Category: Pastoral Letters

“O Sovereign Lord Jesus Christ our God, the Source of life and immortality, I thank you, for blessing me with the gift of children.

I thank you and I pray: Bless these fruits of my body; favor them and animate them by your Holy Spirit, and let them grow healthy and pure bodies. Sanctify their bodies, minds, and hearts, and grant them intelligent souls.

Vouchsafe faithful angels, guardians of soul and body. Protect, keep, strengthen, and shelter these children until the hour of their death.

O Lord Jesus Christ to you I entrust my children. Through your Holy Spirit sanctify them so that they may be communicants of your Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we approach this Sunday, our national observation of Mother’s Day, I invite you to meditate upon the above prayer. Chances are, many of you may have never read this prayer, or especially have not recited it. There are many prayers of the Church that are universal in scope. They encompass the needs of the world. General petitions. Prayers which cast a wide net in an appeal before our Creator. 

But some prayers are deeply intimate. Exceedingly personal. Prayers that saturate our every being even before the words leave our lips. We exist within the balance between the anticipation of an answered prayer, and the fear that we are not worthy to ask for specifics. Prayer is powerful. Prayer is communication with God. Conversations with the saints.  Prayer is the lifeblood of a Christian existence.  Of course, prayer should never be self-centered. Refer, once again, to the above prayer.

The prayer of an expecting mother is among the most self-emptying of anything we can offer God through our words. Every syllable that comes from the prayerful breath of a pregnant woman is, by nature, the most selfless prayer that can be offered. Her sacrifice is unparalleled. That which grows within her is fused to her soul and dependent on her to the molecular level. As the baby grows, so does the mother. As the child is nourished, Mom is depleted. When that which is in the womb is distressed, the mother feels it as soon as, if not before the baby. 

The glory, dignity, pain, and celebration of motherhood are, simply defined, through inexhaustible love and self-sacrifice. Only a mother can read the words of this prayer, and feel the words, literally moving inside of them. Only a mother can literally identify with God’s act of creation. Only a mother can pray on behalf of another, while simultaneously praying for herself. 

This is a great mystery. This is a fantastic gift. This is the ministry of the Theotokos and role of every mother. Even the saint commemorated on this the 5th Sunday of Pascha, St. Photine, the Samaritan Woman at the Well was eventually and ultimately martyred together with her children. In gestation, in birth, in life, and even, at times in glorification, mother and child are connected physically, spiritually, experientially and emotionally.  

I pray that all of our precious moms will enjoy a day of recognition, appreciation, and celebration. For those who have or have had an incredible mother in your life, please give thanks to the Lord for her every day. Maybe your mother could not live up to such ideals and is/was a continual disappointment. I pray that the Mother of God, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary will fill that void and exceed every want. She is the Mother to us all. She does not disappoint. She does not turn away.  If your mom is no longer with us in this world, have comfort knowing that she continues to pray for you in the glory of the Resurrection.

And to the moms, themselves. Thank you. Bless you. May God always protect you.   

With Love and Respect in our Risen Lord, 

Fr. Anthony Savas

Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

I pray you are well as we continue to celebrate the joy of Christ’s Holy Resurrection. As we have moved past the Sunday themes that are directly related to Christ’s Resurrection, Itself, the Church now makes the transition into teaching us lessons on the fruits of His life-giving miracle. 

On the Fourth Sunday of Pascha, the Church remembers the man who lay paralyzed at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem for thirty-eight years, waiting for someone to put him into the pool. The first person to enter the pool after an Angel troubled the water would be healed of his infirmities, but someone always entered the pool before him. Seeing the man, the Lord felt compassion for him and healed him.

Many miracles in the Old Testament involve water. To name but a few, the water of the Nile turned to blood after Moses lifted his rod and struck the water before Pharaoh and His servants (Exodus 7:20). Not only was the Nile turned to blood, but also “their rivers, their canals, their ponds, and all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone” (Exodus 7:19).

In chapter 14 of Exodus, Moses divided the waters of the Red Sea, and the Hebrews passed over as if on dry land. When they were safely across, the waters came together, and their Egyptian pursuers were drowned.

On their forty year journey to the Promised Land, the Hebrews camped at Rephidem, but there was no water for them to drink. The people murmured against Moses, asking him why he had led them out of Egypt. God told Moses to strike the rock at Horeb. Then water came out of it so that everyone could drink (Exodus 17:6).

In Judges 6:36-40 we read about Gideon and the dew on the fleece. When Gideon squeezed the fleece, there was enough to fill a bowl with water.

The Lord healed the paralytic during the days of the Passover, when He had gone to Jerusalem for the Feast, and He remained there teaching and working miracles. According to Saint John the Theologian, this miracle took place on the Sabbath.

Like some Old Testament miracles, many of Christ’s miracles also involved water, and they prefigure the Church’s Baptism, which cleanses us of every sin. In the Sheep Pool, once a year, only one person was healed, but Christ saves endless multitudes by divine Baptism. Sometimes, as in the case of Saint Vladimir (July 15), Baptism can also heal our bodily infirmities.

In the Canon for the Paralytic, the Angel who stirred the water in the Sheep Pool is identified as the Archangel Michael. Some of the Troparia call him “Leader of the Angels,” and “Supreme Commander” (Ode 1). In Ode 3 we ask him to “protect us from falling into the passions of life.” In Ode 6, we ask Saint Michael to guide us on the paths of life.” In Ode 8, we ask him to pray with all the Bodiless Hosts, that we may be granted deliverance from our offenses, correction of our life, and the enjoyment of eternal blessings.

As we remember the paralytic, let us ask Christ to “raise up our souls, paralyzed by sins and thoughtless acts” (Kontakion of the paralytic).

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!

What a blessing it is to greet and communicate with you in the absolute joy of the Resurrection. I am so grateful for all of the leaders, volunteers, and brother clergy who worked so hard to bring dignity to our Lenten services, solemnity to our Holy Week experiences, and lavish elation to the commemoration and celebration of Pascha.

Now that things are beginning to normalize a bit, I’d like to call your attention to some important aspects of our worship. Our time together within the holy sanctuary that is our St. Anna church, is our introduction to, and experience of a heavenly eternity. As a people, we are as we worship. I’d like to share some reminders and introduce you to some directives that have come to us from His Eminence Metropolitan Constantine of Denver.

As for the reminders: as you see and experience each and every Sunday, we can get quite crowded. This is a good thing. And the reality is that we do have room for everyone. It just takes some patience and awareness on all our parts.

Whether you are a couple, or a family, please be courteous of fellow worshippers and use only one chair per person. Don’t spread out, save seats or not allow people to take seats around you. Please, move to the center of the church and keep the outside seats available to people who come in after you. It just takes a bit of perception and courtesy to make room for everyone.

Hey, remember that we are “congregational singing church?” We are! Please, I want to hear you all singing out and following along with the choir, especially in the common parts that repeat. We chose our specific hymnal because it makes it possible for people in the congregation to sing along with the choir. Don’t be shy. Sing your praises on high!

I ask this personally. I love the fact that we have so many children, especially babies and toddlers in church. You know I am an absolute advocate for our families worshipping together. Baby sounds and even upset-baby sounds are normal, and within reason, are quite acceptable. But especially during the reading of the Epistle and Gospel, and during the Sermon, please, if your child is getting really fussy and getting very loud, the considerate thing to do is to quietly go into the lobby for a while where you can still hear everything in the overflow space. Come back in when things have quieted down. It is very difficult to concentrate and speak when in competition with a little person who does not know any better and can’t control him or herself.

Hey, another reminder: the andidoro, or blessed bread that we receive, either following Communion or by the hand of the priest as we depart from Liturgy is blessed. There should be no crumbs on the ground following worship. Please, reverently cup it in your hands, consume the blessed bread, and try not to allow any portion of it to fall to the ground. It may be a small gift, but it is not an insignificant one.

More ushering stuff – and maybe I have already, sort of mentioned it. I am working with the ushers to be, and I have to admit, this has been my instruction, to be “pleasantly aggressive.” I know, that sounds worse than my intended desire. When an usher comes to a row with one or a couple of people that need to be seated, and there are seats available on that row, but you are already standing in those spaces, please move to the center of the church, rather than having people feel badly that they showed up and have to climb over you. It really is so much easier to just slide over. We all leave at around the same time anyway.

Please do not let young kids climb in, on or around the Baptismal Font. I am in the process of designing a cover that will go over the top of it, but still, those few stairs can be dangerous. And the adult Baptismal Font is a sacred church object, not a jungle gym. Please be mindful of its intended purpose.

Also, if you see anyone saving spaces, allowing their child to scream or jump off the Baptismal Font, please also refrain from nasty comments or dirty looks. We are all here together, for the glory of God and in celebration of His love for us. Let’s keep it chill. Love on another.

As we are crowded during Sunday worship, if for any reason you need to stand in the back row, please refrain from leaning back against the wall. In the very near future, all walls will be covered with iconography. And it’s not like they aren’t designed to be in an active space. The paint is durable and can stand up to a normal amount of co-existence with people. But leaning back on the sacred images is not normal wear and tear. Let’s be aware of the space around us.

Did I mention you are all invited to sing with the choir? I did? I did. So again, feel free to sing!

Once the Resurrection season has completed, we are accustomed to resume the practice of kneeling at the Epiklesis, or the time of the Liturgy when we call upon the Holy Spirt to descend and transform the bread and wine offering into the Body and Blood of Christ. I will get into the historic and theological reasons at another time. But, His Eminence has instructed us that we will be returning to a more ancient, and yes, the more correct practice of not kneeling in the church on Sundays. Again, I will take the time to educate us all on the practice later on. But for now, please be aware that this is coming. To people more new to the Faith, perhaps you have read about Sunday kneeling. If you are 90 years old and grew up in a Greek Orthodox parish in the United States, chances are, that is the only practice you have ever known. His Eminence desires to bring our Metropolis into unity with best practices and proper traditions.

He has also instructed us to have non-Orthodox worshippers and Catechumens receive blessings as we depart from the Liturgy rather than in lines for Communion. Again, best practices and commonality within the Church.

Please enter the church during worship at the appointed times and follow the instructions of the parish council and ushers in the narthex. Exiting the church sort of goes by the same guidelines, but I understand that needing to leave for a minute is not as predictable and scripted as when we enter. Please, just limit the movement as much as possible for the sake of the focus of fellow worshippers.

Please, my beloved in the Lord, take these requests as they are intended; to make our worship experience as smooth as possible. All to God’s glory. I remain,

With Love in our Risen Lord,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

Χριστός Ανέστη!

Αληθώς Ανέστη!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As Orthodox Christians, the Lord’s Prayer is more than a passage of Scripture. It literally amounts to the instructions of Christ, Himself, teaching us how to address God in prayer. It is recited in unison at nearly every Orthodox Divine Service or Sacrament. And also, while praying at home, as the nucleus of the Trisagion, the Lord’s Prayer is a common link between private prayers of devotion and prayers and worshipping with fellow Christians in church. 

At St. Anna, during the Sunday Divine Liturgy, we are accustomed to reciting the Lord’s Prayer now in six different languages. English, Greek, Spanish, Slavonic, Arabic and Portuguese are the languages commonly used to express the Lord’s Prayer during corporate worship. I invite everyone who knows any of these languages to join in. The person in front with the microphone is not lecturing or performing. They are not there to simply represent themselves. Please, join them in enthusiastically proclaiming the Lord’s Prayer. 

I also invite you to contact me if you are interested in adding a language that is representative of your cultural identity. It’s not an open mic session, and is part of our local worship experience, so I do need to know if a language is added beforehand. And primarily, if anyone is able to participate using American Sign Language (ASL) that would be greatly appreciated. Please get ahold of me if you are so compelled. 

Since the use of the Lord’s Prayer is so central to our personal and public spiritual lives, please read the following excerpt from the renowned Fr. Thomas Hopko. I trust that you will find a greater appreciation for the words of the Lord’s Prayer after his inspirational explanation.   

When teaching men to pray, Christ said,

Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil(Mt 6.9–13, cf. Lk 11.2–4).

This is the usual translation of the prayer used in the Orthodox Church. It begins with a petition to God as “our Father.” There was no such prayer before this teaching of Christ. The Old Testament people did not address God as “Abba: Father” (Rom 8.15, Gal 4.6). This name of “Father” for God is given by Christ, the divine Son of God. Men can dare, “with boldness and without condemnation” to call upon the “heavenly God” with the name of “Father” only when they are made worthy to do so by Christ (cf. Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom). In the early church the prayer “Our Father” was taught only to the baptized members of the church.

The statement that the Father is “in heaven,” or literally “in the heavens,” means that He is everywhere and over all things. The heavens are over all and encompass all. Wherever man goes on the earth or in the air, or even in space, the heavens are around him and over him. To say that the Father is “in the heavens” means that He is not tied down or limited to any one location—as were the gods of the heathens. The heavenly God is the “God of gods” (Deut 10.17, 2 Chron 2.5), the “Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph 4.5), the one in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17.28). To say that God is “in heaven” is not to place Him somewhere; it is rather to say that He transcends all things and yet is present to all.

“Hallowed be Thy name” means that God’s name is holy and should be treated with respect and devotion. In the old covenant it was the custom of the Jews never to say the sacred name of God: Yahweh, the I AM (cf. Ex 3.13–15). This was to guard against defilement of the divine name, and to safeguard against transgressing the commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Ex 20.7).

In the New Testament, God gives Jesus the “name which is above every name” (Phil 2.9) and in making the name of the Father holy, Christians do so in the name of His Son.

“Thy Kingdom come” in the Lord’s Prayer is first of all the prayer for the end of the ages. Christians want the world to end so that God’s Kingdom would fill all creation with divine glory and life. “Come Lord Jesus; Marantha!” is the prayer of the faithful, the last prayer of the Scriptures (Rev 22.20, cf. 1 Cor 16.22). It is the calling for the final appearance of the Lord.

In the spiritual tradition of the Church, the prayer “Thy Kingdom come” has also been understood as an invocation of the Holy Spirit to dwell in God’s people. In his commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, Saint Gregory of Nyssa says that there was another reading for this petition which said “Thy Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.” Thus he says, following the scriptures, that the presence of the Holy Spirit in man is the presence of Christ and the Kingdom of God.

For the Kingdom of God is . . . righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit(Rom 14.17).

. . . it is God who establishes us with you in Christ . . . He has put His seal upon us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee(2 Cor 1.22).

In Him . . . you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory.

. . . do not grieve the Holy Spirit in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption(Eph 1.13–14, 4.30).

The seal of the Holy Spirit on men’s hearts is the pledge and guarantee of the Kingdom of God still to come in all power and glory. In the prayer “Thy Kingdom come,” believers in Jesus ask that the Kingdom of God “not coming in external signs of observation” for the faithless to behold, might dwell powerfully and secretly within the faithful (cf. Lk 17.20–21).

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is the center of the Lord’s Prayer, the central desire of Christians. The whole purpose of prayer, the very purpose of man’s life, is to do the will of God. This is what Jesus prayed and did (cf. Mt 26.42). And this is what His followers must pray and do. There is but one purpose of prayer, say the spiritual teachers, to keep God’s commandments so as not to sin, thus leading to deification and divine sonship with Christ.

The only thing that God demands of us mortals is that we do not sin. But this . . . is merely keeping inviolate the image and rank we possess by nature. Clothed thus in the radiant garment of the Spirit, we abide in God and He in us; through grace we become gods and sons of God and are illumined by the light of His knowledge . . .(Saint Simeon the New Theologian, 10th c.,Practical and Theological Precepts).

To pray “Thy will be done” according to the spiritual teachers, is a daring and dangerous act. This is so, first of all, because when one makes this prayer, he must be ready, like Christ, to follow where it leads. God will answer this prayer, and make known His will. The person who prays must be ready to obey, whatever the consequences. When asked why many Christians are frustrated and irritated, grouchy and mean, and sometimes even somewhat “unbalanced,” one spiritual teacher responded that the reason is clear. They pray “Thy will be done,” and continue daily to do so, while at the same time they resist God’s will in their lives and so are always ill at ease. Then they begin to justify their attitudes and actions, to explain and to rationalize their behavior, before their own consciences and others. A person in such as state can never be at peace, for “it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God” (Heb 10.31).

The second reason why it is said that the prayer “Thy will be done”—and prayer generally—is daring and dangerous is because the devil ferociously attacks the person who prays. Indeed one of the greatest proofs of demonic temptation, and the reality and power of the devil, is to be fervent in prayer. For the devil wants nothing so much as for man to fail to accomplish the will of God which is the purpose of all prayer.

If you strive after prayer, prepare yourself for diabolical suggestions and bear patiently their onslaughts; for they will attack you like wild beasts . . . Try as much as possible to be humble and courageous . . . He who endures will be granted great joy(Saint Nilus of Sinai, 5th c.,Texts on Prayer).

The prayer for our “daily bread” is normally understood to signify generally all of our bodily needs and whatever we require to sustain our lives in this world. In the spiritual tradition however, this petition, because it literally says our “essential” or “super-essential” bread, is often understood in the spiritual sense to mean the nourishment of our souls by the Word of God, Jesus Christ who is the “Bread of Life;” the “Bread of God which has come down from heaven and given life to the world” (Jn 6.33–36); the bread which “a man may eat of it and not die,” but “live forever” (Jn 6.50–51). Thus the prayer for “daily bread” becomes the petition for daily spiritual nourishment through abiding communion with Christ so that one might live perpetually with God.

The prayer “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” has been especially emphasized by the Lord.

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Mt 6.14–15).

This is the point of Christ’s parable about the unforgiving servant (Mt 18.23–35). All men need the forgiveness of God and must pray for it. All men are indebted to God for everything, and fail to offer the thanksgiving and praise and righteousness that are due. The only way that God will overlook and forgive the sins and debts of His servants is if they themselves forgive their brothers, not merely in words and formal gestures, but genuinely and truly “from their hearts” (cf. Mt 18.35). In the prayer taught by Christ this is clearly acknowledged.

“Lead us not into temptation” should not be understood as if God puts His people to the test or brings them in to the occasion of evil.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God;” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one; but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death(Jas 1.13–15).

“Lead us not into temptation” means that we ask God not to allow us to be found in situations in which we will be overcome by sin. It is a prayer that we be kept from those people and places where wickedness reigns and where we in our weakness will certainly succumb. It is a prayer that we will be liberated from the deceit and vanity of our minds and hearts, from the carnal lusts that dwell in our bodies. It is a prayer that God Himself would be man’s shelter and refuge (cf. Ps 91).

“Deliver us from evil” says literally “rescue us from the evil one,” that is, the devil. The meaning is clear. There are but two ways for man: God and life or the devil and death. Deliverance from the devil means salvation and redemption from every falsehood, foolishness, deceit, wickedness and iniquity that leads to destruction and death.

Thus, as Metropolitan Anthony of Sorouzh has explained, the Lord’s Prayer shows the whole meaning of the life of man (cf. Anthony Bloom, Living Prayer). Delivered from evil, man is saved from temptation, in so doing he is merciful to all and receives the forgiveness of his own sins. Being forgiven his sins, by his mercy to others, he has all that he needs for life—his “daily bread”; and being nourished by God, he accomplishes His will. Having accomplished His will, God’s Kingdom is present, His name is sanctified and He becomes the Father of the one who shows himself to be in truth the child of God who can say, “Our Father.”

As we pray the Lord’s Prayer together, let us always have our hands and hearts extended wide, open to receive the Blessings from above. I remain,

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Tomorrow, we come to the 4th Sunday of Lent, as we commemorate the writings of St. John Climacus, or also known as St. John of the Ladder. 

In the gospel passage from tomorrow’s Divine Liturgy, the Lord again is seeking faith. Today, even the best things erode the faith. Let us look at what challenged souls we have, and what evil is found within us! We hide it, disregard it and we accommodate things by having a simply external, false-belief. It is essential that you recognize your unbelief, so that you might confess it, but as much as depends on you, to also confess your faith: “I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief”. If we run in this way to the Lord, he will give us that which we need: he will heal our souls, will purify them, and we will feel this purification, this resurrection and revitalization of our souls which the grace of God brings.

Can we honestly and rightly say that whatever our soul most deeply yearns for – repentance, healing, purification, sanctification – happened and is happening? For us not to have this, means that we do not want to believe. Man is confused here. Asking forgiveness from God presupposes repentance; Repentance presupposes being conscious that you erred and are guilty, being conscious that you have responsibility. Put yourself down, judge yourself; somewhere you were deceitful. However, you don’t want to do this. You feel resistance, difficulty, as the spooks that exist within you wake up, all of the sinfulness, and they go to throw you into hell.

We need to enlist all of our strengths and to give them to this work, to this movement: to confess our unbelief, but as much as depends on us, to also confess our faith. And oh the miracle! From this initial moment, we will begin to feel the therapy of our souls, and everyday this will increase more and more However much life God gives to us – a little or a lot – it will suffice, in order for our souls to become sanctified, to be saved eternally.  – From the Holy Hesychasterion 

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

For the past several years, our parish has been accustomed to experiencing our Lenten Retreats toward the end of the season. This year, I wanted us to get a jump on our Lenten inspiration and literally start off as immediately as possible. Next Saturday, from Noon to 5:00 pm (with a bonus talk following Great Vespers at 5:00 pm) renowned author, professor, lecturer and theologian, Dr. Christopher Lockwood will lead our Retreat. This young man is one of the sharpest minds in the modern Orthodox Christian world. He is a graduate of our Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Thessaloniki. In fact, our own parish council member Sam Soter, while traveling in Greece was with Christopher as he defended his dissertation.

His latest book, “Types and Symbols in the Bible” is available in the Bookstore, and he will take the time to sign copies while here. Dr. Lockwood is also a teacher of Byzantine Music. He will be with us for the Sunday of Orthodoxy services; helping to chant the Orthros, and deliver the homily in the Divine Liturgy. Please, make every effort to be with us for this fantastic opportunity to learn and grown in our Faith. A light Lenten luncheon will be served. You really do not want to miss this!

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, February 8th, the Church celebrates St. Theodore the Commander.

The holy Martyr Theodore was from Euchaita of Galatia and dwelt in Heraclea of Pontus. He was a renowned commander in the military, and the report came to the Emperor Licinius that he was a Christian and abominated the idols. Licinius therefore sent certain men to him from Nicomedia, to honor him and ask him to appear before him. Through them, however, Saint Theodore sent back a message that it was necessary for various reasons, that Licinius come to Heraclea. Licinius, seeing in this a hope of turning Saint Theodore away from Christ did as was asked of him.

When the Emperor came to Heraclea, Saint Theodore met him with honor, and the Emperor in turn gave Theodore his hand, believing that through him he would be able to draw the Christians to the worship of his idols. Seated upon his throne in the midst of the people, he publicly bade Theodore offer sacrifice to the gods. But Theodore asked that the emperor entrust him with the most venerable of his gods, those of gold and silver, that he might take them home and himself attend upon them that evening, promising that the following day he would honor them in public. The Emperor, filled with joy at these tidings, gave command that Theodore’s request be fulfilled.

When the Saint had taken the idols home, he broke them in pieces and distributed the gold and silver to the poor by night. The next day a centurion named Maxentius told Licinius that he had seen a pauper pass by carrying the head of Artemis. Saint Theodore, far from repenting of this, confessed Christ boldly. Licinius, in an uncontainable fury, had the Saint put to many torments, then crucified. While upon the cross, the holy Martyr was further tormented — his privy parts were cut off, he was shot with arrows, his eyes were put out, and he was left on the cross to die. The next day Licinius sent men to take his corpse and cast it into the sea; but they found the Saint alive and perfectly whole.

Through this, many believed in Christ. Seeing his own men turning to Christ, and the city in an uproar, Licinius had Theodore beheaded, about the year 320. The Saint’s holy relics were returned to his ancestral home on June 8, which is also a feast of the Great Martyr Theodore.

Through his intercessions before Christ, may the Great Martyr St. Theodore bless and inspire you all. I remain,

With Love in XC,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, faintheartedness, the lust of power, and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to your servant.

Yea, O Lord, and King grant me to see my own sin and not to judge my brother, for You are blessed from all ages to all ages.

Amen.

Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, Sunday February 1st begins the month long pre-Lenten period known as the Triodion. It is a Greek word meaning three odes, that is, three stanzas. The word “ωδή” refers to stanzas of praise or hymns, from the verb of αείδώ “to sing”. This period has been called “Triodion” because the primary hymns of most of the church calendar year are replaced with the liturgical book with Canons of 3 odes called “The Triodion”. In other words, this period of pre-preparation before the Great and Holy Lent is literally named after the liturgical book which contains the hymns for this time of year. 

The Triodion period takes its name from the book that we use in this ecclesiastical time.

The use of the Triodion book begins with Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee and lasts until Holy Saturday, that is the day before Pascha. Though the Triodion Period is generally understood to include the four Sundays before the beginning Lent. 

It is a time of special compunction, a return to oneself and to God, in order to rise with Christ as a new creation in sincere repentance.

It is a time of self-purification when we cry: “O God have mercy on me, a sinner.”

This is what we read in the Synaxarion of the beginning of the Triodion: “O Creator of all above and below, as You receive the thrice-holy hymn from the angels, so also from mankind receive the Triodion”.

Heaven and Earth join to form a single choir. Angels and humans come together to praise the “Creator of all”, angels sing lauds to the Holy Trinity (Trisagion- the Thrice Holy Hymn) and human beings respond with honorable odes of the Triodion, filled with compunction.

The author of the Triodion, Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, says that the three odes were first composed by Cosmas of the Hymnographer, Bishop of Maiuma who arranged them after the model of the life-giving Holy Trinity to be chanted on Holy Week. Then several authors including Theodore and Joseph of the Studite Monastery in Constantinople followed him; they wrote Canons for each week of Great Lent.

The Triodion is characterized by three hymns that are chanted at Matins after the Gospel and Psalm 50, from the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee to the Sunday of Saint Mary of Egypt. 

These hymns form a liturgical unit inspired by Psalm 50; they begin thus:

– “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…Open unto me the Gates of Repentance…”

– “Both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen…Guide me on the paths of salvation, O Theotokos…”

– “Have mercy on me O God…As I the wretched one ponder the multitude of evil deeds I have done…”

The Triodion Sundays

-The Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee (Luke 18:10-14)

On this Sunday, the gospel reading is the parable given by the Lord about the virtues of repentance and humility. It shows how much these virtues are dear to God, even more than the apparent sacrifices and worship with a spirit of pride and arrogance.

Consequently, the Church warns that the cornerstone of Great Lent is the humility with a spirit of repentance.

Setting the Gospel of the Publican and Pharisee on the first Sunday is mostly to emphasize humility.

 When St. Macarius was asked, “What is the greatest virtue?” He replied, “Just as arrogance brought down an angel from the highest and caused the first humans to fall, so does humility raise the person endowed with it from the lowest pit.”

Saint Isaac the Syrian says on humility: “The one who sighs every day because of his sins is greater than one who raises the dead. It is better to deserve beholding one’s sins than beholding angels”.

 Anyone who views himself as being sinless falls in delusion and pride (1John 8:1). We are in constant need to cry unto God with the Publican “God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13).

No matter how many virtues we acquire, let us always remember that we are sinners and ask God for mercy and forgiveness.

Kontakion Hymn for the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee:

Let us flee the proud speaking of the Pharisee and learn the humility of the Publican, and with groaning let us cry unto the Savior: Be merciful to us, for You alone are ready to forgive.

– Sunday of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)

On this Sunday, the gospel reading is the parable given by the Lord about the profligate son who wasted his father’s wealth, but then repented and returned to him. 

This parable is mainly about the endless love of God who awaits our return to Him. We are all children of God by adoption, while true repentance is a kind of resurrection and life.

Most beautiful in this proverb is the expression “he came to himself”. Coming to oneself is a turning and correction point. When a person calms down from the inside, they begin to think about their condition and discover that there is no peace, no salvation, nor tranquility except in returning to the embracing paternal home, especially after they realize the bitterness of alienation from God and the sweetness of returning to Him.

Kontakion Hymn for the Sunday of the Prodigal Son:

When I disobeyed in ignorance Your fatherly glory, I wasted in iniquities the riches that You gave me. Wherefore, I cry to You with the voice of the prodigal son, saying, I have sinned before You, O compassionate Father, receive me repentant, and make me as one of Your hired servants.

– Sunday of Judgement (Meatfare Sunday) (Matthew 25:31-46)

 On this Sunday, we read the Gospel of Judgment, just as Jesus Christ describes His Second Coming in the Gospel of Matthew. He compares the humans whom He created to cattle, because the image of the shepherd is common about God in the Old Testament, and it is also a common image of priests (see the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel 34:11).

In the New Testament, Christ likens himself to the Shepherd, knowing that it is also the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Since He suffered for our sake, only His love can judge the ingratitude of the world.

This gospel on Meatfare Sunday is meant to make us realize the importance of true love towards others because our neighbor is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; it is as we are standing before Him.

One is his own judge; all his actions are revealed plainly before God’s righteous judgment.

St Jerome (4th century) says: Remember Christ each time you stretch your hand to give… The true temple of Christ is the believer’s soul; adorn this, clothe it, offer gifts to it, welcome Christ in it. What use are walls blazing with jewels when Christ in His poor Matthew 25:40 is in danger of perishing from hunger?

St Cyprian of Carthage highlights the importance of adhering to Christ with all our life, says: “But it may be, dearest brethren, that Christ himself is the kingdom of God, for whose coming we daily ask. For since He is our resurrection since in him we rise again, so also the kingdom of God may be understood to be himself since it is in him that we shall reign”.  

On this Sunday we stop eating meat (food with blood) to enter little by little the peaceful condition of the kingdom of God like the first humans before the Fall.

Kontakion Hymn for Meatfare Sunday:

When You come, O God, upon the earth with glory, the whole world will tremble. The river of fire will bring men before Your judgment seat, the books will be opened and the secrets disclosed. Then deliver me from the unquenchable fire and count me worthy to stand on Your right hand, Judge most righteous.

The Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheesefare)

It is also the memory of Adam’s expulsion from Paradise. On this Sunday before the commencement of Great Lent, the Church assigns to read a Gospel from the Sermon on the Mount, and stresses the importance of mercy and reconciliation with people before the sacrifice of fasting is brought near.

This gospel on Sunday before the beginning of Lent is meant to help us realize the importance of forgiveness. We ask God to forgive us our sins after having forgiven others; it is a sine qua non. We cannot fast while hating others! God does not accept the prayer of a person who holds grudges!

Fasting is a journey of reconciliation with God. But the Lord equals us to Himself; he even equals our neighbor to Himself saying: If you do not reconcile with your relative, you cannot reconcile me, and vice versa.

The Lord Jesus did not comment on any request in the Lord’s Prayer other than asking for forgiveness: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matthew 6:14-15).

Starting this Sunday, complete fasting begins to stop dairy and meats.

Are you ready?!?

Kontakion Hymn for Cheesefare Sunday:

O Master, Guide to wisdom, Giver of prudent counsel, Instructor of the foolish and Champion of the poor, make firm my heart and grant it understanding. O Word of the Father, give me words, for see, I shall not stop my lips from crying out to You: I am fallen, in Your compassion have mercy on me.

Most beloved in the Lord, these are the themes that will gently guide us into the dawn of the Lenten Season. We will be softly guided to the unthinkable depths of spiritual knowledge. We will discover, through Christ, the heights of God’s tender mercies. And we will attain such lofty places by bringing ourselves to our knees. Through humility, we are exalted. As we are cast out in sin, we are received through repentance. We fall to the lowest depths, so that we can aspire to the arching span of the heavens.   

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On the 25th of January we celebrate the incredible luminary of the Church, St. Gregory the Theologian.

Saint Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople, a great Father and teacher of the Church, was born into a Christian family of eminent lineage in the year 329, at Arianzos (not far from the city of Cappadocian Nazianzos). His father, also named Gregory (January 1), was Bishop of Nazianzus. The son is the Saint Gregory Nazianzus encountered in Patristic theology. His pious mother, Saint Nonna (August 5), prayed to God for a son, vowing to dedicate him to the Lord. Her prayer was answered, and she named her child Gregory.

When the child learned to read, his mother presented him with the Holy Scripture. Saint Gregory received a complete and extensive education: after working at home with his uncle Saint Amphilochius (November 23), an experienced teacher of rhetoric, he then studied in the schools of Nazianzos, Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Alexandria. Then the saint decided to go to Athens to complete his education.

On the way from Alexandria to Greece, a terrible storm raged for many days. Saint Gregory, who was just a catechumen at that time, feared that he would perish in the sea before being cleansed in the waters of Baptism. Saint Gregory lay in the ship’s stern for twenty days, beseeching the merciful God for salvation. He vowed to dedicate himself to God, and was saved when he invoked the name of the Lord.

Saint Gregory spent six years in Athens studying rhetoric, poetry, geometry, and astronomy. His teachers were the renowned pagan rhetoricians Gymorias and Proeresias. Saint Basil, the future Archbishop of Caesarea (January 1) also studied in Athens with Saint Gregory. They were such close friends that they seemed to be one soul in two bodies. Julian, the future emperor (361-363) and apostate from the Christian Faith, was studying philosophy in Athens at the same time.

Upon completing his education, Saint Gregory remained for a certain while at Athens as a teacher of rhetoric. He was also familiar with pagan philosophy and literature.

In 358 Saint Gregory quietly left Athens and returned to his parents at Nazianzus. At thirty-three years of age, he received Baptism from his father, who had been appointed Bishop of Nazianzus. Against his will, Saint Gregory was ordained to the holy priesthood by his father. However, when the elder Gregory wished to make him a bishop, he fled to join his friend Basil in Pontus. Saint Basil had organized a monastery in Pontus and had written to Gregory inviting him to come.

Saint Gregory remained with Saint Basil for several years. When his brother Saint Caesarius (March 9) died, he returned home to help his father administer his diocese. The local church was also in turmoil because of the Arian heresy. Saint Gregory had the difficult task of reconciling the bishop with his flock, who condemned their pastor for signing an ambiguous interpretation of the dogmas of the faith.

Saint Gregory convinced his father of the pernicious nature of Arianism, and strengthened him in Orthodoxy. At this time, Bishop Anthimus, who pretended to be Orthodox but was really a heretic, became Metropolitan of Tyana. Saint Basil had been consecrated as the Archbishop of Caesarea, Cappadocia. Anthimus wished to separate from Saint Basil and to divide the province of Cappadocia.

Saint Basil the Great made Saint Gregory bishop of the city of Sasima, a small town between Caesarea and Tyana. However, Saint Gregory remained at Nazianzos in order to assist his dying father, and he guided the flock of this city for a while after the death of his father in 374.

Upon the death of Patriarch Valentus of Constantinople in the year 378, a council of bishops invited Saint Gregory to help the Church of Constantinople, which at this time was ravaged by heretics. Obtaining the consent of Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory came to Constantinople to combat heresy. In the year 379 he began to serve and preach in a small church called “Anastasis” (“Resurrection”). Like David fighting the Philistines with a sling, Saint Gregory battled against impossible odds to defeat false doctrine.

Heretics were in the majority in the capital: Arians, Macedonians, and Appolinarians. The more he preached, the more did the number of heretics decrease, and the number of the Orthodox increased. On the night of Pascha (April 21, 379) when Saint Gregory was baptizing catechumens, a mob of armed heretics burst into the church and cast stones at the Orthodox, killing one bishop and wounding Saint Gregory. But the fortitude and mildness of the saint were his armor, and his words converted many to the Orthodox Church.

Saint Gregory’s literary works (orations, letters, poems) show him as a worthy preacher of the truth of Christ. He had a literary gift, and the saint sought to offer his talent to God the Word: “I offer this gift to my God, I dedicate this gift to Him. Only this remains to me as my treasure. I gave up everything else at the command of the Spirit. I gave all that I had to obtain the pearl of great price. Only in words do I master it, as a servant of the Word. I would never intentionally wish to disdain this wealth. I esteem it, I set value by it, I am comforted by it more than others are comforted by all the treasures of the world. It is the companion of all my life, a good counselor and converser; a guide on the way to Heaven and a fervent co-ascetic.” In order to preach the Word of God properly, the saint carefully prepared and revised his works.

In five sermons, or “Theological Orations,” Saint Gregory first of all defines the characteristics of a theologian, and who may theologize. Only those who are experienced can properly reason about God, those who are successful at contemplation and, most importantly, who are pure in soul and body, and utterly selfless. To reason about God properly is possible only for one who enters into it with fervor and reverence.

Explaining that God has concealed His Essence from mankind, Saint Gregory demonstrates that it is impossible for those in the flesh to view mental objects without a mixture of the corporeal. Talking about God in a positive sense is possible only when we become free from the external impressions of things and from their effects, when our guide, the mind, does not adhere to impure transitory images. Answering the Eunomians, who would presume to grasp God’s Essence through logical speculation, the saint declared that man perceives God when the mind and reason become godlike and divine, i.e. when the image ascends to its Archetype. (Or. 28:17). Furthermore, the example of the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets and also the Apostles has demonstrated, that the Essence of God is incomprehensible for mortal man. Saint Gregory cited the futile sophistry of Eunomios: “God begat the Son either through His will, or contrary to will. If He begat contrary to will, then He underwent constraint. If by His will, then the Son is the Son of His intent.”

Confuting such reasoning, Saint Gregory points out the harm it does to man: “You yourself, who speak so thoughtlessly, were you begotten voluntarily or involuntarily by your father? If involuntarily, then your father was under the sway of some tyrant. Who? You can hardly say it was nature, for nature is tolerant of chastity. If it was voluntarily, then by a few syllables you deprive yourself of your father, for thus you are shown to be the son of Will, and not of your father” (Or. 29:6).

Saint Gregory then turns to Holy Scripture, with particular attention examining a place where it points out the Divine Nature of the Son of God. Saint Gregory’s interpretations of Holy Scripture are devoted to revealing that the divine power of the Savior was actualized even when He assumed an impaired human nature for the salvation of mankind.

The first of Saint Gregory’s Five Theological Orations is devoted to arguments against the Eunomians for their blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Closely examining everything that is said in the Gospel about the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the saint refutes the heresy of Eunomios, which rejected the divinity of the Holy Spirit. He comes to two fundamental conclusions. First, in reading Holy Scripture, it is necessary to reject blind literalism and to try and understand its spiritual sense. Second, in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit operated in a hidden way. “Now the Spirit Himself dwells among us and makes the manifestation of Himself more certain. It was not safe, as long as they did not acknowledge the divinity of the Father, to proclaim openly that of the Son; and as long as the divinity of the Son was not accepted, they could not, to express it somewhat boldly, impose on us the burden of the Holy Spirit” (Or. 31:26).

The divinity of the Holy Spirit is a sublime subject. “Look at these facts: Christ is born, the Holy Spirit is His Forerunner. Christ is baptized, the Spirit bears witness to this… Christ works miracles, the Spirit accompanies them. Christ ascends, the Spirit takes His place. What great things are there in the idea of God which are not in His power? What titles appertaining to God do not apply also to Him, except for Unbegotten and Begotten? I tremble when I think of such an abundance of titles, and how many Names they blaspheme, those who revolt against the Spirit!” (Or. 31:29).

The Orations of Saint Gregory are not limited only to this topic. He also wrote Panegyrics on Saints, Festal Orations, two invectives against Julian the Apostate, “two pillars, on which the impiety of Julian is indelibly written for posterity,” and various orations on other topics. In all, forty-five of Saint Gregory’s orations have been preserved.

The letters of the saint compare favorably with his best theological works. All of them are clear, yet concise. In his poems as in all things, Saint Gregory focused on Christ. “If the lengthy tracts of the heretics are new Psalters at variance with David, and the pretty verses they honor are like a third testament, then we also shall sing Psalms, and begin to write much and compose poetic meters,” said the saint. Of his poetic gift the saint wrote: “I am an organ of the Lord, and sweetly… do I glorify the King, all a-tremble before Him.”

The fame of the Orthodox preacher spread through East and West. But the saint lived in the capital as though he still lived in the wilderness: “his food was food of the wilderness; his clothing was whatever necessary. He made visitations without pretense, and though in proximity of the court, he sought nothing from the court.”

The saint received a shock when he was ill. One whom he considered as his friend, the philosopher Maximus, was consecrated at Constantinople in Saint Gregory’s place. Struck by the ingratitude of Maximus, the saint decided to resign the cathedral, but his faithful flock restrained him from it. The people threw the usurper out of the city. On November 24, 380 the holy emperor Theodosius arrived in the capital and, in enforcing his decree against the heretics, the main church was returned to the Orthodox, with Saint Gregory making a solemn entrance. An attempt on the life of Saint Gregory was planned, but instead the assassin appeared before the saint with tears of repentance.

At the Second Ecumenical Council in 381, Saint Gregory was chosen as Patriarch of Constantinople. After the death of Patriarch Meletius of Antioch, Saint Gregory presided at the Council. Hoping to reconcile the West with the East, he offered to recognize Paulinus as Patriarch of Antioch.

Those who had acted against Saint Gregory on behalf of Maximus, particularly Egyptian and Macedonian bishops, arrived late for the Council. They did not want to acknowledge the saint as Patriarch of Constantinople, since he was elected in their absence.

Saint Gregory decided to resign his office for the sake of peace in the Church: “Let me be as the Prophet Jonah! I was responsible for the storm, but I would sacrifice myself for the salvation of the ship. Seize me and throw me… I was not happy when I ascended the throne, and gladly would I descend it.”

After telling the emperor of his desire to quit the capital, Saint Gregory appeared again at the Council to deliver a farewell address (Or. 42) asking to be allowed to depart in peace.

Upon his return to his native region, Saint Gregory turned his attention to the incursion of Appolinarian heretics into the flock of Nazianzus, and he established the pious Eulalius there as bishop, while he himself withdrew into the solitude of Arianzos so dear to his heart. The saint, zealous for the truth of Christ, continued to affirm Orthodoxy through his letters and poems, while remaining in the wilderness. He died on January 25, 389, and is honored with the title “Theologian,” also given to the holy Apostle and Evangelist John.

In his works Saint Gregory, like that other Theologian Saint John, directs everything toward the Pre-eternal Word. Saint John of Damascus (December 4), in the first part of his book An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, followed the lead of Saint Gregory the Theologian.

Saint Gregory was buried at Nazianzos. In the year 950, his holy relics were transferred to Constantinople into the church of the Holy Apostles. Later on, a portion of his relics was transferred to Rome. (From OCA)

I wish you a blessed Name Day to all who celebrate.

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter