Month: June 2026

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is with great joy that I announce the appointment of Mrs. Sophia Hennen as St. Anna’s first Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. Sophie brings an incredible wealth of youth work, spiritual development, education, and enthusiasm to her new position, and I am thrilled to begin working with her in a more formal setting. Already deeply involved in many aspects of life here at St. Anna, Sophie’s involvement with our children and young adults will just be an extension of her life dedicated to her service of Christ. 

Sophie, her husband, Caleb and their six children, Elsie, Elin, Adelade, Gwendeline, Eva and Michael are active and vibrant members of our parish family and have captured our hearts since coming to the parish. Sophie, along with their older daughters sing in the choir, while Caleb plays the organ as we recess from church. In her former religious tradition, Sophie held many responsible positions in youth ministry and children’s religious education. However, I believe that being the mom of six young children, being raised in a vibrant Orthodox Christian home is experience enough! Everything else is icing on the cake.

In congratulating, thanking, and welcoming Sophie, I would also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who applied for the position. The other candidates all had unique and distinguishable talents that would have warranted their hire, and I am deeply appreciative for the demonstrated interested in bringing our children and young adults closer to Christ, His Church, and to each other. 

Sophie will be coordinating efforts between our JOY, GOYA, YAL, Sunday School, Local Retreats, Vacation Bible School, Oratorical Festival, Camp Emmanuel, Metropolis Basketball Tournament, University of Utah Campus Ministry, and Altar Boys – working with the fine volunteers who are in charge of these programs at the local level.

She will be engaged in the collective vision of youth and young adult ministry, organizing their calendar of events, developing programs, and identifying the:

fun, cool, exciting, and awesome ways that our young people can know, love, serve and celebrate Christ.  

Please, everyone, join me in praying for her strength, energy and patience. And most especially, pray for the young people whom she will serve, together with their parents and families.

We are incredibly blessed that she made herself available to answer this calling. Again, Congratulations, and God Bless Sophie! I remain,

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Praying you are all well, I am so thankful to greet you in the lingering glow of Holy Pentecost. The Spirit has been sent. The Trinity is fully experienced. The presence of God shall never again be removed, hidden, concealed or separated from us. Glory to God for His generosity toward us and for His love for us; those which endure forever.

Last Sunday, we enjoyed the reading of the Kneeling Prayers – those declarative celebrations of the presence of the Holy Spirit, recited at the Vespers for the Monday of the Holy Spirit. During those three, prayers, we, as is the custom, knelt in the church in awe of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

On Sunday mornings, during the Epclisis Prayers of the Divine Liturgy, the time when we, in humility and anticipation, call upon the Holy Spirit to transform our bread and wine offering into the precious Body and Blood of the Christ, we are accustomed to kneeling. This is precisely why we placed the little black kneeling pads in the book racks of the nave. This is why Greek Orthodox churches throughout this country, have kneelers on the backs of pews, so they can be dropped down and knelt upon during this time of the Divine Liturgy. This has been the generally accepted practice in our Archdiocese since the 1950’s.

My beloved in the Lord, I do not need to tell you that from an Orthodox Christian perspective of time passage, the 1950’s is as if a half hour has passed. Though this has been the practice for a couple generations here in America, it does not mean that it was a correct practice. Last month, His Eminence Metropolitan Constantine of Denver sent a directive to the priests of the Metropolis instructing us that we return to the canonical and historic practice of standing during this part of the Divine Liturgy.

Here is some historical context:

Standing during the Epiclisis was first formally discussed at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea – May 325 AD. With nearly 300 hierarchs and clergy present, and in the presence of Emperor Constantine, this is where it was affirmed in the beginning stages.  

Canon 20 of the First Council of Nicaea

Forasmuch as there are certain persons who kneel on the Lord’s Day and in the days of Pentecost, therefore, to the intent that all things may be uniformly observed everywhere, it seems good to the holy Synod that prayer be made to God standing

To reaffirm this, it was again addressed in the 7^th century by Paul III of Constantinople and in the presence of Emperor Justinian II, with around 200 hierarchs and clergy present.

Canon 90 of the Quinisext Council (Trullo, 692)

We have received it canonically from our God-bearing Fathers not to bend the knee on Sundays.  Therefore, after entering the holy altar on Saturday evening, at the beginning of the Lord’s Day, we offer our prayers to God standing, until Sunday evening.

Here is some practical context:

When I look back on the innocent spiritual development of my youth, my first memories of sacred church music are while I was kneeling in the church, on Sundays. With my head buried in my arms, I would look forward to the choir soloist, our own Billy Poulos, singing the crowing apex of the hymn. I couldn’t see her. I was a little kid, so I didn’t know her. I did not need to see or know her, I attentively listened to her while offering my prayers to God, thanking him for “making Communion,” as I was instructed to do. 

So, I realize that our young tradition of kneeling on Sunday mornings is baked into many of our spiritual experiences. This might be a difficult adjustment for some. It will be a barely noticeable detail for many. Regardless of our innocent indifference, or our hard-wired desire to kneel down in prayer, His Eminence has asked us (well, more like instructed us) to make this change and return to what was intended since the early 4th century. 

And so that I’m clear, the kneeling pads will remain in the church. We are still encouraged to kneel in prayer during WEEKDAY LITURGIES. This entire discussion concerns Sunday Morning only. 

To be honest, while this may seem like an unimportant detail, hardly worth the effort of disrupting our local traditions or confusing the Faithful, I support and applaud the efforts of His Eminence to reintroduce consistency and uniformity within the liturgical practices of our sacred Metropolis. When it comes to our salvation, there are no details that are unimportant or practices that are vague. We will get used to this together.

Lastly, please know that I am not going to interrupt the Divine Liturgy by making any real-time announcements concerning kneeling/not kneeling. I hope that our people will read this, respond accordingly, and that this transition will be made smoothly and naturally. I remain,

With Love in XC,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter