St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

I trust and pray that you and your families are well. We are heading into the summer months with a full head of steam, and the activities that will be taking place at St. Anna’s in the coming months are quite staggering. We will soon be ending our Sunday School Year, our annual Golf Tournament will take place, our Philoptochos will host their Membership Tea (replace tea with margarita’s), we have a full calendar of Sacraments to be celebrated, I will be attending our Metropolis Summer Camp with some of our youth, our new St. Anna Retreat at 8,000 Feet is on the calendar, the Bi-Annual National Clergy/Laity Congress is around the corner, and we haven’t even mentioned the Feasts of Ascension or Pentecost, yet! I am positive that I am forgetting something.

But there is something else I am certainly not forgetting, that is the biggest, singularly important, and the most historically significant event of the summer: the archepastoral visit to St. Anna’s by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America during the weekend of July 13-14, 2024. His Eminence is coming for what is known in Greek as the Thyranoixia – or the formal opening of the doors of a new church. I hope that we can all appreciate the magnitude of His Eminence’s desire to be with us as we finally complete our two-year long construction efforts. It is not standard practice for the spiritual leader of our National Church to conduct such services. Sandy, Utah may be the center of our spiritual lives, but it’s not exactly center stage throughout America.

But we must always remember our own history: when St. Anna’s was formally recognized as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, it was the newly installed Archbishop Elpidophoros who granted what was his first Charter. We were the first parish he formally established. And when he was here in 2021 to visit our parish on the eve of our Parish Feast Day, he promised to come back to the church, once completed, and open our doors. We accomplished our goals, we honored our promises, and we built our church. And he, honoring his promise to us, is returning to finish what we started. God is so good. I am so incredibly humbled by the fact that all of this is taking place and becoming a reality. It is so generous of His Eminence to take the time to be with us.

Let us also celebrate that this will be the first opportunity for us to welcome our new, local hierarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Constantine of Denver, who will be coming with the Archbishop. And friend to our St. Anna community, His Grace Bishop Spyridon of Amastris is also expected to participate. Three Bishops – Wow!

The details of the weekend’s events are quickly forming and will be communicated them to you very soon. Let us give thanks to our loving God, Who has made all these things possible, and let me give thanks to you, the visionary and generous parishioners of St. Anna’s, who have worked tirelessly for all that we enjoy. 

Quite a summer, right?!?

With Love in our Risen Lord,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Please be aware that tomorrow morning, Sunday, April 14, we will take up a special collection for the benefit of the students and seminarians of our holy Metropolis of Denver, who are studying at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. Looking back at my years in theological school, it was a time of fervent faith, absolute dedication, joyful anticipation, diligent work, and a deep longing to serve Christ, and His Bride, the Church.

But like any other student in a graduate school setting, the financial challenges are daunting and plentiful. I am grateful that our Bishop Constantine is mindful of the challenges which our budding servant-leaders face, and extends to them a lifeline, through all our generosity, to ease the burdens. There will be a special collection basket placed in the exit of the narthex as we depart from the Divine Liturgy. Please be mindful of the sacrificial lives these students have chosen and honor the calling which they have received.

Anything offered in prayerful participation will be greatly appreciated.

With Love in Christ, 

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Tomorrow marks the mid-way point of Great Lent. This the Third Sunday of Lent is themed and dedicated to the precious and life-giving Cross.

The commemoration and ceremonies of the Third Sunday of Lent are closely parallel to the feast of the Veneration of the Cross (September 14). Not only does the Sunday of the Holy Cross prepare us for commemoration of the Crucifixion, but it also reminds us that the whole of Lent is a period when we are crucified with Christ.

As we have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24), and will have mortified ourselves during these forty days of the Fast, the precious and life-giving Cross is now placed before us to refresh our souls and encourage us who may be filled with a sense of bitterness, resentment, and depression. The Cross reminds us of the Passion of our Lord, and by presenting to us His example, it encourages us to follow Him in struggle and sacrifice, being refreshed, assured, and comforted. In other words, we must experience what the Lord experienced during His Passion – being humiliated in a shameful manner. The Cross teaches us that through pain and suffering we shall see the fulfillment of our hopes: the heavenly inheritance and eternal glory.

As they who walk on a long and hard way and are bowed down by fatigue find great relief and strengthening under the cool shade of a leafy tree, so do we find comfort, refreshment, and rejuvenation under the Life-giving Cross, which our Fathers “planted” on this Sunday. Thus, we are fortified and enabled to continue our Lenten journey with a light step, rested and encouraged.

Or, as before the arrival of the king, his royal standards, trophies, and emblems of victory come in procession and then the king himself appears in a triumphant parade, jubilant and rejoicing in his victory and filling those under him with joy, so does the Feast of the Cross precede the coming of our King, Jesus Christ. It warns us that He is about to proclaim His victory over death and appear to us in the glory of the Resurrection. His Life-Giving Cross is His royal scepter, and by venerating it we are filled with joy, rendering Him glory. Therefore, we become ready to welcome our King, who shall manifestly triumph over the powers of darkness.

The present feast has been placed in the middle of Great Lent for another reason. The Fast can be likened to the spring of Marah whose waters the children of Israel encountered in the wilderness. This water was undrinkable due to its bitterness but became sweet when the Holy Prophet Moses dipped the wood into its depth. Likewise, the wood of the Cross sweetens the days of the Fast, which are bitter and often grievous because of our tears. Yet Christ comforts us during our course through the desert of the Fast, guiding and leading us by His hand to the spiritual Jerusalem on high by the power of His Resurrection.

Moreover, as the Holy Cross is called the Tree of Life, it is placed in the middle of the Fast, as the ancient tree of life was placed in the middle of the garden of Eden. By this, our Holy Fathers wished to remind us of Adam’s gluttony as well as the fact that through this Tree has condemnation been abolished. Therefore, if we bind ourselves to the Holy Cross, we shall never encounter death but shall inherit life eternal.

As we celebrate this commemoration, it is a great blessing that we will do so during Godparent Sunday at St. Anna’s. Having our spiritual children surrounding us, receiving Communion together, and sharing the day with our extended families is a reminder of God’s loving kindness towards us. As the Holy Spirit places these sacred relationships before us, we partake of His love through those whom inspire us to keep, protect, and live our Orthodox Christian Faith. God bless the godchildren, godparents, sponsors and spiritual families of our St. Anna parish!

With Much Love in Christ,

Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter