Open HOuse 2013 - Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Monthly Calendar
http://orthodoxmiami.org/calendar/month_print.php
Christ the Saviour Orthodox Cathedral
16601 NW 77th Court, Miami Lakes, FL 33016
MAY 2013
Sunday
Apr 28
PALM SUNDAY
8:30 AM Matins
10 AM Liturgy
Sunday School
Fish Dinner
Monday
Apr 29
Holy Monday
7 PM Bridegroom
Matins
Fast
Fast: fish, wine, & oil
6
5
Bright Monday
PASCHA
Noon Agape Vespers
Open House
Egg Hunt
10 AM Liturgy
Youth Outing
Fast free
12
St Thomas Sunday
Fast free
13
10 AM Liturgy
served at Vista
Memorial Gardens
Tuesday
Apr 30
Holy Tuesday
Wednesday
1
Thursday
2
Holy Wednesday
Saturday
4
Holy Thursday
Mystical Supper
Holy Friday
Holy Saturday
Proto-Anastasis
10 AM Liturgy
10 AM Liturgy
7 PM Bridegroom
Matins
7 PM Holy Unction
7 PM Twelve Gospels 3 PM Vespers
7 PM Matins
11 PM Paschal Vigil
Fast
Fast
Fast
Fast
Fast: wine & oil
7
8
9
10
11
9 AM Liturgy
Deacon School
10 AM Liturgy
Fast free
14
Bright Saturday
Bright Friday
Bright Thursday
Bright Wednesday
Bright Tuesday
Fast free
15
Fast free
16
Fast free
17
6 PM Vespers
Confessions
Communion Canon
Fast free
18
Fast
5 PM Adult Study
6 PM Vespers
Confessions
Communion Canon
24
25
10 AM "Gospel of
John" the Movie
6:45 PM Choir
Fast
19
Friday
3
20
21
22
23
Ss Constantine
& Helen
10 AM Liturgy
8:30 AM Matins
10 AM Liturgy
Sisterhood Mtg
12 PM En Espanol
7 PM Board Mtg
26
27
28
Fast
29
Memorial Day
30
Fast
31
6 PM Vespers
Confessions
Communion Canon
Jun 1
Mid-Feast
8:30 AM Matins
10 AM Liturgy
Veterans Pannikhida
12 PM En Espanol
10 AM Lesser
Blessing of Water
Fast
Fast
5 PM Adult Study
6 PM Vespers
Confessions
Communion Canon
Voice
Orthodoxy
of
Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
A Word
from the
Rejoice today…The table is fully laden;
feast sumptuously…Enjoy the feast of faith;
receive all the riches of loving-kindness.
(Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom)
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen!
Pascha,
the
celebration
of
the
Resurrection of Christ, is
filled with joy and power.
It’s something we feel as
we reenter the church that
Pascha night from our
outdoor procession. It is
an energy that is alive and
infectious. The Paschal
celebration continues then
for 40 days. We feast,
we sing and say “Christ
is Risen,” we celebrate
some more, we eat some
more, and so on. It is the
appropriate
victorious
fulfillment of the Lenten
cycle of fasting, penance,
and Holy Week. Is meant
to be enjoyed!
One of the pitfalls,
however, of the Pascal
period for many is the tendency toward an
internal spiritual letdown. This letdown could
be quite troubling, leading to an undoing of
the spiritual equilibrium gained during the
May 2013
Pastor
Great Fast. I call it “the post paschal blues.” If
not careful, it could lead toward excess, lack
of spiritual activity, no prayer, forgetfulness of
God, and the feeding of pride which leads to
sin.
I love to celebrate Holy Pascha with my
family and my parishioners. Far be it from me
to put a damper on anyone’s celebration of this
most joyous and victorious
feast. The homily of St. John
Chrysostom encourages us
in this direction. Still, it
needs to be said that the
human spiritual condition
is always fragile, always
needing regular care and
attention.
So enjoy and celebrate
the Holy Resurrection
of our Saviour, Jesus
Christ!
If anything is
worth celebrating - this
is! But at the same time,
be moderate in behavior
and ever-mindful of Who
we serve. It is our calling at
all times to be “children of
the Light and of the Day.”
If we properly nurture this
thought we can more easily
navigate through those post
paschal blues, preserving
our peace and moving forward in our faith.
Yours in the Risen Christ,
Fr. Philip Reese
Voice
of
Orthodoxy
Contents
Orthodox Cathedral of
Christ the Saviour
16601 NW 77th Court
Miami Lakes, FL 33016
A Word from the Pastor . . . page 1
Dear Abba . . . page 3
Why Is Pascha So Late?
ph. (305) 822-0437
fax (305) 822-0842
rectory (305) 825-9541
cel (786) 348-5411
Readers Corner . . . page 4
“Father Arseny: A Cloud of Witnesses”
Faith of Our Fathers . . . page 4
St Hesychios of Jerusalesm
News . . . page 5
orthodoxmiami@hotmail.com
Visit our website for news, announcements and
changes to our schedule.
www.OrthodoxMiami.org
On Icons . . . page 6
Announcements . . . page 7
Ancient worship. Ancient teachings.
Ancient Christianity . . . Today.
Calendar . . . page 8
2
May 2013
Clergy
Council
Rector
Archpriest Philip Reese
Senior Steward
Gary Popovich
Associate Priest
Priest Joseph Lucas
Secretary
Christopher Herbert
Hierodeacon Gregory (Burke)
Treasurer
Jim Shiskin
Subdeacons
Randolph LaCroix
Alexander Dimich
Julio Gurrea
Carlos Miranda
Readers
Dionysi Doten
Christopher Herbert
Stephen Butcher
Anthony Allen
Assistant Treasurer
Alex Pouschine
Les Bowser
Stephen Butcher
Dionysi Doten
Susan Simpkins
Gerasimos Evanoff
Mary Perkins (alt)
May 2013
Voice
of
Orthodoxy
Announcements
Movie-time at OCCS
We will be showing a feature
presentation of “Gospel of John”
the first full rendition of this Gospel.
Thursday, May 16 at 10 AM.
Bring your own snacks!
In Need of Our Prayers
Kathryn LaCroix / Anna McGregor
Lidia Brookes / Valentin Jakolenko
Fr. George & Mat. Vasilka Gerov
Ludmilla & Peter Voinescu
Svetlana Roadway / Betty Calvert
Hannah Butcher / Nina Moskevich
Pentecost Barbecue
After Liturgy on June 23
Open HOuse 2013
Agape Vespers at Noon
Blessing of Baskets & Meal
Kids Egg Hunt
Pascha Sunday
May 5
May Birthdays
Honoriu Filimon 1
Eduardo Ruiz 2
Randolph LaCroix 3
Mary Herbert 6
Anastasiya Mason 6
Steven Shiskin 8
Tanya Loglisci 9
Rdr. Stephen Butcher 9
Karen Budowski 16
Sebastian Cofiño 25
Matushka Debra Reese 26
May Anniversaries
Bruce & Ann Ross 13
Timeshare Raffle!
6
7
Voice
of
Orthodoxy
On Icons: The Resurrection of the Lord
by Gerasimos Evanoff
The Resurrection of the Lord is completely
represented in the Byzantine icon known as the “
Descent into Hades,” which has been used since
ancient times. The type of icon showing Christ rising up out of the tomb in victory was not developed
and used until after the influence from the Western
Renaissance painters.
The actual moment of the Resurrection is
not
mentioned
in the Holy Gospels. The elements we see in
the icon of the
Descent into Hades are described
in the apocryphal
gospels, and are
found in Old Testament prophecies. There are
also
accounts
for the theme of
the Resurrection
found in Acts 2:3132 , and Ephesians
4:9-10 and 1 Peter
3:18-19.
In our icon
we see Christ triumphant.
He
has garments of
glowing white or
shades of gold,
a change in the
colors from those
depicting
His
earthly life, letting us know that
a definite change
has occurred in
Him. He is surrounded by a large halo called DOXA
(glory) or mandorla, in shades of blue with rays of
May 2013
light originating from His body. It represents His
transfigured body and the neve-ending light of the
age to come. In His hands and feet are the marks of
the Crucifixion.
Beneath The Lords feet is death, represented by a figure bound in chains. The doors of Hades
lay in the form of a cross: “He will brake the gates
of brass and cut the bars of iron asunder” Psalm
106 /107:16. Below is the black abyss of Hades. In
His right hand He is pulling Adam up out of death
depicting our bodily Resurrection.
In some icons
He is pulling up
Eve and in some
He will be holding a cross, which
is no longer an instrument of death
but of life. Sometimes the destruction of death is
also
represented with broken
chains, scattered
nails and keys in
the dark abyss.
On the sides of
the icon are two
groups of persons.
On the left we see
King David and
King
Solomon
with their crowns,
and St. John the
Forerunner.
On the right we
see Moses with
the Ten Commandment tablets, and various
saints. They all
recognize Christ
and point Him
out to all. He is the One they had prophesied about:
CHRIST IS RISEN!
May 2013
Voice
of
Orthodoxy
Dear Abba
Dear Abba, why are celebrating
Pascha so late this year?
Answer: The calculation used for the Feast
of Pascha dates to the First Ecumenical Council
in AD 325. In the early Church, there were various local calculations for Pascha. In Asia Minor,
Christians celebrated the feast on the same day as
Jews celebrated their Passover—the 15th day of the
month of Nisan (according to the Semitic lunar calendar). But in other places, this practice was seen
as controversial because it was believed that Pascha should always be celebrated on a Sunday, which
does not occur with the Jewish Passover.
Those Christians who followed the Jewish
date were called Quartidecimens (because they
began their vigil on the eve of the feast, the 14th).
In the second and third centuries, there began a
movement to eradicate this tradition in favor of the
Sunday-only calculation. The debate continued
into the fourth century, finally being addressed at
the Nicea. The 318 bishops gathered at the First
Ecumenical Council agreed upon the following
calculation: Pascha will be celebrated on the first
Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal
Equinox (March 21 at that time).
To further systemize this calculation, the
Church of Alexandria, a city renowned for its astronomers, adopted a 19-year cycle. The dates of
Pascha were calculated according to certain astronomical data, and set to repeat at the end of each
cycle. This cycle was eventually adopted by the Orthodox Church. The Church of Rome at times followed the same cycle as the eastern churches, but
eventually opted for their own calcuation, an 84year cycle.
The 19-year cycle, called the Paschalion, was
originally calculated using the Julian calendar, in
use since the time of Julius Caesar. However, a defect in the way time is measured means that the Julian calendar shifts forward one day every 134 years.
Since the fourth century, the Vernal Equinox on the
Julian calendar has moved 13 days ahead of March
21, which means that the dates on which Pascha fall
are much later in the year.
In AD 1582, Pope Gregory XIII initiated a
calendar reform in the Roman Catholic Church,
resulting in the Gregorian calendar. The defect in
calculation was corrected, and the calendar was
reset to its original sequence. The Vernal Equinox
again fell on March 21. Subsequently, the new Roman ecclesiastical calendar was adopted as the civil
calendar in most nations.
Today, the Orthodox Church observes fixed
feast days on two different calendars. For those on
the “New Calendar,” the feastdays correspond to the
modern civil calendar (so Christmas, for example,
falls on December 25). For those on the “Old Calendar,” feastdays follow the original Julian dates (so
Christmas is 13 days ahead, on January 7, although
this date is also December 25, just calculated differently).
Russia, Serbia, Jerusalem and Mount Athos
follow the Julian calendar; while Greece, Romania,
Bulgaria and Antioch follow the Gregorian calendar. Yet, when it comes to the most importantfeast
of the year—the Holy Pascha—All these Orthodox
lands have continued to follow the original Julian
date as a sign of our unity.
One question that constantly comes up in
modern times is whether the Jewish Passover affects our Paschal calendar. According to fourth
century canons, Pascha is not to be celebrated “with
the Jews.” This was a rebuttal of the Quartodecimen practice. But once the 19-year Paschalion was
adopted, the Church has not taken Passover into
consideration. During Byzantine times, we know
that the Passover sometimes fell after the Christian
Pascha. But as the Julian calendar shifted ahead,
this eventually became an impossibility. In time,
this led to a spiritual interpretation of the fact that
the Pascha falls after the Passover: the Jewish feast
is the prophecy and prefigurement, and came first;
but the Christian feast commemorates the fulfillment of prophecy and the coming of the Truth.
If you have a question for “Ask Abba,”
email it to orthodoxmiami@hotmail.com
3
Voice
of
Orthodoxy
May 2013
Readers Corner
Father Arseny: A Cloud of Witnesses
Translated by Vera Bouteneff (SVS Press, 2001)
This second volume to the life and sayings of
Father Arseny is a wonderful edition to the first volume. Father Arseny Streltzof speaks to the depths
of the modern, restless heart, introducing us to the
riches of the Orthodox Christian spiritual life. The
strength of his faith in the face of Communism is a
Faith
of our
“On the Holy Pascha”
by St Hesychios of Jerusalem
It is a sacred and royal trumpet that calls us
again to this spiritual theater, the Paschal celebration in the Church. This trumpet was filled with
sounds in Bethlehem, because it was there that
God was born as man. Bethlehem was the beginning. But this trumpet was fired, reached its full
blast in Zion, Jerusalem. Because it was in Jerusalem that the Cross was raised and the Resurrection
took place. The Cross was the hummer and the
Resurrection the anvil. It is impossible to everyone to speak worthily of its beauty, to describe its
wondrous splendor, to recount the divine kingdom
which emerges from it, to touch it and to explore it.
This paschal trumpet invites us to revisit
the grave which gives birth to life, the sepulcher of
corruption which becomes the bearer of incorruption, the three-day rest which puts the Bridegroom
to sleep, and the bridal chamber from which the
bride emerges uncorrupted after the marriage. It
tells us that the grave guards one who is dead,but
the earth is shaken by Him who is God. The body
says that He is dead, but the miracle cries out that
He is God. The burial testifies that He is dead, but
the resurrection demonstrates that He is God. The
tears of the women confess Him to be dead, but the
words of the angels confess Him to be God. Joseph
prepares His internment as dead, but He who is interred as man is God who denudes and abolishes
death. The soldiers guard Him as dead, but the
4
testament to all, and proof that the
age of the martyrs is never-ending.
This translation is accessible, and the material is suited for
both novices and experts.
“Father Arseny: A Cloud of
Witnesses” is available at the Orthodox Book Center at Christ the
Saviour Cathedral.
Fathers
guards of the gates of Hades encounter Him and
shrivel with fear.
Who then is this dead God, is He two or
one? No He is not two, but one, man and God, God
and man. You cannot speak of Him as this one and
that one, i.e. as one person and another person, nor
as another thing in another person, nor another
thing through another person. This One is “God
the Word who became incarnate,” became man,
and conjoined by His will in a manner ineffable and
these (human) things with those (divine) things.
To Him belong both the flesh and the Godhead –
the flesh which He offered in order to accomplish
the sufferings, and the Godhead which He used in
order to achieve the signs and miracles.
As it is illegitimate to sever the flesh from
the Word, so it is necessary to conjoin the sufferings with the miracles. Because, He who “descended into Hades”is also the one who freed the dead
as God. How else would the angels minister at the
grave? How else would they appear to the women
“dressed in white”as representatives of the bridegroom? How else would they say, “Do you seek Jesus who was crucified? He is not here. He is risen
as He had fore-announced it?” Heaven, then, is His
“place,” and there you should send the “ointments.”
“He is Risen” by Himself.
We did not raise Him. We only “rolled” the
stone for your sake. The grace was empty before we
came down to it. He is risen as He himself had foreannounced it.