Year: 2016

“We glorify the Holy Spirit together with the Father and the Son, from the conviction that He is not separated from the Divine Nature; for that which is foreign by nature does not share in the same honors.”
– St. Basil the Great

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christ is Born!
Glorify Him!
I pray that everyone enjoyed a blessed Christmas and is looking forward to a Happy New Year! This coming Sunday is not only the First Day of 2017, it is also the Feast of St. Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great. St. Basil was the Greek bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia and was a contemporary of St. Nicholas of Myra, though St. Nicholas was only a deacon by the time St. Basil was already a bishop.
Of course, anyone from Greece can tell you that it is not St. Nicholas who brings gifts and toys to good boys and girls on Christmas Day, but rather St. Basil on January 1st. This tradition developed as he would place coins and valuables inside of breads and then distribute them to the poor. Like St. Nicholas, he is well-regarded for his generosity and creativity in philanthropic work. Of course, St. Basil, as one of the “Doctors of the Church,” is regarded more for his theology than his kind endeavors.
I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday as we commemorate this well-loved and prolific hierarch of the Church.
The following Sunday, directly following our Teaching Divine Liturgy (please refer to last week’s Pastoral Message for details), we will gather in the Fellowship Hall for our annual Vasilopita Celebration where pieces of “St. Basil’s Bread” will be given in honor of all the ministries and organizations of our parish, and where an auction for individual breads will take place. This is one of the most enjoyable traditions in our Greek Orthodox Church.
In remembrance of St. Basil’s placing of coins in his breads, a single coin is baked into each Vasilopita, with the recipient of the coin enjoying special blessings throughout the New Year.
Remember, we don’t say “good luck” in the church – we say “blessings!”
Please enjoy a blessed remainder of 2016. Our New Year’s Eve-Eve Party is shaping up to be a wonderful gathering (thank you Barbara Hillas), and next week I look forward to sharing some thoughts about the coming celebration of Theophany and our practice of House and Business Blessings.
Happy New Year and God Bless,
Fr. Anthony

“For a man’s complete sanctification, the body of the servant of the Lord must be united with the Body of Christ, and this is accomplished in the Mystery of Holy Communion. The true Body and the true Blood of Christ which we receive become part of the great Body of Christ.” – St. John the Wonderworker

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christ is Born!
Glorify Him!
Very recently, I attended our youngest son’s Christmas Program at school: the ritual where children are rapidly paraded on and off the stage while familiar songs about toys, reindeer and snow are enthusiastically presented in between the shuffle of one grade to another.
Like every other parent in attendance, I was there, primarily to see my own child sing; not the other 629 kids who were performing the same songs I sang as an elementary student. This was evident, witnessing the auditorium thin out as the program progressed, and the only spots in the house that continued to be popular were the front rows and side aisles where parents recorded their children’s two songs.
I also had iPhone in hand, ready to capture these brief moments of holiday cheer. The only problem was that, once again, Dimitri was in the back row on the far-right side, nearly blocked completely from my view. And further still, the little girl in front of him, wore a Santa hat that bounced up and down, making it even harder to get a proper visual.
I share this experience because I realize that a visual connection and proper perspective is imperative to connection and complete understanding. In a way, the same can be said in understanding worship.
In the wisdom of the Church, the bishop or priest celebrating the Divine Liturgy does so with his back facing the congregation of the faithful. This practice was not established to set the celebrant apart from the assembly of worshippers; quite the opposite. The bishop or priest has his back to the parish because he is facing the same direction as the parish. He leads in worship. He celebrates the Divine Liturgy with you, not at you.
But admittedly, there are great numbers of the faithful whose understanding of the Divine Liturgy might eventually stall since there is a lack of…visual and perspective.
So…with every church service, I’m like the kid in the Santa hat blocking your view of what you “came to see.” That is, the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.
So to offer an opportunity to grant that perspective and unveil the mystery of what takes place in the altar, before and during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, we have designated Sunday, January 8th as our first Teaching Divine Liturgy.
There are many things that will be different about the divine services on that day. These (extremely temporary) alterations to our traditional practices include:

• The Orthros will begin at 8:15 am and will be celebrated in a normal fashion.
• At 9:15 am, when Orthros usually begins, I will pray, out loud, the Kairos (preparatory) Prayers and the Vesting Prayers. While Vesting, I will explain the different parts of the priest’s vestments regarding their symbolism and purpose.
• We will then do the preparation of the Gifts or Proskomede Service. This will be conducted outside of the altar and in full view of all who are in attendance. This is the service where we take the bread and wine offering and place them, in a detailed and beautiful manner, in the chalice and on the paten. This is one of the most beautiful and meaningful services of the church.
• Before the Divine Liturgy begins at 10:15, I will offer a brief commentary on the service itself. This will be a day of education and worship.
• Sunday School classes, beginning with 4th Grade will remain in church for this unique learning experience.
• The Divine Liturgy will be celebrated outside of the altar, and I will be facing you the entire time so that you can see everything that is done, and how it is done.
• Every inaudible prayer will be recited out loud so that you can experience the flow of the Divine Liturgy in a comprehensive way.
• Following the Teaching Divine Liturgy, I will offer some closing statements and in lieu of a sermon, I will take questions about anything that was seen or experienced during the service.

Please do not be confused by the intentions of this service. I am not advocating for liturgical reform, and that the celebrant should always face the congregation, and that every Divine Liturgy must be transformed into a teaching lab. My didactic purpose is to grant an experience of learning through, as I’ve stated, a different perspective and an opportunity to be visually involved throughout the entirety of the service.
I would highly recommend that you attend the services beginning with the Kairos and Vesting. Once you have seen the spiritual process from beginning to end, your experience of the Divine Liturgy will never be the same.
This is a completely transformative experience!
As the above quote from St. John the Wonderworker states, the purpose of the Eucharist is for the sanctification of humankind. And in the Orthodox Church, The Divine Liturgy is the setting in which the Eucharist is celebrated, prepared and offered. Please take this opportunity to see, perhaps for the first time in your life, the fullness of sanctity through the gift of the Eucharistic Banquet!
With Much Love in Christ Who is to be Born in a Cave and Lain in a Manger,
Fr. Anthony

“Prepare, O Bethlehem. Let the manger make ready and the grotto anticipate. The truth has come and the shadow has passed away. Born of a Virgin, God has appeared to men, taking our form and deifying that which He assumed. Therefore Adam and Eve are renewed, and they cry out, “The good pleasure of God has appeared on earth for the salvation of the human race.” – Hymn of the First Royal Hour”

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is Born!
Glorify Him!

I pray that as we come ever so close to the divine mystery of Christ’s holy Nativity – His birth, we are beginning to feel the spirit of the holiday. Not the spirit of the Holidays, that is parties, shopping, decorations, lights, and such. Not that these festive elements are negative in any way, but we are on the precipice of the greatest gift ever to have been received from the hand of God.

This gift is greater than life itself. His precious birth sets in motion all that is fantastic and wondrous, as God dwells among us. He who created us, is now “Us.” We are now Him. The heavenly and the earthly are indiscernible and connected from this day. Glory be to God!

Integral to our full connection in the wonder of Christmas is our participation in the divine services of the Church. Most often, especially in our American culture, that means we come to church on Christmas Eve, participate in the Divine Liturgy, receive Holy Communion, and enjoy the next morning under the tree, ripping through wrapping paper.

But every so often…every few years, these plans change. Or, at least they should.

This year, the Feast of the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ According to the Flesh (fancy theological term for Christmas) falls on a Sunday. What does this mean to us from a practical and liturgical perspective?

A great deal.

With Christmas falling on a Sunday, that means that the doctrinal precedence of the day is still reserved for the Day of the Lord – His Resurrection. Please remember that every Sunday Liturgy is a commemoration of Pascha! Every Sunday is Easter Sunday, according to the Church.

This is why we will not celebrate the Divine Liturgy on Christmas Eve, but rather chant Great Vespers for Saturday Evening, which will include hymns, prayers and readings for Christmas. So we are clear:

There is no Communion offered on Christmas Eve this year.

This brings me to the explanation of the other service that we will celebrate this year, differently than most years. On Friday, December 23rd at 9:30 am, we will read and chant the Royal Hours for the Nativity. Services of the Hours are part of the daily cycle of worship in the Orthodox Church. They can precede most any service. The Services of Royal Hours are specifically reserved for only three times each year; Before the Nativity (December 25th), Before Theophany (January 6th) and on Great and Holy Friday.

The designation of these being “Royal Hours” stems from the tradition that in the great cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the Byzantine Emperor was present each year at the service beginning the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. Therefore, the Hours before Christmas Eve are given the name “Royal Hours.”

I paternally advise you to attend this service. It is so beautiful.

The Royal Hours before Christmas give us an intimate perspective concerning the birth of Our Lord: the venality of Herod who fears being supplanted; Joseph’s fear of disgrace; Mary’s faith, which leads her to inspire Joseph—and us—with words like “mystery” and “wonder” to describe the event she does not fully understand but has fully accepted.

This is a service primarily comprised of Scriptural readings from both the Old and New Testament.
There is no Communion offered during the Royal Hours before Christmas.
That said (and I’ve said a lot), if you desire to receive the Eucharist on the Feast of the Nativity, and I earnestly pray that you do, then the time to come is on the morning of Sunday, December 25th. You know, just like every other Sunday!
Please refer to the attached Holiday Schedule and attend whenever possible.
As the old lapel pin says, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.”
I hope to see you in church on Christmas Morning. With great anticipation in the coming of our Lord, and with love in Christ, I remain,

In His Service,
Fr. Anthony

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Tonight, the faithful community of St. Anna’s enjoyed a most blessed evening. We came together, under the prayerful guidance of His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver to celebrate Great Vespers for the Conception of the Theotokos by her Mother, St. Anna. Beyond His Eminence, Fr. Elias Koucos and Fr. John Mahfouz for celebrating with us, I would like to thank the following for making the night so special. All of these people worked so hard to offer kind hospitality to our guests and to ourselves. For this evening’s reception, God bless:

Myra Shenk
Paulette Stagg
Beth Johnson
Penny Mills
Mary Feotis
Connie Cayias
Georgette Lowe
Ann Sasich
Tina Sergakis
Julie Steele
Liberty Mudrock (not just tonight, but every time we enjoy a cup of coffee).

Also…
Mary Yannias for Baking the Breads for the Artoclasia.

Yet, Also…
Sandra Zoolakis for decorating the hallways and the church.

And Finally…
Mary Simos and Connie Pantke worked hard to offer some hospitality tomorrow, following the Divine Liturgy, but both came down with illnesses this past week. They are in our prayers for comfort and improved health.

Our Parish Council had everything lovingly-organized in the Narthex and Leo, with his readers, chanted and a lovely service.

I have included everyone in this note from correspondence concerning the events of the evening. I ask your forgiveness if anyone was not recognized who may have helped. Please contact me if you know of anyone left off, I would like to acknowledge them.

Tomorrow, we will come together for the Divine Liturgy at the normal time to continue this commemoration. If you missed out this evening, please don’t deny yourself this spiritual blessing, to be touched by the Theotokos and her Mother, if you are able to participate.

With great joy and thanksgiving, I remain,

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony