to God the Father, in the naae of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and calling on the Lord Jesus, let us take Him to ourselves as the mediator of all the good things we have received, and indeed, of this very thanksgiving, which we offer to God the Father.” The Explanation of the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians by Blessed Theophylact.

 

We must always pray the Lord for peace of soul, that we may the more easily fulfill the Lord's commandments, for the Lord loves those who strive to do His will, and thus they attain profound peace in God.

He who does the Lord's will is content with all things, be he poor or sick and suffering, because the grace of God gladdens his heart. But the man who is discontented with his lot, and murmurs against his fate, or against those who cause him offence, should realise that his spirit is in a state of pride, which has taken from him his sense of gratitude toward God.

But if it be so with you, do not lose heart but try to trust firmly in the Lord, and ask Him for a humble spirit; and when the lowly spirit of God comes to you, you will then love Him and be at rest in spite of all afflictions.

The soul that has acquired humility is always mindful of God, then thinks to herself, “God created me; He suffered for me; He forgives me my sins and comforts me; He feeds me and cares for me. Why, then, should I take thought for myself, or what is there to fear even if death threatens me?” Excerpts from St. Silouan The Athonite by Archimandrite Sophrony.

 

[Ed. note} As we approach the national Day of Thanksgiving we should first of all be thankful to Almighty God for His bountiful goodness and love for mankind and for all He gives us every minute, hour, and day of our lives. If gratefulness had been taught in the families and schools for the past sixty years perhaps we in this country would be witnessing goodness, peace, and love rather than contention, devisiveness, anger, crime, and hardness of heart! We, like the lepers, should be crying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!

October 2021 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

October 2021 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

During the calendar month of October we celebrate the repose of the Apostle John the Theologian, the author of the Gospel of John, on October 9. He is also known as the Apostle of Love since he taught of the necessity of loving one another as Christ loves us.

A secondary feast of the Mother of God occurs on Oct 14. This feast-day is known as the Protection of the Theotokos. The feast commemorates an event that happened at Constantinople in the year 911 A.D. During the reign of Emperor Leo the Wise, a large army of Saracens was preparing to attack the city to conquer it. The pious people of the city reacted to the threat by turning to prayer. They thronged to the Church of Blachernae wherein was preserved the Robe and Veil of the Mother of God. There they raised their voices to Christ the Lord, to His Mother, the all-Holy Theotokos, pleading for mercy and help against the foe. Among the believers present was St. Andrew, a Fool-for-Christ, and his disciple, St. Epiphanius. Suddenly they saw a vision of the Virgin Mary surrounded by a choir of angels, prophets and apostles. “Do you see, brother, the Queen of all praying for the peace of the world,” asked St. Andrew? “ Indeed I see, father,” answered the disciple. The Holy Virgin appeared with outstretched arms, holding a veil over the city as a sign of protection, and imploring God's mercy upon the people. The inhabitants of the city heard of this vision to the two men, and were filled with joy and hope that this was a sign of deliverance. All night they prayed in the Church, while outside The Christian army fought against the enemy. The defenders emerged with a decisive victory. Since that time the Feast of the Protection of the Most-Holy Theotokos has been celebrated in the Church.

 

Parish Notes

Starting this month we will begin Vespers/Vigil at 6:00PM rather than 6:30PM in the past months. The staining of the decks at St.George's Inn has been accomplished with the help of our visitor, Andrew Wisdom. Please keep Andrew and his family in your prayers as they plan to move this month.

 

 

Several members and friends have special days this month:

Kenny(Evgeny) Harrison Oct 8 Namesday

Kenny Harrison Oct 9 Birthday

Elias Gawrieh Oct 14 Birthday

Dennis Stone Oct 16 Namesday

John Gawrieh Oct 21 Birthday

Margaret Carder Oct 21 Birthday

Tatiana Skoumbourdis Oct 22 Birthday

Matushka Paraskeva Oct 25 Birthday

Nikita Harrison Oct 26 Birthday

Matushka Paraskeva Oct 27 Namesday

May God grant them many years!

 

 

 

From the fathers

A helmsman proves his mettle during a storm, a warrior during a battle, and an ascetic during temptations. No one knows what he is capable of, if he is not first tested in battle. In order to come to know oneself, one must pass through trials. How can a person do his work as it must be done if he does not first study its theory, then practice it until he becomes proficient? Some even willingly give themselves up to troubles, testing whatever virtues might be hidden within themselves during times of prosperity. Great men rejoice in sorrows and labors, as brave warriors do in battle. All valor desires a time of testing. It travels a straight path, battling whatever troubles lie in the way, and these victories are part of valor's glory.

 

Therefore, God allows His chosen to labor, even to suffer, and He often gives them an opportunity to accomplish something valorous and generous, requiring self-sacrifice. This also means that any unpleasantness in this life is in some sense inevitable. How can we know that we can love poverty if we are always rich? How will we know that we have the courage to endure dishonor and envy if we spend our entire lives in joy with no sorrows? Truly, in order to come to know ourselves, trials are necessary. It is absurd to pray in this way during times of ease and combort: “The Lord is my firm foundation and my fortress, and my deliverer, etc.” (Psalm 17:3), especially when the poor man says at the same moment, “I know I will not die of hunger this week, because I have a bag full of bread.” Even when he has no hope, he says this.

 

Trust in what we already have is not trust at all, for if we see it in our hand, what do we have to hope for? But when we trust in something we do not see, we wait for it with patience (see Romans 8:24-25). Therefore, trust in God becomes all the more evident and vivid when we endure all our trouble bravely...

 

It is true that everywhere in the world, in all situations and all social circumstances, our life is subject to trials and troubles. It is not possible to live otherwise. Even Christ, our God, predicted this: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). All who desire to live peously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (see Timothy 3:12).

 

We must not forget the words of St. Paul: “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (I Corinthians 10:13).

When God punishes you, the punishment is always much less than you deserve...Come to your senses and call them to your aid! Trust in God and humbly submit to Him. Wherever there is trust in God, there our will is firmly tied to God's. On the contrary, it is very vile and repugnant when the all-good Lord God desires to correct His errant servant with a light punishment, but the servant answers that he does not want the punishment because he did not deserve even a light blow from his Master. Abandon your madness. Trust in God and live in your proper place, not breaking your oaths and responsibilities. Do not envy the actions of a sinner. Believe in the Lord, and remain in your work (see Sirach 11:19-20). Exceerpts from Chapter 25-By What Means We Can Confirm within Ourselves a Firm Trust in God, Especially in Times of Trouble?-The Sunflower by St John of Tobolsk

 

 

 

September Newsletter 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 2021 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

During the calendar month of September the church celebrates two more of the twelve major feast-days of the liturgical year and several other important dates. The liturgical year starts on Sept 14(OS Sept 1). This date is believed to be the date of the creation of the world. The church also remembers the execution of Saint John the Baptist on Sept 11(Aug 29) commemorating his beheading by the command of the wicked Herod. With the demise of St. John the Baptist the prophetic mission of the Old Testament/Covenant ceased and the fulfillment of the New Covenant began with the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day is remembered also with a strict fast from meat and dairy products.

 

On the calendar date of Sept 21(Sept 8 OS) the church celebrates the Nativity of the Theotokos. The Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, is the top of the mountain of the Old Testament. She is the pure vessel by which God would come into His creation. Her conception was miraculous as God answered the fervent prayers of her parents, Joachim and Anna. Anna was sixty plus years old and beyond child-bearing age for a woman. Yet they were a righteous couple in the eyes of God and He heard their prayers and gave them the precious vessel, the Theotokos. Note that the dismissal from most services in the Orthodox Church mentions “the righteous ancestors of God, Joachim and Anna”, the only Old Testament couple so remembered.

 

The second major feast-day is on Sept 27(Sept 14 OS). It is the feast-day of the Exaltation of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day celebrates the finding of the Holy Cross by Queen Helen in Jerusalem during the early fourth century. The Holy Cross as well as the crosses of the two thieves had been discarded and covered by trash for centuries and later a pagan temple was built over the area. This was done to prevent the place from becoming a pilgrimage site for early Christians. After discovering the location, Queen Helen had the temple torn down and uncovered three crosses. Unable to determine which was the Holy Cross, the Patriarch of Jerusalem had the three crosses laid upon the corpse of a dead man. Upon being touched by the third cross the dead man arose to life again. The patriarch raised up the Cross for all to behold and they all cried out, “Lord have mercy!”. This day is also commemorated with fasting from meat and dairy products.

 

Parish Notes

With the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God on Aug 28 the time of extended fasts has ended until the start of the Nativity Fast on Nov 28. As mentioned above in the liturgical notes there are several special fasting days this month.

Luba Harrison will return from Russia on Sept 12. Please keep her in your prayers for a safe journey.

Several of the parish members and friends have special days this month:

 

Andrew Couch Sept 1 Namesday/Birthday

Dennis Stone Sept 8 Birthday

Kirill Silva Sept 19 Namesday/Birthday

Svetlana Weber Sept 27 Birthday

Lubov Harrison Sept 30 Namesday

May God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

Note: September is the month of the beginning of the harvest time for that is the reason the Church blesses the fruits at the Feast of the Transfiguration. Within ourselves we reap what we sow so that we must take care of what we do in our lives.

 

On Thoughts

 

Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nuture. If our thoughts are peaceful, calm, meek, and kind, then that is what our life is like. If our attention is turned to the circumstances in which we live, we are drawn into a whirlpool of thoughts and can have neither peace nor tranqiliity.

 

Everything, both good and evil, comes from our thoughts. Our thoughts become reality. Even today we can see that all of creation, everything that exist on the erath and in the cosmos, is nothing but Divine thought made material in time and space. We humans were created in the image of God. Mankind was given a great gift, but we hardly understand that. God's energy and life is in us, but we do not realize it. Neither do we understand that we greatly influence others with our thoughts. We can be very good or very evil, depending on the kind of thoughs and desires we breed.

 

If our thoughts are kind, peaceful, and quiet, turned only toward good, then we also influence ourselves and radiate peace all around us—in our family, in the whole country, everywhere. This is true not only here on earth, but in the cosmos as well. When we labor in the fields of the Lord, we create harmony. Divine harmony, peace, and quiet spred everywhere. However, when we breed negative thoughts, that is a great evil. When there is evil in us, we radiate it among our family members and wherever we go. So you see, we can be very good or very evil. If that's the way it is, it is certainly better to choose good! Destructive thoughts destroy the stillness within, and then we have not peace.

 

Our starting point is always wrong. Instead of beginning with ourselves, we always want to change others first and ourselves last. If everyone were to begn first with themselves, then there would be peace all around! St. John Chrysostom said that no one can harm the man who does not injure himself—not even the devil. You see, we are the sole architects of our future.

 

By his thoughats man often disturbs the order of creation. That is how the first people were destroyed—in a flood—because of their evil thoughts and intentions. This is true even today; our thoughts are evil, and therefore we do not bear good fruit. We must change. Each individual must change, but it unfortunate that we do have examples to guide us, either in our families or in society.

 

...You can see how it goes. When we nuture evil thoughts we become evil. We may think that we are good, but evil is in us. We do not have the strength to resist it. And we know that, as Christians, we must not even think evil, let alone do it.

 

We, however, have Divine power, Divine life, and Divine energy. On the day of the Final Judgment we shall have to give an answere for the way we have used this Divine power, life, and energy which have been give to us; whether we have contributed to the harmony in the universe or have sown disharmony. Excerpts from Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives by Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica.

August 2021 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 2021 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of August contains two of the twelve major Feast Days of the liturgical year. The first of these special days occurs on August 19 (Aug 6 OS). It is the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. “And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matt. 17:2). The event is a manifestation of God to man in that our Lord revealed His Divinity to Peter, James and John through a display of His uncreated, divine energy. During this event Moses and the Prophet Elijah appeared also. Christ revealed Himself as the Messiah and the Holy Trinity made an appearance through the voice of the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son' (Matt 17:5), the presence of the Son, and the revelation of the Holy Spirit in the form of a luminous cloud. Moses represents the Law and those who have died and Elijah represents the Prophets and—since he did not die—all those who are alive in Christ.

 

The Transfiguration also calls us to look forward to Christ's Second Coming, when all of nature's original beauty will be restored. The faithful brings grapes, apples, and other fruits to church to be blessed and shared as a sign of this final transfiguration of everything. Grapes are a perfect symbol, growing, and changing colors as they ripen in the light. Also, in a beautiful series of gift exchanges between God and His people, certain grapes are turned into wine and offered to Him; then this sine, along with the altar bread, is turned into His Body and Blood by the action of the Holy Spirit and offered back to us. In the Holy Mysteries, the fruits of nature have become God. The Gospel proclaims that this kind of transfiguration is our destiny as well: “The the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:43).

The second of these special days is that of the Dormition of the Mother of God or her physical death in the world on Aug 28 (Aug 15OS). The Theotokos was fully human and therefore subject as we are to physical death. Her departure from this world was foretold to her by an angel and sh requested that she be able to see the Apostles before her repose as the Apostles were dispersed by this time. The Apostles were brought to her bedside as by clouds with the exception of Thomas.

 

“The Apostles said all these things to the holy Mother of God, why they had come, and in what way; and she stretched her hands to heaven and prayed, saying: I adore, and praise, and glorify Your much to be praised name, O Lord, because You have looked upon the lowliness of Your handmaiden, and because You that are mighty have done great things for me; and, behold, all generations shall count me blessed. And after the prayer she said to the apostles: Cast incense, and pray. And when they had prayed, there was thunder from heaven, and there came a fearful voice, as if of chariots; and, behold, a multitude of a host of angels and powers, and a voice, as if of the Son of man, was heard, and the seraphim in a circle round the house where the holy, spotless Mother of God and virgin was lying, so that all who were in Bethlehem beheld all the wonderful things, and came to Jerusalem and reported all the wonderful things that had come to pass. (From the Apocryphal Book of St. John the Theologian).

 

The Apostles buried her on the site where her parents had been buried. Three days later the Apostle Thomas appeared and in his sorrow requested to see her body. The grave was opened and her body was no longer there. Her soul and body had been taken by her Son to be with Him in heaven. From there she is a constant intercessor and helper when we call upon her. She is proof of the promised Resurrection.

The fasting period related to the Dormition of the Theotokos begins on Aug 14 and ends on Aug 28.

 

Parish Notes

After the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Transfiguration our Lord Jesus Christ the church blesses fruits(especially grapes and apples) with a special prayer. This time coincides with the beginning of the harvest season.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Elias Gawrieh Aug 2 Namesday

Fr David Carder Aug 11 Birthday

Marina deFligue Aug 15 Birthday

Subdeacon George Gawrieh Aug 21 Birthday

Matushka Euphrosyne Carder Aug 24 Birthday

Tatiana Stone Aug 25 Birthday

Maximus Olsen Aug 26 Namesday

 

from the Fathers

True Christians live in this world as travellers, pilgrims, and sojourners, and they look ever toward their heavenly homeland with faith and with the eyes of the soul, and they strive to reach it. You should also be a pilgrim and sojourner in this world and constantly look toward that homeland and strive to obtain it, and so the world with its enticements and lusts will become abhorrent to you. Whoever seeks eternal blessedness and desires it and stives to reach it will despise everthing temporal, lest while seeking the temporal he be deprived of the eternal.

We were created for eternal life by our Creator, we are called to it be the word of God, and we are renewed by holy Baptism. And Christ the Son of God came into the world for this, that He should call us and take us there, and He is the one thing needful. For this reason your very first endeavor and care should be to receive it. Without it everyting is as nothing, though you have the whole world under you.

Every sin and attachment to the vanity of this world lays obstacles to the obtaining of eternal life. Then avoid all that, lest you be deprived of it. You cherish your temporary life, although you will in- evitably leave it, yet you do everything so as not to be deprived of it. How incomparably more must you safeguard your eternal life and make every effort so as not to be deprived of it, for all things temporal are nothing compared to the eternal. Seek, then, eternal life as your sole true good, and with every effort flee everyting that closes the door to it. God Who loves man wishes you to be saved. Then let that be your desire too, and without fail you shall be saved. Desire it and seek it as a hungry man seeks food and a thirsty man seeks water, and you shall receive what you desire.

Do not imitate those Christians who desire and seek to become rich, to pass their time in honor, and to be glorified in this world. They have forgotten that Christ, the Son of God, died and suffered for them, and that by His Suffering and death He has opened the door to eternal life and has called them to it. It is evident that they only desire and seek what the see, but they do not desire and seek what they do not see. Every day they stretch their hand out to the forbidden tree as Adam did in paradise, and they taste of it to their own misfortune, and so they depart in their heart from God...

...For a Christian's property and inheritance, honor, and glory, riches and every treasure, are not in this world, but in the age to come, and in the heavenly fatherland. There, all good things are prepared for them by their Heavenly Father. Excerpts from Journey to Heaven by St. Tikhon of Zadonsk.

 

May 2021 Newsletter

 

May 2021Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

 

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN! The calendar month of May begins on Holy Saturday this year. Bright Week, the week following Pascha, is a fast free week but we go back to regular Wednesday and Friday fasting on May 12. The Church celebrates Mid-Pentecost on May 26. This a point half way between Pascha and Pentecost. Throughout this month we begin our prayers with “Christ is risen from the dead.” replacing the invocation of the Holy Spirit, “O Heavenly King,...” until the Feast of Ascension. From the Feast of Ascension until the Feast of Pentecost we begin our prayers with the Troparia of Ascension. Because of the late date of Pascha this year both the Feast of Ascension and the Feast of Pentecost occur during the calendar month of June. On May 11, Radonitsa, the Church blesses the grave sites of our reposed brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

Parish Notes

Fr. Nicholas has been serving the parish since his ordination and throughout Holy Week. His assistance has truly been a blessing for all. May God bless his ministry and his family's sacrifice on his part.

Fr George will baptize Fr David and Matushka Euphrosyne's new daughter, Evangaline Ruth, on May 14 at Seeker of the Lost Mission in Little Rock. Fr Nicholas will be the Godfather.

Several members and friends of our parish have special days this month:

 

Fr. George May 6 Namesday

Subdn. George Gawrieh May 6 Namesday

Monica Olsen May 17 Namesday

Monica Olsen May 30 Birthday

 

 

May God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

 

On Faith and the Fear of God

Without living faith and the fear of God it is impossible to live in a godly way. Living faith is inspired in the human heart by contemplation of the word of God and by the Holy Spirit. For this reason we should read and heed the word of God and pray that God Himself ignite the lamp of faith in our heart. The fear of God arises most often from contemplation of the omnipresence of God and His omniscience. God is in essence everywhere present; and wherever we may be, He is with us; and whatever we may do, say, think, and undertake, we do, say, think, and undertake all before His holy eyes. And He knows our deeds far better than we do ourselves. Think about this, O Christian, and heed it, and with God's help the fear of God will be born in you. The fear of God will guard you and correct you everywhere and in all things, and will turn you away from every evil deed, and confirm you in every good deed. Thus day by day you will become better.

Keep God, then, before your spiritual eyes and you will have the fear of God, imitating the Psalmist, I beheld the Lord ever before me (Ps. 15:8). But what you ought to do will be made clear to you in subsequent points. Take heed, then, and endeavor to comply with it.

 

Pray as necessary

Prayer consists not only in standing and bowing before God in body, and in reading written prayers, but even without that it is possible to pray in mind and spirit at all times and in everyplace. You can do it while walking, sitting, reclining, among people, and in solitude. Raise up your mind and heart to God, and so beg mercy and help from Him. For God is everywhere and in every place, and the doors to Him are always open, and it is easy to approach Him, not as with man. And we can approach Him with faith and with our prayer everywhere and at all times, and in every need and circumstance. We can say to Him mentally at any time, “Lord, have mercy, Lord help!”, and so on.

 

Love Sacred Scripture and think on it

Love the Word of God, that is thke Scriptures, handed down to us by the prophets and apostles, as God Himself. For the word of God is the word of God's mouth. If you love God, then without fail you will love the word of God also. For the word of God is God's epistle or letter to us unworthy ones, and is His supreme gift to us for the sake of our salvation. If you love the Sender, then also love the letter which is sent from Him to you. For the word of God is given by God to me, to you, and to everyone, so that everyone who desires to be saved may receive salvation through it.

You love it when an earthly king writes you a letter, and you read it with love and joy. How much more must we read the letter of the Heavenly King with love and joy.

The word of God was not given to you so that it should lay written only on paper, but so that we may use it spiriually, that we may be enlightened and guided in the true way and salvation, that our morals may be corrected, and that we may live according to its rule in this world, and that we may please God. If you wish, therefore, to be a true Christian, then without fail you must take care to live by its rule. For the word of God is a heavenly seed. It must, then, yield fruit in us after its kind, that is a holy and heavenly life, otherwise it will accuse us on the day of the fearful Judgement of Christ. Live, therefore, as the word of God teaches, and then correct yourself. Do not pry idly into the mysteries.

Of the mystery of the All-HolyTrinity, the Most-Holy Eucharist, and other such things that are not revealed to us in the holy word of God, do not inquire idly, lest you fall into the snare of the devil and be tangled in it, and not be able to escape from thence, and so perish. For that which requires faith alone transcends our reasoning, and it is very dangerous to pry into these things. Keep yourself, then, from prying into things which are above you. Believe in all things as the Holy Scriptures teach, and as the Holy Church believes and establishes in accordance with it.

 

On the rash imitation of others

Do not rashly imitate whatever people may do. For from such rash imitation people go astray and are corrupted, and so hour by hour evil multiplies and piety disappears. But heed only what the word of God teaches.

Excerpts form Journey to Heaven by St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

 

April 2021 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2021 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of April contains two major feast days of the liturgical calendar; Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos and Palm Sunday. The Annunciation celebrates the revelation of the conception of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. St. Luke records this event in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs and Sunday, April 7, this year.

Palm Sunday commemorates the Entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Many people were in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. On the day before Palm Sunday the Lord had miraculously raised Lazarus from the dead and His fame had spread throughout the city so there were those who believed Him to be the Messiah and those who wanted to make Him king. His entry in to the city was greeted with jubilation by some and mistrust by others. He enters not as a king in a royal chariot but humbly on a donkey fulfilling the sayings of the prophets. Palm Sunday celebrated this year on April 25 ends the season of Great Lent. Pascha will be on May 2 this year.

After Palm Sunday the Church enters Holy Week following our Lord through His physical suffering in preparation for the joyous Resurrection of Pascha. See the Holy Week schedule for services. Some things change during Holy Week. After Holy Wednesday we no longer say the prayer of St. Ephraim daily as we have throughout Great Lent. The liturgical color changes to black from the Lenten purple color. This somber black color remains until Vespers of Holy Saturday.

The Holy Unction service is scheduled for Holy Wednesday. Since this is a forgiveness service the Church says that confession should be made prior to receiving the anointing of the Holy Oil. Father George will be available to hear confessions before the service which begins at 7:00PM.

Following Pascha there is a fast-free “Bright Week” where we continue the Paschal celebration. We enter the time when we do not make prostrations in the Church nor do we invoke the Holy Spirit when we begin our daily prayers. Following the Resurrection of Christ the holy Apostles were awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit as Christ had promised them so the Church awaits with them. So we do not say “O Heavenly King, Comforter....” but replace the invocation with “Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death be death and upon those in the tombs bestowing Life” saying this three times. This is done until Thomas Sunday, the first Sunday after Pascha. From thence we say only “Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death by death” in our prayers until the Feast of the Ascension on June 10.

 

Parish Notes

The wonder-working Kurst-Root Icon will visit our parish on the evening of April 7. There will be an Akathist Service served at 5:30PM for those who want to visit and pray before this miraculous Icon of the Mother of God.  Vesporal Liturgy for Annunciation will follow at 6;30PM.

 

Congratulations to Father Nicholas Olsen and his family upon his ordination to the priesthood by Archbishop Peter at the Diocesan Cathedral in Chigago on March 21. AXIOS! AXIOS! AXIOS! He is assgned as assistant priest for our parish. He will be a great asset as we approach Holy Week this year.

Father David and Matushka Efrosyne are expecting their new daughter anytime soon. Please keep them in your prayers.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Svetlana Weber April 2 Namesday

Elizabeth Olsen April 10 Birthday

Maria Silva April 18 Namesday

 

God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

Now we stand up and fall (in faith and virtues), but we hope for a time and condition when we shall no longer be able to fall, when we shall reach such a state of perfect safety from falling, as the angels have attained to, who are now inaccessible to evil, and when we shall become strengthened in holiness. In the meantime fight against sin, and hope that the time will at last come of perfect victory over sin and over death, which is its offspring. “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (I Cor 15:26).

“Now even a just man falleth seven times (Prov 24:16),” and falling, sighs and says: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? With the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin;” but the time shall come “when the law of sin, which is in our members shall be destroyed(Rom 6:6; 7:23-25),” and the law of God alone shall dwell in our hearts. Excerpts from My Life in Christ by St. John of Kronstadt.

 

Tentative Holy Week Schedule

 

Palm Sunday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Monday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Tuesday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Wednesday Holy Unction 7:00PM

 

Holy Thursday Vespers/Liturgy 9:00AM

Matins-Twelve Gospels 7:00PM

 

Holy Friday Royal Hours 8:00AM

Vespers 2:00PM

Lamentations 6:30PM

 

Holy Saturday Vespers/Liturgy 10:00AM

Midnight Office 11:30PM

 

Pascha Matins 12:00AM

Divine Liturgy Following Matins

Agape Vespers 1:30PM

 

 

March 2021 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 2021 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The Great Lenten fast begins on March 15 this year. Sunday, Mar 14, is cheesefare Sunday right before Great Lent begins. On this Sunday we celebrate Forgiveness Vespers following our meal in St. John's Hall. Wine and oil are allowed on the weekends and on several special days during the fasting period. The restriction on oil applies to olive oil. With the later production of vegetable oils these oils are allowed during the fasting period. This is analogous to the restriction on butter versus margarine since the quality and taste of the two(olive oil and butter) cannot be compared to the imitation, vegetable oil and margarine.

During this month we celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great on Sundays. The music for this Liturgy is somewhat different from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the quiet prayers that the priest recites are longer. You might experience some quiet moments during these Lenten Liturgies. Any weekly Liturgy is that of the Presanctified Divine Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great. This Lenten Liturgy starts with Vespers and finishes with partaking of the Presanctified Host to give us strength during this fasting time. The Presanctified Liturgy is served at 6:30 PM. One should prepare themselves by the appropriated pre-Communion prayers and by abstaining from food and drink from noon of the day if they desire to partake of the Holy Mysteries.

On March 9 the Church celebrates the 1st and 2nd findings of the Head of St. John the Baptist.

 

Parish Notes

It is planned for our deacon, Fr. Deacon Nicholas, to be ordained to the priesthood on March 21 in Chicago at the diocesan cathedral. He will serve our parish with Fr. George, and God willing, become the primary parish priest. AXIOS! AXIOS! AXIOS!

Several members and friends have special days this month:

Ricky Harrison Mar 3 Birthday

Luba Harrison Mar 10 Birthday

Janet Gawrieh Mar 10 Birthday

Maria Silva Mar 21 Birthday

 

God grant them many years!

 

From the Fathers

The primary aim of fasting is to make us conscious of our dependence upon God... The purpose of this is to lead us inturn to a sense of inward brokenness and contrition; to bring us, that is, to the point where we appreciate the full force of Christ's statement, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). If we always take our fill of food and drink, we easily grow over-confident in our own abilities, acquiring a false sense of autonomy and self-sufficiency. The observance of a physical fast undermines this sinful complacency. Stripping from us the specious assurance of the Pharisee-who fasted, it is true, but not in the right spirit-Lenten abstinence give us the saving self dissatisfaction of the Publican (Luke 18:10-13). Such is the function of the hunger and the tiredness: to make us 'poor in spirit', aware of our helplessness and of our dependence on God's aid...

As we fast from food, let us abstain also from every passion...

Let us observe a fast acceptable and pleasing to the Lord.

True fasting is to put away all evil,

To control the tongue, to forebear from anger,

To abstain from lust, slander, falsehhod and perjury.

If we renounce these things, then is our fasting true and acceptable to God.

Let us keep the Fast not only by refraining from food,

But by becoming strangers to all bodily passions...

Always in our acts of abstinence we should keep in mind St. Pauls admonition not to condemn others who fast less strictly: 'Let not him who abstains pass judgemtn on him who eats' (Rom. 14;3). Equally, we remember Christ's condemnation of outward display in prayer, fasting or almsgiving (Matt. 6:1-18). Both these Scriptural passages are often recalled in the Triodion:

Consider well, my soul: dost thou fast? Then despise not thy neighbor. Dost thou abstain from food? Condemn not thy brother. Come, let us cleanse ourselves by almsgiving and acts of mercy to the poor, not sounding a trumpet or making a show of our charity. Let not our left hand know what our right hand is doing. Let not vainglory scatter the fruit of our almsgiving. But in secret let us call on Him that knows all secrets. Father, forgive us our trespasses, for Thou lovest mankind. Excerpts from the Lenten Triodion.



O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle-talking give me not .

But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience and love bestow upon me Thy servant.

Yea, O Lord King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brtoher: for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.



God does not need our fasting. He does even need our prayer. The Perfect cannot be thought of as suffering any lack or needing anything that we, the creatures of His making, could give Him. Nor does He crave anything from us, but, says John Chrysostom, He allows us to bring Him offerings for the sake of own salvation.

The greatest offering we can present to the Lord is our self. We cannot do this without giving up our own will. We learn to do this through obedience, and obedience we learn through practice. The best form of practice is that provided by the Church in her presecribed fast days and seasons.

Besides fasting we have other teachers to whom we can show obedience. They meet us at every step in our daily life, if only we recognize their voices. Your wife wants you to take a raincoat with you: do as she wishes, to practice obedience. Your fellow-worker asks you to walk with her a little way: go with her to practice obedience. Wordlessly the infant asks for care and companionship: do as it wishes as far as you can, and thus practice obedience. A novice in a cloister could not find more opportunity for obedience than you in your own home. And likewise at your job and in your dealings with your neighbor. Excerpts from Way of the Ascetic by Tito Colliander.

February 2021 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 2021 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of February contains one of the major twelve Feast Days of the liturgical year, The Meeting of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the temple. On this day, Feb 2/15, the church celebrates the forty-day dedication of the first-born child, our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the Law given to Moses (Ex. 13:1-2, 14-15) by the Lord Himself. And so Mary and Joseph came after forty days of her purification to the Temple to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24).

Now there was a righteous and devout man named Simeon who had been guided to the Temple by the Holy Spirit. Simeon had been assigned to translate the Book of Isaiah from Hebrew to Greek in the year 270 B.C. When he came to the passage saying that a virgin should conceive and bear a son Simeon started to change the word virgin to young woman. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him not to do so and that Simeon would live to see this happen. Simeon's appearance in the temple was a fulfillment of this saying. (Note: Simeon must have been about 300 years old at this point).

St. Simeon, representing the Old Testament, took the Christ Child in his arms, and the Old and the New Testaments stood together: the Old, departing, held in its arms and blessed the New. Simeon was granted more than had been granted to any other man before him; he held the Almighty God in his arms and to him were revealed both the Glory and the Way of the Cross of his God: “for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of Thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:30).

As in ancient times today we bring our children at the fortieth day to be presented to the Lord and we bind them over to God. Baptized and sanctified by grace, our children, by being made members of the Church, take their first steps upon the way of grace and the way of the Cross that lies before those who would follow Christ.

On Sunday, Feb 21, we celebrate the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. The week following this Sunday is a fast-free week. This is also the first of the three preparatory Sundays leading up to Great Lent which begins on Mar 15. Pascha this year is celebrated on May 2.

 

Parish Notes

The annual parish business meeting is scheduled for Sunday, Feb 14 at 1:30PM. The parish reviews the previous year and sets new goals for the coming year. Mark your calendars and plan to be there for the meeting. Several projects that were approved last year have not been accomplished due to weather and adverse circumstaces. These projects will be reviewed at the upcoming business meeting.

Please keep Anna Headley, a long time supporter of our parish in your prayers. Her mother, Tamara, reposed on Jan 27 in Los Angeles, Ca.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

Maximus Olsen Feb 3 Namesday

Ksenia Couch Feb 6 Namesday

Andrew Sawyer Feb 25 Birthday

 

May God grant them many years!

 

from the Fathers

During the time of Diocletion, the priest Epictetus and the monk Astion lived piously in the East, and during the persecutions were seized and imprisoned by Latronianus, the military commander of Halmyris,...

On the next morning, a public tribuanl was set up, and the two accused Christians were brought before the judge. In the presence of the entire city, the judge asked them, “Where are you from, what is your name and your ancestry?”

Epictetus answered, “We are Christians and are born of Christian parents.”

“That is not what I asked ou,” countered Latronianus. “Tell me your names. I already know what faith you profess.”

The martyrs answered a second time, “We are Christians. We worship the Lord Jesus Christ alone, and we despise your idols.”

Hearing this, the judge became very angry and ordered them to be stripped naked and beaten without mercy for a very long teme. The martyrs, red with blood, raised their eyes to heaven and loudly prayed, “Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Thy will be done in us” Latronianus began to laugh and rebuke the maartyrs, saying, “Where is this mediator from whom you ask help? Let him come o help you and deliver you out of my hands.”

The martyrs only answered, “We are Christians. Let the will of God be done in us.”

This only angered the judge the more. He ordered them to be hanged and their bodies to be torn with metal hooks. However, the martyrs still only said, “We are Christians, and let the will of our God be done in us.”

The judge considered it to be a great dishonor to be defeaated by these martyrs, and orderd to have them burned by torches, but still he heard no other words leave their mouths. Finally, having suffered such tortures, the saints were imprisoned.

...Onthe next day after their first interrogation, they were brought back for further questioning. The judge, as cunning as a fox, asked the martyrs with false gentleness, “Well! Will you worship our gods or do you persist in your foolishness?”

Epictetus answered, “In vain do you, Latronianus, labor to convince us. We do not horor your hellish horrors. You will sooner deprive us of health and life than of our confession of Christ, our God. One thousand times we have repeated and we will continue to repeat to all the people that we are Christians, and let the will of our God be done in us.”

The torturer once again boiled over with rage and began to roar like a lion. “Bring the strongest salt and vinegar you can find this instant! Remind these reprobates about their wounds. Do not spare yourselves, and apply as much vinegar and salt to their wounds as you can.”

After thirty days, they appeared again before the tribunal in perfect health Now their mouths and teeth were struck with stones, and their bodies were beaten with rods. They continued to repeat, “ O Lord, our God, Thy will be done in us.” Finally, the judge condemned them to death by beheading...Thus, both of these saints died in a God-pleasing manner.

These martyrs are mirrors, in which the pious accord between the human and divine will is clearly reflected. They are examples worthy of emulation for every Christian who finds himself in the midst of a temptation to resist the will of God. In such cases, let every person strengthen himself with a short, but constant prayer:

 

I am a Christian. Let the will of God (Not my will) be done in me. Even if this temptation is unpleasant and difficult for me, still let the will of God be done in me. Though I did not foresee or expect such sorrows, still let the will of God be done in me. Though that man maliciously did me evil, let the will of God be done in me.

 

Excerpts from The Sunflower by St. John of Toblosk

 

January 2021 Newsletter

 

 

January 2021 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of January contains two of the twelve major Feast Days of the liturgical year as well as one of the secondary Feast Days of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first of these days begins on Wednesday, Jan 6 with the Royal Hours of the Nativity of our Lord followed with Vespers in the evening.. Divine Liturgy for the Nativity will be celebrated on Thursday, Jan 7, at 10:00AM. This will allow several people who wish to celebrate Nativity on the old calendar to be with us. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is the culmination of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament between God and man. This is a Divine Condescension whereby God takes on the form of a man, a servant for mankind. It is a great mystery beyond comprehension in its majesty of the mercy and love of God for mankind.

The secondary Feast Day is celebrated on Jan 14. It is the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Giver of the Mosaic Law condescends to submit Himself as a man to that Law. On the eighth day after His birth his Mother, the Theotokos, and Joseph take the Christ Child to the temple to be circumcised according to the Law. In His submission Christ fulfills the Law as He said He would.

The third of these days is the Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day commemorates the baptism of our Lord in the Jordan river by St. John the Baptist. This occurs on Tuesday, Jan 19. After Pascha and Pentecost, this is the greatest Feast of the Orthodox Church, predating even the Nativity in importance. This is the first public manifestation of God the Word Incarnate to the world. The Creator enters into the basic element of life, water, and thereby sanctifies fallen creation. The Lord by submitting to baptism institutes the Sacrament of Holy Baptism for the Church. Through this Sacrament we mystically die to the world and are joined to the Body of Christ and reborn a new creature cleansed of our former sins. The Great Blessing of Water is performed during this period and the water is used to bless homes during this Holy Season. Following Divine Liturgy we will proceed to De Queen lake to bless the waters with a Cross made from Theophany blessed water.

Parish Notes

The eve of Nativity is always a strict fast day. On the Sunday before Nativity, Jan 3 this year, wine and oil are allowed, but without fish. If there are questions please ask Fr. George for the appropriate guidance. During the weeks following Theophany, Jan 19, we will be doing the annual house blessings of the parish members. Please schedule this with Fr. George if you wish your home blessed during this season.

On Sunday, February 7, our deacon, Fr. Dn. Nicholas will travel to Chicago to be ordained to the priesthood. He will assist Fr. George in serving our parish in the future. Even though we loose our deacon the church receives a new priest! Glory be to God!

The heating and air-conditioning system on St. George's Inn had to be replaced at a cost of $4200.00. This has depleted the building fund somewhat and will impact other proposed projects. The annual business meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 7 following lunch after Divine Liturgy. Put this date on your calendar.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Carmen Maria Montero Jan 8 Birthday/Namesday

Fr. David Carder Jan 10 Namesday

Tatiana Skoumbourdis Jan 25 Namesday

Tatiana Stone Jan 25 Namesday

Anna Harrison Jan 27 Birthday

Anton Khudoley Jan 30 Namesday

 

God grant them many years!

From the fathers

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

The all-powerful God enters time and space as a helpless baby to rescue us from sin and death. The Savior's mission goes beyond the expectations of His chosen people, who have been waiting for the Messian to free them from generations of earthly hardship.

After searching for a room in crowded Bethlehem, Joseph and young Mary could only find a cave that was being used as a stable. There, among the animals, Mary gave birth to the Son of God. The busy crowds had no idea of the great event that had taken place. The humble shepherds, having been visited by an army of angels, were the only children of Israel to go see the Baby in the mangger. The three wise men who followed the bright star from the East were not of the chosen people. They had been searching for truth in the lights of the heavens. Christ, the source of all truth and light, had come down from heaven for them as well. After honoring Him with gifts, they would listen to an angel's advice and take a different path back home to avoid King Herod, who didn't want anyone to threaten his earthly power.

Like the wise men, we must change our course to avoid the way of King Herod, who wanted so badly hold onto his manner of life, no matter how terrible the cost. Despite the efforts of earthly kings, the King of the Universe is here, shining in our darkness. He is born not to create a powerful kingdom in this world, but to plant the Kingdom of Heaven in the heart of every person. The world is now changed forever. “The Truth has come, the shadow has passed away” (St. Sophronios). It is the dawn of the Sun of Righteousness: let us run to the light! Excerpts from Heaven meets Earth, Celebrating Pascha and the Twelve Feasts

 

Pronounce the Name of God with the deepest reverence, remembering, that everything was brought by God from non-existence into existence, and that everything which exists is maintained in good order solely by His mercy, omnipotence, and wisdom. Pronounce with the deepest reverence the Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, “by Whom all things were made, and all things are governed; Who, until now, upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb 1:3); Who produces times and seasons—summer, autumn, winter, and spring; Who brings forth all the fruits of the earth, peoples the earth with men and animals, the air with birds, the sea, the lakes, and rivers with fishes; Who multiplies the human race and provides it with all blessings—saves it from sins and evil spirits, and prepares an abode for those who love Him in the Kingdom of Heaven; Who, until now, makes the luminaries light the earth or moderate the darkness of the night; Who diffuses such vivifying air for all living cratures to breathe; Who has given such wonderful properties to fire, that it warms, burns, and lights; Who created the earth, capable of easily revolving round such an immense planet as the sun, as well as on its own axis; capable of generating innumerable sorts of plants; water, capable of being turned into an innumerable variety of juices in an innumerable multitude of fruits, trees, shrubs, and grasses...Reverently pronounce also the Name of the Most Pure Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Ever-Virgin Mary, Who gave birth to Him for our salvation; through Her, by the Lord's grace, we were found worthy of innumerable blessings: of the forgiveness of sins, of sanctification, of enlightenment, of renewal, deliveracne from eternal death, of elevation to heaven, of becoming the sons of God, of being made godly, and of inheriting life eternal...Excerpts from My Life in Christ by St. John of Kronstadt.

 

 

November 2020 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 2020 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

Although there are no major feast-days in this month, there are several important saints that we remember. On the calendar date of November 1 (OS Oct 19) the church celebrates the repose of Saint John of Kronstadt, one of Russia's most famous people of recent history. Saint John was born to humble parents and had a learning disability as a child. He prayed to God to help him overcome this disability and his prayers were answered. God also revealed to him that he would be a priest of His Church. He became to pre-revolutionary Russia what Saint John the Baptist was to Israel. Saint John saw what was coming upon Russia and pleaded with her people to repent and to return to Godly ways. The church where he served would be packed with so many people that an apple thrown above the crowd would not hit the floor so closely were they together. Because of his holiness, Saint John was given the gift of healing and was called to the bedside of the poor and royalty. The story of his life is available in the church library.

On November 8 (OS Oct 26) the church celebrates the feast-day of the Great Martyr Demetrios who, like the the Great Martyr George, was a Roman soldier who suffered because he would not worship the Roman idols. On November 26 (OS Nov 13) we celebrate the feast-day of Saint John Chrysostom who was one of the greatest preachers of the church. He was archbishop of Constantinople during the 4th century. Because of his God-given gift of speaking he was given the name of Chrysostom which means “golden tongue” in Greek.

 

Parish Notes

 

Please remember that daylight savings time ends on November 1. Remember to set your clocks back one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night and you can enjoy that extra hour of sleep that you had to give up this past spring! Tthe Nativity fasting period begins on November 28 and continues until the feast-day of Nativity on January 7 (OS Dec 25).

 

Saint Tikhon while archbishop of the Orthodox Church in this country blessed a special Thanksgiving service for the American Holiday of Thanksgiving. We will be doing this service on Wednesday evening, November 25, at 6:30PM. Join us in remembering on this day the real Source of all that we are and have, and offering heartfelt thanks for such blessings.

Several of our parish members and friends have special days this month.

 

John Gawrieh Nov 1 Namesday

Matrona Gaffney Nov 2 Namesday

Matushka Euphrosyne Carder Nov 6 Namesday

Theofil Carder Nov 10 Namesday

Mark Shortridge Nov 20 Birthday

Victoria Gawrieh Nov 24 Namesday

May God them many years!

 

 

 

 

From the fathers

On Thankfulness to God.

...When parents gain nothing personally from their children's gratitude, is it not strange that they constantly teach their children to be grateful, and make them practise gratitude—and this not just on the part of devout parents, but also that of unbelievers?

This is not in the least strange, but is, rather, sublime. It is the parents' selfless love, that drives them to teach their children gratitude. Why? That it should be for the childs good... grateful man is everywhere valued, liked, invited and assisted He who learns gratitude learns mercy, and a merciful man walks more freely in this world.

Let us now ask ourselves why God seeks men's thanks. Why did He seek of Noah, Moses, Abraham, and others of our forefathers that they offer Him sacrifices of thanksgiving....? Why did the Lord Jesus every day give an example to the world of how we must give thanks to God (Matt 11:25; 14:19; 26:26-27)? Why did the apostles do the same (Acts 2:47; 27:35), commanding all the faithful to give thanks to God in and for all things...? Why, then, does God seek men's thanks, and why do men give Him thanks? It is out of His endless love for mankind that God seeks that men give Him thanks. The thanks of men will not make God greater, more powerful, more glorious, richer or more alive, but they will make men all of these things. Man's gratitude will not add anything to God's peace and contentment, but it will add greatly to man's.

...Thanksgiving to God raises us mortals out of the corruption of mortality, releases us from that from which we must all at some time be released, whether we will or not, and binds us to God the living and immortal; if we are not bound to Him in this life, then we shall never be in His presence in eternity. Thanksgivng ennobles the thankful and nourishes good works. Thanksgiving inspires benevolence in the world, and gives freshness to every virtue. The mortal tongue of man is far from being able to represent either the beauty of gratitude or the ugliness of ingratitude as graphically as both are presented in the healing of the the lepers (Luke 17:12-19).

All of the lepers cried, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” And yet only...”one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.” Excerpts from the Prologue of Ohrid by Saint Nikolai Velimirovic'.

 

[Ed. note} As we approach the national Day of Thanksgiving we should first of all be thankful to Almighty God for His bountiful goodness and love for mankind and for all He gives us every minute, hour, and day of our lives. If gratefulness had been taught in the families and schools for the past sixty years perhaps we in this country would be witnessing goodness, peace, and love rather than contention, devisiveness, anger, crime, and hardness of heart! We, like the lepers, should be crying, “Jesus, Master, have mercyon us!

August 2020 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

August 2020 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of August contains two of the twelve major Feast Days of the liturgical year. The first of these special days occurs on August 19 (Aug 6 OS). It is the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. “And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matt. 17:2). The event is a manifestation of God to man in that our Lord revealed His Divinity to Peter, James and John through a display of His uncreated, divine energy. During this event Moses and the Prophet Elijah appeared also. Christ revealed Himself as the Messiah and the Holy Trinity made an appearance through the voice of the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son' (Matt 17:5), the presence of the Son, and the revelation of the Holy Spirit in the form of a luminous cloud. Moses represents the Law and those who have died and Elijah represents the Prophets and—since he did not die—all those who are alive in Christ.

 

The Transfiguration also calls us to look forward to Christ's Second Coming, when all of nature's original beauty will be restored. The faithful brings grapes, apples, and other fruits to church to be blessed and shared as a sign of this final transfiguration of everything. Grapes are a perfect symbol, growing, and changing colors as they ripen in the light. Also, in a beautiful series of gift exchanges between God and His people, certain grapes are turned into wine and offered to Him; then this sine, along with the altar bread, is turned into His Body and Blood by the action of the Holy Spirit and offered back to us. In the Holy Mysteries, the fruits of nature have become God. The Gospel proclaims that this kind of transfiguration is our destiny as well: “The the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:43).

The second of these special days is that of the Dormition of the Mother of God or her physical death in the world on Aug 28 (Aug 15OS). The Theotokos was fully human and therefore subject as we are to physical death. Her departure from this world was foretold to her by an angel and sh requested that she be able to see the Apostles before her repose as the Apostles were dispersed by this time. The Apostles were brought to her bedside as by clouds with the exception of Thomas.

 

“The Apostles said all these things to the holy Mother of God, why they had come, and in what way; and she stretched her hands to heaven and prayed, saying: I adore, and praise, and glorify Your much to be praised name, O Lord, because You have looked upon the lowliness of Your handmaiden, and because You that are mighty have done great things for me; and, behold, all generations shall count me blessed. And after the prayer she said to the apostles: Cast incense, and pray. And when they had prayed, there was thunder from heaven, and there came a fearful voice, as if of chariots; and, behold, a multitude of a host of angels and powers, and a voice, as if of the Son of man, was heard, and the seraphim in a circle round the house where the holy, spotless Mother of God and virgin was lying, so that all who were in Bethlehem beheld all the wonderful things, and came to Jerusalem and reported all the wonderful things that had come to pass. (From the Apocryphal Book of St. John the Theologian).

 

The Apostles buried her on the site where her parents had been buried. Three days later the Apostle Thomas appeared and in his sorrow requested to see her body. The grave was opened and her body was no longer there. Her soul and body had been taken by her Son to be with Him in heaven. From there she is a constant intercessor and helper when we call upon her. She is proof of the promised Resurrection.

The fasting period related to the Dormition of the Theotokos begins on Aug 14 and ends on Aug 28.

 

Parish Notes

As school will be starting this month for some of our members we will read the prayers for the beginning of the school year following Divine Liturgy on Aug 9. After the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Transfiguration our Lord Jesus Christ the church blesses fruits(especially grapes and apples) with a special prayer. This time coincides with the beginning of the harvest season.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Elias Gawrieh Aug 2 Namesday

Fr David Carder Aug 11 Birthday

Marina deFligue Aug 15 Birthday

Subdeacon George Gawrieh Aug 21 Birthday

Matushka Euphrosyne Carder Aug 24 Birthday

Tatiana Stone Aug 25 Birthday

Maximus Olsen Aug 26 Birthday

 

from the Fathers

...Why did the Lord take only three disciples onto Tabor, and not all? Because Judas was not worthy to behold the divine glory of the Teacher, Whom he would betray; and the Lord did not want to leave him alone at the foot of the mountain, so that the betrayer would not, because of this, justify his betrayal. Why was our Lord transfigured on a mountain and not in a valley? So as to teach us two virtues: love of labor and godly thoughts—for climbing to the heights requires labor, and the heights themselves represent the elevation of our thoughts to the things of God. Why was our Lord transfigured at night? Because the night is more suitable than the day for prayer and godly thoughts; and the night, by its darkness, conceals all the beauty of the earth, and reveals the beauty of the starry heavens. Why did Moses and Elias appear? In order to destroy the Jewish fallacy that Christ was one of the prophets—Elias or Jeremiah or some other. That is why He appeared as a King, above the prophets, and that is why Moses and Elias appeared as His servants. Until then, our Lord had manifested His divine power many times to the disciples; but on Mount Tabor He manifested His Divine Nature. This vision of His Divinity, and the hearing of the heavenly witness to His being the Son of God, must have served the disciples in the days of the Lord's passion—in the strengthening of a steadfast faith in Him and in His final victory. Commentary on the Transfiguration from The Prologue of Ohrid by St. Nikolai Velimirovic.

 

Keep from prying into other people's affairs, for such prying gives occasion for slander, judgement and other grievious sins. Why do you need to be concerned about others? Know and examine your own self.

Recall your own past sins and purge them with repentance and contrition of heart, and you will not look at what other people do. Look often into your own heart and examine that most ruinous evil hidden there. For we can never examine our heart without knowing precisely that every evil is contained in it.

This investigation is profitable to you, for it gives birth to humility and to fear and watching over one's own self, and to sighing and prayer to God. But examination of the sins of others is the beginning of every iniquity and it is a curiosity hateful to God and man. Then guard yourself against it. Excerpt from Journey to Heaven by St. Tikhon of Zadonsk.

July 2020 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

July 2020 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of July begins in the in the middle of the Apostles' fasting period. On July 4 we celebrate the feastday of St. John of San Francisco, one of our saints of North America. On July 7 the Church celebrates the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, one of the three birthdays remembered on the Church calendar. On July 12 we celebrate the Feast Day of the Apostles Peter and Paul. This Feast Day ends the Apostles' Fasting period and we resume the normal fast days of Wednesday and Friday. This will continue until August 14 when we begin the two week Dormition Fast.

Other important days this month include the feast day of the Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia on July 17 and the feast day of Holy Great Prince Vladimir of Rus on July 28.

 

Parish Notes

.As the ground hopefully dries out in July the parish will begin construction of the walkway from the church to the cemetery which was approved at the 2020 parish business meeting in February.

Archbishop Peter sent out a special prayer to be included in the Divine Liturgy for the turmoil in our country caused be the civil unrest. It would be a good practive to include this prayer in the morning prayers said each day. The prayer is on he next page of this newsletter.

 

Some of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Matrona Gaffney Jul 2 Birthday

Maximus Olsen Jul 5 Birthday

Victoria Gawrieh Jul 7 Birthday

Janet Gawrieh Jul 10 Namesday

Elizaveta Shkurina Jul 18 Namesday

Elisabeth Olsen Jul 18 Namesday

Marie Louise Carder Jul 18 Birtday

Theofil Carder Jul 24 Birthday

Ksenia Couch Jul 24 Birthday

Marina deFligue Jul 30 Namesday

 

From the fathers

We are experiencing civil unrest in our American land that has not been seen since the 1970's so many younger people are filled with fear about the future. Unfortunately the media does not offer comfort but seems to feed the fear-flame with reports and scenes of sickness, death, rioting, and destruction. Like all things in the history of the temporal world...this too shall pass. We must ground ourselves in our Orthodox Faith and in the spiritual strength that It gives to us. The following is an appeal from Archbishop Peter.

 

Dear in Christ Clergy, Brothers and Sister of our God-loving Diocese of Mid-America,

 

I greet you all with the great feast of Pentecost—the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and establishment of the Holy New-Testament Church of Christ.

 

Since the day of Her foundation, the Holy Church always defended and cared for the oppressed, widows, orphans, and homeless. (Acts: III, 45; IV, 34-35; VI, 1-3) Besides, all charity was of free will and non-compulsory. (Acts: V,4) And so it was throughout the ages.

 

State social services appeared rather recentlly.

 

The Holy Church was always against any kind of revolutions or forceful overturning of power. Instead, She supported civil evolution. For example, being persecuted, She peacefully, without any riots, changed the course of the pagan Roman Empire, having completely regenerated it.

 

The same was done by Orthodox Christian missionaries, who spread the Holy Gospel among different nations.

 

Look at the history of Holy Russia and compare by what means the Bolsheviks planted “equality”.

 

Now we are experiencing great turmoil in our United Sates. Attempts are made to destroy all foundations of law and order. In the name of “justice” we see looting, destruction, and mayhem.

 

The Holy Church was always against such actions, and Orthodox Christains cannot participate or support them.

 

Apostle Paul writes that we should pray for the land we live in and its authorities. If there is peace in the land, so will the Church and Her children live in peace and prosperity.

 

Therfore, we should enforce our prayers for our American land and its peace and tranquility.

 

“O Lord Jesus Christ our God, do Thou calm the agitation and discord in our American land, banish from us slander and conflict, murder and drunkenness, bitter disputes and scandals, and burn out of our hearts every impurity, conflict and evil, that again we all may love one another and abide, as one, in Thee, O Lord, our God, as Thou has commanded and directed us. Grant peace to Thy Church and to Her children,that with one heart and one mouth we glorify Thee, our Lord and Savior, unto the ages of ages. Amen.”

 

+Peter, Archbishop of Chicago & Mid-America

 

 

June 2020 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 2020 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of June contains one of the twelve major liturgical feast days: the Descent of the Holy Spirit/Pentecost on June 7.

The Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit/Pentecost follows fifty days after the Feast of the Resurrection and is celebrated on Sunday, June 16. “Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I no not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on Me: Of righteousness, because I go to MY Father, and ye shall see Me no more: Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot hear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself: but whatsoever He shall hear, the shall He speak: And He will shew you things to come.” (John 16:7-13).

Ten days after Christ's Ascension, His followers gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Old Testament Feast of Pentecost, which recalled God's giving of the Law to His people. The apostles had remained together in obedience to Christ's instructions to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4).

This gift of the Holy Spirit completes the revelation of the Holy Trinity to the world. This day is also considered the Birthday of the Church and it continues until this day and is eternal as it is the Body of Christ. The week following Pentecost is fast-free. On the evening of Pentecost we serve “Kneeling Vespers”. At this service we begin making of prostrations in church which was set aside at Pascha.
This service is done at 1:30PM on Pentecost Sunday. After this we begin our daily prayers again with the invocation of the Holy Spirit, “O Heavenly King, Spirit of Truth...”

The Apostles' Fast begins on June 15 this year and ends on July 12 with the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul. This time of summer Lent is not as strict as Great Lent in that fish is allowed on the weekends and at various days during the fast. See the attached calendar for the other days.

 

Parish Notes

The Parish Feast Day of All Saints of America is celebrated on Sunday, June 21. This coincides with the Sunday of All Saints of Russia. Please mark your calendars. Several members and friends of our parish have special days this month:

Constantine Skoumbourdis June 3 Namesday

Elizveta Shkurina June 4 Birthday

Anton Khudoley June 7 Birthday

Fr George June 9 Birthday

Monica Olsen June 28 Namesday

May God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

The following excerpts were written by Novice Symeon of Valaam Monastery, Russia during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. They are of spiritual value for Orthodox Christians of today, as the world faces a serious challenge from a new virus. While we should take appropriate measures against the spread of the virus-both for our own protection and for that of others-at the same time such crises can aid us in bringing to mind our own mortality...

 

“Today, September 11, 1918, I was with Fr. Paisius...He was swollen, and barelly moved. He was beginning to lose consciousness....He sent me to invite Fr. Daniel to eat with him. I went to the the latter, who was lying in the upstairs ward...he was ill in his chest. On the other side of the bed Monk Barnabas was sitting on his cot, leaning his elbows on the on the table with his back to us...Yellow and utterly thin, he gave the impression of a living corpse. What was he thinking about? About the nearness of death and the passage to eternity?...One cot over from him, Schemamonk Innocent, who is suffering from consumption in its last stages, was sitting and reading a book.

They had all once been healthy and young. They had had their life's goals and hopes, some of which they had fulfilled others of which they had not. They had had their joys and sorrows, which had, perhaps, powerfully impacted them....And their lives flowed along the usual course of the human path, until one day sickness came and they took to their beds. They fall ill, they suffer, and then one by one they depart to eternity...

Varied are the situations of man in life, but their end is the same. Sickness lays everyone equally in bed and makes them helpless, and death turns them into earth. Is there anything in human life that death does not destroy? Health?...Learning?...Riches?...Nobility?

Everthing on earth is a dream, a sound, a vapor, that appears for a brief time and then disappears. I, as a monk, should consider each day of my life to be the last. Arising in the morning, I should think that, perhaps, in the evening I will be lying in a coffin. Lying down to sleep, I should think that, perhaps, I will not see tomorrow. I should remember that, no matter how long I live, I will not escape the hour of death. Perhaps it is standing a few weeks from me, or perhaps even a few days.

At every deed I should think that I am doing this for the last time. If I acquire such thoughts, no situation whatever will be terrible for me...Death itself does not have a great significance—what if far more important is, where will I be after death? In the heavenly abodes, or in the fire of Gehenna? Here, everything is temporary, inconstant, and transitory, but there everything is eternal and unchangeable. Tens of years, hundreds, thousands, millions, but eternity will still only be beginning. The righteous will live in eternal joy, and this joy will never decease for them. On earth, every joy, if it continues for a long time, begins to lose its power, and at last a man no longer notices it. A healthy man learns the value of health when he fall ill; a man who is sated learns the value of satiety during a famine, and so forth. Even if he is in great suffering, if it continues for a very long time, a man begins to get used to it and does not feel its acuteness. Not so with sinners beyong the grave. There the suffering will not decrease due to its duration. Their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched. Only then will their eyes be opened, and they will see that everything to which their hearts had become attached on earth turned out to be smoke and a soap bubble. They will want to return to earth again, so as to live their life over again in a new way, in every kind of misfortune, humiliation, poverty, and contraint, but this will not longer be possible for them...their suffering will only increase.

How am I to live so as to escape torment and receive blessedness? Considering each day of my life to be the last, I should strive that each minute of it not be lost in vain, but that it be used for the acquistion of eternal blessedness...And when an occasion presents itself to do a good deed, I should rejoice that by this, even if by a small step, I am drawing closer to the Kingdom of Heaven.” Novice Symeon, Sept 11, 1918.

Exactly five days later,, on Sep 16, Novice Symeon fell ill and died from the Spanish flu. Excerpted from the The Othodox Word, No. 326, 2019.

May 2020 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 2020 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

 

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN! In May the Church celebrates Mid-Pentecost on May 20. This is a point half way between Pascha and Pentecost. Throughout this month we begin our prayers with “Christ is risen from the dead.” replacing the invocation of the Holy Spirit, “O Heavenly King,...” until the Feast of Ascension. From the Feast of Ascension until the Feast of Pentecost we begin our prayers with the Troparia of Ascension (Thou hast ascended in glory, O Christ our God, having gladdened Thy disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit; and they were assured by the blessing that Thou art the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world). This year the Feast of Ascension on May 28. This Feast commemorates our Lord's departure from His disciples after His 40-day sojourn with them after His Resurrection during which time He continued to teach and prepare them for their forthcoming mission. Before their very eyes He ascended into the heavens and left them to wait in Jerusalem for Pentecost.

 

Parish Notes

God has been has been gracious in that, so far, He has spared members of our parish the affliction of the current pandemic...glory and thanks be to God! Hopefully we can begin to gather regularly for the Divine Liturgy while taking proper precautions stipulated by the health authorities. With our few members there is space to practice the 'social distancing' guidelines within our little church.

 

We will be staining the new decks of St. George's Inn during this month following a few days of dry weather and sunshine. If you would like to help with this project please contact Fr. George. Through donations we continue to furnish St. George's Inn with furniture and kitchen appliances.

 

Several members and friends of our parish have special days this month:

 

Fr. George May 6 Namesday

Subdn. George Gawrieh May 6 Namesday

Monica Olsen May 17 Namesday

Monica Olsen May 30 Birthday

 

 

May God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

...When swallows run short of food and the cold weather is coming, they set off to warm climes, where there is plenty of sun and food. One swallow flies ahead, testing the air and showing the way, and the rest of the flock follow after.

When our souls run short of food in the material world, and when the cold of death draws near-oh, is there a swallow like that one, to take us to a warm place, where there is plenty of spiritual warmth and food?: Is there such a place? Is there, oh, is there such a swallow?

“O that I had wings like a dove; for then would I flee away and be at rest”, the Psalmist cried in distress before Christ's coming. Why? He himself explains: “My heart is disquieted within me, and the fear of death is fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and an horrible dread hath overwhelmed me”. Such a terrible sense of deathly fear and horror of of existence in the wastes of this life must, like a heavy nightmare, have weighted on the whole rational, honest world before Christ.

 

...Can you still, as in a dream, feel that place of warmth and light from which you have been driven out? Lo, the gates were closed behind you, and cherubim with flaming swords were placed there, to forbid your approach. Lo, sin has clipped your wings-not bird's wings but divine wings-and has forced you fimly down to the groud. Someone is needed, first to free you from the weight of sin, to wash you and make you stand erect. And then someone is needed to implant and nourish new wings in you, so that you can fly. Then you need someone, someone very strong, for whom the cherubim with flaming swords will stand aside, to let you through to your glorious homeland. Lastly, you need someone who will find mercy for you from your grieved Creator, so that He will receive you once more in the lands of His immortal country. This “someone” was unknown to the pre-Christian world. He revealed Himself as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. From love for you, He bowed down from heaven to earth and came down on earth, clothed Himself in flesh, endured hunger and thirst, gave His face to spitting and His body to be nailed to the Crosss, lay in the tomb as a corpse, went down to hell to destroy a prison worse than this life, that was intended for you after your parting from the body-and all this in order to save you from the mire of sin, and set you on your feet. He rose from the dead, by this means to give you wings for flight to heaven, and finally ascended into heaven to open the way to you and bring you into the angels' abode. You do not how have to sigh in fear, trembling and horror as King David did, nor to desire wings like a dove, for the Eagle has appeared, and has shown and cloven a road through. You have only to nuture the spiritual wings that you were given at your baptism in His name, and to desire with all your strength to climbup there where He ascended. He has done ninety-nine percent of all that is needed for your salvation; will you not strive to that one remaining percentage point for your own salvation, and this when, for you, an entrance shall be ministered...abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (II Peter 1:11)? Excerpts from a homily on Ascension by Saint Nikolai Velimirovic.

April 2020 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2020 Newsletter

 

From Archbishop Peter

 

 

 

Diocesan Policy Regarding Public Worship During the Coronavirus Pandemic

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention COVID-19 is present in all 50 states and is being spread within the community, that is, the virus is now native to local communities in all states in our diocese and is being conveyed person to person. Although the rate of spread is not the same from state to state, circumstances are changing rapidly. New orders are issued on an almost daily basis. In order to provide protection for the faithful, and to further emphasize the serious risk of this disease, the Diocese must impose a uniform rule for all it's parishes.

Given the above, it is incumbent upon the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America to act in the best interest of its faithful. It is crucial that the Divine Services continue in each parish and monastery of the diocese if at all possible. But because community spread is rampant now, and because Italy has provided us with an excellent example of the negative outcomes we can expect if this virus is not taken seriously, and because the diocese cares for both the spiritual and temporal health of its faithful, beginning on Monday, 10/23 March, 2020, with the blessing of Archbishop Peter, public services will no longer be held in the diocese until further notice. Divine Services will be conducted by the smallest number of clergymen and support staff possible, but with a hard cap of 10 individuals maximum. Those who wish to commune may do so at home by making an appointment with their parish priest. The faithful may not commune in any other way than with a home visit or a visit to a medical facility. A Public Health Protocol will be sent to each of the priests and must be followed in the case of a home/medical facility visit. The frequency of partaking of Holy Communion for each of the faithful is strictly at the discretion of the parish priest. It is expected that in these extraordinary times the faithful would likely partake less often than they might if the churches of our diocese were open as usual. This is especially true for those who are not ill. As the pandemic develops there could be very many ill that our priests will have to care for. Those who are not ill need to consider the strain this pandemic will take on our clergy as they care for the sick and dying. It is inappropriate for the faithful to quarrel with the priest about the frequency of partaking, but of course all such civil discussions are welcome. The priest should, if necessary, prepare more of the Reserve Sacrament at any of the Saturday or Sunday Divine Liturgies during this pandemic. The faithful will be communed only with the Reserve Sacrament – the Mysteries consecrated at the Divine Liturgy will not be brought from the church to the faithful under any circumstances. The civil authorities are under much pressure now, and now is not the time to have a First Amendment debate with a law enforcement officer who pulls a priest over who is carrying a chalice with the Divine Gifts in his car. Discretion is the better part of valor and we will exercise discretion – not seek to antagonize the civil authorities in this way. There will be no exceptions to the above. Those with questions are asked to contact Fr. Gregory Joyce, Diocesan Secretary with questions or for clarification. Fr. Gregory will discuss all issues with Archbishop Peter.

It should be known that three physicians who are practicing Orthodox Christians assisted in the creation of this policy.

 

--

Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
P.O. Box 1367, Des Plaines, IL 60017
phone: 847-373-4002

www.chicagodiocese.org

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of April contains three major feast days of the liturgical calendar; Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, Palm Sunday, and Pascha. The Annunciation celebrates the revelation of the conception of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. St. Luke records this event in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs and Sunday, April 7, this year.

Palm Sunday commemorates the Entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Many people were in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. On the day before Palm Sunday the Lord had miraculously raised Lazarus from the dead and His fame had spread throughout the city so there were those who believed Him to be the Messiah and those who wanted to make Him king. His entry in to the city was greeted with jubilation by some and mistrust by others. He enters not as a king in a royal chariot but humbly on a donkey fulfilling the sayings of the prophets. Palm Sunday ends the season of Great Lent.

After Palm Sunday the Church enters Holy Week following our Lord through His physical suffering in preparation for the joyous Resurrection of Pascha. See the Holy Week schedule for services. Some things change during Holy Week. After Holy Wednesday we no longer say the prayer of St. Ephraim daily as we have throughout Great Lent. The liturgical color changes to black from the Lenten purple color. This somber black color remains until Vespers of Holy Saturday.

The Holy Unction service is scheduled for Holy Wednesday. Since this is a forgiveness service the Church says that confession should be made prior to receiving the anointing of the Holy Oil. Father George will be available to hear confessions before the service which begins at 7:00PM.

Following Pascha there is a fast-free “Bright Week” where we continue the Paschal celebration. We enter the time when we do not make prostrations in the Church nor do we invoke the Holy Spirit when we begin our daily prayers. Following the Resurrection of Christ the holy Apostles were awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit as Christ had promised them so the Church awaits with them. So we do not say “O Heavenly King, Comforter....” but replace the invocation with “Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death be death and upon those in the tombs bestowing Life” saying this three times. This is done until Thomas Sunday, the first Sunday after Pascha. From thence we say only “Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death by death” in our prayers until the Feast of the Ascension on May 17.

 

Parish Notes

The above policy from the Diocese concerning public worship will obviously effect the coming Paschal Season and the Holy Week Schedule with the cessation of public worship services. So the below Tentative Holy Schedule is just that, tentative, for we can not anticipate what the next few weeks will bring. Fr George will provide the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion to the parish members to the best of his ability upon request until this crisis is past. May God us strength to prevail in all situations.

 

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

 

Svetlana Weber April 2 Namesday

Constantin Skoumbourdis April 5 Birthday

Elizabeth Olsen April 10 Birthday

Maria Silva April 14 Namesday

 

God grant them many years!

Tentative Holy Week Schedule

 

Palm Sunday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Monday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Tuesday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Wednesday Vespers 6:30PM

 

Holy Thursday Vespers/Liturgy 9:00AM

Matins-Twelve Gospels 7:00PM

 

Holy Friday Royal Hours 8:00AM

Vespers 2:00PM

Lamentations 6:30PM

 

Holy Saturday Vespers 10:00AM

Midnight Office 6:30PM

 

Pascha Matins 7:00PM

Pascha Sunday

Divine Liturgy 10:00AM

Agape Vespers 6:30PM

 

 

March 2020 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

March 2020 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The Great Lenten fast begins on March 2 this year. Sunday, Mar 1, is cheesefare Sunday right before Great Lent begins. On this Sunday we celebrate Forgiveness Vespers following our meal in St. John's Hall. Wine and oil are allowed on the weekends and on several special days during the fasting period. The restriction on oil applies to olive oil. With the later production of vegetable oils these oils are allowed during the fasting period. This is analogous to the restriction on butter versus margarine since the quality and taste of the two(olive oil and butter) cannot be compared to the imitation(vegetable oil and margarine).

During this month we celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great on Sundays. The music for this Liturgy is somewhat different from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the quiet prayers that the priest recites are longer. You might experience some quiet moments during these Lenten Liturgies. Any weekly Liturgy is that of the Presanctified Divine Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great. This Lenten Liturgy starts with Vespers and finishes with partaking of the Presanctified Host to give us strength during this fasting time. The Presanctified Liturgy is served at 6:30 PM. One should prepare themselves by the appropriated pre-Communion prayers and by abstaining from food and drink from noon of the day if they desire to partake of the Holy Mysteries.

On March 8 the Church celebrates the 1st and 2nd findings of the Head of St. John the Baptist.

 

Parish Notes

Congratulations to the elected officers of the parish from the Business meeting on Feb 9. May God bless their service.

Several members and friends have special days this month:

 

Ricky Harrison Mar 3 Birthday

Luba Harrison Mar 10 Birthday

Janet Gawrieh Mar 10 Birthday

Maria Silva Mar 21 Birthday

 

God grant them many years!

 

From the Fathers

 

Go to Church, weep over your sins, await together with Her, with great fear, the day of judgment.

The Church continually thinks about the judgment: morning, day and night; every day, early and late, the Church reminds Her children of this great day, which will decide the fate of the entire human race; and yet Her children are busy with thoughts of how pleasant it is for them to turn their heads for a few minutes, to cheer their hearts with the joys of earthly passions. The Lord, the Truth, the Life thunders with His voice about how His judgment will be accomplished without fail, and commands us to watch and pray always in spirit (Mark 13:33); Luke 21:36), in order that we may avoid the terrible fate of the condemned, the Apostles assure us that the Judge is standing at the door (James 5:9) ...and we act as if we don't even want to hear any of this. Excerpts from Season of Repentance, Lenten Homilies of St. John of Kronstadt for Meatfare Sunday, The Last Judgment.



The primary aim of fasting is to make us conscious of our dependence upon God. If practised seriously, the Lenten abstinence from food—particularly in the opening days—involves a considerable measure of real hunger, and also a feeling of tiredness and physical exhaustion. The purpose of this is to lead us inturn to a sense of inward brokenness and contrition; to bring us, that is, to the point where we appreciate the full force of Christ's statement, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). If we always take our fill of food and drink, we easily grow over-confident in our own abilities, acquiring a false sense of autonomy and self-sufficiency. The observance of a physical fast undermines this sinful complacency. Stripping from us the specious assurance of the Pharisee-who fasted, it is true, but not in the right spirit-Lenten abstinence give us the saving self dissatisfaction of the Publican (Luke 18:10-13). Such is the function of the hunger and the tiredness: to ake us 'poor in spirit', aware of our helplessness and of our dependence on God's aid...

As we fast from food, let us abstain also from every passion...

Let us observe a fast acceptable and pleasing to the Lord.

True fasting is to put away all evil,

To control the tongue, to forebear from anger,

To abstain from lust, slander, falsehhod and perjury.

If we renounce these things, then is our fasting true and acceptable to God.

Let us keep the Fast not only by refraining from food,

But by becoming strangers to all bodily passions...

Always in our acts of abstinence we should keep in mind St. Pauls admonition not to condemn others who fast less strictly: 'Let not him who abstains pass judgemtn on him who eats' (Rom. 14;3). Equally, we remember Christ's condemnation of outward display in prayer, fasting or almsgiving (Matt. 6:1-18). Both these Scriptural passages are often recalled in the Triodion:

Consider well, my soul: dost thou fast? Then despise not thy neighbor. Dost thou abstain from food? Condemn not thy brother. Come, let us cleanse ourselves by almsgiving and acts of mercy to the poor, not sounding a trumpet or making a show of our charity. Let not our left hand know what our right hand is doing. Let not vainglory scatter the fruit of our almsgiving. But in secret let us call on Him that knows all secrets. Father, forgive us our trespasses, for Thou lovest mankind. Excerpts from the Lenten Triodion.



O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle-talking give me not .

But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience and love bestow upon me Thy servant.

Yea, O Lord King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brtoher: for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.





February 2020 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

February 2020 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of February contains one of the major twelve Feast Days of the liturgical year, The Meeting of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the temple. On this day, Feb 2/15, the church celebrates the forty-day dedication of the first-born child, our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the Law given to Moses (Ex. 13:1-2, 14-15) by the Lord Himself. And so Mary and Joseph came after forty days of her purification to the Temple to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24).

Now there was a righteous and devout man named Simeon who had been guided to the Temple by the Holy Spirit. Simeon had been assigned to translate the Book of Isaiah from Hebrew to Greek in the year 270 B.C. When he came to the passage saying that a virgin should conceive and bear a son Simeon started to change the word virgin to young woman. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him not to do so and that Simeon would live to see this happen. Simeon's appearance in the temple was a fulfillment of this saying. (Note: Simeon must have been about 300 years old at this point).

St. Simeon, representing the Old Testament, took the Christ Child in his arms, and the Old and the New Testaments stood together: the Old, departing, held in its arms and blessed the New. Simeon was granted more than had been granted to any other man before him; he held the Almighty God in his arms and to him were revealed both the Glory and the Way of the Cross of his God: “for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of Thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:30).

As in ancient times today we bring our children at the fortieth day to be presented to the Lord and we bind them over to God. Baptized and sanctified by grace, our children, by being made members of the Church, take their first steps upon the way of grace and the way of the Cross that lies before those who would follow Christ.

On Sunday, Feb 9, we celebrate the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. The week following this Sunday is a fast-free week. This is also the first of the three preparatory Sundays leading up to Great Lent which begins on Mar 2. Pascha this year is celebrated on April 19.

 

Parish Notes

Archbishop Peter plans to visit Seeker of the Lost mission in Little Rock on Feb 17-18 to bless their establishment. Fr. George will have further details.

The front and rear entrance decks have been completed on St. George's Inn.

The annual parish business meeting is scheduled for Sunday, Feb 9 at 1:30PM. The parish reviews the previous year and sets new goals for the coming year. Mark your calendars and plan to be there for the meeting.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

Maximus Olsen Feb 3 Namesday

Ksenia Couch Feb 6 Namesday

 

Andrew Sawyer Feb 25 Birthday

Nikolai Gaffney Feb 27 Birthday

May God grant them many years!

 

 

from the Fathers

A certain famous theologian fervently and constantly prayed to God for eight years, asking Him to reveal a person capable of showing him a direct and true pathe to the acquisition of the heavenlly kingdom...Suddenly, he heard an invisible heavenly voice that said to him, “Go outside the doors of the church and you will find the person that you seek.”

The theologian, obedient to the mysterious voice, immediately went out and found a beggar in rags sitting at the doors of the church. His knees were covered with scabs and seeping pus. The wise theologian approached him and said, “A good and fortunate morning to you, old man!”

The beggar answered, “I have never had an evil or unfortunate day in my life.”

The theologian, desiring to correct his greeting, changed it, “May God send you all possible benefits!”

The poor man answered, “God has never sent me anything but good.”

The theologian wondered if he had gone deaf. So he tried a different approach. “What is the matter with you, old man? I desire you to have abundance in all things.”

The old man answered, “I have never lacked anything.”

The theologian, thinking that the man might prove to be talkative, and desiring to test his knowledg, said, “I would like for all your desires in this life to be fulfilled. I hope God sends you everything you wish.”

“I seek none of those things that you desire for me. Everything occurs according to my wishes if I make no plans for my life, but live solely by God's will....

...I am always content with the lot God gave me. I do not seek happiness and worldly success, and that gives me the greatest well-being. Ill fortune, prosperity, or calamities do no evil to anyone, except to those who either strongly desire them and run after them, or run away from them and fear their coming. I disdain money and do not make an idol of it. I only pray to the Heavenly Father, Who directs every person's life to the best, whether it be through joys or misfortunes. He knows completely whether joys or misfortunes are more salvific for a person. Therefore, I say that I have never experienced any misfortune, because everthing in my life is as I wish. When I am hungry, I thank the all-seeing God for it. When I am burned by cold as by fire, or when rain or hail or snow pours down on me, I glorify God for it. If someone mocks me, strikes me, or insults me, I also thank God for it, for I am sures that this is allowed by God's will, and everything that God sends serves for my benefit and perfection. Thus, everything that God sends me or allows other people to do to me—whether pleasant or repugnant, whether sweet or bitter—I accept with equanimity. I accept everything as coming from the hand of the merciful Father, and I only desire that which God desires, and what it pleases Him to allow others to do to me. In this way, everything occurs be God's desire, which is also my own desire. Whoever considers worldly happiness as something important and significant should be pitied. Equally miserable is the one who seeks fulfillment in anything worldly. The only true and unshakalbe happiness and blessedness in this life is found by the one who sincerely, without doubt, commits himself to God's will and leads his life according to God's will, never opposing it. For the will of the Lord is the fullness of perfection and goodness; it never changes, and outside it there is no other better or more just will. It utters a righteous judgment concerning every person, and no one can justly say that His will contradicts itself. I apply myself and my mind completely to always desire only that which God wants of his rational creation in general and of me in particular. Therefore, I have never been troubled; for I gave my will completely into the hands of God, and now the desire of my heart is the same as God's desire and providence for me, and I thank God for His mercy, even if it seems bitter.”

Excerpts from The Sunflower, Conforming the Will of Man to the Will of God by St. John of Tobolsk

January 2020 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 2020 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of January contains two of the twelve major Feast Days of the liturgical year as well as one of the secondary Feast Days of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first of these days begins on Monday, Jan 6 with the Royal Hours of the Nativity of our Lord followed with Vespers in the evening.. Divine Liturgy for the Nativity will be celebrated on Tuesday Jan 7, at 10:00AM. This will allow several people who wish to celebrate Nativity on the old calendar to be with us. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is the culmination of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament between God and man. This is a Divine Condescension whereby God takes on the form of a man, a servant for mankind. It is a great mystery beyond comprehension in its majesty of the mercy and love of God for mankind.

The secondary Feast Day is celebrated on Jan 14. It is the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Giver of the Mosaic Law condescends to submit Himself as a man to that Law. On the eighth day after His birth his Mother, the Theotokos, and Joseph take the Christ Child to the temple to be circumcised according to the Law. In His submission Christ fulfills the Law as He said He would. This day is also the feast day of St. Basil the Great, one of the three holy hierarchs of the Orthodox Church.

The third of these days is the Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day commemorates the baptism of our Lord in the Jordan river by St. John the Baptist. This occurs on Sunday, Jan 19. After Pascha and Pentecost, this is the greatest Feast of the Orthodox Church, predating even the Nativity in importance. This is the first public manifestation of God the Word Incarnate to the world. The Creator enters into the basic element of life, water, and thereby sanctifies fallen creation. The Lord by submitting to baptism institutes the Sacrament of Holy Baptism for the Church. Through this Sacrament we mystically die to the world and are joined to the Body of Christ and reborn a new creature cleansed of our former sins. The Great Blessing of Water is performed during this period and the water is used to bless homes during this Holy Season. Following Divine Liturgy we will proceed to De Queen lake to bless the waters with a Cross made from Theophany blessed water.

 

Parish Notes

The eve of Nativity is always a strict fast day. The Sunday before Nativity this year wine and oil are allowed, but without fish. If there are questions please ask Fr. George for the appropriate guidance. During the weeks following Theophany, Jan 19, we will be doing the annual house blessings of the parish members. Please schedule this with Fr. George if you wish your home blessed during this season.

The repairs on the church building are completed and the back deck on St. George's Inn is complete. The front deck is nearing completion.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Carmen Maria Montero Jan 8 Birthday/Namesday

Fr. David Carder Jan 12 Namesday

Tatiana Skoumbourdis Jan 25 Namesday

Tatiana Stone Jan 25 Namesday

Anna Harrison Jan 27 Birthday

Anton Khudoley Jan 30 Namesday

 

God grant them many years!

 

Excerpts from Heaven meets Earth, Celebrating Pascha and the Twelve Feasts

 

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

 

The all-powerful God enters time and space as a helpless baby to rescue us from sin and death. The Savior's mission goes beyond the expectations of His chosen people, who have been waiting for the Messian to free them from generations of earthly hardship.

After searching for a room in crowded Bethlehem, Joseph and young Mary could only find a cave that was being used as a stable. There, among the animals, Mary gave birth to the Son of God. The busy crowds had no idea of the great event that had taken place. The humble shepherds, having been visited by an army of angels, were the only children of Israel to go see the Baby in the mangger. The three wise men who followed the bright star from the East were not of the chosen people. They had been searching for truth in the lights of the heavens. Christ, the source of all truth and light, had come down from heaven for them as well. After honoring Him with gifts, they would listen to an angel's advice and take a different path back home to avoid King Herod, who didn't want anyone to threaten his earthly power.

Like the wise men, we must change our course to avoid the way of King Herod, who wanted so badly hold onto his manner of life, no matter how terrible the cost. Despite the efforts of earthly kings, the King of the Universe is here, shining in our darkness. He is born not to create a powerful kingdom in this world, but to plant the Kingdom of Heaven in the heart of every person. The world is now changed forever. “The Truth has come, the shadow has passed away” (St. Soophronios). It is the dawn of the Sun of Righteousness: let us run to the light!

 

Festal Tradion-The Christmas Tree

 

For the Christian, the Christmas tree is full of symbolism. It brings to mind the Tree of Life in paradise—which God, through His Incarnation, now lets us approach. The Christmas tree also reminds of the the Cross, for which He was born . It is on the Cross that He hangs as the fruit of eternal life.

The Tree of Jesse is another connection. If we look closely at Christ's family tree, we find a number of sinful people among the branches: a murderer, a harlot, a pagan. The list goes on, showing us we're not to be weighed down by the sins of our histories. Christ tirelesslly beckons us to run into His wide-open arms. Through the Eucharist, the partaking of the fruit of eternal life, we all become a part of Christ's family tree, no maatataer how dark our pasts.

The tree encourages us a accept our royal lineage, its very shape pointing toward the Kingdom of Heaven. The star on tops guides us, as the wise men were guided, into the meaning of Christmas. Little icons on the branches encourage us to offer gifts of prayer and devotion to the Christ Child. God's light, symbolized by the lights sparkiling all around the tree, reaches into the deepest, darkest crevices of our being. Christ is born; let your tree glorify Him!

December 2019 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 2019 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of December is completely in the Nativity Fasting period. This is a period of forty days of preparation prior to the Nativity of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. In length like Great Lent prior to Pascha, this fast is not as strict wherefore fish is allowed on weekends and special feast-days during the week. However, like Great Lent, the Nativity fast is not optional for Orthodox Christians and must be observed to the best of one's ability. There are exceptions to the rule of fasting but these must be discussed with the priest.

December 4 (Nov 21 OS) is the Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos. This one of the twelve major feast-days of the liturgical year and commemorates the taking of the three year old Virgin Mary to the temple by her parents. Since the Virgin Mary was a miraculous gift to the aged parents, they decided that she would be dedicated to God. She was taken to be raised with the other virgins in the temple in Jerusalem. The young Virgin ran up the steps of the temple and as she reached the top she was met by Zacharias, the future father of Saint John the Baptist. Zacharias was a priest and was serving in the temple at this time. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and carried the young Virgin into the temple and into the Holy of Holies, the sacred place where only the high priest entered once a year. The Virgin Mary was to be the Holy of Holies as she would contain god Incarnate within her womb and carry Him in her arms. The young Virgin would be raised in the temple dedicating her life to prayer, fasting, and perpetual virginity. The angels attended her as she grew.

On December 19 (Dec 6 OS) the Church celebrates the feast-day of Saint Nicholas who is revered throughout the world as a great intercessor before God. His life may be read in the The Prologue of Orhid which is available in the church library. December 25 (Dec 12 OS) is the feast-day of Saint Herman of Alaska, one of the patron saints of our parish. Saint Herman was one of the seven initial missionaries sent to Alaska in 1794 to teach the native Alaskans Christianity. He was a wonder-worker both during his earthly life and now in his eternal life.

 

Parish Notes

The Divine Liturgy for the Feast day of the Entry of the Theotokos will be celebrated on Thursday, Dec 5 due to medical appointment in Shreveport for Fr. George on Dec 4.

Work on the decks for St. George's Inn has begun with the construction of the back deck first to be followed by the front deck.

Commercialism can easily overtake the real meaning for the time of Christmas with all of the tinsel, glitter, advertising, and shopping associated with this time of year. Struggle to remember the glorious Incarnation of our Lord Jesus. We are blessed to be on the old calendar for our celebration takes us past the distraction of Western Christmas. Remember that it is also a time for sharing the wealth that God has given us with others who are less fortunate in the spirit of Saint Nicholas. This generosity can open our hearts more fully to God's greatest gift to us, His Son our Savior.

 

There are members and friends of our parish who have special days this month:

Deacon Nicholas Olsen Dec 7 Birthday

Nicholas Gaffney Dec 7 Birthday

Steven Johnson Dec 13 Birthday

Deacon Nicholas Olsen Dec 19 Namesday

Nicholas Gaffney Dec 19 Namesday

Nikolai Gaffney Dec 19 Namesday

Father David Carder Dec 29 Namesday

 

 

God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

God has not only chosen Mary; she has chosen Him, fulfilling the prophecy in Psalm 45:10-11, “Listen, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your own people also, and your father's house; so the King will greatly desire your beauty.”

Joachim and Anna, fatihful to their promise, presented their long-awaited and only child to God. Zacharias—the high priest who received Mary, and the future father of John the Baptisit—played a significant role in God's plan to prepare Israel for the coming of te Messiah. He recognized Mary as the new and true Ark of the Covenant. The old ark, which was lost, had represented the spiritual presence of God among His people. Mary, the new Ark, was destined to make God physically present among His people. Recognizing this, Zacharias did the unthinkable: He brought Mary all the way into the Holy of Holies where even he, as high priest, could only go once a year—on the Day of Atonement. Mary lived there until she was twelve, spending her childhood preparing to become the dwelling place of the Messiah as the true Holy of Holies. Her divine Child was coming to save Israel and the world by reuniting man with God. The transition from the Old Testament era to the New Testament had begun.

Mary couldn't have been granted such divine intimacy in the Holy of Holies if she had stayed in the world. Joachim and Anna had the means to give the best of everything to Mary. They could have given her the biggest house, the greatest opportunities, or the most things. Instead they gave her God, the pearl of great price, worth so much more than all the world has to offer. Now, with the Nativity fast upon us, we are reminded that she wants to share this pearl with us. Excerpt from Heaven Meets Earth, Celebrating Pascha and the Twelve Feasts.

 

When the child was three years old, Joaching said, “Let us call the undefiled daughters of the Hebrews, and let each one take a torch, and let them be burning, in order that the child not turn back and her heart be misled out of the Temple of the Lord.” Thus they did, until they had gone up into

the Temple.

The priest received her, and kissing her he blessed her and said, “The Lord God has magnified your name in all generations; in you, at the end of days, will the Lord God manifest his deliverance to the children of Israel.” He set her on the third step of the altar, and the Lord God gave grace to her; and she danced with her feet, and all the house of Israel loved her. From the Protoevangelium of James.

 

In her manner she showed that she was not so much presented into the temple, but that she herself entered nto the service of God of her own accord, as if she had wings, striving towards this sacred and divine love. She considered it desirable and fitting that she should enter into the temple and dwell in the Holy of Holies. St. Gregory Palamas

 

Today the temple has become a wedding adornment and a fair chamber for the Virgin, as it receives the living Bridal Chamber of God, pure and without spot, she who shines more brightly than all the creation...From Eve of old the transgression came upon mankind, and now from Eve's stock has flowered forth our restoration and incorruption, even the Theotokos, who is brought today into the house of God. From the Matins service of the Feast

November 2019 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

November 2019 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

Although there are no major feast-days in this month, there are several important saints that we remember. On the calendar date of November 1 (OS Oct 19) the church celebrates the repose of Saint John of Kronstadt, one of Russia's most famous people of recent history. Saint John was born to humble parents and had a learning disability as a child. He prayed to God to help him overcome this disability and his prayers were answered. God also revealed to him that he would be a priest of His Church. He became to pre-revolutionary Russia what Saint John the Baptist was to Israel. Saint John saw what was coming upon Russia and pleaded with her people to repent and to return to Godly ways. The church where he served would be packed with so many people that an apple thrown above the crowd would not hit the floor so closely were they together. Because of his holiness, Saint John was given the gift of healing and was called to the bedside of the poor and royalty. The story of his life is available in the church library.

On November 8 (OS Oct 26) the church celebrates the feast-day of the Great Martyr Demetrios who, like the the Great Martyr George, was a Roman soldier who suffered because he would not worship the Roman idols. On November 26 (OS Nov 13) we celebrate the feast-day of Saint John Chrysostom who was one of the greatest preachers of the church. He was archbishop of Constantinople during the 4th century. Because of his God-given gift of speaking he was given the name of Chrysostom which means “golden tongue” in Greek.

 

Parish Notes

 

Please remember that daylight savings time ends on November 3. Remember to set your clocks back one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night and you can enjoy that extra hour of sleep that you had to give up this past spring! The Thanksgiving Holiday this year will be in the Nativity fasting period begins on November 28 and continues until the feast-day of Nativity on January 7 (OS Dec 25).

Perhaps the parish can share a thanksgiving meal on the Sunday of Nov 24 outside the fasting period.

Saint Tikhon while archbishop of the Orthodox Church in this country blessed a special Thanksgiving service for the American Holiday of Thanksgiving. We will be doing this service on Wednesday evening, November 27, at 6:30PM. Join us in remembering on this day the real Source of all that we are and have, and offering heartfelt thanks for such blessings.

Several of our parish members and friends have special days this month.

 

John Gawrieh Nov 1 Namesday

Matrona Gaffney Nov 2 Namesday

Matushka Euphrosyne Carder Nov 6 Namesday

Theofil Carder Nov 10 Namesday

Mark Shortridge Nov 20 Birthday

Victoria Gawrieh Nov 24 Namesday

May God them many years!

 

 

 

 

From the fathers

On Thankfulness to God.

God is your creator, deliverer, supreme benefactor, and good provider. He created you just as He gives you every good thing, since without His goodness your could not live even for a minute. You do not see your Benefactor with thesse eyes, but you see the benefits He has biven you. You see the sun, the moon and His stars which illumine you. You see the fire that warms you and cooks your food. You see the food which satisfies you, you see the clothing by which your naked body is covered. You see all other countless blessings which He gave you for your needs and comfort.

Seeing, then, and receiving these benefits, remember your unseen Benefactor everywhere and always with love, and thank Him for all His benefits with a pure heart. The greatest and highest of all His blessings is that by His good will Christ, His Only-Begotten Son, came to us and redeemed us by His precious Blood and suffering from the devil, hell, and death. In this work He showed us His unspeakable goodness to us. We must, then, always gaze with faith upon this great work of god so imcomprehensible to the mind, and remember God Who so loved us unworthy ones. We must thank Him from our whole heart, worship Him, praise, hymn, and glorify Him with our heart and lips. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel/ for He hath visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David (Lk. 168-69).

You, too, should always remember this great work of God and marvel at it, and thank God from your heart, and live as it pleases God, Who came into the world to save sinners lest you offend Him with your ingratitude. He desires to save you, since He came into the world for your sake, and suffered and died in His holy flesh. You should fulfill His holy will, then, and take care for the salvation of your soul with all diligence. Be thankful to Him, and live in the world humbly, with love, meekly and patiently, as He Himself lived. He also desires the same of you.

 

On pleasing God

Endeavor to please God with faith and obedience, that is, do what He desires and what is pleasing to Him, and do not do what He does not desire and what is not pleasing to Him. Without obedience, what ever a man may do is not pleasing to God.

Exerpts from Journey to Heaven, Counsels on the Particular Duties and Every Christian by St. Tikon of Zadonsk.

October 2019 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 2019 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

During the calendar month of October we celebrate the repose of the Apostle John the Theologian, the author of the Gospel of John, on October 9. He is also known as the Apostle of Love since he taught of the necessity of loving one another as Christ loves us.

A secondary feast of the Mother of God occurs on Oct 14. This feast-day is known as the Protection of the Theotokos. The feast commemorates an event that happened at Constantinople in the year 911 A.D. During the reign of Emperor Leo the Wise, a large army of Saracens was preparing to attack the city to conquer it. The pious people of the city reacted to the threat by turning to prayer. They thronged to the Church of Blachernae wherein was preserved the Robe and Veil of the Mother of God. There they raised their voices to Christ the Lord, to His Mother, the all-Holy Theotokos, pleading for mercy and help against the foe. Among the believers present was St. Andrew, a Fool-for-Christ, and his disciple, St. Epiphanius. Suddenly they saw a vision of the Virgin Mary surrounded by a choir of angels, prophets and apostles. “Do you see, brother, the Queen of all praying for the peace of the world,” asked St. Andrew? “ Indeed I see, father,” answered the disciple. The Holy Virgin appeared with outstretched arms, holding a veil over the city as a sign of protection, and imploring God's mercy upon the people. The inhabitants of the city heard of this vision to the two men, and were filled with joy and hope that this was a sign of deliverance. All night they prayed in the Church, while outside The Christian army fought against the enemy. The defenders emerged with a decisive victory. Since that time the Feast of the Protection of the Most-Holy Theotokos has been celebrated in the Church.

 

Parish Notes

The parish is still looking for some furniture items for St. George's Inn. We need a sofa and chairs for the living room and night stands or tables for the bedrooms. If you have used furniture that is in good condition please contact Fr. George to make arrangements for moving.

We will have to suffer day-light savings time for the month of October. The time change is scheduled for Sunday, Nov 3.

Several members and friends have special days this month:

Kenny(Evgeny) Harrison Oct 8 Namesday

Kenny Harrison Oct 9 Birthday

Elias Gawrieh Oct 14 Birthday

Dennis Stone Oct 16 Namesday

Denis Kalinin Oct 16 Namesday

John Gawrieh Oct 21 Birthday

Margaret Carder Oct 21 Birthday

Tatiana Skoumbourdis Oct 22 Birthday

Matushka Paraskeva Oct 25 Birthday

Nikita Harrison Oct 26 Birthday

Matushka Paraskeva Oct 27 Namesday

May God grant them many years!

 

 

From the fathers

The Latter Years of St. John: The last years of his life, the holy Apostle John spent in strict asceticism. He ate only bread and water, did not cut his hair, and dressed in simple linen garments. Because of his old age, he did not have strength to preach the Word of God even in the environs of Ephesus. At that time he taught only the bishops of the Chrurch and inspired them to teach the people the Gospel unceasingly, and specially to keep in mind and to preach the first and principal commandment of the Gospel: the commandment of love. When the holy apostle became very weak, the blessed Jerome relates, his disciples carried him to the church, but he was no longer able to give long sermons. He then reduced his teaching to the unceasing repetition of “Little children, love one another.” One day, when his disciples asked him why he repeated this to them incessantly, John replied with the following word: “This is the Lord's commandment; and if ye keep it, it is enough.”

The repose of St. John: ...John came out of the house and assembled seven of his disciples and said to us: 'Take spades in your hands and follow me.' So we did as we were instructed and followed him outside the city to a cerain place, where he said: 'Sit down.' He then went a little apart from us to where it was quiet and began to pray. It was very early in the morning; the sun had not quite risen. After his prayer he said to us: 'Dig with your spades a cross-shaped trench as long as I am tall.' So we did it while he prayed. After he had finished his prayer, he laid himself in the trench we had dug, and then said to me: 'Prochorus my son, thou wilt go to Jerusalem. That is where thou must end thy life.' He then gave us instructions and embraced us, saying: 'Take some earth, my mother earth, and cover me.' So we embraced again and, taking some earth, covered him only up to his knees. Once more, he embraced us saying: 'Take some more earth and cover me up to the neck.' So we embraced him again and then took some more earth and covered him up to his neck. Then he said to us: 'Bring a thin veil and place it on my face, and embrace me again for the last time, for ye shall not see me any more in this life.' So we embraced the apostle again, grief-stricken. As he was sending us off in peace, we, lamenting bitterly, embraced his whole body. The sun rose just then, and he surrendered his spirit.

“We returned to the city and were asked: 'Where is our teacher?'. So we explained what had just occurred in great detail. They begged us that we show them the site. Therefore, we went back to the grave with the brethren, but John was not there. Only his shoes were left behind. Then we rembembered the words of the Lord to the Apostle Perer: 'If I will that he tarry until I come, what is that to thee?' And we all glorified God, the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to Whom is due glory, honor, and worship, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Each year, on the eighth day of May, a fragrant myrrh issues forth from the grave and, at the prayers of the holy apostle, the sick are healed thereby, to the honor of God Who is glorified in the Trinity unto the ages of ages. Amen. Excerpts from The Lives of the Holy Apostles from the Menology of St. Dimitri of Rostov and The Great Synaxarites of the Orthodox Church translated by Reader Isaac Lambertsen and Holy Apostles Convent

 

 

August 2019 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

August 2019 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of August contains two of the twelve major Feast Days of the liturgical year. The first of these special days occurs on August 19 (Aug 6 OS). It is the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. “And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matt. 17:2). The event is a manifestation of God to man in that our Lord revealed His Divinity to Peter, James and John through a display of His uncreated, divine energy. During this event Moses and the Prophet Elijah appeared also. Christ revealed Himself as the Messiah and the Holy Trinity made an appearance through the voice of the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son' (Matt 17:5), the presence of the Son, and the revelation of the Holy Spirit in the form of a luminous cloud. Moses represents the Law and those who have died and Elijah represents the Prophets and—since he did not die—all those who are alive in Christ.

 

The Transfiguration also calls us to look forward to Christ's Second Coming, when all of nature's original beauty will be restored. The faithful brings grapes, apples, and other fruits to church to be blessed and shared as a sign of this final transfiguration of everything. Grapes are a perfect symbol, growing, and changing colors as they ripen in the light. Also, in a beautiful series of gift exchanges between God and His people, certain grapes are turned into wine and offered to Him; then this sine, along with the altar bread, is turned into His Body and Blood by the action of the Holy Spirit and offered back to us. In the Holy Mysteries, the fruits of nature have become God. The Gospel proclaims that this kind of transfiguration is our destiny as well: “The the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:43).

 

The second of these special days is that of the Dormition of the Mother of God or her physical death in the world on Aug 28 (Aug 15OS). The Theotokos was fully human and therefore subject as we are to physical death. Her departure from this world was foretold to her by an angel and sh requested that she be able to see the Apostles before her repose as the Apostles were dispersed by this time. The Apostles were brought to her bedside as by clouds with the exception of Thomas.

 

“The Apostles said all these things to the holy Mother of God, why they had come, and in what way; and she stretched her hands to heaven and prayed, saying: I adore, and praise, and glorify Your much to be praised name, O Lord, because You have looked upon the lowliness of Your handmaiden, and because You that are mighty have done great things for me; and, behold, all generations shall count me blessed. And after the prayer she said to the apostles: Cast incense, and pray. And when they had prayed, there was thunder from heaven, and there came a fearful voice, as if of chariots; and, behold, a multitude of a host of angels and powers, and a voice, as if of the Son of man, was heard, and the seraphim in a circle round the house where the holy, spotless Mother of God and virgin was lying, so that all who were in Bethlehem beheld all the wonderful things, and came to Jerusalem and reported all the wonderful things that had come to pass. (From the Apocryphal Book of St. John the Theologian).

 

The Apostles buried her on the site where her parents had been buried. Three days later the Apostle Thomas appeared and in his sorrow requested to see her body. The grave was opened and her body was no longer there. Her soul and body had been taken by her Son to be with Him in heaven. From there she is a constant intercessor and helper when we call upon her. She is proof of the promised Resurrection.

The fasting period related to the Dormition of the Theotokos begins on Aug 14 and ends on Aug 28.

 

Parish Notes

As school will be starting this month for some of our members we will read the prayers for the beginning of the school year following Divine Liturgy on Aug 11.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Elias Gawrieh Aug 2 Namesday

Magdalena(Fran) Presley Aug 4 Namesday

Fr David Carder Aug 11 Birthday

Marina deFligue Aug 15 Birthday

Subdeacon George Gawrieh Aug 21 Birthday

Matushka Euphrosyne Carder Aug 24 Birthday

Tatiana Stone Aug 25 Birthday

Maximus Olsen Aug 26 Birthday

 

from the Fathers

...Why did the Lord take only three disciples onto Tabor, and not all? Because Judas was not worthy to behold the divine glory of the Teacher, Whom he would betray; and the Lord did not want to leave him alone at the foot of the mountain, so that the betrayer would not, because of this, justify his betrayal. Why was our Lord transfigured on a mountain and not in a valley? So as to teach us two virtues: love of labor and godly thoughts—for climbing to the heights requires labor, and the heights themselves represent the elevation of our thoughts to the things of God. Why was our Lord transfigured at night? Because the night is more suitable than the day for prayer and godly thoughts; and the night, by its darkness, conceals all the beauty of the earth, and reveals the beauty of the starry heavens. Why did Moses and Elias appear? In order to destroy the Jewish fallacy that Christ was one of the prophets—Elias or Jeremiah or some other. That is why He appeared as a King, above the prophets, and that is why Moses and Elias appeared as His servants. Until then, our Lord had manifested His divine power many times to the disciples; but on Mount Tabor He manifested His Divine Nature. This vision of His Divinity, and the hearing of the heavenly witness to His being the Son of God, must have served the disciples in the days of the Lord's passion—in the strengthening of a steadfast faith in Him and in His final victory. Commentary on the Transfiguration from The Prologue of Ohrid by St. Nikolai Velimirovic.

 

The struggle against every sin is an unfailing necessity for all Christians who wish to be true Christians and to receive eternal salvation in Jesus Christ, lest they allow it to take hold of them...

They must listen to God in Whom they believe, and not sin; they must live unto God, and not unto sin. This is demanded by that holy Baptism through which they were renewed to the holy Christian life. This is demanded by the vows made at Baptism, in which they vowed to labor for the Lord in faith and in truth. This is requred by the work of salvation, since holy Baptism avails nothing to those who transgress and do not keep their vows made at Baptism, as they are false and have lied to God. Consider these things, O Christian! A Christian is not known by saying, Lord, Lord (cf. Mt. 7:21), but by struggling against all sin...a true Christian is he who wages incessant war against sin...

Excerpts from Journey to Heaven by St. Tikhon of Zadonsk.

July 2019 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 2019 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of July begins in the in the middle of the Apostles' fasting period. On July 7 the Church celebrates the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. On July 12 we celebrate the Feast Day of the Apostles Peter and Paul. This Feast Day ends the Apostles' Fasting period and we resume the normal fast days of Wednesday and Friday. This will continue until August 14 when we begin the two week Dormition Fast.

Other important days this month include the feast day of the Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia on July 17 and the feast day of Holy Great Prince Vladimir of Rus on July 28.

 

Parish Notes

Our parish offers a special note of thanks for the gift of an icon from the Seeker of the Lost Parish. In June Fr. David Carder and Matushka Euphrosyne presented our Parish with a hand-painted icon of St. Nicholas Planas. St. Nicholas Planas was a Greek priest renowned for his humility, simplicity, piety, and faithfulness to his priestly calling. He is and has been a tremendous influence on many people throughout the world. A book on his life is available in the Church library.

Congratulations to Matrona Gaffney upon graduation from high school this year. She has received a scholarship to begin studying for a nursing career this fall. May God bless her efforts.

Some of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Matrona Gaffney Jul 2 Birthday

Maximus Olsen Jul 5 Birthday

Victoria Gawrieh Jul 7 Birthday

Janet Gawrieh Jul 10 Namesday

Elizaveta Shkurina Jul 18 Namesday

Elisabeth Olsen Jul 18 Namesday

Theofil Carder Jul 23 Birthday

Ksenia Couch Jul 24 Birthday

Marina deFligue Jul 30 Namesday

 

From the fathers

Meekness and kindness adorned our saints and gave them strength and understanding to not return evil for evil. When Emperor Constantius, the son of the Emperor Constantine the Great, became ill in Antioch, he summoned St. Spyridon to offer prayers for him. St. Spyridon, in the company of Triphyllius, his deacon, departed Cyprus and arrived in Antioch before the imperial palace. Spyridon was clad in poor clothing. He wore a simple woven cap on his head, in his hand was a staff from a palm tree, and on his breast he bore an earthern vessel containing oil from the lamp that burned before the Precious Cross (which at that time was the custom of Christians in Jerusalem to wear). Dressed in this way and, in addition, exhausted by fasting, prayer, and the long journey, in no way did the saint betray his rank and dignity. When he wished to set foot in the imperial palace, one of the emperor's servants, thinking him to be an ordinary beggar, struck him with his fist on the cheek. The meek and kind saint turned the other cheek to him. When, with great difficulty, he succeeded in reaching the emperor, Spyridon touched the head of the emporer recoved.

 

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof aare the ways of death (Proverbs 14:12).

 

It sometines appears to man that the way of the godless is right, for he sees that the godless man obtains riches and succeeds. Oh, if it were only given to him to see the end of that path! He would be horrified and would never tread on that path.

If the end of a path is destruction, can it be the right way? Therefore, O Man, do not say that a way is right if you do not see its end. You ask: how can I, a weak and shortsighted man, preceive the end of a long path? In two ways: by reading Holy Scripture within the experience of the Orthodox Church, and by observing the end of the path of life of those around you and who die before you. However, the first way is the more reliable one, and if you adhere to it, konw that you will not stumble into the night of eternal death.

Only that path is right which is shown by God as right. All other ways that appear right to your mind, but which do not coincide with the way of God, are wrong and deadly. Behold, even the beasts have their paths, but would you travel those paths if they seemed right to you? Do not go, for in the end you will fall into the hungry jaws of the beasts. And the path shown by God, even if it appears wrong to you, is right—therefore travel by it. The path of God occasionally seems wrong to us because of our sins. If we were without sin and if our minds were not distorted by sin, it would not be possible for us, even for a moment, to conceive that another path is right except God's path. To a distorted mind, many wrong paths seem right, and the only right path seems wrong.

O All-seeing Lord, our Guide, correct ours minds, that we not be detained on false paths. O Jesus, Thou art the only Way, Truth and Life, and that we invent apart from Thee is the wrong way, a lie and death.

To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen. The above excerpts are from the Reflection and Homily for June 13 from The Prologue of Ohrid by St. Nikolai Vlimirovic.

 

 

 

June 2019 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 2019 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of June contains two of the twelve major liturgical feast days: the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ on June 6 and the Descent of the Holy Spirit/Pentecost on June 16.

“And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.” (Luke 24:50-53). For forty days, since His Resurrection, Christ had been appearing to His disciples. During that time He ate with them, taught them, and testified to the accomplishment of His Crucifixion and proved the reality of His Resurrection. Now they stand watching as the Son of God ascends, raising earth up to meet heaven. As they kept their eyes raised to heaven, two angels appeared to them to tell them that Christ would return in the same manner. The apostles were to follow His instructions and wait to receive the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem.

The Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit/Pentecost follows fifty days after the Feast of the Resurrection and is celebrated on Sunday, June 16. “Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I no not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on Me: Of righteousness, because I go to MY Father, and ye shall see Me no more: Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot hear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself: but whatsoever He shall hear, the shall He speak: And He will shew you things to come.” (John 16:7-13).

Ten days after Christ's Ascension, His followers gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Old Testament Feast of Pentecost, which recalled God's giving of the Law to His people. The apostles had remained together in obedience to Christ's instructions to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4).

This gift of the Holy Spirit completes the revelation of the Holy Trinity to the world. This day is also considered the Birthday of the Church and it continues until this day and is eternal as it is the Body of Christ. The week following Pentecost is fast-free. On the evening of Pentecost we serve “Kneeling Vespers”. At this service we begin making prostrations in church which was set aside at Pascha.
This service is done at 1:30PM on Pentecost Sunday. After this we begin our daily prayers with the invocation of the Holy Spirit, “O Heavenly King, Spirit of Truth...”

The Apostles” Fast begins on June 24 this year and ends on July 12 with the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul. This time of summer Lent is not as strict as Great Lent in that fish is allowed on the weekends and at various days during the fast. See the attached calendar for the other days.

The Parish Feast Day of All Saints of America is celebrated on Sunday, June 30. This coincides with the Sunday of All Saints of Russia.

 

Parish Notes

Luba Harrison is in Russia at this time and Victoria Gawrieh is recovering from an operation on her arm. Please keep them in your prayers.

The Feast of Ascension will be celebrated at Seeker of the Lost Mission in Little Rock on June 6. There will be no service for this Feast at All Saints of America Parish.

Several members and friends of our parish have special days this month:

 

Constantine Skoumbourdis June 3 Namesday

Elizveta Shkurina June 4 Birthday

Anton Khudoley June 7 Birthday

Fr George June 9 Birthday

Monica Olsen June 28 Namesday

May God grant them many years!

From the fathers

...In the old days, the Holy Spirit was called the “Provider”. Just as in this corporeal, material world the person who is our breadwinner is our provider, so in the spiritual life we cannot mange without the grace of the Holy Spirit. One must try to live a Christian life. If a person does not live this way, he loses contact with grace, is deprived of the all-powerful help of the Holy Spirit, and a dark, diabolical, evil spirit comes to him. The conjurers, magicians, and wizards whom we dread and fear serve these powers....

...the Holy Hierarch Theophan of Vyshensk calls us to occupy ourselves with spiritual activity, meaning unceasing prayer, so that evil spirits will be unable to approach us. Unceasing prayer is our weapon, our spiritual might, our foundation, and our food. As often as possible we must pray, “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner, for these words are filled with the power of grace, and through them, independently of ourselves, the Holy Spirit comes to abide in a person's heart. Many of the holy fathers teach us this. The heart cannot remain empty and inactive. It is always in motion, either toward the spiritual or toward the sinful. When we forget about prayer—and we do often forget-- the spirit of darkness enters our soul....

The acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit must become the chief purpose of our life, my dear ones. As earth cannot be fruitful without water and turns into lump of stone, so we cannot develop spiritually without God's grace. As the holy fathers write, the Holy Spirit is our comforter, our joy, our provider, and our hope.

We must go ever onward, constantly and without stopping, and let our manna from heaven and our daily bread be the virtues, the first of which is repentance...Repentance is the basis and foundation of our salvation.

The second virtue is to struggle with passions and vices. By the sweat of our brow, we must constantly work on cleansing our hearts from passions, and struggle with anger, pride, self-love, and pampering the flesh, conquering them through the might of God. The third virtue consist of enriching oneself with good works: humility, meekness, and temperance.

The last is churching. We must live a churchly life. It is impossible to be without the Church. In our midst, among us believing Christians, you can always find people who go to church from time to time. Yet, this must be our breath, our repose from life's hardship, our curative spring, the most important thing in our lives. For here, in the Church, Jesus Christ Himself is present, shining like the sun in the divine services and the sacraments. Outside, you will find nothing like this. In the Church as nowhere else, the grace of the Holy Spirit abides. We must train ourselves to visit God's temple as often as possible. Frequently, we hear people saying, “I don't want to go to church; I'd best pray at home.” Yet, it is here that an invaluable treasure is hidden: The divine manna of prayer, the sacraments, the divine services, and most importantly, the Body and Blood of Christ of which we partake. Excerpts from a sermon on the Holy Spirit from A Beacon of Hope, the teaching of Father Ilarion.

May 2019 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 2019 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

 

The calendar month of May begins at mid-week of Bright Week, the week following Pascha. Bright Week is a fast free week but we go back to regular Wednesday and Friday fasting on May 8. the Church celebrates Mid-Pentecost on May 22. This a point half way between Pascha and Pentecost. Throughout this month we begin our prayers with “Christ is risen from the dead.” replacing the invocation of the Holy Spirit, “O Heavenly King,...” until the Feast of Ascension. From the Feast of Ascension until the Feast of Pentecost we begin our prayers with the Troparia of Ascension. Because of the late date of Pascha this year both the Feast of Ascension and the Feast of Pentecost occur during the calendar month of June. On May 7 the Church blesses the grave sites of our reposed brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

Parish Notes

 

We express our appreciation to the members of Seeker of the Lost mission in Little Rock for their assistance with Holy Week and Pascha this past week. Their help with services was a great relief for Fr. George and Matushka Paraskeva. God bless them for their service and all who contributed to our Paschal Celebration.

Father Deacon Nicholas Olsen was with us on Holy Thursday and Holy Friday. We hope to see him more often in the future.

Now that Pascha is past and the weather has improved the parish can start construction on the decks for St. Georges Inn. There is also some repair work on the Church building that will be done. The building fund is being replenished by generous donations every month. The septic system that St. John's building and St. Mildred's guest house use had to be repaired at a cost of $1350.00 so that depleted the building fund somewhat. All donations are accepted.

The parish is slowly furnishing St. George's Inn. We now have three beds, washer and dryer, and kitchen ware. Thanks for all these contributions.

Congratulations to Daria, Ksenia Couch's daughter, and her husband on the birth of their daughter, Vasilisa. May God bless them.

 

Several members and friends of our parish have special days this month:

 

Daria Zharskaya May 4 Birthday

Fr. George May 6 Namesday

Subdn. George Gawrieh May 6 Namesday

Monica Olsen May 17 Namesday

Monica Olsen May 30 Birthday

 

 

May God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

 

Elijah the Tishbite (Prophet Elijah) once argued with the priests of Baal concerning the worship of the One True God. In order to resolve this disagreement, Elijah and the priests of Baal agreed to call on their respective deities to call down fire from heaven to consume their offerings. Baal's priests prepared their sacrifice for burning and began to call on Baal from the morning until the noontime, exclaiming, “Baal, hear us!” But there was no answer, though they hopped around their altar in the their customary way. At midday Elijah began to laugh at them, saying, “Cry out with a loud voice, for he is a god: for either he is always meditating, or he is too busy, or preoccupied with other business. Perhaps he is sleeping and has need to be awakened from his nap” (3 Kingdoms 18:27). And so they screamed more loudly and began to cut themselves with knives and spears until they bled, but it was all in vain. Midday passed, and they continued to thrash about until the evening with no success.

 

Then Elijah told them to move aside so that he could perform his sacrifice to the Lord before all the assembled people. He made an altar out of twelve stones (the number of the tribes of Israel), laid weed on it, and placed a prepared sacrificial ox on top of the wood. Then commanded all of his preparation to be doused with a great deal of water, all the while exclaiming aloud to God,

 

O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, answer me, O Lord, answer me this day with fire, and let this people know You are the God of Israel, and I am Your servant; and for Your sake I do all these works. Hear me, O Lord, hear me with fire, and let these people know You are the Lord God, so as turn the heart of this people back. (3 Kingdoms 18:36-37)

 

And immediately God sent fire from heaven and the sacrifice, though wet all through, was consumed.

It often happens that Christians labor and suffer during services in church. They mortify their bodies with fasting, they come to church often, and they perform other feats of asceticism. All this is good, but we rarely receive fire from heaven, rarely do we burn with true eagerness to fulfill the will of God and to completely avoid contradictions between our will and desires and those of God. How rarely do we speak these words-even when we do, our heart does not participate—Thy will be done, Lord! It often happens that we sacrifice this or that thing for the glory of God, and invite others to do the same, and yet we receive little benefit from it. This is because we do not bring—for all our external gifts—the true sacrifice of our will and desires to God's holy will. We do not even care about doing this.

Two people once asked St Macarius to teach them how to pray. In answer, he said to the, “Do not use many words in your personal prayers. Instead, raise your hand to heaven and repeat often: 'Lord God, let it be as You will and; as it pleases You.' He knows what we need better than we do.”

This is an excellent instruction on how to pray. St. Pachomius the Great prayed in the same way. He only asked the Lord for one thing: that he do the will of God in all his actions.

Such uncompromising commitment to God's will is the best and most pleasing offering we can give to God, for all other sacrifices—abstinence from food or drink, charitable donation, patient endurance of insults—are partial. However, by completely committing himself to the will of God, a person can give himself as a gift to God. Then God becomes his true Master, overseeing him personally, managing all the things and events in his life. Excerpts from The Sunflower, Conforming the Will of Man to the Will of God by St John of Tobolsk

April 2019 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

April 2019 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of April contains three major feast days of the liturgical calendar; Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, Palm Sunday, and Pascha. The Annunciation celebrates the revelation of the conception of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. St. Luke records this event in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs and Sunday, April 7, this year.

Palm Sunday commemorates the Entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Many people were in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. On the day before Palm Sunday the Lord had miraculously raised Lazarus from the dead and His fame had spread throughout the city so there were those who believed Him to be the Messiah and those who wanted to make Him king. His entry in to the city was greeted with jubilation by some and mistrust by others. He enters not as a king in a royal chariot but humbly on a donkey fulfilling the sayings of the prophets. Palm Sunday ends the season of Great Lent.

After Palm Sunday the Church enters Holy Week following our Lord through His physical suffering in preparation for the joyous Resurrection of Pascha. See the Holy Week schedule for services. Some things change during Holy Week. After Holy Wednesday we no longer say the prayer of St. Ephraim daily as we have throughout Great Lent. The liturgical color changes to black from the Lenten purple color. This somber black color remains until Vespers of Holy Saturday.

The Holy Unction service is scheduled for Holy Wednesday. Since this is a forgiveness service the Church says that confession should be made prior to receiving the anointing of the Holy Oil. Father George will be available to hear confessions before the service which begins at 7:00PM.

Following Pascha there is a fast-free “Bright Week” where we continue the Paschal celebration. We enter the time when we do not make prostrations in the Church nor do we invoke the Holy Spirit when we begin our daily prayers. Following the Resurrection of Christ the holy Apostles were awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit as Christ had promised them so the Church awaits with them. So we do not say “O Heavenly King, Comforter....” but replace the invocation with “Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death be death and upon those in the tombs bestowing Life” saying this three times. This is done until Thomas Sunday, the first Sunday after Pascha. From thence we say only “Christ is risen from the dead trampling down death by death” in our prayers until the Feast of the Ascension on May 17.

 

Parish Notes

The members of Seeker of the Lost Mission in Little Rock plan to celebrate Pascha with our parish this year. This is a great blessing for our parish.

Prior to Pascha we always try to clean up the Church inside and outside so all help is appreciated. Donations of flowers to decorate for Pascha are always welcome.

The Holy Week schedule is always a strain for the singers and chanters since we have so few and the services are long. Help with the reading and chanting of these services is very much appreciated. For those who need the Sacrament of Confession prior to Pascha please schedule with Fr. George prior to 8:00PM on Holy Saturday. After that time it is difficult for the priest to be available for confession due to necessary preparation for the upcoming Paschal service beginning at 11:30PM.

 

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

 

Svetlana Weber April 2 Namesday

Constantin Skoumbourdis April 5 Birthday

Elizabeth Olsen April 10 Birthday

Maria Silva April 14 Namesday

 

God grant them many years!

 

Holy Week Schedule

 

Palm Sunday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Monday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Tuesday Bridegroom Service 6:30PM

 

Holy Wednesday Holy Unction 7:00PM

 

Holy Thursday Vespers/Liturgy 9:00AM

Matins-Twelve Gospels 7:00PM

 

Holy Friday Royal Hours 8:00AM

Vespers 2:00PM

Lamentations 6:30PM

 

Holy Saturday Vespers/Liturgy 10:00AM

Midnight Office 11:30PM

 

Pascha Matins 12:00AM

Divine Liturgy Following Matins

Agape Vespers 1:30PM

 

From the Fathers

My God, My god, why have You forsaken Me? (Matt 27:46)

Such was the cry of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, nailed on the cross for the sins of the world, and, consequently, for our sin, brothers and sisters....He cried according to His human nature, which had weaknesses, but not sin. But how could God the Father have abandoned His only begotten Son, Who had sent Him to the world to save it? The divinity was, and remains throughout the ages, inseparable from the human nature of Jesus Christ. This abandonment, beloved brethren, means that the human nature in Jesus Christ was left to experience all the torments, all of the terrible sufferings on the cross, all of the horrible, deadly afflictions he experienced while still in the garden of Gethsemane before being arrested by the mob of villains led by Judas Iscariot...

Imagine then the bodily torments, the sorrow that was felt by the most just and all-loving sensitive soul of the God-Man, Who suffered the punishment for all the sins of men, for the sins of Adam and Eve and all of their descendants without exception, meaning, for your and our sins as well! And we, brethren, are greater sinners and guilty of countless punishments for our countless transgressions. Judge, I say, judge how sharp, bitter and pungent the sufferings on the cross were, what sorrow the Lamb of God, Who took upon Himself the sins of the world, felt in His soul, how difficult it was for Him to be forsaken by God, that is, to have His human nature experience all of the bitter sufferings in His soul, all of the overwhelming, limitless, terrible affliction. After this you will understand in what condition was the soul of the God-Man nailed to the cross, when He cried out: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Yes, His soul was together with His Most-Pure Body in terrible conditions, in unimaginable and indescribable suffering.

Perceive from this, man, whoever you may be, the bitterness, absurdity, dishonor, vileness, madness, ugliness, agony, and the deadliness of sin. Perceive how it is contrary to our nature, incompatible with our divine nature, created according to God's image; and how the All-holy, All-perfect, and All-good Divinity despises it, and after this judge, all of you, how we should relate to sin that entices, defiles, and perverts our nature, corrupting it and plunging it into eternal disgrace, eternal sorrow, and eternal torment, if we do not despise it, that is, sin, with all our soul, if we do not repent of our transgressions, if we do not turn away completely from sin. Imagine, picture what would have happened to us if the Only Begotten Son of God had not suffered for our sins, if He had not satisfied God's justice, and if God had left us forever without His grace? A simple thought, just the idea of this chills the blood, and makes our soul tremble. If only I, and all sinners, always remembered, specially at the times when we are tempted by sin, how God forsakes unrepentant sinners, then all of us would flee from sin more than we would flee from snakes, from blood-thirsty beasts, from cruel enemies. Then there would be many more people among those who are saved, and the earth would not be struck by terrible disasters because of the sins of men: bad harvests, floods, devastating earthquakes, affecting thousands of human lives, epidemic diseases, damaged crops, destructive fires.

Then the earth would be God' paradise, abounding with truth and all of the natural gifts of God. Then there would be peace and security on the earth; there would not terrible atrocities...Oh, how the world is now overflowing with transgressors and transgressions! How much longer will this sinful world survive, this earth, the gathering of every abomination, this habitation of sin, stained with the blood of pure and innocent victims? Has the time not come for the universal purification by fire? Yes, the time is certainly at hand. If the Apostles during their own time already spoke of it proximity, then we can even more readily speak of the proximity of the end of time. Brothers and sisters! While we still have time, let us approach the Savior of the world with;ardent repentance, and with love and tears let us kiss His woulds, which He suffered for us. Let us love truth, let us love mercy, so that we may be shown mercy. Amen. Excerpts from Season of Repentance, Lenten Homilies of Saint John of Kronstadt, a homily for Holy Friday.

March 2019 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 2019 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The Great Lenten fast begins on March 11 this year. Sunday, March 3, is meatfare Sunday after which we drop meats from our diet. The following Sunday, Mar 10, is cheesefare Sunday right before Great Lent begins. On this Sunday we celebrate Forgiveness Vespers following our meal in St. John's Hall. Wine and oil are allowed on the weekends and on several special days during the fasting period. The restriction on oil applies to olive oil. With the later production of vegetable oils these oils are allowed during the fasting period. This is analogous to the restriction on butter versus margarine since the quality and taste of the two(olive oil and butter) cannot be compared to the imitation(vegetable oil and margarine).

During this month we celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great on Sundays. The music for this Liturgy is somewhat different from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the quiet prayers that the priest recites are longer. You might experience some quiet moments during these Lenten Liturgies. The weekly Liturgy is that of the Presanctified Divine Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great. This Lenten Liturgy starts with Vespers and finishes with partaking of the Presanctified Host to give us strength during this fasting time. The Presanctified Liturgy is served at 6:30 PM. One should prepare themselves by the appropriated pre-Communion prayers and by abstaining from food and drink from noon of the day if they desire to partake of the Holy Mysteries.

On March 9 the Church celebrates the 1st and 2nd findings of the Head of St. John the Baptist.

 

Parish Notes

Congratulations to the newly elected officers of the parish from the Business meeting on Feb 17. May God bless their service.

Congratulations to Mark Shortridge upon his baptism into the Holy Orthodox Church. Also congratulations to Symeon, the son of Andrew and Kati Sawyer upon his baptism as well. We were blessed to have Fr. David Carder perform Symeon's baptism.

As weather permits and funds are available the parish will begin the installation of front and rear porches to St. John's Inn. The parish building fund is still recovering from the unexpected expenses of last year. Donations to that fund are appreciated.

Several members and friends have special days this month:

 

Ricky Harrison Mar 3 Birthday

Luba Harrison Mar 10 Birthday

Janet Gawrieh Mar 10 Birthday

Maria Silva Mar 21 Birthday

 

God grant them many years!

 

From the Fathers

 

Thanks be to the Lord God for having vouchsafed us to celebrate so great and sacred a time as the Holy Forty-Day Fast...Today, we, too, begin to conquer our passions and vices, that we may be spiritualized. Of course, this is a difficult labor—it is not easy to fast for forty days...The holy fathers said—and we need to remember this well—that neither virtue, nor fasting, nor prostrations, nor sorrowing,nor our standing in prayer will save us by themselves. It is Christ alone who saves us. This is what we lay as the foundation of our fast: living in Christ, in faith. We must desire Christ more than the air we breathe. He comes through our spiritual activity, through union with Him. Do not look for Him millions of miles away: He is here; He is closer that the air, closer than the oxygen. Excerpted from a homily on the first Sunday of Great Lent from A Beacon of Hope, The Teaching of Father Ilarion.

 

Those who desire eternal joys partake little of earthly ones, says St Gennadius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and yet our earthly joys are almost uninterrupted. Many of us live as if we don't have to die and give an account ou our lives. What does this mean? Doesn't this happen because such people think that all they have to do is to repent just before they die and they will receive a full pardon? Of course, God does not turn away those who come to Him even at the eleventh hour, that is, if they turn to Him with all their hearts. However, if your heart was far away from God for the longest part of your life, do you think that you will be able to move it toward God, to arouse in you a feeling of repentance before you die? Oh, Brothers! It will be exactly then that your heart will be set against you, for your perdition. Many times have I seen how difficult it is for some to listen to an exhortation to repentance, and how those who never thought about correcting themselves, and were not able to repent during their lives, how they are lost during confession before their departure from this life. No, Brothers! A Christian ending is a reward for true Christians. Repent as much as you can during your lifetime, and then you will meet a peaceful death with sincere repentance.

Therefore prepare yourselves for the judgment, for the terrible judgment, for the righteous judgment, for the one and final judgment, after which there will be either eternal blessedness or unending torment. Do not be surprised that I speak so emphatically. Truth is royal, it has the right to speak emphatically about the preparation for the judgment. When we are clearly confronted with the eternal perdition of souls due to carelessness and negligence, then we must act decisively, and then even more decisively than at other times when we must speak the truth. When people see that a man faces a clear risk of death by fire, or by drowning in water, then in such cases do they not act with all determination? Yes, because in the case of indecision on the part of those who want to save the man who is perishing, he could die at any moment. In the same way we must, with great determination and fear of the coming judgment, save any from the fire, and perhaps many people are but on step away from it. Brother! Think, maybe this night your soul will be required of you (Luke 12:20), and you will be in hell, in torments...all in flames. Thus, be prepared for the judgment, start preparing today. Work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day: the night is coming when no one can work (John 9:4). We have worked for vanity long enough. It is time to look upon our poor soul with testing eyes.

Go to Church, weep over your sins, await together with Her, with great fear, the day of judgment.

The Church continually thinks about the judgment: morning, day and night; every day, early and late, the Church reminds Her children of this great day, which will decide the fate of the entire human race; and yet Her children are busy with thoughts of how pleasant it is for them to turn their heads for a few minutes, to cheer their hearts with the joys of earthly passions. The Lord, the Truth, the Life thunders with His voice about how His judgment will be accomplished without fail, and commands us to watch and pray always in spirit (Mark 13:33); Luke 21:36), in order that we may avoid the terrible fate of the condemned, the Apostles assure us that the Judge is standing at the door (James 5:9) ...and we act as if we don't even want to hear any of this. Excerpts from Season of Repentance, Lenten Homilies of St. John of Kronstadt for Meatfare Sunday, The Last Judgment.

February 2019 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of February contains one of the major twelve Feast Days of the liturgical year, The Meeting of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the temple. On this day, Feb 2/15, the church celebrates the forty-day dedication of the first-born child, our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the Law given to Moses (Ex. 13:1-2, 14-15) by the Lord Himself. And so Mary and Joseph came after forty days of her purification to the Temple to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24).

Now there was a righteous and devout man named Simeon who had been guided to the Temple by the Holy Spirit. Simeon had been assigned to translate the Book of Isaiah from Hebrew to Greek in the year 270 B.C. When he came to the passage saying that a virgin should conceive and bear a son Simeon started to change the word virgin to young woman. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him not to do so and that Simeon would live to see this happen. Simeon's appearance in the temple was a fulfillment of this saying. (Note: Simeon must have been about 300 years old at this point).

St. Simeon, representing the Old Testament, took the Christ Child in his arms, and the Old and the New Testaments stood together: the Old, departing, held in its arms and blessed the New. Simeon was granted more than had been granted to any other man before him; he held the Almighty God in his arms and to him were revealed both the Glory and the Way of the Cross of his God: “for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of Thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:30).

As in ancient times today we bring our children at the fortieth day to be presented to the Lord and we bind them over to God. Baptized and sanctified by grace, our children, by being made members of the Church, take their first steps upon the way of grace and the way of the Cross that lies before those who would follow Christ.

On Sunday, Feb 17, we begin the first of the three preparatory Sundays leading up to Great Lent which begins on Feb 19.

 

Parish Notes

The annual parish business meeting is scheduled for Sunday, Feb 17, at 1:30PM. The parish reviews the previous year and set new goals for the coming year. Mark your calendars and plan to be there for the meeting.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

Maximus Olsen Feb 3 Namesday

Spyridon Murphy Feb 4 Birthday

Ksenia Couch Feb 6 Namesday

Ksenia Fitzgerald Feb 6 Namesday

Theodore Morcan Feb 21 Namesday

Theodora Morcan Feb 24 Namesday

Andrew Sawyer Feb 25 Birthday

Nikolai Gaffney Feb 27 Birthday

May God grant them many years!

 

from the Fathers

...”Be of good courage and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God; for the Lord will do what is good in His sight”(2 Kings 10:12). It is a very laudable and honorable thing to have a courageous heart in all things, a heart that greets every event with trust in the goodness and providence of God. For it often happens, even with wise men, experienced military commanders, and holy men-- all of whom usually act wisely and courageously—that their intentions do not reach a good end. But such men ascribe any lack of success to the lack of God's blessing on their intention, and so they greet their lack of success with joy, because they did not act in opposition to God's will.

All of this is confirmed by the Preacher, who said, “I returned and saw under the sun that: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor wealth to men of understanding, nor favor to men of knowledge; for time and chance will happen to them all” (Eccles 9:11).

What the Preacher calls “chance” is not accidental to God, merely to our human perspective. Is it not strange that even a wise man can make mistakes in his intentions; however, we often consider this to be a misfortune and ascribe our failure to some evil fate or spirit. Truly there are events and phenomena in the world that do not depend on human reason, whether they are good or bad. God's power, foreknowledge, and providence knows of them pre-eternally and foresees all the circumstances of their appearance. God makes these events with His wise direction of the cosmos. However, these ways and paths are invisible to us, and often the means chosen by God to achieve His goals are incomprehensible to us until they are accomplished. Only afterward can we come to understand God's care and providence for the human race.

God occasionally repeats these unexpected events—either merciful or threatening to us depending on the manner of our life—in order to remind us not to ascribe anything to our own efforts, reason, or work ethic. Instead, He wants us to pay attention every moment to out inner spiritual life and become convinced that everything in the cosmos occurs only by the goodwill or permission of God, in accordance to our good or evil deeds, which will determine either our blessedness or our perdition.

The ancient pagan nations honored chance (fortune) greatly. They even burned incense to it. Now, in the light of the Holy Gospel, what is chance? It is nothing but a pernicious delusion of the mind, the very spawn of hell! The light of the grace of the Gospels has shown us the true reason for our prosperity and our misfortune (i.e., our sinfulness, consisting of breaking the commandments of God and the laws of the state). By its nature, sin is a lie, an nothingness, the work of the father of lies and those unfortunate people who are deluded by him (see John 8:44). Everything else in the world—prosperity or misfortune—occurs by the foresight and providence of God for our eternal salvation.

The all-holy will of God moves all the works of mankind like a wheel that spins unevenly. Sometimes it moves fast, sometimes slowly; in this manner, all unexpected events that seem to us to occur by blind chance in reality direct us wisely to the best of intentions. “I am the Lord God, and there is no other. I am He who prepared light and made darkness, who makes peace and creates troublesome things” (Isaiah 45:-7). Excerpts from The Sunflower-Conforming the Will of Man to the Will of God by St. John of Tobolsk.

January 2019 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 2019 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

The calendar month of January contains two of the twelve major Feast Days of the liturgical year as well as one of the secondary Feast Days of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first of these days begins on Friday, Jan 4 with the Royal Hours of the Nativity of our Lord. The services of Nativity will be celebrated on the Sunday with vigil. Divine Liturgy for the Nativity will be celebrated on Monday Jan 7, at 10:00AM. This will allow several people who wish to celebrate Nativity on the old calendar to be with us. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is the culmination of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament between God and man. This is a Divine Condescension whereby God takes on the form of a man, a servant for mankind. It is a great mystery beyond comprehension in its majesty of the mercy and love of God for mankind.

The secondary Feast Day is celebrated on Jan 14. It is the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Giver of the Mosaic Law condescends to submit Himself as a man to that Law. On the eighth day after His birth his Mother, the Theotokos, and Joseph take the Christ Child to the temple to be circumcised according to the Law. In His submission Christ fulfills the Law as He said He would. This day is also the feast day of St. Basil the Great, one of the three holy hierarchs of the Orthodox Church.

The third of these days is the Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day commemorates the baptism of our Lord in the Jordan river by St. John the Baptist. This occurs on Jan 19. After Pascha and Pentecost, this is the greatest Feast of the Orthodox Church, predating even the Nativity in importance. This is the first public manifestation of God the Word Incarnate to the world. The Creator enters into the basic element of life, water, and thereby sanctifies fallen creation. The Lord by submitting to baptism institutes the Sacrament of Holy Baptism for the Church. Through this Sacrament we mystically die to the world and are joined to the Body of Christ and reborn a new creature cleansed of our former sins. The Great Blessing of Water is performed during this period and the water is used to bless homes during this Holy Season. Following Divine Liturgy we will proceed to De Queen lake to bless the waters with a Cross made from Theophany blessed water.

 

Parish Notes

The eve of Nativity is always a strict fast day. Because this day falls on Sunday this year, wine and oil, but without fish, is allowed. If there are questions please ask Fr. George for the appropriate guidance. During the weeks following Theophany, Jan 19, we will be doing the annual house blessings of the parish members. Please schedule this with Fr. George if you wish your home blessed during this season.

The long awaited bell that completes the parish bell set has been installed. When we first ordered the bells we could not afford to complete the set of five so we ordered four bells hoping in the future to complete the set. We had two additional small bells that were not part of the original set and so they were not tuned to be compatible with the original set. One of the smaller bells cracked last year and was sent back for credit by the bell company on the price of the new bell.

Several of our members and friends have special days this month:

 

Carmen Maria Montero Jan 8 Birthday/Namesday

Fr. David Carder Jan 6 Namesday

Tatiana Skoumbourdis Jan 25 Namesday

Tatiana Stone Jan 25 Namesday

Anton Khudoley Jan 30 Namesday

 

God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

Again and again, the angelic hymn rings out over the world: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14). Twenty centuries separate us from that holy night, when that exultant song sounded for the first time. Since that time, much has changed in the life of mankind: whole peoples and empires have exited the stage of history, governments have come and gone, human progress has made great strides, and in many respects man's perspective has broadened. In the world social and spiritual upheavals have alternated constantly. Particularly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the earth's very appearance has become unrecognizable.

One thing alone has remained as unchanging as eternity itself: the gently yet commanding summons that the world heard from angelic lips two thousand years ago. Why does this bright joy illumine our hearts on the feast of Christ's Nativity? Because the eternal, undying power of this feast lies in its universal spiritual destiny. This is not merely the remembrance of an event that happened long ago. The firth of the God-man into the world is a fact of timeless significance. The mystery of the cave in Bethlehem is accomplished eternally. Upon the world, submerged in darkness, “The Light of Knowledge” has shone, and His radiance is unchanging.

Today, “He who is bodiless takes on a body...He who is invisible becomes visible...He who is ageless begins. The Son of God becomes the Son of Man,” writes the Holy Hierarch Gregory the Theologian. By His visible birth, He unites heaven with the earth, and the nature of God with human nature, or human nature with God. “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh,” says the holy Apostle Paul(I Tim 3:16).

Yes, the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God is great and inscrutable. While remaining God, the Son of God, the Master of heaven and earth, who is “everywhere present and filleth all things,” appears on earth at a given time and, being born of the Virgin Mary, becomes a man like us. Here, the cave serves as heaven for Him, and the Holy Virgin as His throne, and the manger contains the uncontainable God.

The Nativity of Christ is a great source of moral and emotional power. It is the sanctification of man's whole being, hat our works might be made good and God-pleasing. On this mystical night, filled with delight,we encounter god. God, inscrutable in His greatness, God, who illumines everyone and everything with His light—this God appears among men. He is born of the Virgin, who was shown capable of believing so sincerely that the Word of God became a reality on the earth, as the holy fathers testify.

The night of the Nativity has revealed this to us: if God could become a man, it was only because man's stature is such that his is able to unite with God, to become one with Him, and to rise up to the heights of God-manhood. “We can become what Christ was—what He is,” avows the Holy Hierarch John Chrysostom. Excerpts from a homily on Nativity from A Beacon of Hope-The Teaching of Father Ilarion

September 2018 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

September 2018 Newsletter

 

Liturgical Notes

During the calendar month of September the church celebrates two more of the twelve major feast-days of the liturgical year and several other important dates. The liturgical year starts on Sept 14(OS Sept 1). This date is believed to be the date of the creation of the world. The church also remembers the execution of Saint John the Baptist on Sept 11(Aug 29) commemorating his beheading by the command of the wicked Herod. With the demise of St. John the Baptist the prophetic mission of the Old Testament/Covenant ceased and the fulfillment of the New Covenant began with the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day is remembered also with a strict fast from meat and dairy products.

 

On the calendar date of Sept 21(Sept 8 OS) the church celebrates the Nativity of the Theotokos. The Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, is the top of the mountain of the Old Testament. She is the pure vessel by which God would come into His creation. Her conception was miraculous as God answered the fervent prayers of her parents, Joachim and Anna. Anna was sixty plus years old and beyond child-bearing age for a woman. Yet they were a righteous couple in the eyes of God and He heard their prayers and gave them the precious vessel, the Theotokos. Note that the dismissal from most services in the Orthodox Church mentions “the righteous ancestors of God, Joachim and Anna”, the only Old Testament couple so remembered.

 

The second major feast-day is on Sept 27(Sept 14 OS). It is the feast-day of the Exaltation of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day celebrates the finding of the Holy Cross by Queen Helen in Jerusalem during the early fourth century. The Holy Cross as well as the crosses of the two thieves had been discarded and covered by trash for centuries and later a pagan temple was built over the area. This was done to prevent the place from becoming a pilgrimage site for early Christians. After discovering the location, Queen Helen had the temple torn down and uncovered three crosses. Unable to determine which was the Holy Cross, the Patriarch of Jerusalem had the three crosses laid upon the corpse of a dead man. Upon being touched by the third cross the dead man arose to life again. The patriarch raised up the Cross for all to behold and they all cried out, “Lord have mercy!”. This day is also commemorated with fasting from meat and dairy products.

 

Parish Notes

Thanks be to God for the safe return of Evgeny and Anna Harrison and their son, Nikita, from Ukraine.

The heating and air-conditioning system in the church building is being replaced with a larger unit. This should provide better heating and cooling for our services. The old system had developed leaks and was obsolete.

With the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God on Sept 28 the time of extended fasts has ended until the start of the Nativity Fast on Nov 28. As mentioned above in the liturgical notes there are several special fasting days this month.

The bell fund total stands at $2045.00 with the target being $3710.00.

 

Several of the parish members and friends have special days this month:

 

Andrew Couch Sept 1 Namesday/Birthday

Elizabeth Johnson Sept 5 Birthday

Dennis Stone Sept 8 Birthday

Kirill Silva Sept 19 Namesday/Birthday

Svetlana Weber Sept 27 Birthday

Lubov Harrison Sept 30 Namesday

May God grant them many years!

 

From the fathers

This day is particularly joyous for us, Orthodox Christians, since it visibly shows us the power of God, which conquers the laws of human nature, when through profound faith and fervent prayer, the barrenness of the righteous Anna ceases, and the Most-Holy Virgin Mary, whose name has unceasingly been on the lips of Christians for the past two thousand years, appears to the world...

In the little Galilean city of Nazareth, to barren parents, a holy virgin was born so pure and spotless, of such immeasurably great moral worth, that she was shown capable of receiving into her womb the source of purity and sanctity—God Himself. She was born from whom the source of joy was to shine forth—the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God. She was born who was destined to renew all mankind and to regenerate our faith, to bring light and joy to our hope of salvation.

Through the Nativity of the Most-Holy Virgin Mary, all mankind obtained a constant comforter, their mediatress and sleepless intercessor. She does not cease to intercede for us as the Mother of all believers, to whom we turn with filial boldness in joy and in grief. Although through Christ's Cross, we have been given all things necessary for our salvation, we are so weak and infirm that we are not always capable of directly taking advantage of God's help. We need other mediators before the Lord, of whom the Most-Holy Virgin Mary, being “more honorable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim,” is the greatest intercessor before God for the whole human race.   She is kin to us by nature and knows all our infirmities and needs through Her own life, in which She walked the same thorny path as Her Son. Whoever calls upon Her with faith, love, and firm hope, praying to Her with filial boldness, receives all that he asks from the Lord by Her prayers. Who has run to Her and has not experienced Her mercy?

Let us give thanks, therefore, to the Most-Holy Mother of God for Her great mercies to us, and ask Her not to desert us sinners at this time of life which is so difficult for us who with faith venerate Her Son and God and rightly confess His name. Truly, “thy nativity, O Mother of God Virgin, hath proclaimed joy to all the world, for from thee hath shone forth the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God.” Amen.

Excerpts from a homily on the the Nativity of the Mother of God from A Beacon of Hope, The Teachings of Father Ilarion.