The Orthodox Christian Family (Part I)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FAMILY
By Archbishop Chrysostomos, from "Orthodox Tradition," Vol. No. 2, pp. 34-36.

The Orthodox Church exalts the family. The Church itself is often characterized by the Holy Fathers in images drawn from the family. In the family, as in the Church, basic values are formed, the soul is shaped and established, and the path of salvation is set forth. The family is that warm place where the leaven of the Faith is nurtured, where we first begin to rise to full life in Christ. It is for this reason that every Bishop, every Priest, every monastic, and all pious laymen remember, in their daily prayers, their mothers and fathers, that their "days may be long on the earth." It is for this reason that, even after their repose, we remember our fathers and mothers and family members, praying for them fervently and, in our prayers, reaching across the chasm of death to be with them even in the afterlife, in the spiritual world. So special is the family that we remember those in error and heresy and sin even more dearly than those upright and unwavering in the Faith. This is the wonder of the family.

The Orthodox Christian family, however, is always understood in its spiritual unit. The selfish, social, family, which triumphs the rights or privileges of blood ties, is for us Orthodox Christians not a true family. An economic unit that uses family relationships to attain worldly possessions or wealth; the social unit turned in on itself, making the family responsible only for itself, that family which is a "god," the single most important thing in life, that thing most worthy fighting for...All these, too, are not families for the Orthodox Christian believer.

As exalted and sacred as the family might be, our first loyalty as true Christians is to God. Anything which comes before Christ, to paraphrase Holy Scripture, is not worthy of Christ. Anyone who places the priorities of the family before the Church and the Commandments is a cultist, betraying both the Church and the authentic family. A true family is not worldly. A true family is an icon of the church and the brotherhood of all mankind. A true family does not confine its love to those within its boundaries but extends to its neighbors (and even its enemies) the love which has been developed, cultivated, and refined within the family.

In contemporary America the social family, the family created without spiritual goals, is turning ugly. On Christmas and holidays, for example, we gather in our homes, ignore the poor, resent the "intrusion" of friends and acquaintances into our food- and drink-filled festivities, and pay homage to Christ or the theme of the holiday in perfunctory services or commemorations designed around the family activities--if any homage is paid at all. We have abandoned, to a great extent, the custom of visiting the infirm and needy on holidays. Rather, we have turned to the whole year, poisoning and killing society itself, making people cold, alien, and insensitive to others. And even the family itself suffers. Family members embrace, relate to one another in empty and inane exchange of words, and often hid their need for real love and affection--for the true love (agape) and affection--known only to the spiritual family, to that family which reaches beyond itself.

Thus the model American family which so shocks us Christians, but which predominates in the society around us:  a family beset by drug abuse, alcohol, the killing comforts of wealth and material gain, divorce, and even suicide!

So far has the American family strayed from the spiritual image that, if a young man or woman is to go away today and enter the Monastic life, dedicating himself to prayer for the family and others, this is an occasion for shame and embarrassment.  The family unit may even explode in hatred, decrying the personal separation that such a life might entail.

Deep love, that love which survives separation (and even death), is disappearing from our families. We delight in those who succeed in the emptiness of material life and remove even the privileges of the family from those who seek the spiritual life. How far we have come from the traditional Christian family, based as it was in the past--especially in our Orthodox Christian societies--on spiritual values, in which a monastic or priestly vocation was the cause of merriment and rejoicing. To such families, a monastic or Priestly vocation represents a total fulfillment of family goals, a realization of the Christian life, and a reification (regarding a concept at a concrete thing, Ed.) of Christian ideals. If we reflect on the contrast between the true family, and the social unit quazi-family created in modern materialistic society, we can precisely glimpse what the True Orthodox Christian family is.  (Orthodox Heritage)

(To be continued) 

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

How to Conduct Oneself When People Speak Evil of Us

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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HOW TO CONDUCT ONESELF WHEN PEOPLE SPEAK EVIL OF US?

[Source: "Orthodox Life," vol.48]

Our good name is very important for us in life. A "good name is rather to be chosen than great riches," says the wise Solomon (Proverbs 22:1). A good name brings us the respect and trust of others, and we have great need of it in life because no one wants to have dealings with a dishonest person. Therefore we cannot look indifferently on the opinions of others about us. The dishonest person can expect neither heartfelt compassion nor help from others. If we are entrusted with any kind of leadership role, it is almost impossible to control subordinates while lacking the respect of others.  

So, what should we do when other people, slander and deprive us of our good name?

1. First of all, no matter how bad and how injurious the evil talk spread about us may be, we must guard ourselves from anger, verbal abuse, and revenge, but remain as placid as possible in spirit, because we all must be of one spirit with Christ, and Christ, in the face of all the accusations from the Jews, remained peaceful, not in the least bit vengeful. "Christ, when He was reviled, reviled not again...but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously," the holy Apostle Peter says (1 Peter 2:23).

2. When you hear that others are speaking poorly of you and ascribing to you vices of various sorts, bad intentions, and so forth, then immediately subject yourself to the strictest examination to see whether the vices they ascribe to you are really there. Perhaps they say you are proud, a liar, an idler, a spendthrift, a drunkard, a sluggard a debaucher, or whatever else. Examine yourself very closely: do these vices actually lurk within you, if only to a small degree? Is there not pride, falsehood, and so on? Other people's eyes often see our conduct much better and more reliably than our own do, because every person has a certain amount of pride, and pride always conceals us from ourselves. Thus, we can rarely see ourselves accurately, and some people, even quite depraved ones, consider themselves faultless. If impartial examination of yourself shows you that others reproach you justly, that one or another vice indeed exists in you, then quickly offer repentance, fervently pray to the Lord God to deliver you from that vice, try zealously to correct yourself of it, and then everywhere show the most sincere friendly disposition and gratitude towards the one who spoke evil of you, regardless of his intentions for doing so, because without reproach you perhaps would never have seen your vices, would have died without repentance and correction, and would have perished forever.

3. If, after the most attentive, impartial examination of yourself, you find that the vices ascribed to you do not exist, you may legitimately defend yourself and refute the slander leveled at you, but only when this is necessary not because of your self-love or pride but because of your position in society. But defend yourself calmly, without anger or indignation. Jesus Christ Himself acted thus when they said of Him that he was driving out devils with the help of Beelzebub the prince of devils (St. Luke 11:15-26).

If the evil talk about you does not cease, or even multiplies, then resort to nothing but fervent prayer that the Lord God may have the kindness to enlighten and correct your slanderers. Act this way because Jesus Christ Himself acted this way even towards His executioners. (St. Luke 23:34). (Orthodox Heritage)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

On Refuge From Sinful Thoughts

Beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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ON REFUGE FROM SINFUL THOUGHTS
[From The Spiritual Life and How to Be Attuned to It. A parable by St. John the Dwarf adopted by St. Theophan the Recluse]

There was in a certain place a beautiful woman of questionable behavior. The ruler of this country took pity on her, that such beauty would perish, and, when he found the opportunity, he said to her, "Give up your immoral ways, and I will take you to my house and you will become my wife and the mistress of many treasures. Just watch that you are faithful, or else there will be such trouble for you as you cannot even imagine."

She agreed to this and was taken to the ruler's house. Her former friends, seeing that she had disappeared, began searching for her, and found out that she was with the ruler.

Although the ruler was a terror, they did not despair of enticing the beautiful woman back to themselves once again, knowing her weakness. "We have only to go up behind the house and whistle, she will know who it is and immediately run out to us."

That is just what they did.

They went behind the house and whistled. The beautiful woman, hearing the whistle, startled. Something from her previous life stirred inside her. But she had already come to her senses, and instead of running out of the house, she rushed into the inner chambers to the ruler himself, and immediately calmed down; she did not even hear the whistling that continued outside.

Her friends whistled a few more times and went off with nothing.

The meaning of the parable is clear. The beautiful woman represents the fallen soul that has turned to the Lord in repentance and made a contract to belong to and serve Him alone. The former friends are the passions. Their whistling is the impulses of passionate thought, feelings, and desires. Escape into the inner chambers is shelter in the depths of the heart, there to stand before the Lord.

When this is accomplished within, the passion that has troubled the soul leaves of its own accord as if it had never existed, and the soul calms down. (Source: Orthodox Heritage)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

On Forgiving Others

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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ON FORGIVING OTHERS
By Saint Tikhon of Zandosk from "Orthodox Christian Journey

Sometimes in life, we offend each other. This happens because the devil hates love among us, and cleverly ensnares or incites us to offend our neighbor--from our own personal weakness, from carelessness or from habit. Reconciliation is absolutely necessary in order to preserve peace and harmony.

At times, we brush off the offense and go on as if nothing happened. The Holy Bible teaches that when we sin against our neighbor we also sin against God Himself. When love toward our neighbor is destroyed, so too is love toward God and have peace with Him, we must first be reconciled with our neighbor, and then ask God for mercy.

If we approach God in prayer without reconciling with our neighbor, our prayer is vain and empty. The Lord says, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary delivers thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing" (St. Matthew 5:23-26).

Until the peace and love are returned, God will not accept repentance, nor prayers, nor anything else from us. Humbly ask forgiveness without delay, whether the offense is in word or deed.

Death stalks invisibly behind us and seizes us unawares. What will become of us if we are taken without reconciliation? We will appear before the judgment of Christ as we leave this world. What is forgiven now will not appear there. It is important to be reconciled while there is time. If we were able to offend our neighbor, we should also be able to be reconciled without delay. God promises His mercy to all who repent, but He does not promise tomorrow, nor even the next breath.

We must break down the idol of pride and bow down with humility before the offended one. When we bend our knee, we must bow our heart; when we beg forgiveness with our lips, we must beg with our heart. When we repent with our tongue, we must repent and be sorry in our heart. When we kiss each other with the lips, the kiss must come from the heart. For the outward without the inward means nothing. God judges according to the inward disposition.

"Why should I ask forgiveness?" we may ask. "Look who I am!" We all created equal in God's sight. He is just and we shall all stand before Him to be judged. And who is to say who is the better person? The Lord examines the righteous man and the ungodly: "The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked, he shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and a horrible temper this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright" (Psalm 11:5).

"Perhaps my neighbor won't accept my apology-- what then?" Humility has such power it touches even the hardest heart. God, the lover of humility; works through the humble. If we humble our heart before our neighbor, we shall see the power of humility as we are embraced with love and joy. If we are unwilling to try, we are responsible for our sin.

"But my neighbor will gloat over my humility."

Saint Luke tells us that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled: For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (St. Luke 18:14). We are not responsible for our neighbors actions. Our responsibility is to obey our Lord.

The offended one must forgive the offended. To be forgiven by God pray with sincerity and hope, Father...forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debts...For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father also will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (St. Matthew 6:12, 14-15).

How terrible it is when we do not forgive our neighbor's trespasses! If we forgive our neighbor, God will also forgive us. If we do not forgive, God will not forgive us. How, then, can we stand before God? And how much is our prayer worth? Almost nothing. For how can we stand before God with anger in our heart? And we must take all the blame, for the sin is ours.

Though we were sinned against, we are all sinners and must forgive. Our neighbor is our debtor and asks forgiveness of God. If forgiveness is from the heart, we can pray from the heart, honestly and openly. If the prayer of forgiveness is not from the heart, it is only words and becomes sin. All wrath and anger must be set aside and forgiveness must be sincere before we can honestly pray, "Father, forgive us..." and forgiveness be granted.

As we treat our neighbor, so also does God treat us. Forgiveness or unforgiveness of our sins, and therefore also our salvation or destruction, depends on each of us, individually. Without forgiveness of sins there is no salvation. We are all sinners equally. Do we know who we are and Who God is, against Whom we have sinned, and sin still? All the world is nothing before God (Isaiah 40). If all the world is as nothing before God, what, then, are we individually, however great our position before others? And what is the sin of our neighbor who offended us? It is as a penny against thousands of pieces of gold or ten thousand talents. Or, even better, it is as nothing against our sins toward God.

If we will not forgive anything, no matter how small, can we hope to receive forgiveness for a great thing? Will we be forgiven by God, Who is eternal justice and incredible majesty? If we do not have mercy on another, what mercy do we expect of God? It is dangerous not to forgive!  (Source: Orthodox Heritage)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

Feast Day of the Twelve Holy Apostles

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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ON JUNE 30TH OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE FEAST OF THE TWELVE GLORIOUS AND ILLUSTRIOUS APOSTLES

On this day, illumined by the reflected glory of the first two Leaders of the Apostles of the Lord, who form a new choir of shining stars in the spiritual firmament. Foundations and pillars of the Church, they are also the angels who guard the Twelve Gates giving access to the heavenly Jerusalem.

The earliest of the People of Israel, the sons of Jacob were twelve in number, and the Lord also chose Twelve Disciples, whom He made witnesses of His teaching and miracles, whom He sent to preach the Kingdom of God, and on whom He conferred the power to cast out demons and to heal every infirmity. After the Resurrection, He sent them throughout the world to proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation and to baptize all peoples in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Just as the Son had been sent by the Father into the world for our salvation, so choosing His Disciples and gathering them together, He sent them to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven was very near: As the Father has sent Me, so I send you. As the condition for becoming His Apostles, He asked them to renounce all earthly attachments: "Provide neither gold nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, nor two coats, neither shoes nor yet staves. He also warned them would undergo tribulations and persecutions in bearing witness to Him: "Behold, I sent you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves...You will be hated by all on account of Me...You will bear witness before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness to Me. But when they deliver you, take no thought how or what ye shall speak or what you are to say; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak, for it is not ye that speaks, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."

Witnesses to the Resurrection of the Lord both by their lives and their preaching, the holy Apostles offered themselves as a spectacle before the world, before angels and before the human race, saying with Saint Paul, "We have become a spectacle unto the world, ill-treated, homeless, naked, we both hunger and thirst and endure harassments of every kind, rejected by all, so that by their sacrifice the Church might be built on the power of God and not on human strength.

Today, the holy and Illustrious Apostles form a harmonious choir around the first two holy Apostles:

Andrew, the First-Called, brother of Peter, who proclaimed the Gospel in the coastal regions of Bithynia, Pontus, and Armenia. Returning by way of Pontus and Byzantium, he traveled as far as Greece, where he was crucified at the city of Patras in Achaia (Peloponnessos).

James, the son of Zebedee, who witnessed for the Resurrection throughout the whole of Judaea. He perished by the sword on the orders of King Herod Agrippa, who was jealous of his renown.

John the Theologian, the brother of James, who rested on the Lord's breast. After having proclaimed Christ in the province of Asia, he was exiled to the Greek island of Patmos on the orders of the pagan emperor Domitian, where he wrote the Gospel and the Apocalypse (Revelation). He finally returned to Ephesus where he fell asleep in peace at a great age.

Phillip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee like Peter and Andrew. He proclaimed the Good News in the province of Asia and in the region of Hierapolis in Phrygia, in the company of his sister Marianne and of Saint Bartholomew. He died in Hierapolis, being crucified by the pagans.

Thomas, also called Didymus, who spread the Gospel among the Parthians, Medes, and Persians, and the inhabitants of India. He was pierced to death by pagan lances.

Bartholomew preached in Lydia and in Mysia along with the Apostle Phillip. After the death of the latter, he continued his mission in Arabia, in Persia and in India, and finished his course in Armenia, where he was crucified in Albanopolis. His body was placed in a lead box and thrown into the sea, but was later recovered in Sicily.

Matthew, the Publican, formerly called Levi, was the brother of James the son of Alphaeus. After having written his Gospel, he left on a mission to the Parthenians. It is said that he was burned alive in Hierapolis on the banks of the Euphrates.

James the son of Alphaeus proclaimed Christ in Gaza and in and around Eleutheriopolis. He was crucified in the town of Ostracine in Egypt.

Simon the Zealot, from Canna in Galilee, who is also called Nathanael in the Gospel of John, proclaimed the Good News in Mauritania in North Africa; it is said that he then left for, Great Britain, where he was crucified.

Jude, a kinsman of the Lord, also called Thaddeus and Levi by Saint Matthew, departed on a mission to Mesopotamia, and finished his days in the regions near Mount Ararat, where he was hanged and pierced with arrows by pagans.

Matthias was added to the number of the holy Apostles after the Ascension, to replace Judas Iscariot, the traitor. He preached the Gospel in Ethiopia, where he gave his soul into God's hand after suffering numerous tortures at the hands of the pagans.

It is the tradition to associate the holy Evangelists with these blessed Apostles: Mark, a spiritual son of Saint Peter, who evangelized Alexandria and the Pentapolis, and who suffered martyrdom by being crushed under the weight of a rock; Luke, the physician and first iconographer who, after having accompanied Saint Paul on his journeys, wrote his Gospel under the Apostle's influence. Finally settling in Thebes in Voetia, he died there in peace at the age of eighty-four.

It is on the testimony of these Holy Apostles, whose sound is gone out into all lands in order to proclaim the reality of Christ's Resurrection, that the Church has been built. If they occupy the first place in the assembly of the Saints, it is precisely because detaching themselves from everything else in order to follow the Lord, they became His perfect imitators and proclaimed to all: "Be ye followers of us, just as we are of Him."

Once the generation of those who had known the Lord during His earthly life had passed, the Apostolic Ministry did not end, but, as Saint Paul testifies, was transmitted to all those who have beheld the Resurrection of Christ through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Apostolic charisma (gift) is not limited to the Oral proclamation of the Good News but is shared by all the Saints, who have contributed to the building up of the Church through their witness to the Resurrection. (Source: The Synaxarion 'The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church')

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

June 29-The Celebration of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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ON JUNE 29th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL

1. The Holy Apostle Peter.

The son of Jonah and brother Andrew the First-Called, of the tribe of Simeon and the town of Bethsaida, he was a fisherman and was at first called Simon, but the Lord was pleased to call him Cephas, or Peter (St. John 1:42). He was the first of the Disciples to give clear expression of his faith in the Lord Jesus, saying: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (St. Matthew 16:16). His love for the Lord was very strong, and his faith in Him went from strength to strength. When the Lord was put on trial, Peter denied Him three times, but it needed only look into the face of the Lord, and Peter's soul was filled with shame and repentance. After the Descent of the Holy Spirit, Peter became a fearless and powerful preacher of the Gospel.  After his first sermon in Jerusalem, about 3,000 souls were converted to the Faith.  He preached the Gospel throughout Palestine and Asia Minor, in Italy and the Illyria.  He performed many wonders (miracles), healing the sick and raising the dead, and even his shadow had the power of healing the sick. He had a major struggle with Simon the Magician, who declared himself to be from God but was actually a servant of the devil. He finally put him to shame and overcame him. Peter was condemned to death on the order of the pagan and wicked Emperor Nero, a friend of Simon's. After installing Linus as Bishop of Rome and exhorting and encouraging the flock of Christ there, Saint Peter went to his death with joy. When he saw the cross before him, he asked the executioner to crucify him upside-down, because he felt himself to be unworthy to die in the same way as his Lord. And so this great servant of the Greatest Master went to his rest and received a crown of eternal glory.

2. The Holy Apostle Paul.

Born in Tarsus and of the tribe of Benjamin, he was formerly called Saul and studied under Gamaliel. He was a Pharisee and a persecutor of Christians. He was wondrously converted to the Christian faith by the Lord Himself, who appeared to him on the road to Damascus. He was baptized by the Apostle Ananias, named Paul and enrolled in the work of the Great Apostles. He preached the Gospel everywhere with burning zeal, from the borders of Arabia to the land of Spain, among both the Jews and the heathen, and receiving the title of 'the Apostle to the Gentiles'. His fearful sufferings were matched only by his superhuman endurance. Through all the years of his preaching, he hung from day to day like a thread between life and death. Filling his days and nights with toil and suffering for Christ, organizing the Church in many places and reaching a high level of perfection, he was able to say: "I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). He was beheaded in Rome in the reign of the pagan cruel emperor Nero, at the same time as Saint Peter.

HOMILY

- on the fear of God.

"Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear" (1 Peter 1:17).

These words of the holy Apostle Peter have a double basis: heavenly inspiration and personal experience. Through heavenly inspiration, the simple fisherman became a teacher of the people, a pillar of the Faith and a mighty miracle worker. Through personal experience, Saint Peter acknowledged that all his strength and wisdom were from God, and, because of that, he knew the need to have the fear of God in himself. No other fear except the fear of God.

A madman takes fright when the lightning merely flashes and the thunder cracks, but a wise man stands in the fear of God every day and every hour. The Creator of the thunder and lightning is more awesome than either, and He does not just appear before you from time to time as do thunder and lightning but is with you unceasingly and never separates Himself from you. Therefore it is not enough to feel the fear of God only from time to time, but we must breathe it in with every breath. The fear of God is the fresh ozone in the suffocating air of our souls. This ozone brings purification and lightness, and a sweet fragrance and health. Until he had become established in the fear of God, St. Peter was merely Peter and not an Apostle, a hero, a teacher of the people and a worker of miracles (wonders).

Oh, my brethren, let us not make merry before the time of harvest. This life of ours is not the harvest but the time of sowing, in toil, sweat, and fear. The farmer lives in trepidation until he has gathered the crop from his field. Let us also leave our merrymaking until the day of harvest, for now, is the season of toil and fear. Shall I be saved? That question should torment each of us, just as the question: 'Shall I reap the fruit of my labor from the field?', torments the farmer. The farmer labors and waits in trepidation every day. Let us also labor and wait in fear for the whole season of our sojourn here on this earth.

O Lord Who art fearful and mighty upholds us in Thy fear. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen. (The Prologue from Ochrid)

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ON SATURDAY JUNE 29th: [End of the Apostles Fast]

Divine Services:

Orthros (Matins)........................9:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy...........................10:00 a.m.

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George