Year: 2016

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Very soon, we will be celebrating the Nativity of Christ – the special time when God’s plan of salvation takes on flesh, enters our existence, walks amongst us, and pulls us from the jaws of certain death. We must always remember, of course, that without the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, there would not be a Nativity of Christ to celebrate. And by obvious extension, without St. Anna, there is no Theotokos. Therefore, let us most enthusiastically share in a joyous celebration; that of the conception of the Theotokos, commemorated December 9th. The blessing that was given to Ss. Joachim and Anna is a sacred gift to the world. It is written of this most solemn feast:

“Saint Anna, the mother of the Virgin Mary, was the youngest daughter of the priest Nathan from Bethlehem, descended from the tribe of Levi. She married Saint Joachim (September 9), who was a native of Galilee.

For a long time Saint Anna was childless, but after twenty years, through the fervent prayer of both spouses, an angel of the Lord announced to them that they would be the parents of a daughter, Who would bring blessings to the whole human race.

The Orthodox Church does not accept the teaching that the Mother of God was exempted from the consequences of ancestral sin (death, corruption, sin, etc.) at the moment of her conception by virtue of the future merits of Her Son. Only Christ was born perfectly holy and sinless, as Saint Ambrose of Milan teaches in Chapter Two of his Commentary on Luke. The Holy Virgin was like everyone else in Her mortality, and in being subject to temptation, although She committed no personal sins. She was not a deified creature removed from the rest of humanity. If this were the case, she would not have been truly human, and the nature that Christ took from Her would not have been truly human either. If Christ does not truly share our human nature, then the possibility of our salvation is in doubt.”

In the icon, Saints Joachim and Anna are depicted with their eyes directed downwardly in humility, as they contemplate the Mother of God. Young Mary stands in the air with outstretched hands; under Her feet is the tree of the Garden of Eden from which Adam and Eve partook, and a man who personifies the devil which strives to conquer all the universe by his power. Through the conception of the Mother of God, the curse of the tree, and the power of Satan are crushed under the dainty step of a young maiden girl.

As I have often stated, this commemoration is one of the Feasts of our parish, as St. Anna is (most intimately) involved. Therefore, His Eminence will be with us for this occasion and remain to celebrate the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, December 11th.

May the Conception of the Mother of God continue to bless and inspire all of us to holiness, patience, trust, faith and humility.

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
– I Thess.5:18

On the eve of a most reflective and glorious day, I can say nothing more than the president who granted this Thanksgiving Day. Enjoy:

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.

They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

As His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver reminded us this past Sunday during his homily, Thanksgiving Day is the only National Holiday that is centered on God. We will do well to be grateful. Un unappreciative heart is a dark, cold place.

St. Gregory the Wonderworker says that “Ingratitude is despicable…the most despicable thing of all. For someone who has experienced something good not to try to return the favor, even if he can manage no more than verbal thanks, he must plainly be obtuse and insensitive to his benefits, or thoughtless.”

We have much for which to be grateful. I pray you enjoy the day most splendidly.

With Love and Gratitude in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas

ALSO PLEASE REMEMBER:

His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah and Dn. Paul Zaharas will be here for the Feast of the Conception of the Theotokos. This is one of the feasts of St. Anna, so it is a Feast Day of our parish. Please come and participate! These services remind us what a blessing it is to have THE mother of the Theotokos as our matron saint and intercessor before Christ.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8TH, 7:00 PM, GREAT VESPERS WITH ARTOCLASIA (BLESSING OF SWEET BREADS)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9TH, 9:30 AM ORTHROS, 10:30 AM DIVINE LITURGY
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11TH, 9:15 AM ORTHROS, 10:15 HIERARCHICAL DIVINE LITURGY

2016 STEWARDSHIP: PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR PLEDGE FOR THIS YEAR.

2017 STEWARDSHIP: PLEASE PICK UP, PRAY ABOUT, FILL IN, AND SEND BACK YOUR PLEDGE CARDS. WE WILL BLESS OUR STEWARDSHIP OFFERING UPON THE ALTAR ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4TH DURING THE DIVINE LITURGY.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS FESTIVE DISPLAY OF FALL COLORS.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

“Today, the most pure temple of the Savior, the precious bridal chamber and Virgin, the sacred treasure of God, enters the house of the Lord, bringing the grace of the Divine Spirit. The Angels of God praise her. She is the heavenly tabernacle.”
– Kontakion Hymn for the Entrance of the Theotokos (Into the Temple)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
A week from today, we as a Nation, and throughout individual households, will sit down, together with family, friends and loved ones to share a meal together. Though this happens every day and with little notice or attention, next Thursday’s dinner is not about the meal itself, or even the people, themselves, gathered around the table.
It won’t be an anniversary or a birthday that will bind the people through tradition. It’s not a feast day of the church or a religious holiday. Thanksgiving Day is grounded in the gratitude of the people for the foundation and preservation of our fine country. It’s a National Holiday; secular in design, though spiritual in foundation.
But early next week, while your neighbors are jotting down lists, exchanging recipes and borrowing extra folding chairs, we as Orthodox Christians have another commemoration of thanksgiving that will be celebrated. Children won’t act out this expression of thanksgiving in school plays, and there are no decorations to be found in stores which reflect this historical event.
Monday, November 21st, we celebrate the Feast of the Theotokos’ Entrance into the Temple. Through the Gospel (Protoevangelium) of St. James, authored by the brother of Jesus Christ, we are blessed with the details of the Theotokos’ birth and early life.
On this day, the Theotokos was brought to the Temple at three years of age, where she was consecrated to God and spent her days there until she was fourteen or fifteen years old.
When the Panaghia turned two years old, St. Ioakim, the father of the Theotokos, told St. Anna, “Let us take her up to the Temple of the Lord, so that we may pay the vow which we have vowed.” (Prot. James 7:2). In other words, “Since we are so thankful to God for giving us a child, we will dedicate her wholly and completely to His service.”
By Ss. Ioakim and Anna’s sincere gratitude towards God, the Theotokos lived an undistracted life of virtue, chastity, prayer and righteousness. She dwelt in His holy dwelling place until she was of age to be betrothed to the noble Joseph. Ultimately petitioned by God to bear His Son, she brought to fruition, His plan of salvation for the entire human race.
It all began with thanksgiving.
The turn of events in our fallen world began with gratitude.
The scales of divine justice were tipped in our favor through appreciation.
God reintroduced goodness into the world, and we were thankful.
It is my fervent prayer that before we consider the historical events of Thanksgiving Day, and our contemporary traditions which orbit around it, we take the time to meditate upon the gratitude of Ss. Ioakim and Anna. They made a promise to God out of their appreciation of what He did for them.
And what He did for them, was a gift to us all – eternal life.
Be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!
With Love in XC,
Fr. Anthony