Holy Pascha!

Photo: Wikipedia Commons

Christ is Risen!

Христосъ воскресе!  Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!  Hristos a înviat!  al-Masīḥ qām! 

Indeed He is Risen!

O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown.
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen.
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice.
Christ is risen, and life reigns.
(St. John Chrysostom 4th c.)

The Divine Liturgy of Pascha was live-streamed from our church this Sunday. Following the guidelines the Liturgy was celebrated by the clergy only and live-streamed. This didn't mean that we couldn't express the joy of Pascha at the church property. At 11:00 and again at noon, members of our parish community brought their Easter baskets to be blessed in the parking lot by His Grace, Bishop Daniel. Though everyone kept their separation and stayed near their cars, all were united in the joy of Pascha 

Here are photos of some happy people (taken with the help of a camera with a zoom lens).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/188034323@N07/?

In Christ's enduring love,
Fr. David

Celebrating Holy Week

Photo Credit: FrDavid.wordpress.com

Most of us, unlike the iconographer Vladimir Grygorenko, have trouble being fully immersed in the celebration of Christ’s passion and resurrection. Christ literally surrounds him every day at work. This year it's a little more difficult for each of us. We are not able to stand in our beautiful church building, in the presence of icons, incense and each other. Fortunately, we live our lives under a much larger roof. We live under the dome of the heavens. Christ, the Pantocrator (ruler of the heavens) is above us all day and every day and we are members of His Church.

it’s a privilege to live as Christians all day and every day knowing that we are always in HIS presence. The reward is the joy of Christ today and forever. Archbishop Dmitri, of blessed memory, used to point out that without Christ’s resurrection the world has no meaning. Holy Pascha is almost upon us. Here are some things you can do during Holy Week-

. In a spirit of repentance, actively pursue your prayer life at home including praying for others.

. Watch, not as a spectator but as a participant, the services on the internet.

. Contact your fellow Orthodox parishioners and wish them a blessed Pascha.

. Contact your non-Orthodox relatives and friends and wish them a blessed Easter.

. If you are blessed to have relatives who are children, you can reach out to them with the story of Pascha.

Resources: 

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/diognetus-lightfoot.html

https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-church-year/holy-week

The service schedule for our parish is posted on our website: https://sspeterpaulaz.org

In order to view the live-stream services at Sts. Peter and Paul:

1) go to our parish Facebook page (Saints Peter and Paul Eastern Orthodox Church – OCA) and look for the link; or 2) visit our parish website (above) and click the Facebook icon located at the top right and bottom right of the home page.

You are also encouraged to follow the additional services live-streamed from Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Francisco). The schedule can be found on the Cathedral website: https://holy-trinity.org  

Live-stream. Click the Facebook icon located at the top right of the home page to be connected. His Eminence Archbishop BENJAMIN, the Bishop of our Diocese, will serve assisted by Archpriest Kirill Sokolov, Cathedral Dean.

Quoting from His Grace, Bishop DANIEL in this morning's email:

“We will remain in our homes behind closed doors, believing that hope is on the horizon.  Then, after a while, when it’s safe for all people, when it is the most loving choice, we will come out, gathering together, shouting and singing the good news that God brings life even out of death, that love has the final say.  This year, we might have the closest taste we have had yet of what that first Pascha was really like.”

In Christ’s enduring love,

Father David

Fifth Week of Great Lent

Image: Wikimedia Commons

 Glory to God for All Things!

These were the words spoken by Saint John Chrysostom before his death. They were transformed into a beautiful Akathist by Metropolitan Tryphon (Turkestanov) in 1929 during the time of brutal Soviet repression of the Church. Every word of this Akathist is food for the soul. Here's a selection from Ikos 9.

Glory to Thee, transfiguring our lives with deeds of love.

Glory to Thee, making wonderfully Sweet the keeping of Thy commandments.

Glory to Thee, making Thyself known where man shows mercy on his neighbour.

Glory to Thee, sending us failure and misfortune that we may understand the sorrows of others.

Glory to Thee, rewarding us so well for the good we do.

Glory to Thee, welcoming the impulse of our heart's love.

Glory to Thee, raising to the heights of heaven every act of love in earth and sky.

Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age.

You are invited to the web page for this Akathist;

http://www.saintjonah.org/services/thanksgiving.htm

and the biography of Metropolitan Tryphon. It's in Russian but the Google Chrome browser can translate it into very readable English.

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/put/061130150599.htm

His Grace on Sunday March 29, 2020

This the fifth week of Great Lent was celebrated by our Bishop Daniel and
recorded. The Divine Liturgy at our parish church can now be viewed online while we are physically separated from one another. Links to the Liturgy and His sermons are posted on the Church website:

https://sspeterpaulaz.org/

Friday, April 3 is also the day in which we commemorate the icon of the "Theotokos of the Unfading Bloom" (shown above). The roses represent the purity of the Theotokos and Christ's Church. A nice start of the day.  

Glory to God for all things!

Fr. David