St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Tomorrow, we celebrate the Nativity of the Theotokos. The large icon on the south side of the back wall of the church sanctuary depicts this great feast. Though the Church has piously celebrated this event from the earliest of centuries, we are reminded that there is no scriptural reference to the birth, infancy, or childhood of the Virgin. I offer to you the commentary of Fr. Thomas Hopko concerning this feast, and its historical significance. 

In addition to the celebration of the Annunciation, there are three major feasts in the Church honoring Mary, the Theotokos. The first of these is the feast of her nativity which is kept on the eighth of September.

The record of the birth of Mary is not found in the Bible. The traditional account of the event is taken from the apocryphal writings which are not part of the New Testament scriptures. The traditional teaching which is celebrated in the hymns and verses of the festal liturgy is that Joachim and Anna were a pious Jewish couple who were among the small and faithful remnant—“the poor and the needy”—who were awaiting the promised messiah. The couple was old and childless. They prayed earnestly to the Lord for a child, since among the Jews barrenness was a sign of God’s disfavor. In answer to their prayers, and as the reward of their unwavering fidelity to God, the elderly couple was blessed with the child who was destined, because of her own personal goodness and holiness, to become the Mother of the Messiah-Christ.

Your nativity, O Virgin, has proclaimed joy to the whole universe. The Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, has shone from you, O Theotokos. By annulling the curse he bestowed a blessing. By destroying death he has granted us eternal life.

Apolytikion

By your nativity, O most pure virgin, Joachim and Anna are freed from barrenness; Adam and Eve from the corruption of death. And we, your people, freed from the guilt of sin, celebrate and sing to you: The barren woman gives birth to the Theotokos, the Nourisher of our Life.

Kontakion

The fact that there is no Biblical verification of the facts of Mary’s birth is incidental to the meaning of the feast. Even if the actual background of the event as celebrated in the Church is questionable from an historical point of view, the divine meaning of it “for us men and for our salvation” is obvious. There had to be one born of human flesh and blood who would be spiritually capable of being the Mother of Christ, and she herself had to be born into the world of persons who were spiritually capable of being her parents.

The feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, therefore, is a glorification of Mary’s birth, of Mary herself and of her righteous parents. It is a celebration as well of the very first preparation of the salvation of the world. For the “Vessel of Light,” the “Book of the Word of Life,” the “Door to the Orient,” the “Throne of Wisdom” is being prepared on earth by God Himself in the birth of the holy girl-child Mary.

The verses of the feast are filled with titles for Mary such as those in the quotations above. They are inspired by the message of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. The specific Biblical readings of the feast give indications of this.

At Vespers the three Old Testamental readings are “mariological” in their New Testamental interpretation. Thus, Jacob’s Ladder which unites heaven and earth and the place which is named “the house of God” and the “gate of heaven” (Gen 28.10–17) are taken, to indicate the union of God with men which is realized most fully and perfectly—both spiritually and physically—in Mary the Theotokos, Bearer of God. So also the vision of the temple with the “door ‘to the East’” perpetually closed and filled with the “glory of the Lord” symbolizes Mary, called in the hymns of the feast “the living temple of God filled with the divine Glory” (Ezek 43.27–44.4). Mary is also identified with the “house” which the Divine Wisdom has built for himself according to the reading from Proverbs 9.1–11.

The Gospel reading of Matins is the one read at all feasts of the Theotokos, the famous Magnificat from Saint Luke in which Mary says: “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden, for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1.47).

The epistle reading of the Divine Liturgy is the famous passage about the coming of the Son of God in “the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man” (Phil 2.5–11) and the gospel reading is that which is always read for feasts of the Theotokos—the woman in the crowd glorifies the Mother of Jesus, and the Lord himself responds that the same blessedness which his mother receives is for all “who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11.27–28).

Thus, on the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, as on all liturgical celebrations of Christ’s Mother, we proclaim and celebrate that through God’s graciousness to mankind every Christian receives what the Theotokos receives, the “great mercy” which is given to human persons because of Christ’s birth from the Virgin.

Please remember that Sunday School begins tomorrow. Pray for the sanctification of this new school year, and for the protection of all our beloved children in the Lord.

With Much Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Yes, Happy New Year, indeed!

No, I do not have my dates mixed up, nor am I looking at the wrong month of the calendar. This Sunday, September 1, 2024, is actually the beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year.

Also known as the Feast of the Indiction, it represents the resetting of the Church Calendar, and the beginning of the cycle of spiritual commemorations in the lives of Orthodox Christians. All of these feasts and celebrations are actually bookended between the Nativity of the Theotokos on September 8th, and the Dormition of the Theotokos on August 15th. Our knowledge of, our exposure to, our interaction with, and our identity in Christ is made possible through the ministry of the Mother of God. 

“Indiction” is a Latin word meaning “to impose.” It was originally used in this context upon the schedule of the Roman Government issuing taxes. It was the beginning of the Roman fiscal quarter, in that before the Julian Calendar, Rome started their New Year in September. The date of September 1st takes on a religious identity when in the year 312, the Emperor Constantine sees a vision of the Cross in the sky, thusly inspiring him to unify the Empire under the banner of the Cross. 

On September 1st, this significant day of “beginnings,” Our Lord Jesus Christ walked into the Synagogue (Luke 4:16-22), opened the scroll, and read out loud for all to hear, and for all to see: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me; because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovering sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

The Lord proclaims His divinity, He establishes His ministry, He articulates what He’ll accomplish, and He introduces hope to a darkened, hardened, and wandering world. 

Sundy is the beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year. Let’s treat it as would the secular New Year – but with a heightened sense of purpose. 

Set new goals for yourself – not career goals or academic goals, but goals for a more robust prayer life.

Make New Year’s Resolutions – but not to exercise more or diet, but to practice more acts of kindness and generosity.

Anticipate what is to come – but not just birthdays, holidays and anniversaries – worship services, retreats, Bible Studies, Lent, Holy Week, Pascha!

This Sunday, the Church hits that big “Reset Button.” We start anew, and we forge into the unknown. We honor the past as we look to the future. We take new steps, and we take them boldly – as Christ proclaimed His earthly ministry through the words of the Prophet. May this day…may this Year, bring you countless blessings and a closer relationship with our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.  

Happy New Year!

With Much Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Having just celebrated the Dormition or Falling Asleep of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, the Church remains this great mystery in our hearts as the official Leave Taking of the Feast is on August 23rd. In the continued spirit of this great Festival, I would like to share an article on the Dormition that I very much enjoyed and appreciated. Written by Dr. Philip Kariatsis, Sub-Dean and Associate Professor of Theology at St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College in Sydney, Australia, it brilliantly describes the grand themes, and delicate subtilties of the falling asleep of the Mother of God.

Enjoy… 

Without doubt in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, “our glorious Lady Theotokos,” has a pre-eminent place in the life of the Orthodox Church. The month of August, for example, is dedicated to the Virgin Mother, not to mention other great feasts that are celebrated throughout the entire liturgical year. Not only do we celebrate the Dormition (or Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos[1] in August, but there are Supplication Services which are held every day in the first two weeks of this month leading to the great feast, as well as the designated period of fasting which the Church has prescribed. This betrays both the great devotion attributed to the blessed Mother personally by the faithful of the Church throughout the ages—and rightly so, since we read in the Gospel according to St Luke: “Surely, from now on, all generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48)—and the extent to which her person has infused Orthodox spirituality.

In celebrating the Dormition (or “Falling Asleep”) of the Mother of God, it is very often thought that the Church honors the ‘end’ of Mary’s life. Looking however at the various hymns ascribed to this day, we discover that it is the very beginning of her life that is celebrated—namely, her entrance into eternal blessedness! This inexplicable and wondrously paradoxical notion of death as entrance into life permeates the entire hymnology of this significant Feast Day: The Vesperal hymns, for example, begin with, “Marvel at the wondrous paradox  [Ὤ τοῦ παραδόξου θαύματος…], the fount of our life has been laid within a tomb; [and yet] her tomb has become a ladder to heaven above.”[2] Moreover, in the dismissal hymn [Apolytikion] of the Feast, the Church sings: “In your falling asleep, O Theotokos… you were transported to life [Ἐν τῇ κοιμήσει… μετέστης πρὸς τὴν ζωήν].”[3]

In depicting the events leading to Mary’s dormition, the Doxastikon of the Orthros Service begins with this seemingly non-sensical notion that, in the case of the Virgin Mother, death, is “deathless”: “At you deathless Dormition [Τῇ ἀθανάτῳ σου Κοιμήσει…], O Theotokos and Mother of Life, clouds caught the Apostles up into the air; and, from being dispersed throughout the world, they were reunited before your immaculate body.”[4] In observing this important Feast Day to the Theotokos, we see that death becomes the means through which the Virgin Mother truly lives. It is precisely for this reason, that the Dormition is cause for celebration, cheer, merriment, and solemn joy since we see the reality of life beyond the grave.  

Reflecting a little further we see that, whereas death and life are irreconcilable notions for the world, for our Virgin Mother, on the other hand, death is but a gateway through which she enters into the unfading and resplendent Light of eternity; there, to be forever reunited with her Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Indeed, there, forever to pray on our behalf to her Son and Saviour of the world for the salvation of our souls. The profoundly beautiful Doxastikon of Vespers—sung in all the eight tones of Byzantine chant—asks:

as you now live forever with the life-bearing King who is your Son, intercede unceasingly [πρέσβευε διηνεκῶς], that He may guard us, your children, and that He may save us from every hostile assault, since we are under your protection.[5]

If by the Cross of Jesus Christ, and his resurrection from the dead, death is conquered and the victory of undying life is universally bestowed upon the world, in the person of the Virgin Mother we behold this abiding and boundless gift of unending blessedness personally received, embraced and appropriated by Mary in her life. Indeed, having lived her entire life in the presence of, and united—heart and soul—with her Son and Savior, her “death” was shown to be a final passageway, a culminating moment for that which she truly longed—forever to be with her Son and Savior of the world.   

The Feast Day of the Dormition is a most compelling reminder of the hope with which we too are called to live, in this transient and fleeting life. In the same way that, in the case of the Virgin Mother, death was experienced as life, so too can this become our experience as well in our “final” moments here on earth. That is to say, in having the Mother of God as our pre-eminent example in this life—to the extent that She truly embodies what it means to live a Christ-loving and Christ centered life—we too are able to live with the future hope of our Lord’s gift and promise of unending life to us, to the extent, of course, that we truly desire and seek to live by His love—in all that we do—in this life.

Through her “death,” the Virgin Mother provides the much-needed confidence and conviction that death can in fact become an act of truly living for all. What’s more, death need not be understood as that harrowing moment when we are plunged into soul-destroying darkness and horrifying non-existence; on the contrary, our physical death, as it was for our Virgin Mother, so it can become for us, a passageway into life and into our Lord’s eternal kingdom where His loving presence and embrace will forever reign; and where His unfading and resplendent light with eternally shine.

The saints of the Church, for whom Christ was literally, truly everything—and here we are reminded of St Porphyrios who would often say, “ὁ Χριστός εἶναι τό πᾶν [Christ is everything]”—death was precisely seen in these terms. And so, for example, St Ignatius the God-bearer (d. ca 110AD), upon his impending death, urged his disciplines not to prevent him from dying at his impending martyrdom. In accord—one could say—with the Virgin Mary’s vision of death, in his letter to the Romans, St Ignatius wrote in a profoundly powerful way about death as true life:

hinder me not from living, do not wish to keep me in a state of death; and while I desire to belong to God, do not give me over to the world. Allow me to obtain the pure light [μὴ ἐμκοδίσητέ μοι ζῆσαι, μὴ θελήσητέ με ἀποθανεῖν τὸν Θεὸν θέλοντα εἶναι, κόσμῳ μὴ χαρίσητε. Ἄφετέ με καθαρὸν φῶς λαβεῖν]. [6]

It is precisely for this reason that, in quietly pondering the significance of the Dormition, may we be reminded of, and discern, the “deathlessness of death”; may we be overcome with an intense sense of calm and serenity; joy and blessedness; delight and radiance, beholding death not as a departure and farewell, but, in the case of the Mother of God, her entrance—and by extension ours as well—into the gift of eternal blessedness and life everlasting. In the end, may we also be emboldened to behold death not as separation and rupture but union with Christ and His kingdom. 

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[1] Even though the historical origins of the feast are vague, already before 500AD, it was being celebrated on the 15 August. It was in the seventh century, that the Byzantine Emperor Maurice officially designated 15 August as the day for celebrating the Dormition of the Theotokos.

[2] The first of the ‘Automela’ hymns in the Vespers on the eve of 15 August sung immediately after «Κύριε ἐκέκραξα πρὸς σε, εἰσάκουσόν μου…», “Lord, I have cried to You; hear me…”. Cited in https://dcs.goarch.org/goa/dcs/h/s/2024/08/14/ve/gr-en/index.html (accessed 13 August 2024).

[3] Apolytikion of the Feast. Cited in https://dcs.goarch.org/goa/dcs/h/s/2024/08/14/ve/gr-en/index.html (accessed 13 August 2024).

[4] Doxastikon of the Orthros Service of the Feast sung immediately before the Great Doxology.

[5] The part of the Doxastikon of the Vespers Service of the Feast cited is that excerpt which is sung in the plagal fourth tone.

[6] St Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Roman 6,PG 5: 692BC.

With Much Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I pray you are all enjoying a blessed and amazing day. As we approach the final weekend of July, let us turn our prayerful attention to our preparations for the Dormition of the Theotokos. We have continued to plan the Paraklesis Services to be outside, as in our past few years. However, please be advised, and I hope you are not disappointed, that we are moving the services for at least the first week of the Fast back inside the church.

My family and I will be out of town from July 30th through August 9, as we participate in our Project Mexico home build, then spend a couple days in San Diego doing, well, NOTHING! While it is completely rare for a priest to be out of town as the Dormition Fast begins, with all of our other activities of the Summer (Camp Emmanuel, Clergy/Laity, Finalized Construction, Thyranoixia and hosting three Hierarchs), we had to choose the latest building slot.

The weather is still going to be hot, and I don’t feel right asking Fr. Elias to move the church outdoors. He is most helpful and gracious enough, no need to pile on additional tasks. We will play it by ear and move our Paraklesis Services outdoors if and when comfortable and appropriate. That said, I really do enjoy praying these services out in our garden. 

I would also like to thank others who were not properly mentioned last week for their financial support of our Thyranoixia Weekend. Steve & Elaina Simos and Bruce & Shari Lindsay were instrumental in our successful events. Bruce was also most helpful as our volunteer Public Relations Director, as he wrote and sent press releases to all local media concerning our Opening.

And wow, we enjoyed wonderful coverage! 

Tomorrow, directly following the Divine Liturgy, we will pray for our Project Mexico Team. Our Mission Team consists of 16 people, primarily comprised of St. Anna parishioners, with one from Holy Trinity Cathedral. This is the third time our parish has sent a team to Project Mexico, and the fifth time we have supported a complete home build. Please keep us in your personal prayers as well; that we arrive and return safely, and that our work site will be without incident. The work isn’t dangerous, per se, but it is an active construction site with the possibility of injury constantly lurking. 

And most especially, please pray for the families who receive the homes that we build, and the families who await such a gift. We will not cure poverty in a week, but to the Glory of God, we will lessen its grip for a single, worthy family.  

Lastly, since this message is turning out to be more a string of announcements than a pastoral letter, we have established the beginning of our St. Anna Sunday School Year to begin Sunday, September 8th, 2024. This is later than we wanted, but again, this summer has been uniquely busy. Registration is upon us. We look forward to our young people once again, engaging in their spiritual formation and faithful education. God bless our teachers, administration and students!!!

See you tomorrow at the Divine Liturgy. Enjoy the rest of this lovely day. I remain,

With Much Love in XC,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter