Category: Pastoral Letters

The Son who shone forth from the Father, was born of woman in two natures. Having beheld Him, we do not deny the image of His form. Devoutly depicting it we honor it in faith. Therefore the Church, maintaining the true faith, venerates the icon of Christ’s incarnation.

Kontakion Hymn of the Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Tomorrow the Church remembers the 350 holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council under the holy Patriarch Tarasius (February 25).

The Synod of 787, the second to meet at Nicea, refuted the Iconoclast heresy during the reign of Empress Irene and her son Constantine VI.

The Council decreed that the veneration of icons was not idolatry (Exodus 20:4-5), because the honor shown to them is not directed to the wood or paint, but passes to the prototype (the person depicted).

It also upheld the possibility of depicting Christ, Who became man and took flesh at His Incarnation. The Father, on the other hand, cannot be represented in His eternal nature, because “no man has seen God at any time” (John 1:18).

In our Greek Orthodox practice, the holy God-bearing Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council are commemorated on October 11 (if it is a Sunday), or on the Sunday which follows October 11. And that, my beloved in the Lord, is why we celebrate these great luminaries of the Faith, their doctrinal galvanization, and the unity of the Church tomorrow on October 12th. Through their intercessions may we also find clarity, vision, steadfastness and joy in witnessing our Orthodox Christian Faith. I remain, 

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Tomorrow on October 5th we celebrate Saint Charitina of Amisos in Pontus who lived during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305). Orphaned at a young age, she became the servant of a noble Roman Christian named Claudianus, or Claudius, who brought her up as his own daughter. The young girl was very pretty, sensible, and kind. She imparted her love for Christ to others and brought many to the path of salvation. Saint Charitina was meek, humble, obedient and silent. Although she was not yet baptized, she was a Christian at heart. She studied the Law of God both day and night. And vowed to preserve her virginity as a true bride of Christ.

Because Saint Charitina brought many others to the Christian Faith, Dometius, one of Emperor Diocletian’s governors, came to hear of her and sent a letter to Claudius, ordering him to send Charitina to him so that he might question her. Claudius had no doubts about the result of this interrogation. Grieved at the prospect of losing her, he put on sackcloth and wept bitter tears. Charitina comforted him, saying: “Do not grieve, my Master, but rejoice, for I am to become an acceptable sacrifice to God, for my sins and for yours.”

Claudius replied: “O Servant of God, remember me when you stand before the heavenly King in the ranks of the Holy Martyrs.” 

The Saint was brought before a judge at the tribunal. He asked her: “Is it true that you are a Christian, and that you delude others by bringing them to your impious faith?”

Charitina replied: “It is true that I am a Christian, but it is a lie that I delude others. On the contrary, I lead them from deception to the path of truth, bringing them to my Christ.”

After this, and repeatedly, many vile methods of torture were thrust upon her, and by God’s providence and protection, she was either spared or immediately restored to health. Finaly, as her executioners sent several men to violently defile her, she prayed earnestly to God that she be received by Him before her virginal body would be subjected to their intended vile acts, and so, as she prayed, she surrendered her pure soul to God.

When the judge saw that she was dead, he had her body placed in a sack weighted with stones and tossed it into the sea. By Divine Providence, her body was brought to the shore three days later. Her master Claudius found her body and buried her with appropriate honor and reverence. Fragments of Saint Charitina’s Holy Relics are found in the Monasteries of Kykkos, Cyprus, and Jerusalem of Boeotia.

Through the Intercessions of the Virgin Martyr Charitina, may we receive her strength, resolve, inspiration, and especially her love for Christ. I remain,

With Much Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Dr. Jane Goodall at the Templeton Prize Ceremony

The earth groans, but it also hopes. The question is whether we will participate in the song of its pain or in the hymn of its gratitude.

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

If the Pope arrived in the United States, we would have seen every detail of his visit in all versions of print, television, digital and social media. That would be big news. Did most of us even know that our own Orthodox world leader, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was in the US for more than two weeks? What a joy to receive him, who prays for us and safeguards the Faith. Having met His All-Holiness six times in my life, from large-scale gatherings to private audiences, I can personally attest to the humility, brilliance, sanctity and sincerity of our shepherd of shepherds. 

His visit to the United States this time was not so much for pastoral reasons, but rather to validate and celebrate his life-long efforts on behalf of the ecological, environmental, and anthropological connections to Orthodox Theology. His decades-long message that our love for God should be evident in our love for the environment was cemented in history with his nomination and reception of the most prestigious award possible at the intersection of Theology and Science – The Templeton Prize.

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople received the 2025 Templeton Prize at a ceremony in New York on Wednesday, September 24, becoming the first leader of an Orthodox Church to receive the award. The prize, worth approximately $1.4 million, recognizes individuals who bridge religion and science while advancing spiritual understanding.

The ceremony was attended by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who first dubbed Bartholomew the “Green Patriarch” in 1997. In his acceptance speech, the Patriarch emphasized the interconnection between environmental and spiritual responsibility.

“The God who breathed stars and humans into being is the same God who grieves when a single sparrow falls, when a coral reef bleaches white as bone, and when a child gasps for clean air,” Patriarch Bartholomew stated, noting that the award belongs not to him personally but to the ecumenical vision served by the Patriarchate for decades.

The Patriarch traced the Orthodox Church’s environmental commitment to 1989, when his predecessor Patriarch Demetrios established September 1 as a day of prayer for the protection of creation. He called for reuniting science and faith, comparing a physicist studying glacier acceleration to a theologian reading about “the groans of creation” in the Apostle Paul’s writings as “two people reading the same book in different languages.”

In his address, His All-Holiness criticized religious communities that embraced “conspiracy theories” during the COVID-19 pandemic and condemned those who limit themselves to “words of faith” without action. He emphasized the connection between consumerist greed and environmental destruction, proposing ascetic practices as a “joyful discipline” that heals excess and restores harmony. He also expressed concern for young people’s “existential anxiety about the environment,” calling this a “moral failure” of older generations, and stressed that environmental protection requires social justice, stating “we cannot heal the planet without healing our relationships with each other.”

The Patriarch concluded his speech by stating: “The earth groans, but it also hopes. The question is whether we will participate in the song of its pain or in the hymn of its gratitude.”

The Templeton Prize has been awarded annually since 1972 to individuals including Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Francis Collins. The $1.4 million award supports the recipient’s ongoing work and initiatives.

During his visit, he also met with President Trump and President Zelensky of Ukraine. 

As Greek Orthodox Christians, we can take great joy in the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarch is not only a man of principle, vision, and dignity, but sees creation, in all its glory, in all its diversity, and in all its grandeur through the prism of its delicate balance. God Grant Him Many Years!

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

On the Sunday Following the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross:

Nicolaos Kabasilas in order to give us to understand God’s love, he uses the example of those who are in love.  As the couple always seek the one for the other, and when they are together they are feeling wonderfully;  in a similar manner God loved so much the world, that He became man to seek of what it was lost.  God does not only call all men to repentance, but He Himself came into the world, took up flesh becoming a perfect man, but without sin, and suffered on the cross death.  Through His death He granted life to all those who believe in His name.

Two are the basic characteristics of true love.  The first is that the one who loves offers everything to the other who is being loved; and secondly, the first suffers everything for the second.  When someone suffers for the one who he loves, then this expression of love is greater then offering.   Because of the guilt of sin, man was unable to reconcile himself to God, God had to become man and suffered for man’s sake.  Dying on the Cross God the Logos became the one and only mediator  between God and man. 

In God’s love for man one must seek the reason for His incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection on the third day.  All these historical events took place, “when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5). 

No one else had so much love as Christ did for mankind, for He did not only suffered pain, but consider His sufferings valuable.  He offers Himself to all the members of His divine Body, sanctifies them and grants eternal life to all who believe in His name.  Through Christ’s love man is cleansed from sin, because when one loves Christ he struggles against all evil.

The relationship between Christ and the Orthodox Christians is not an emotional  condition, but it is the fruit of the extreme love for Christ.  This love for Christ guides man to renounce the love for all material things.  When man loves God, then there can be no place in his heart for anything else.  For this reason the holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church teach that, he who sins is in reality renouncement Christ’s love in exchange for the love of worldly matters.

The love of the holy Saints of our Church is proved in that they gave everything for His name sake.  St. Paul the Apostle teaches us saying, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written:   ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter’.  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” ( Rom. 8:35-39).

My beloved friends, today our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ calls upon each and everyone of us to follow Him.  Christ is the Way, the Life and the Resurrection.  Christ calls us, not by force, but out of love, to follow Him by our own free choice and will.  No one can force us to do good or evil.  It is in our own will the way of life that we should follow.

To follow Christ means that one has to carry his cross, as Christ carried His own Cross.  An Orthodox Christian is called to crucify the old man who is within him and to rise as a new creation.  Only if one crucifies his sinful desires can he achieve the resurrection of the virtues.  One must accept suffering and sacrifice for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom, which ultimately brings salvation.  To be a disciple of Christ is costly: it requires giving up all claims to everything the world holds dear.

In our daily life we all are called to renounce sin and to follow Christ.  To achieve sanctification and salvation one must be purified by the Grace of God granted through the Cross.  Our life is a gift from God, “for what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37). 

You have riches, but they are not forever.  God gave them to you in order to see how you will use them for His glory and the benefit of your fellow man.  Let us all recall the foolish rich man.  He had everything that anyone could wish for, but he lost his eternal soul, because he never thought about the needs of his fellow man.  He never considered to work for virtues, but wasted all his time in working out how to make more money, more and more.  At the end when he had so much that he did not know what to do with it, his soul was demanded by the devil to be taken away.

He did not follow Christ.  He did not renounce himself.  He did not carry his cross, but on the contrary he lived a life surrounded by material and worldly maters.  If one loses his soul, what did he achieve?  Nothing, because our purpose in life is to achieve our salvation in Christ Jesus.  If one loses his soul, then what would all the riches in the world profit him?  If one loses his soul, then what would your properties help you, for you will be placed in the ground.

Every time that one visits the cemetery, let us hear the voices of those who cry out to us saying: Here is the vanity of the earth.  Here is where all the pleasures of life end.  Here is where the worldly glory ends.  But after death occurs our souls face the real life, the real world. 

For this reason, my beloved friends, let us all hear the calling of Christ.  Let us, with a humble heart, turn to Christ our God and ask Him His divine Grace and Love.  He is always there for us, waiting for our repentance.  Let us take up our cross and follow Him, who died for our salvation.  Let us confess His name before men, so that He will also confess for us before His Father who is in Heaven (Matth. l0:32).

– By His Eminence Metropolitan PANTELEIMON of Antinoes

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

As You were mercifully crucified for our sake, grant mercy to those who are called by Your name; make all Orthodox Christians glad by Your power, granting them victories over their adversaries, by bestowing on them the invincible trophy, Your weapon of peace.

Kontakion of the Feast

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Tomorrow is the Major Feast of the Elevation of the Cross. It is the day we lift up, consider, venerate, and contemplate the extreme mystery that is the Cross of Christ. It is violent. It is glorious. It is mournful. It is joy. It is death, itself. It bred life, itself. It wells up tears of sorrow yet pours fourth tears of gratitude.  It is repulsive. It is beautiful. In fear we flee from its shadow. In faith, we draw near to its light. In grief we look away from it. In the hope of the Resurrection, we gaze up at it. It is the Cross of Christ. It is all those things. Glory to Him Who ascended it unto our Salvation

Fr. Thomas Hopko explains well this Feast, This tale of “Harmolipe” (Joyful Sorrow).

The Elevation of the Cross, celebrated on the fourteenth of September, commemorates the finding of Christ’s Cross by Saint Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century; and, after it was taken by the Persians, of its recovery by the Emperor Heraclius in the seventh century at which time it was “elevated” in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. From this latter event the “universal elevation” of the Cross was celebrated annually in all of the churches of the Christian Empire.

As You were mercifully crucified for our sake, grant mercy to those who are called by Your name; make all Orthodox Christians glad by Your power, granting them victories over their adversaries, by bestowing on them the invincible trophy, Thy weapon of peace.

Kontakion of the Feast

The day of the Elevation of the Cross became, as it were, the national holiday of the Eastern Christian Empire similar to the Fourth of July in the United States. The Cross, the official emblem of the Empire which was placed on all public buildings and uniforms, was officially elevated on this day by the bishops and priests. They blessed the four directions of the universe with the Cross, while the faithful repeated the chanting of “Lord have mercy.” This ritual is still done in the churches today after the solemn presentation and elevation of the Cross at the end of the Vigil service of the holy day following the Great Doxology of Matins.

The troparion of the feast which was, one might say, the “national anthem” sung on all public occasions in the Christian Empires of Byzantium and Russia, originally petitioned God to save the people, to grant victory in war and to preserve the empire “by the virtue of the Cross.” Today the troparion, and all the hymns of the day, are “spiritualized” as the “adversaries” become the spiritually wicked and sinful including the devil and his armies, and “Orthodox Christians” replace the names of ruling officials of the Empire.

Save O Lord Your people, and bless your inheretence. Grant victory to the faithful against the adversaries of the Faith. And protect your people by Your Holy Cross.

Apolytikion of the Feast

When we elevate the Cross and bow down before it in veneration and worship to God, we proclaim that we belong to the Kingdom “not of this world,” and that our only true and enduring citizenship is with the saints in the “city of God” (Eph 2.19; Heb 11.10; Rev 21–22).

This central hymn of the Elevation of the Cross which lasts for eight days in the Church is sung many times. It replaces the Thrice-Holy of the Divine Liturgy. The normal antiphons are also replaced by special verses from the psalms which have direct reference to Christ’s crucifixion on the Cross (Ps 22, 74, 99). At the Matins, in the gospel reading from Saint John, Christ says that when He is elevated on the Cross He will draw all men to Himself (Jn 12.28–36). The long gospel reading at the Divine Liturgy is the passion account from this same gospel.

Thus, at the Elevation of the Cross the Christians make their official rededication to the crucified Lord and pledge their undivided allegiance to Him by the adoration of His holy feet nailed to the life-creating Cross. This is the meaning of this holy day of fasting and repentance in the Church today.

Please remember that following the Divine Liturgy, we will have a special collection to benefit our Metropolis students at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Our practice is to not pass trays in the church (if fact we don’t even own any of that fancy, velvet-lined, brass plates). But we will have a basket set up in the Narthex to demonstrate our support for those who are studying at our Seminary. 

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I trust and pray you are well. God bless you always!

Since we are now in the full swing of Sunday School and the church (thankfully) is filling up, I’d like to reintroduce our Church Etiquette guide in the Sunday Bulletin. Those guidelines are published so that everyone’s worship experience is celebrated and with the least number of interruptions or distractions.

But in fairness, I have been asked, “why can’t we walk in at this time?” Or “why should we be standing at that time?” So, to clear things up, I offer this simple explanation as to why we do what we do, and don’t do what we don’t do, during the Divine Services of the Church – especially on Sunday mornings.

In the Bulletin, we remind the Faithful that we do not enter the church during certain times. These times include the entrances, processions, readings from the Epistle and the Gospel, the homily, the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer and the Nicene Creed, during the Consecration of the Holy Gifts, and pretty much any time the priest is facing the congregation and addressing them.

Wow. Admittedly, that is a long list of designated times of no movement during the services. But you will notice that these are areas of the service that are of a heightened importance and require an environment of sanctity and respect. For those who have already assembled to worship, it is incredibly distracting to move around or lose attention. Most especially, when the Gospel is being read, we all need to be highly aware of every spoken word of Scripture. We need to be listening intently and concentrating. That means even in the narthex, when the Gospel is being read, we need to be focused on the Word. And of course, it’s just common courtesy not to be walking in while people are listening to the sermon.

Please let’s also be equally aware, that it is just as distracting to leave the church during these times. Please refrain from going out during these times as well.

Standing in church is a posture that represents attentiveness, respect, and reverence. We stand during the receiving of Holy Communion because the Very Body and Blood of Christ are present in our midst. If the king is in the room, we do not sit casually. So, when the King is in the church, we stand attentively. I realize this is a new tradition or expectation to many of our new, faithful worshippers. But I believe that with time and practice, patience and endurance will follow. 

You will also notice the stanchion rope in the back of the church. This rope is placed there to reduce movement up and down the center aisle during worship services. The center aisle is used for censing and processions and should not be used unless an usher or parish council member removes the rope. Since the church is filling up, they will monitor seating and allow individuals to take those inside seats. But please, do not step over the rope to enter or exit the church.

I love the fact that we enjoy seeing each other in church. And Sunday mornings are the ideal times to catch up with our friends and family. But please, refrain from idol talk and especially laughter while inside the church. Standing in line for Communion, or for antidoron after church may seem like a great time to visit, but please remember, we are still assembled for worship at those times, and our most appropriate demeanor is still appreciated. 

If you are ever in church and not able to find a seat, and are required to stand in the back, please be careful not to lean against the west wall and scrape against the iconography. To be sure, the paint used is tough and hardy. But why test its limits? Please stand tall just away from the wall. 

Lastly, please remember that for any strange reason, that may require you to cross from one side of the church to the other during services, please do so from the back of the church, not in front.

While I realize that this little treatise sounds obnoxious with all the do’s and don’ts, but I offer it sincerely with the intent of heightening our awareness to proper etiquette while in the church. Thank you for receiving this information in the manner in which it was intended. I remain,

With Much Love in Christ, 

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The feast of the Dormition or Falling-asleep of the Theotokos is celebrated this coming Friday on the fifteenth of August. This feast, which is also sometimes called the Assumption, commemorates the death, resurrection and glorification of Christ’s mother. It proclaims that Mary has been “assumed” by God into the heavenly kingdom of Christ in the fullness of her spiritual and bodily existence.

As with the nativity of the Virgin and the feast of her entrance to the temple, there are no biblical or historical sources for this feast. The Tradition of the Church is that Mary died as all people die, not “voluntarily” as her Son, but by the necessity of her mortal human nature which is indivisibly bound up with the corruption of this world.

The Orthodox Church teaches that Mary is without personal sins. In the Gospel of the feast, however, in the liturgical services and in the Dormition icon, the Church proclaims as well that Mary truly needed to be saved by Christ as all human persons are saved from the trials, sufferings and death of this world; and that having truly died, she was raised up by her Son as the Mother of Life and participates already in the eternal life of paradise which is prepared and promised to all who “hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk11.27–28).

In giving birth, you preserved your virginity. In falling asleep you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos. You were translated to life, O Mother of Life, and by your prayers, you deliver our souls from death.

Apolytikion

Neither the tomb, nor death, could hold the Theotokos, who is constant in prayer and our firm hope in her intercessions. For being the Mother of Life, she was translated to life, by the One who dwelt in her virginal womb.

Kontakion

The services of the feast repeat the main theme, that the Mother of Life has “passed over into the heavenly joy, into the divine gladness and unending delight” of the Kingdom of her Son (Vesperal hymn). The Old Testament readings, as well as the gospel readings for the Vigil and the Divine Liturgy, are exactly the same as those for the feast of the Virgin’s nativity and her entrance into the Temple. Thus, at the Vigil we again hear Mary say: “My soul magnifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour” (Lk 1.47). At the Divine Liturgy we hear the letter to the Philippians where Saint Paul speaks of the self-emptying of Christ who condescends to human servitude and ignoble death in order to be “highly exalted by God his Father” (Phil 2.5–11). And once again we hear in the Gospel that Mary’s blessedness belongs to all who “hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11.27–28).

Thus, the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos is the celebration of the fact that all men are “highly exalted” in the blessedness of the victorious Christ, and that this high exaltation has already been accomplished in Mary the Theotokos. The feast of the Dormition is the sign, the guarantee, and the celebration that Mary’s fate is, the destiny of all those of “low estate” whose souls magnify the Lord, whose spirits rejoice in God the Saviour, whose lives are totally dedicated to hearing and keeping the Word of God which is given to men in Mary’s child, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world.

Finally it must be stressed that, in all of the feasts of the Virgin Mother of God in the Church, the Orthodox Christians celebrate facts of their own lives in Christ and the Holy Spirit. What happens to Mary happens to all who imitate her holy life of humility, obedience, and love. With her all people will be “blessed” to be “more honorable than the cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim” if they follow her example. All will have Christ born in them by the Holy Spirit. All will become temples of the living God. All will share in the eternal life of His Kingdom who live the life that Mary lived.

In this sense everything that is praised and glorified in Mary is a sign of what is offered to all persons in the life of the Church. It is for this reason that Mary, with the divine child Jesus within her, is called in the Orthodox Tradition the Image of the Church. For the assembly of the saved is those in whom Christ dwells.

It is the custom in some churches to bless flowers on the feast of the Dormition of the Holy Theotokos.

Services this week which precede the Dormition include Paraklesis Services that will take place this Monday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm Great Vespers for the Dormition of the Theotokos will be celebrated on Thursday evening at 7:00 pm, and services for the Dormition Itself will take place on Friday; the Orthros will begin at 9:00 am followed by the Divine Liturgy. 

Most Holy Theotokos Save Us! 

With Much Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas

Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we stand in the first days of the Dormition Fast, our attention is also drawn to the Feast of our Lord’s Transfiguration – the event of revealing Himself in the fullness of His Glory to the disciples upon Mount Tabor. This event, though taking place just before His Passion, Crucifixion, and Resurrection, is taken out of a chronological sequence and celebrated in August to coincide with the fullness of the fruits in their season. In the Mediterranean world, this is the time that grapevines are at their peak ripeness.  In the Transfiguration, the ministry of Christ had reached its full potential here on Earth and He was ready to enter into the fulfillment of the Father’s plan for salvation. This is the spiritual ripeness of Christ’s journey in the world. To acknowledge this connection, luscious grapes are blessed at the conclusion of the Transfiguration Divine Liturgy and distributed to the people.

For a fuller understanding of this all-important Festival in the life of Christ and within the Calendar of the Church, let us refer to the following writing of Fr. Thomas Hopko:

The transfiguration of Christ is one of the central events recorded in the gospels. Immediately after the Lord was recognized by His apostles as “the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the Living God,” He told them that “He must go up to Jerusalem and suffer many things . . . and be killed and on the third day be raised” (Mt 16). The announcement of Christ’s approaching passion and death was met with indignation by the disciples. And then, after rebuking them, the Lord took Peter, James, and John “up to a high mountain”—by tradition Mount Tabor—and was “transfigured before them.”

. . . and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as snow and behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish I will make three booths here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My Beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead”.

Mt 17.1–92, see also Mk 9.1–9; Lk 9.28–36; 2 Pet 1.16–18

The Jewish Festival of Booths was a feast of the dwelling of God with men, and the transfiguration of Christ reveals how this dwelling takes place in and through the Messiah, the Son of God in human flesh. There is little doubt that Christ’s transfiguration took place at the time of the Festival of Booths, and that the celebration of the event in the Christian Church became the New Testamental fulfillment of the Old Testamental feast in a way similar to the feasts of Passover and Pentecost.

In the Transfiguration, the apostles see the glory of the Kingdom of God present in majesty in the person of Christ they see that “in Him, indeed, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,” that “in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col 1.19, 2.9). They see this before the crucifixion so that in the resurrection they might know Who it is Who has suffered for them, and what it is that this one, Who is God, has prepared for those who love Him. This is what the Church celebrates in the feast of the Transfiguration.

Thou wast transfigured on the mount. O Christ God, revealing Thy glory to Thy disciples as they could bear it. Let Thine everlasting light shine upon us sinners. Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Giver of Light, glory to Thee.

Apolytikion of Holy Transfiguration

On the mountain wast Thou transfigured, O Christ God, and Thy disciples beheld Thy glory as far as they could see it; so that when they would behold Thee crucified, they would understand that Thy suffering was voluntary, and would proclaim to the world that Thou art truly the Radiance of the Father.

Kontakion of Holy Transfiguration

Besides the fundamental meaning which the event of the Transfiguration has in the context of the life and mission of Christ, and in addition to the theme of the glory of God which is revealed in all of its divine splendor in the face of the Saviour, the presence of Moses and Elijah is also of great significance for the understanding and celebration of the feast. Many of the hymns refer to these two leading figures of the Old Covenant as do the three scripture readings of Vespers which tell of the manifestation of the glory of God to these holy men of old (Ex 24.12–18; 33.11–34.8; 1 Kg 19.3–16).

Moses and Elijah, according to the liturgical verses, are not only the greatest figures of the Old Testament who now come to worship the Son of God in glory, they also are not merely two of the holy men to whom God has revealed himself in the prefigurative theophanies of the Old Covenant of Israel. These two figures actually stand for the Old Testament itself: Moses for the Law and Elijah for the Prophets. And Christ is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Mt 5.17).

They also stand for the living and dead, for Moses died and his burial place is known, while Elijah was taken alive into heaven in order to appear again to announce the time of God’s salvation in Christ the Messiah.

Thus, in appearing with Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah show that the Messiah Saviour is here, and that He is the Son of God to Whom the Father Himself bears witness, the Lord of all creation, of the Old and New Testaments, of the living and the dead. The Transfiguration of Christ in itself is the fulfillment of all of the theophanies and manifestations of God, a fulfillment made perfect and complete in the person of Christ. The Transfiguration of Christ reveals to us our ultimate destiny as Christians, the ultimate destiny of all men and all creation to be transformed and glorified by the majestic splendor of God Himself.

There is little doubt that the feast of the Transfiguration of Christ belonged first to the pre-Easter season of the Church. It was perhaps celebrated on one of the Sundays of Lent, for besides certain historical evidence and the fact that today St Gregory Palamas, the great teacher of the Transfiguration of Christ, is commemorated during Lent, the event itself is one which is definitely connected with the approaching death and resurrection of the Saviour.

. . . for when they would behold Thee crucified, they would understand that Thy suffering was voluntary.

Kontakion

So dearly beloved in the Lord, please plan to attend Great Vespers for the Feast of the Transfiguration this Tuesday, August 5th at 7:00 pm, and the Orthros and Divine Liturgy on August 6th at 9:00 am and 10:00 am respectively. I remain,

With Much Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Did you miss me?!? I sure missed all of you these past three Sundays not praying with you at St. Anna. I greatly look forward to being back in our church for Sunday worship tomorrow. I trust and pray that you have enjoyed the blessings of the summer months. And I am also so grateful that so many of you turned out for our Maternal Feast Day celebration with Great Vespers and our Picnic this past Thursday evening. Thank you to our Philoptochos, Men’s Ministry and Parish Council who worked so hard to sponsor such an energized event. You know it’s a great celebration when you nearly run out of food and extra tables have to continually be rolled out and set up.

As we seek the intercessions of the Holy Ancestor of God, our Matron Saint Anna, let us also and most especially set our minds and hearts toward her precious daughter, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. This coming Friday begins the Dormition Fast as we prepare for the commemoration of her falling asleep on August 15th.

St. Symeon of Thessalonica writes that, “The fast in August [Dormition fast] was established in honor of the Mother of God the Word; Who, foreknowing Her repose, ascetically labored and fasted for us as always, although She was holy and immaculate, and had no need for fasting. Thus, She especially prayed for us in preparation for being transported from this life to the future life, when Her blessed soul would be united through the Divine spirit with Her Son. Therefore, we also should fast and praise Her, emulating Her life, urging Her thereby to pray for us. Some, by the way, say that this fast was instituted on the occasion of two feasts—the Transfiguration and the Dormition. I also consider it necessary to remember these two feasts—one which gives us light, and the other which is merciful to us and intercedes for us.”

Isn’t it incredible to think about the establishment of this fasting period which precedes such a solemn occasion? It was started by her, herself in preparation of her departure from this life. We therefore imitate her pious grace and strength, preparing our minds, souls and bodies to contemplate the repose of the Theotokos, her departure from this earthly life, and her enthronement in heaven as an ever-intercessor on behalf of all of us. 

As many of you are aware, the Fast is accompanied by the celebration of the Small Paraklesis Services, celebrated on the Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays of the Fasting Period (from August 1-14). This year at St. Anna, there is no exception to that rule.  

Paraklesis Services will be celebrated at 7:00 pm on August 1, 4, 6, 8, 11 and 13. Great Vespers for the Dormition of the Theotokos will be celebrated on Thursday, August 14th at 7:00 pm. The Orthros and Divine Liturgy for the Dormition will be celebrated on Friday, August 15th at 9:00 am and 10:00 am. This is day will mark what is known as the “Summer Pascha.” Praise be to God!

Also connected to this sacred period, Great Vespers for the Transfiguration of Christ will be on Tuesday, August 5th at 7:00 pm with the Orthros and Liturgy the following day at the normal times. 

Lastly, my most beloved in the Lord, please know that we will honor our joyful tradition of celebrating the Paraklesis outdoors in our South Patio to begin the series of services. The first Paraklesis on Friday, August 1st will be the only service to be celebrated outdoors. Bring your lawn chairs. Enjoy the summer evening, praying in the beauty of creation. This tradition began as an affirmation of the practice of holding the Paraklesis Services in the courtyards and entry plazas of the churches in Greece. I love the above quote from St. Symeon of Thessalonica as I recall chanting the Paraklesis Services in outdoor settings in parishes throughout Thessaloniki as a young deacon. This was my reasoning for taking the service outside and enjoying the lovely setting of our grotto. 

There are folks who depend on our livestreaming in order to be connected to the worship of the church. This is why we’re only doing it once for we do not have streaming capabilities outdoors. So let’s make it a special occasion and inaugurate the season appropriately and enthusiastically. 

Well, once again, it is such a delight for me to have returned to our parish home and to the Altar at St. Anna. Let’s enjoy the remainder of the summer. And include the prayers of the Theotokos in the coming days, and in our entire lives. I remain,

With Much Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

After the Saviour’s Ascension into the Heavens, the eleven Apostles and the rest of His disciples, the God-loving women who followed after Him from the beginning, His Mother, the most holy Virgin Mary, and His brethren-all together about 120 souls returned from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. Entering into the house where they gathered, they went into the upper room, and there they persevered in prayer and supplication, awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit, as their Divine Teacher had promised them. In the meanwhile, they chose Matthias, who was elected to take the place of Judas among the Apostles.

Thus, on this day, the seventh Sunday of Pascha, the tenth day after the Ascension and the fiftieth day after Pascha, at the third hour of the day from the rising of the sun, there suddenly came a sound from Heaven, as when a mighty wind blows, and it filled the whole house where the Apostles and the rest with them were gathered. Immediately after the sound, there appeared tongues of fire that divided and rested upon the head of each one. Filled with the Spirit, all those present began speaking not in their native tongue, but in other tongues and dialects, as the Holy Spirit instructed them.

The multitudes that had come together from various places for the feast, most of whom were Jews by race and religion, were called Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and so forth, according to the places where they dwelt. Though they spoke many different tongues, they were present in Jerusalem by divine dispensation. When they heard that sound that came down from Heaven to the place where the disciples of Christ were gathered, all ran together to learn what had taken place. But they were confounded when they came and heard the Apostles speaking in their own tongues. Marveling at this, they said one to another, “Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” But others, because of their foolishness and excess of evil, mocked the wonder and said that the Apostles were drunken.

Then Peter stood up with the eleven, and raising his voice, spoke to all the people, proving that that which had taken place was not drunkenness, but the fulfilment of God’s promise that had been spoken by the Prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that I shall pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy” (Joel 2:28), and he preached Jesus of Nazareth unto them, proving in many ways that He is Christ the Lord, Whom the Jews crucified but God raised from the dead. On hearing Peter’s teaching, many were smitten with compunction and received the word. Thus, they were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added to the Faith of Christ.

Such, therefore, are the reasons for today’s feast: the coming of the All-holy Spirit into the world, the completion of the Lord Jesus Christ’s promise, and the fulfilment of the hope of the sacred disciples, which we celebrate today. This is the final feast of the great mystery and dispensation of God’s incarnation. On this last, and great, and saving day of Pentecost, the Apostles of the Saviour, who were unlearned fishermen, made wise now of a sudden by the Holy Spirit, clearly and with divine authority spoke the heavenly doctrines. They became heralds of the truth and teachers of the whole world. On this day they were ordained and began their apostleship, of which the salvation of those three thousand souls in one day was the comely and marvelous first fruit.

That which came to pass at Pentecost, was the ordination of the Apostles, the commencement of the apostolic preaching to the nations, and the inauguration of the priesthood of the new Israel. Saint Cyril of Alexandria says that “Our Lord Jesus Christ herein ordained the instructors and teachers of the world and the stewards of His divine Mysteries … showing together with the dignity of Apostleship, the incomparable glory of the authority given them … Revealing them to be splendid with the great dignity of the Apostleship and showing them forth as both stewards and priests of the divine altars . . . they became fit to initiate others through the enlightening guidance of the Holy Spirit” (PG 74, 708-712). Saint Gregory Palamas says, “Now, therefore … the Holy Spirit descended … showing the Disciples to be supernal luminaries … and the distributed grace of the Divine Spirit came through the ordination of the Apostles upon their successors” (Homily 24, 10). And Saint Sophronius, Bishop of Jerusalem, writes, “After the visitation of the Comforter, the Apostles became high priests” (PG 87, 3981B). Therefore, together with the baptism of the Holy Spirit which came upon them who were present in the upper chamber, which the Lord had foretold as recorded in the Acts, “ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence” (Acts 1:5), the Apostles were also appointed and raised to the high priestly rank, according to Saint John Chrysostom (PG 60, 21).

On this day commenced the celebration of the Holy Eucharist by which we become “partakers of the Divine Nature” (II Peter 1:4). For before Pentecost, it is said of the Apostles and disciples only that they abode in “prayer and supplication” (Acts 1:14); it is only after the coming of the Holy Spirit that they persevered in the “breaking of bread,”that is, the communion of the Holy Mysteries-“and in prayer” (Acts 2:42).

The feast of holy Pentecost, therefore, determined the beginning of the priesthood of grace, not the beginning of the Church. Henceforth, the Apostles proclaimed the good tidings “in country and town,” preaching and baptizing and appointing shepherds, imparting the priesthood to them whom they judged were worthy to minister, as Saint Clement writes in his first Epistle to the Corinthians (I Cor. 42).

All foods allowed during the week following Pentecost.

Enjoy this most blessed Feast. Marvel at the Holy Spirit. Celebrate our Triune God.

With Much Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter