ØHis Eminence, Metropolitan Laurus of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Outside Russia, will be making a pastoral visit to our parish the weekend of June 16 and 17. His visit will mark the fortieth anniversary of Sts. Theodore parish being received into the Church Abroad by Archbishop Averky in 1967. Vladyka Laurus will serve a hierachical Divine Liturgy, during which he will elevate Reader Theodore Hadzi-Antich to the office of subdeacon, and he will tonsure Nicolas Jackson to be a reader.
ØCongratulations to all of our graduates: Phocas Damiano, Vera Hadzi-Antich and Rachel Miller. Many years!
ØRemember that the Apostles’ Fast begins on June 4 (n.s.) and ends on July 12th (the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul). Fish is allowed the weekends and on July 2 (Apostle Jude).
ØPlease pick up a pledge sheet for this year’s Walk for Missions on Sunday, June 24! If you can’t be a walker, you can be a pledger. This year’s proceeds are going to support the local mission team to Kodiak, Alaska, led by Deacon Raphael Barberg of St. George Antiochian parish in Lewiston. Let us all support local missionaries! Please see the poster for more information.
vJune 1/14: Justin Kawa (Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher)
МногаяЛета! Many Years!
Address Given By His Eminence Metropolitan Laurus At the End of Divine Liturgy at Christ the Savior Cathedral
Your Holiness! Beloved archpastors, pastors and children of the Russian Orthodox Church!
By the Will of the Almighty God, the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, and also by heeding the call of the Christian heart and accepting the kind invitation of Your Holiness, I now have the opportunity to find myself within the blessed borders of Russia and to bow before her great holy sites.
Today, on the holiday of the Ascension of the Lord, we jointly celebrated Divine Liturgy in this rebuilt Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Today, through His Ascension, the Lord, after an 80-year division beginning in 1927, calls upon us to begin a new era, to raise our mind to the heavens, and rid ourselves of the earthly snares of the past, heeding His promise: “I am with you until the end of time.” The restoration of this church shall be the symbol of the restoration of a sovereign Russia, and its great consecration on the feast day of the Transfiguration of the Lord in 2000 shall symbolize the spiritual transfiguration of her people.
In this church, on November 5, 1917, after a 217-year interruption, the election of St Tikhon, Patriarch-Confessor of All Russia, was held, as the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, a figure representing podvig and courage. One of the candidates to the patriarchate was the first Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of blessed memory, then Archbishop of Volhynia, and the order of the election and installation of the Patriarch was developed by a commission headed by our second Primate, Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky) of blessed memory, then Archbishop of Kishenev.
In those fateful days, in October 1917, when voting on the restoration of the patriarchate began at the All-Russian Local Church Council, a revolution struck the nation and militant atheists seized control of the government, as a result of which the Church in the homeland was subjected to unprecedented persecutions, and millions of believers along with their pastor found themselves exiled abroad. Ties with the Church in the Fatherland were torn for many decades and now, with God's help, restoring prayerful-Eucharistic communion, we can joyfully exclaim as our forefathers had done at one time: “Not for us, not for us, but the glory is to Thy Name.”
I express the deepest gratitude to Your Holiness for the touching words of welcome you uttered to me and my fellow-travelers. I also address with thanks those who have gathered under the vaults of this splendid temple and by their presence, through their fervent and warm prayers, created a solemn and festive environment for the Eminent Archpastors, pastors and all the children of the Russian Orthodox Church, and greet them with the words of church blessing: “Peace be unto you all!” The HolyChurch, during every service, frequently blesses us in this way. The peace she offers us is the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, this is the power and work of the Holy Spirit. The acquisition of the peace of Christ in the Christian life is equated with such good works as faith and love. Faith is the foundation of Christian life, love is its pinnacle. And since our Christian path is a path from faith to love, then over its entire course, it must be illuminated and warmed by the light of the peace of Christ. I am deeply gladdened that “The Lord granteth strength to His people and blessed mankind with His peace.” May this peace be “with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity” (Ephesians ). Amen.
As a symbol of our thanks for your warm hospitality and in memory of today's great and historic event, we ask that you accept from us this gift: a copy of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God, Protectress of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
МОСКВА: 17 мая 2007 г. Речь Высокопреосвященнейшего Митрополита Лавра, произнесенная по окончании Божественной литургии в Храме Христа Спасителя
Ваше Святейшество! Возлюбленные архипастыри, пастыри и чада Русской Православной Церкви!
Волею Всемогущего Бога, Отца и Сына и Святого Духа, а также следуя зову христианского сердца и внимая любезному приглашению Вашего Святейшества, я имею ныне новую возможность пребывать в благословенных пределах России и поклониться ее великим святыням.
Сегодня, в праздник Вознесения Господня, мы соборне совершили Божественную литургию в сем восстановленном кафедральном Храме Христа Спасителя. В сегодняшний день Своего Вознесения Господь, после 80-ти летнего разделения, наступившего в 1927 г., призывает нас начать новую эру, вперять свой ум горе, чтобы избавиться от земных пут прошлого и не забывать Его обетования: «Аз есмь с вами во вся дни до скончания века» . Восстановление храма сего да будет образом восстановления державы Российской, а великое его освящение в праздник Преображения Господня в 2000 году да будет образом духовного преображения ее народа.
В этом храме 5 ноября 1917 г., после 217-летнего перерыва, состоялось избрание святителя Тихона, Всероссийского Патриарха-Исповедника, как Предстоятеля Русской Православной Церкви, представителя подвига и дерзновения. Одним из кандидатов в патриархи был и первый по счету Первоиерарх Русской Зарубежной Церкви Блаженнейший митрополит Антоний (Храповицкий), тогда архиепископ Волынский, а порядок избрания и настолования патриарха был выработан соборной комиссией во главе с нашим вторым Первоиерархом Блаженнейшим митрополитом Анастасием (Грибановским), тогда архиепископом Кишеневским.
В те судьбоносные и трудные дни октября 1917 г., когда на Всеросийском Поместном Соборе началось голосование по вопросу восстановления патриаршества, в стране произошел переворот и захват власти богоборцами и безбожниками, в результате которого Церковь на родине подверглась беспрецедентным гонениям, а миллионы верующих со своими пастырями оказались выброшенными за рубеж. Связи с Церковью в Отечестве оказались разорванными на многие десятилетия и вот теперь с Божией помощью восстановив молитвенно-евхаристическое общение мы можем с радостью воскликнуть как в свое время наши предки : «Не нам, не нам, но Имени Твоему даждь славу».
Выражаю глубокую благодарность Вашему Святейшеству за Ваши трогательные слова приветствия, с которыми Вы обратились ко мне и моим спутникам. С чувством благодарности я обращаюсь также к собравшимся под сводами сего благолепного храма и создавшим своим присутствием, усердной и теплой молитвой торжественную и праздничную обстановку Преосвященным архипастырям, пастырям и всем чадам Русской Православной Церкви и приветствую словами церковного благословения: «Мир всем!». Святая Церковь за каждым богослужением неоднократно преподает нам это благословение. Мир, который она передает нам, – это мир Господа нашего Иисуса Христа, это сила и действие Духа Святого. Стяжание мира Христова в осуществлении христианского жизненного пути поставляется наравне с такими добродетелями, как вера и любовь. Вера есть основа христианской жизни, а любовь – ее вершина. И поскольку наш христианский путь есть путь от веры к любви, то на всем его протяжении он должен освещаться и согреваться светом мира Христова. Меня глубоко радует, что «Господь крепость людем Своим дал и благословил людей Своих миром». Да пребывает этот мир «со всеми, неизменно любящими Господа нашего Иисуса Христа» (Еф. 6, 24). Аминь.
В знак нашей благодарности за теплый прием и на память о сегодняшнем великом и историческом событии просим от нас принять сей дар – список Курско-Коренной иконы Божией Матери, Одигитрии Русской Зарубежной Церкви.
Be careful not to fall into the temptation of thinking that a vacation away from home is a vacation away from God! If we are not at our home parish, we must still gather and worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ: “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is” (Hebrews ). This means that as Orthodox Christians the idea of a “Sunday off” should be inconceivable to us. If you are out of town on a Sunday or feast day, we should pick up the Yellow Pages and find a local parish. Better yet, find out what parishes are at your destination before you leave home. If you wish to receive Holy Communion when you are out of town, get a blessing from Fr. Peter before you travel, and then also check with the local priest when you arrive.
If there simply is no accessible Orthodox parish, you should read the reader services with as many Orthodox Christians as you can gather, starting with your family members. Every parishioner should have a copy of the Typica service, and if you do not, ask Fr. Peter for one, as well as for the variable portions for whichever Sunday or feast you’ll be out of town for. Of course, one should also read as much of the Vigil service as possible, too. At the very least, we should read the “Selections from Vespers and Matins” found in the Jordanville Prayerbook. The Sunday Troparia are also found in the Prayerbook. Fr. Peter can provide you with the troparia for whichever saints are commemorated on a given day. If you do not know the melodies, you can always just read them instead of singing them. Take the Church calendar with you on your trip, or at least jot down the relevant information for the days you will be traveling on. Read the Gospel and Epistle readings, not just for Sunday, but on each day that you are traveling. And just as you read or sing the Sunday troparion, you can also sing the weekday troparia from the Prayerbook. (This is a good habit to develop even if you are not traveling!) Other material is available on-line at http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/services.htm or from Fr. Peter for whatever service you need to celebrate. But even if you lack the specific texts for the day’s commemoration, you can always read or sing a Canon or an Akathist from your Prayerbook.
So remember, when you are traveling:
1) Research what Orthodox parishes there are on the road and at your destination. Ask Fr. Peter for help or if you have questions about which parishes and jurisdictions are better for visiting. Only hold a reader service if there is no Orthodox parish around.
2) Make sure you pack a Bible (at least the New Testament), a Prayerbook and a Church calendar.
3) On fasting days, do not modify the fast unless you absolutely have to. Nowadays, there are more vegan options available than ever before. Fish is better than meat or eggs, but “veggie burgers” are preferable to fish. (Burger King serves veggie burgers. Ask them to hold the mayo. And they have now added a shrimp and veggie salad.) Pack fruit and nuts for the road, so you won’t be tempted by chips and fries. Don’t ever use traveling as an excuse not to fast or pray. That is like looking for an excuse not to breathe.
4) If you are visiting non-Orthodox friends or relatives, remember that it is not proper to attend their services. It amounts to denying one’s Orthodox Faith in Christ, because it is to tacitly endorse heresy. The only regular exceptions are for weddings and funerals, which have more of a “social” character than a liturgical one. But even in these cases, you must always ask Fr. Peter for a blessing. Never assume it’s okay to go to a heterodox wedding or funeral. If you are staying with non-Orthodox friends or relatives, do not feel obligated to attend their religious services. They should respect your practices. And you should certainly take the opportunity to invite them to Orthodox services!
5) Each time you set out on a leg of your journey, everyone should sing the Troparion of St. Nicholas (“The truth of things…), found in the “Daily Troparia and Kontakia” in the Jordanville Prayerbook.
Make sure your vacation from your earthly home does not become a “vacation” from your heavenly home, your worship. Let us say with the Holy Prophet King David, “I was glad when they said unto me: Let us go into the house of the Lord!” (Psalm 122:1).
Fr. Peter
We have begun a sermon series based on the famous book of St. John of the Ladder, abbot of St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mt.Sinai. This is a fundamental text for all Orthodox believers and it is fitting that we become more acquainted with it. As a guide, here is a list of the steps that St. John enumerates:
Renunciation (seeking God’s Kingdom above all else)
Detachment (not being attached to people or things)
Exile or pilgrimage (being “in the world but not of the world”)
Obedience
Painstaking and true repentance
Remembrance of death
Joy-making mourning (not self-pity, but godly sorrow over sin)
Freedom from anger, meekness
Overcoming remembrance of wrongs
Overcoming slander
Overcoming talkativeness and learning silence
Overcoming lying
Overcoming “accidie” (spiritual sloth)
Taming “that clamorous mistress”, the stomach
Incorruptible purity and chastity
Overcoming love of money
Non-possessive “that hastens one heavenwards”
Overcoming insensibility
Coming to divine services on time
The all-night vigil
Overcoming “unmanly and puerile” cowardice
Overcoming the many forms of vainglory
Overcoming mad pride and unclean, blasphemous thoughts
Meekness, simplicity and guilelessness
Most sublime humility, “the destroyer of the passions”
Discernment of thoughts, passions and virtues
Hesychia (“stillness”) of soul and body
Holy and blessed prayer, the mother of virtues, and the attitude of mind and body in prayer
Godlike dispassion and perfection, “Heaven on earth”, and the resurrection of the soul before the general resurrection
