St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Having just celebrated the Dormition or Falling Asleep of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, the Church remains this great mystery in our hearts as the official Leave Taking of the Feast is on August 23rd. In the continued spirit of this great Festival, I would like to share an article on the Dormition that I very much enjoyed and appreciated. Written by Dr. Philip Kariatsis, Sub-Dean and Associate Professor of Theology at St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College in Sydney, Australia, it brilliantly describes the grand themes, and delicate subtilties of the falling asleep of the Mother of God.

Enjoy… 

Without doubt in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, “our glorious Lady Theotokos,” has a pre-eminent place in the life of the Orthodox Church. The month of August, for example, is dedicated to the Virgin Mother, not to mention other great feasts that are celebrated throughout the entire liturgical year. Not only do we celebrate the Dormition (or Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos[1] in August, but there are Supplication Services which are held every day in the first two weeks of this month leading to the great feast, as well as the designated period of fasting which the Church has prescribed. This betrays both the great devotion attributed to the blessed Mother personally by the faithful of the Church throughout the ages—and rightly so, since we read in the Gospel according to St Luke: “Surely, from now on, all generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48)—and the extent to which her person has infused Orthodox spirituality.

In celebrating the Dormition (or “Falling Asleep”) of the Mother of God, it is very often thought that the Church honors the ‘end’ of Mary’s life. Looking however at the various hymns ascribed to this day, we discover that it is the very beginning of her life that is celebrated—namely, her entrance into eternal blessedness! This inexplicable and wondrously paradoxical notion of death as entrance into life permeates the entire hymnology of this significant Feast Day: The Vesperal hymns, for example, begin with, “Marvel at the wondrous paradox  [Ὤ τοῦ παραδόξου θαύματος…], the fount of our life has been laid within a tomb; [and yet] her tomb has become a ladder to heaven above.”[2] Moreover, in the dismissal hymn [Apolytikion] of the Feast, the Church sings: “In your falling asleep, O Theotokos… you were transported to life [Ἐν τῇ κοιμήσει… μετέστης πρὸς τὴν ζωήν].”[3]

In depicting the events leading to Mary’s dormition, the Doxastikon of the Orthros Service begins with this seemingly non-sensical notion that, in the case of the Virgin Mother, death, is “deathless”: “At you deathless Dormition [Τῇ ἀθανάτῳ σου Κοιμήσει…], O Theotokos and Mother of Life, clouds caught the Apostles up into the air; and, from being dispersed throughout the world, they were reunited before your immaculate body.”[4] In observing this important Feast Day to the Theotokos, we see that death becomes the means through which the Virgin Mother truly lives. It is precisely for this reason, that the Dormition is cause for celebration, cheer, merriment, and solemn joy since we see the reality of life beyond the grave.  

Reflecting a little further we see that, whereas death and life are irreconcilable notions for the world, for our Virgin Mother, on the other hand, death is but a gateway through which she enters into the unfading and resplendent Light of eternity; there, to be forever reunited with her Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Indeed, there, forever to pray on our behalf to her Son and Saviour of the world for the salvation of our souls. The profoundly beautiful Doxastikon of Vespers—sung in all the eight tones of Byzantine chant—asks:

as you now live forever with the life-bearing King who is your Son, intercede unceasingly [πρέσβευε διηνεκῶς], that He may guard us, your children, and that He may save us from every hostile assault, since we are under your protection.[5]

If by the Cross of Jesus Christ, and his resurrection from the dead, death is conquered and the victory of undying life is universally bestowed upon the world, in the person of the Virgin Mother we behold this abiding and boundless gift of unending blessedness personally received, embraced and appropriated by Mary in her life. Indeed, having lived her entire life in the presence of, and united—heart and soul—with her Son and Savior, her “death” was shown to be a final passageway, a culminating moment for that which she truly longed—forever to be with her Son and Savior of the world.   

The Feast Day of the Dormition is a most compelling reminder of the hope with which we too are called to live, in this transient and fleeting life. In the same way that, in the case of the Virgin Mother, death was experienced as life, so too can this become our experience as well in our “final” moments here on earth. That is to say, in having the Mother of God as our pre-eminent example in this life—to the extent that She truly embodies what it means to live a Christ-loving and Christ centered life—we too are able to live with the future hope of our Lord’s gift and promise of unending life to us, to the extent, of course, that we truly desire and seek to live by His love—in all that we do—in this life.

Through her “death,” the Virgin Mother provides the much-needed confidence and conviction that death can in fact become an act of truly living for all. What’s more, death need not be understood as that harrowing moment when we are plunged into soul-destroying darkness and horrifying non-existence; on the contrary, our physical death, as it was for our Virgin Mother, so it can become for us, a passageway into life and into our Lord’s eternal kingdom where His loving presence and embrace will forever reign; and where His unfading and resplendent light with eternally shine.

The saints of the Church, for whom Christ was literally, truly everything—and here we are reminded of St Porphyrios who would often say, “ὁ Χριστός εἶναι τό πᾶν [Christ is everything]”—death was precisely seen in these terms. And so, for example, St Ignatius the God-bearer (d. ca 110AD), upon his impending death, urged his disciplines not to prevent him from dying at his impending martyrdom. In accord—one could say—with the Virgin Mary’s vision of death, in his letter to the Romans, St Ignatius wrote in a profoundly powerful way about death as true life:

hinder me not from living, do not wish to keep me in a state of death; and while I desire to belong to God, do not give me over to the world. Allow me to obtain the pure light [μὴ ἐμκοδίσητέ μοι ζῆσαι, μὴ θελήσητέ με ἀποθανεῖν τὸν Θεὸν θέλοντα εἶναι, κόσμῳ μὴ χαρίσητε. Ἄφετέ με καθαρὸν φῶς λαβεῖν]. [6]

It is precisely for this reason that, in quietly pondering the significance of the Dormition, may we be reminded of, and discern, the “deathlessness of death”; may we be overcome with an intense sense of calm and serenity; joy and blessedness; delight and radiance, beholding death not as a departure and farewell, but, in the case of the Mother of God, her entrance—and by extension ours as well—into the gift of eternal blessedness and life everlasting. In the end, may we also be emboldened to behold death not as separation and rupture but union with Christ and His kingdom. 

---

[1] Even though the historical origins of the feast are vague, already before 500AD, it was being celebrated on the 15 August. It was in the seventh century, that the Byzantine Emperor Maurice officially designated 15 August as the day for celebrating the Dormition of the Theotokos.

[2] The first of the ‘Automela’ hymns in the Vespers on the eve of 15 August sung immediately after «Κύριε ἐκέκραξα πρὸς σε, εἰσάκουσόν μου…», “Lord, I have cried to You; hear me…”. Cited in https://dcs.goarch.org/goa/dcs/h/s/2024/08/14/ve/gr-en/index.html (accessed 13 August 2024).

[3] Apolytikion of the Feast. Cited in https://dcs.goarch.org/goa/dcs/h/s/2024/08/14/ve/gr-en/index.html (accessed 13 August 2024).

[4] Doxastikon of the Orthros Service of the Feast sung immediately before the Great Doxology.

[5] The part of the Doxastikon of the Vespers Service of the Feast cited is that excerpt which is sung in the plagal fourth tone.

[6] St Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Roman 6,PG 5: 692BC.

With Much Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I pray you are all enjoying a blessed and amazing day. As we approach the final weekend of July, let us turn our prayerful attention to our preparations for the Dormition of the Theotokos. We have continued to plan the Paraklesis Services to be outside, as in our past few years. However, please be advised, and I hope you are not disappointed, that we are moving the services for at least the first week of the Fast back inside the church.

My family and I will be out of town from July 30th through August 9, as we participate in our Project Mexico home build, then spend a couple days in San Diego doing, well, NOTHING! While it is completely rare for a priest to be out of town as the Dormition Fast begins, with all of our other activities of the Summer (Camp Emmanuel, Clergy/Laity, Finalized Construction, Thyranoixia and hosting three Hierarchs), we had to choose the latest building slot.

The weather is still going to be hot, and I don’t feel right asking Fr. Elias to move the church outdoors. He is most helpful and gracious enough, no need to pile on additional tasks. We will play it by ear and move our Paraklesis Services outdoors if and when comfortable and appropriate. That said, I really do enjoy praying these services out in our garden. 

I would also like to thank others who were not properly mentioned last week for their financial support of our Thyranoixia Weekend. Steve & Elaina Simos and Bruce & Shari Lindsay were instrumental in our successful events. Bruce was also most helpful as our volunteer Public Relations Director, as he wrote and sent press releases to all local media concerning our Opening.

And wow, we enjoyed wonderful coverage! 

Tomorrow, directly following the Divine Liturgy, we will pray for our Project Mexico Team. Our Mission Team consists of 16 people, primarily comprised of St. Anna parishioners, with one from Holy Trinity Cathedral. This is the third time our parish has sent a team to Project Mexico, and the fifth time we have supported a complete home build. Please keep us in your personal prayers as well; that we arrive and return safely, and that our work site will be without incident. The work isn’t dangerous, per se, but it is an active construction site with the possibility of injury constantly lurking. 

And most especially, please pray for the families who receive the homes that we build, and the families who await such a gift. We will not cure poverty in a week, but to the Glory of God, we will lessen its grip for a single, worthy family.  

Lastly, since this message is turning out to be more a string of announcements than a pastoral letter, we have established the beginning of our St. Anna Sunday School Year to begin Sunday, September 8th, 2024. This is later than we wanted, but again, this summer has been uniquely busy. Registration is upon us. We look forward to our young people once again, engaging in their spiritual formation and faithful education. God bless our teachers, administration and students!!!

See you tomorrow at the Divine Liturgy. Enjoy the rest of this lovely day. I remain,

With Much Love in XC,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am so grateful to address you following the momentous occasion of our Thyranoixia. The parish council and I thought it important to respond to the Archbishop’s three-year-old promise to return to St. Anna’s and open the doors of our finished church. Perhaps he did not think it would be done this quickly. To be sure, I didn’t imagine that the entire building would be done this quickly! Nevertheless, there we stood, and here we are. 

But my beloved in the Lord, we are now ready to turn our past construction project into its intended purpose: a source of healing, a place of comfort, a protection against evil, a gathering place for the Faithful, a beacon of hope, a witness to glory, a backdrop of fellowship, and primarily, our house of worship.

Well done, good and faithful servants. Enter into the glory of your Lord. 

So now that we have celebrated the opening of the St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church, let us turn to St. Anna, Herself. Remember? Her Feast is right around the corner.

We decided to forego a parish picnic this year (for the glaringly obvious reason of just having celebrated two, massive banquets) and are left with the liturgical commemorations that come with the season. Next week, we will have three, glorious days dedicated to our Matron Saint:

Wednesday, July 24th at 5:00 pm Great Vespers and Artoclasia (Blessing of Five Loaves) for the Feast of the Dormition of St. Anna, the Ancestor of Christ.

Thursday, July 25th, Orthros at 9:00 am followed by the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Dormition of St. Anna, the Ancestor of Christ.

Friday, July 26th at 7:00 pm, Monthly Paraklesis to St. Anna, our Matron Saint and Protectress of our Community. 

It is so important that we come together and worship during these sacred days – especially on Thursday morning, if at all possible. C’mon Folks, it’s our Name Day!!!

Now, turning back to the events of last weekend, when you read this week’s Bulletin, you will see a list of thank you’s for so many of you, who made the weekend the flawless string of events that it was. Really, every hierarch said it, every visiting priest said it, hopefully you feel the same way, it really could not have gone more smoothly. The months of preparation and our respect for every detail certainly paid off. And to all you, I am grateful. 

And to everyone who came and participated, I thank you. When I first published the “save the date” flyer, I couldn’t help but wonder, will our people be able to come? It will be hot. Families will be traveling, there is a neighboring Greek Festival…reason after reason…will we turn out?” And there you were, a packed church (with the additional seating installed) for both Vespers and the Liturgy. Thank you for recognizing the historical significance and the spiritual benefit of our gathering. 

I would also like to thank our benefactors and underwriters for the weekend. Hosting the visiting hierarchs and archdeacon in our city and welcoming the multitudes for non-ticketed banquets can add up to a significant, unbudgeted amount. The numbers are not final, for travel expenses are still unsent, but there are two realities at play here: firstly, we were able to celebrate these events with a lower cost than expected. Secondly, the generosity of our parish continued to shine in preparation for these events. The parish received over $25,000 in financial and in-kind contributions. I would like to thank the following individuals and companies for their much-appreciated assistance:

Presto Print

Starks Funeral Parlor

The St. Anna Philoptochos

The St. Anna Parish Council

The St. Anna Men’s Ministry

The Fishing Net Collection from our Parish Retreat

Leo and Ludmila Davis

Jane Anne Hartford

Pam Martinez

Dn. John and Julie Kavas

George Karpakis

Reinje Corbett

Elaine Zambos

Jonathan and Georgia Man

Kevin Flanagan

Beverly Bartel

Dr. Charles and Elizabeth Beck

Joe and Ann Sasich

Sloane Benson

Jon and Brandee Mau

Joe and Myra Varanakis

Charles and Chris Deneris

Chris and Suzanne Gamvroulas

Fr. Anthony and Andrea Savas

Steve and Myra Shenk

Chris and Irene Petrogeorge

Chris and Heidi Gounaris

Elias and Rose Pylidis

Kent and Jannette Knolwley

Dean Dinas

Chris and Joanne Dokos

Steven and Sylvia Manios

Everyone who contributed to the free-will offerings

If I have left anyone off of this list, please contact me personally. I would be remiss in not recognizing your love and generosity. In the middle of the summer, when contributions universally dip, you all responded aboundingly to the call. There will be a minimal hit to the overall operating budget of our parish because of your efforts to underwrite much of the weekend. 

For many years, you have listened to my words, read my emails, heard my announcements, and have endured the realities of acquiring property and building a church. I trust and pray, that all of those communications included what is important: Christ. His Church. His Ministry. His Building. His Gospel. His Saving Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection. Now, there are no words left in terms of construction (except for a few, lingering details, here and there). 

There is now only: Christ. His Church. His Ministry. His Building. His Gospel. His Saving Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection – and how these bedrock Truths will save the people. We are officially onto and into the next chapter of this young community’s history. We are quickly approaching our Ten-Year Anniversary. What will those ten years look like? Who will we serve? Who will we help? How many will learn to bow down to the Triune God and witness the glory? How many will be introduced to the sacramental life of the Church? Who will be touched by the Holy Spirit? 

Lastly, please permit me to express my gratitude for serving as your priest. Nine years ago, my family moved back home to Salt Lake City to minister to a new, mission parish that was filled with joy, faith, anticipation, and an infectious welcoming spirit. Every moment serving you has been a tremendous honor and has been spiritually inspired. I love, respect and treasure every individual and family attached to St. Anna’s. Thank you for your patience, guidance and support of my ministry in Christ, here in your midst.

Past ten years…wow.

Next ten years…future-wow! 

With an Abundance of Blessings and Gratitude,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter