Category: Pastoral Letters

“Apart from love nothing whatever has existed, nor ever will. Its names and actions are many. More numerous still are its distinctive marks; divine and innumerable are its properties. Yet it is one in nature, wholly beyond utterance whether on the part of angels or men or any other creatures, even such as are unknown to us. Reason cannot comprehend it; its glory is inaccessible, its counsels unsearchable. It is eternal because it is beyond time, invisible because thought cannot comprehend it, though it may perceive it. Many are the beauties of this holy Sion not made with hands! He who has begun to see it no longer delights in sensible objects; he ceases to be attached to the glory of this world.” — St. Symeon the New Theologian

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Of the many, many holy shrines that we visited while on our Pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to Asia Minor, the vast majority of them were Greek Orthodox monasteries and churches. Some, however were either Jewish historical sites, Muslim shrines or Roman Catholic sites. On one particular day, we prayerfully prayed our respects at the Tomb of King David (a most holy sight for the Jews) and in that same hour ascended several stairs into what is now a small, Latin Church.

It is built upon the ruins of the Upper Room, where the Mystical Supper took place, where the Disciples hid in fear of their lives, following the Crucifixion of Christ, where the Lord appeared to them after His Resurrection, and where the Holy Spirit descended upon them as tongues of fire on the Feast of Pentecost. One, singular and ornate column from St. Helen’s original church, built upon this site remains in the interior of the space.

As we make our preparations for Holy Pentecost; the gift of the Comforter that Christ promised to the world (John 14:16), who is the Holy Spirit, I find myself back in that little church, that little room, and imagine what transpired in that space. We know the story, we look forward to the service of Pentecost; for the Kneeling Prayers to the Holy Spirit are among the most beautifully crafted words which flow from the mind of the Church.

Through the coming of the Holy Spirit, there is an instant and bold transformation in the persons of the Disciples. Their despair was displaced by hope. Their confusion was replaced with clarity. Their individual fears had succumbed to a collective purpose. Their ministry was transfigured from students of the Gospel to proclaimers of the Gospel. Those who were once meek with questioning in their hearts, now had all the answers – in Christ – and through the Holy Spirit.

But for all of the amazing details of the event of Pentecost, and in all the glory that was, and is Jerusalem and the Holy Sites, and for all the history that has amassed in the life of the Church, everything comes down, as St. Symeon so eloquently stated in the above-referenced quote, to love. The love that God has for His children.

Pentecost is a celebration of God’s love. His desire to not leave us abandoned and flailing around in our own demise. The Holy Spirit offers discernment, wisdom, connection, participation and actualization of God in our lives. These are all accomplished simply because the Lord wills it to be so, through His unyielding love for humanity.

I have been back from our trip long enough to realize that while I venerated several significant and historical altars, there is only one altar that defines Christ’s love for all of us in the most dynamic of ways. Surprisingly, its not the altar of the Holy Sepulcher, or the altar of the Nativity or the altar of the Transfiguration or any other altar but that of St. Anna’s.

Pentecost is the event that blasted the Church out of Jerusalem and into the world.

Into our world.

Every holy and significant sight that can be visited in the ancient world is only understood and valued through our own experiences that the Holy Spirit grants us in the here and now. St. Anna’s is our here and now. St. Anna’s is where Christ’s love abounds for us and where the Holy Spirit is active in our lives. Where the Mysteries are received. Where the Gospel is proclaimed.

And I’m not even describing St. Anna’s as a physical space as much as a collection of Orthodox Christians and a family in Christ. The Holy Spirit is strong and active in our lives through the Love He demonstrates towards us and the love we extend to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The line which connects Jerusalem and Cottonwood Heights is clear and distinctive. This line is the mystery of the event of Pentecost.

It’s good that our parish made this trip. It’s also good that we returned to our families, our work and our lives.

While it’s true that our Pilgrims indeed walked with God.

Its equally true that they walk with Him, no less significantly in the midst of the people we love; back home and in our parish.

With Much Love in XC,

Fr. Anthony

Please be reminded of the early time for Liturgy on Monday so that we can gather at Mt. Olivet Cemetery to pray for our loved ones who have passed on to eternal glory.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Having returned exactly 24 hours ago from our spiritual odyssey, a two-week pilgrimage that spanned the Holy Land and parts of Asia Minor (Istanbul and Cappadocia) I, as well as the participants on our journey look forward to sharing our experiences and sharing the Gospel. The Gospel that came to life right before our eyes. In the coming days, our group will plan a reunion and we will begin to discuss how we can best open our hearts, cameras and memories to all who are interested. I pray that you are as interested in hearing what we saw, as we are to share it. Have a blessed evening.

With Much Love in Christ Who Ascended from our Midst,
Fr. Anthony Jet-Lagged Savas

Dearly Beloved in the Lord,

Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!

The ancient and eternal city of Constantinople. It is a place where for centuries, worlds, cultures and armies have collided. It is the intersection between East and West, that which bridges together the dynasties of the Roman Empire and is the fertile ground in which the seeds of our precious Faith were nurtured, matured and brought to a glorious fruition. We celebrate Her prolific past as we stand in awe of all She commands.

The ancient and eternal city of Constantinople. Home to patriarchs, emperors, saints and artists. The definitive backdrop of our Eastern Orthodox history and the setting for every highlight and low point of our development as a Church. Our greatest accomplishments were forged here, our greatest battles were fought here, our most dynamic losses were endured here. The mind of the Church thinks through the process of Byzantium. The heart of the Church beats in a pattern that is reflective of this city.

The ancient and eternal city of Constantinople. The externals, the details, the tinsel, the pageantry, the glory and the humility of the church: they all have their origins here. Chrysostom preached from the rafters and filled the streets of this city with the faithful who were thirsty to hear the Word of God. Remnants of the City Walls remain as reminders of erstwhile protectors and guardians. Constantinopolitan contributions to the Church are found within Her art, music, architecture, worship, dress, ethos and mentality.

The ancient and eternal city of Constantinople. Our Orthodox Churches look like Orthodox Churches because of Orthodox Churches from Constantinople. Our Orthodox liturgical life breaths like Orthodox liturgical life because of the Orthodox liturgical life of Constantinople. Orthodox worship sounds like Orthodox worship because of the Orthodox worship of Constantinople.

Today, I am incredibly blessed to be writing this message from Constantinople. Truth be told, I’m sort of the office nerd right now. I’m sitting in the lobby of the Bosporus Hilton, working on my computer while several people from our group are sitting with each other, enjoying their fellowship and looking back fondly, upon the events of today – the first full day of our Pilgrimage.

The day, and by extension, our entire trip, began this morning, touring the grounds of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. We venerated the relics inside our St. George Cathedral and strolled the grounds of the humble facilities that house the ministries of the world’s leader of Orthodox Christianity. We then found ourselves outside the private office of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, awaiting his entrance into the Throne Room of the Patriarchate. It would be here that our audience would be granted. From the door just to the left of the throne, he emerged. Smiling and greeting us with warmth and love. He spoke to us about his love for the Church in America and talked about his upcoming events: symposia, pastoral visits, historic liturgies and humanitarian efforts. He addressed us firstly in Greek, asked if everyone understood, then switched to English when we told him that several members of the group could not understand him. He said that Fr. Elias and I could translate for the people. Fr. Elias and I then thought the people were in trouble.

His English (one of seven languages he speaks) is clear, kind and perfect. We hung on every word and embraced him with respect and admiration. He stood before us, representing many things:

Apostolic Succession
The Protector of the Flame of Orthodoxy
The Green Patriarch and champion of the environment
The world leader of our faith
The voice of the persecuted and minority populations.

But most importantly, he communicated the love a father has for his children. He was not distant nor hide behind pretense. It was like sitting in your grandfather’s dining room and listening to his stories, receiving his wisdom and expressing your respects. It was always comfortable and never intimidating. It was the perfect beginning to what will be the spiritual experience of a lifetime.

So again, greetings from Constantinople. His All Holiness sends the love and blessings of the Mother Church to the faithful people of St. Anna’s. He has been watching our progress and loves how events have unfolded for us. We are in his prayers and protection. We must keep him in our prayers for his protection. Today has been beautiful. I think I’ll go join our group now. I look lonely over here by myself.

With Much Love in our Risen Lord,

Fr. Anthony

“Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.”

– Psalm 119:54

Dearly Beloved in the Lord,

Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

If you were new to the St. Anna community and visited our parish for the first time, you might pick up one of the black Welcome Packets that await you in the Narthex. These folders are designed for people who are either new to Orthodoxy or have rediscovered their Faith and returned to church after a long hiatus. Filled with information about our specific parish and doctrinal truths about our ancient faith, we have worked hard to provide our “guests” with all they’ll need in order to begin their new or revitalized walk with Christ. The Packet’s cover letter reads as follows:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I would like to take this special opportunity to welcome you to the St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Your presence with us today has enriched our worship experience and your prayers accompany the faithful voices of those gathered in this holy place. We have come together on this day to glorify God, praise His holy Name and to witness His loving mercy. Thank you for being with us!

Your visit to our parish, no matter the purpose, represents a prayerful action no less significant than a spiritual pilgrimage. When we make movements towards God and His house of worship, we enter into union with the saints, and Christ Himself. Standing in this church, at this very moment, you are in the company of sacredness as well as sinners, who are working for their own salvation. And now that you’re here with us, you’ve reached the comfortable delight of safe harbor.

Though our mission setting may be considered modest in terms of the grand and doctrinal traditions of Orthodox Christian architecture, the spiritual, visual, artistic and musical elements of this church and worship serve in every capacity. Our parish is committed to the command that all pilgrims reach their ultimate destination, that is, the Kingdom of God. And at St. Anna’s, indeed it is found; vibrant, actualized, and present in the world today, here beneath the glorious mountains of the Wasatch Range.

If today’s service was your first exposure to Orthodox worship, I can only imagine the questions and observations you may have, and I invite you to discuss them with us. If you are returning after a lengthy hiatus from church, welcome home. If you find yourself on a journey to celebrating your life in Christ through the Sacramental Life of His precious Orthodox Church, we are here to guide and instruct you along the way. Once again welcome to our parish! Through the intersessions of our Matron Saint, the Mother of the Theotokos (of the Virgin Mary), I remain

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas,

Pastor

I crafted this welcome letter around the concept of a pilgrimage – a spiritual journey which is fulfilled in its destination, as it inspires through the process. In other words, reaching the end of the pilgrimage is only half of the benefit. The journey itself is equally rewarding. The Christian life is an engaged, active and continued pilgrimage. As we enter the church, we begin a pilgrimage. As we begin a fasting period and move towards a festal celebration, we begin a pilgrimage. As we approach the Chalice, we begin a pilgrimage. As we are baptized, ordained, married, confess…we set in motion, the events that will unfold within the context of our…you guessed it…pilgrimage.

Pilgrimage is movement with a purpose.

Pilgrimage is action that is sanctified.

Pilgrimage is divinely inspired and heavenly directed.

Pilgrimage is the blessed entanglement of faith and footsteps; sacrifice and reward; heaven and earth.

I ask that you all pray for our parishioners and friends who will be departing for our Pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to Asia Minor. We leave on May 1st and return on May 16th. We will spend two weeks venerating the sites, shrines, monasteries, churches, gardens and cathedrals of our Christian history. From Constantinople to Jerusalem to Cappadocia, we will take with us, through prayer and good will, the people of St. Anna’s and our participating sister parishes.

Most notably, we will pray for you as we celebrate the Divine Liturgy upon the Tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we will share the blessings we receive from His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome. Often, we will think of our friends and family who remain, while we ask for your cherished prayers for our health, safety and return without incident.

Please be mindful that all of us associated with our parish will be on this sacred journey to our historical past, actualized present and salvific future. For those of you who planned on participating but for a myriad of reasons, it did not happen, know that you are all, especially, with us every step of the way. And if God so ordains, we will do this again, perhaps in five years or so.

A pilgrimage can take you around the world, it can be accomplished up the aisle of a church, it can even be taken within our hearts and minds; having never physically departed from our home. The point is, we are a people on a pilgrimage. We are in constant motion and our motion propels us towards a higher union with God.

Union with God. The entire point of absolutely any pilgrimage.

With Love in our Risen Lord,

Fr. Anthony

While I’m away on the Sundays of May 6th and 13th (Happy Mother’s Day) we welcome back our dear, Fr. Ambrose. Welcome Home, Father!

Dearly Beloved in the Lord,

Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!

Admittedly, It’s been quite some time since I’ve addressed you by means of this weekly message. Sure, you’ve received bulletins, downloaded posters and read announcements. But no real pastoral message to speak of during the increasingly busy Lenten and Holy Week season. Of course, there were numerous and varied other opportunities to hear and read God’s Word; placed into practical settings for our inspiration and guidance in our busy lives. Simply put, that is what I’ve always strived for in these messages; practicality and theology fused into a little essay.

Since you have last read one of these, we have celebrated Christ’s victory over death through His Third Day Rising. What a glorious and amazing Holy Week and Pascha, experienced at St. Anna’s!

While entertaining in their homes, I think the worst thing that could have happened in our grandmothers would be to run out of food. In their generation, it would have indicated that they disrespected their guests, received them casually and ill prepared. I must say, that while I share the sentiment that we should be prepared for “whoever comes over,” it still astonishing to me that we actually ran out of Palm Crosses at the beginning of the week, candles towards the end of the week, and red eggs at the conclusion of the week. That is after significantly increasing our orders of these items from last year. Our community continues to welcome new guests; guests who become family and family who witnesses Christ.

Though we’ve printed our acknowledgment of gratitude for all of your Holy Week and Paschal participation, volunteerism, generosity and prayerful attention, I say it again here; thank you for your ever-increasing appreciation of the divine services for this most sacred time of year. Your sacrificial and enthusiastic response was noticed and appreciated.

So now that we are nearly two weeks past the Resurrection and life in and out of the church is settling into predictable norms, the question can be asked (and will be asked) “What exactly did we learn from the events of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection? What’s the takeaway?

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, if there is one, concise truth to our recent and salvific events, it is that through Him, life has been granted, redemption has been given, death has been defeated, the gates of Paradise have been opened, God has been glorified, and we have been saved. It took over 500 pages in our Holy Week Book to cover what I just mentioned in one (large) sentence.

We should hold these truths to be given, understood, accepted and practiced. Not taken for granted, God forbid! But received and naturally internalized. In Christ’s contemporary setting, the world could not see this. At least most of the world could not see Him as His true Self. The Romans saw a menace. The Jews saw a threat. The followers indeed saw their Christ…but knew little of anything about what that actually meant. Even the Disciples themselves lacked ultimate understanding until the event of Pentecost.

The world saw a poor carpenter with a following and revolutionary message. Sometimes we don’t see what is plainly before us. As Christians, we are called to see Him with absolute clarity, as revealed in the brilliance of His Resurrection.

It’s live a wealthy father who wanted to teach his children the value of blessings and an appreciation for all they had, so he sent them to live with his impoverished brother in the country for a summer. “This experience,” he thought, “will give them an understanding of how lucky they are to be in a home such as ours.”

When the children returned, they thanked him with a zeal that he could not have expected or even hoped for. They appreciated seeing “how poor people live.” They appreciated the lesson because:

“We have one dog and they have four.”

“We have a swimming pool that reaches to the edge of the garden, and they have a creek that runs through their yard.”

“We have iron and gas lanterns in our landscape, and they have bright stars.”

“We have servants to serve us, and they serve each other.”

“Great lesson, Dad. Thank you for showing us how poor we actually are.”

Hardly the lesson he intended, but a lesson never the less.

Hardly the Christ expected, but the Christ, never the less.

Hardly the outcome anticipated, but the outcome never the less.

The world attempted to teach the lesson that when God tries to challenge, stretch, teach, inspire and save us, we crucify Him

What God taught is that while He absolutely, with out questions, one hundred percent knew that this is how we would react to Him and treat Him, He loves us anyway. He loves us in spite of our tendencies and weaknesses.

This Sunday is the Sunday of the Myrrh Bearers. We commemorate those few people, those VERY few people who demonstrated the same sacrificial love to Christ, as He displayed before His accusers and executioners. They had clarity. They had vision. They had unbridled love.

If we’ve learned anything from the events of Great Lent, Holy Week, Pascha and our current, Paschal season; its to obtain their heart and mimic their actions. God keep and bless you in the light of the Resurrection!

With Much Love in our Risen Lord,

Fr. Anthony

P.S. I enjoyed, once again, staying up until 1:30 am to write a Pastoral Message. I need to start these earlier. Getting too old for this.

“Those who wish to learn the will of the Lord must first mortify their own will. Then having prayed to God with faith and guileless simplicity, and having asked the fathers or even the brothers with humility of heart and no thought of doubt, they should accept their advice as from the mouth of God, even if their advice be contrary to their own view, and even if those consulted are not very spiritual. For God is not unjust, and will not lead astray souls who with faith and innocence humbly submit to the advice and judgment of their neighbor. Even if those who were asked were brute beasts, yet He who speaks is the Immaterial and Invisible One. Those who allow themselves to be guided by this rule without having any doubts are filled with great humility.”
– St. John Climacus, from his timeless, spiritual entreaty, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 26, Section 111

This Sunday, being the fourth Sunday of Great Lent, we commemorate the writings and the life of St. John Climacus, Abbot of the Monastery of St. Katherine on Mt. Sinai. Through his intercessions, may we also ascend to the great heights that lead unto salvation.

This Weekend, We Welcome
His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver, together with
Jenny Stasinopoulos, our Metropolis Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries,
as well as the Speakers and Families of the Metropolis of Denver
St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival.

This Evening’s Salutations Service will be held at 6:00 pm to Accommodate the Festival Schedule.
We also Welcome Presbytera Marika Brown of the Group “Eikona” Who will Lead the Chanting of
this Weekend’s Divine Services.

God Bless!

Congratulations to the Newly-Elected Officers and Board of our
St. Anna Women’s Ministry Team:

President;
Pat Daskalas

Vice President,
Mary Feotis

Secretary,
Beverly Bartel

Treasurer,
Tanya Smirnov

Assistant Treasurer,
Nicol Zambos

Board Members;
Barbara Van Asdlan
Kimberly Beck
Mary Ford
Kathleen Shand
Myra Varanakis

May the Lord bless the work of their hands, the strength of their faith and the richness of their hearts.
They truly carry each and every one of us upon their mighty shoulders.

The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian
O Lord and Master of my life, take away from me the spirit of sloth, despair, 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 faults and not to judge my brother, for You are blessed unto the ages of ages.

Amen.

Please be sure to use the revised Lenten Schedule. Important changes have been made.

This Sunday is the Sunday of Orthodoxy, which includes the Sunday School’s procession of icons. Please ensure that your children are included in this most solemn occasion. Remember to have them bring their favorite icon from home.

“As man I deliberately transgressed the divine commandment, when the devil, enticing me with the hope of divinity (Gen. 3:5), dragged me down from my natural stability into the realm of sensual pleasure; and he was proud to have thus brought death into existence, for he delights in the corruption of human nature. Because of this, God became perfect man, taking on everything that belongs to human nature except sin (cf. Heb. 4:15); and indeed sin is not part of human nature, In this way, by enticing the insatiable serpent with the bait of the flesh. He provoked him to open his mouth and swallow it. This flesh proved poison to him, destroying him utterly by the power of the Divinity within it; but to human nature it proved a remedy restoring it to its original grace by that same power of the Divinity within it. For just as the devil poured out his venom of sin on the tree of knowledge and corrupted human nature once it had tasted it, so when he wished to devour the flesh of the Master he was himself destroyed by the power of the Divinity within it.”
+ St. Maximos the Confessor

My Beloved in the Lord,

Great and Holy Lent begins on February 19th on what is known as Clean Monday. Allow yourselves to no longer to be dragged down by the influences of the Evil One. God became Man in order that the sway of death would be rendered powerless. Grace. Power. Divinity. Love. These attributes are, as the Confessor maintains, is poison to Satan. Slay him with the might of self control, obedience, steadfastness and prayer. Use the Fast to acquire the strength of angels and the innocence of lambs. For God is with us!

Much Love in Christ,
Fr. Anthony

Please follow closely, and participate whole-heartedly, in the Lenten Schedule of Services attached with the Bulletin. We are Orthodox Christians. The center of our spiritual lives is our Worship. Our prayers, our actions, our commitments our Faith in Christ are but expressions and extensions of our Worship. Come and worship.