St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church

Dearly Beloved in the Lord,

I pray that as we have begun our Lenten Journey, the days have been fruitful and productive. To that end, I have taken an excerpt from the article “The Liturgical Cycle of the Great Lenten Period” by 

Rev. Pavlos Koumarianos, Ph.D. to serve as a useful resource in understanding the themes, services, hymns and prayers that will be offered during these sacred days. Enjoy! – Fr. Anthony

The Liturgy of Saint Basil and the Akathist

From the above list of the peculiarities of the liturgical life of Great Lent, we need to say that the first two, namely the Liturgy of Saint Basil and the Akathist are not purely Lenten idioms. In the Byzantine Church the liturgy of St. Basil was celebrated every Sunday and feast day of the whole year. It was the official Eucharistic Liturgy to be celebrated on a regular basis throughout the year. It is not clearly known why towards the end of the first quarter of the second millennium the Liturgy of Saint Basil was replaced by a liturgy attributed to Saint John Chrysostom. For the survival of celebrating Saint Basil’s liturgy during Lent, Baumstark says that it happened because of the conservative liturgical character of Lent. I would insist that two more reasons lead the Church to keep the Liturgy of Saint Basil during Lent: the intention of the Church to dedicate more time to prayer during Lent, as well as, the expressively doctrinal and educational character of the Liturgy of Saint Basil. The Church found the Lenten atmosphere of more dedicated devotion as a good opportunity to teach the faithful the dogma by making them listen to the profound and all-embracing theological elucidations of the Basilian Liturgy, especially the Anaphora.

As far as the Akathist is concerned, this is rather a interval in the compunctional and penitential character of Lent. The singing of the Akathist is not a part of the particular devotional atmosphere of Lent. It is rather related to the feast of the Annunciation, which always falls in the midst of Lent. Let us explain it having made an observation first: in the present day we celebrate Akathistos every Friday evening together with the service of Compline. Originally though, the Church sung the Akathistos in the Orthros of every Saturday of Lent. Thus the real question is why the Church established this practice to celebrate Akathistos every Saturday morning? The answer is the following: The period of Lent has a basic penitential and mournful character. Annunciation, though, is a great feast with a profoundly joyful character, and according to the Orthodox Liturgical Tradition, it should have its own pre-festal and post-festal joyful period.

However, the establishment of a joyful pre-festal and post-festal period for the feast of the Annunciation in the midst of Lent, would cause a certain disorder in the constant flow of the penitential attitude through the weeks of Lent. Nonetheless, it would neither be fair, nor pastorally good to leave the feast of the Annunciation without a pre-festal period of preparation and a post-festal period of celebration. How then could a pre and post festal period be established without damaging the penitential character of Lent? The solution was found in relationship to the fact that Saturdays and Sundays were already excluded from the penitential Lenten routine. Thus the Church used the celebration of the Saturday Orthros of Lent, in order to remind the faithful of the upcoming or just passed joyful feast of the Annunciation.

The Scriptural Readings of Great Lent

Then, after the explanation of the liturgical character of the first two elements, let us turn our attention to those liturgical elements which have a purely Lenten character.

The backbone of the organization of the 6 weeks of Great Lent is the system of readings and celebrations of the Saturdays and Sundays of Great Lent. The Gospel readings of the Saturdays and Sundays of Great Lent are taken from the Gospel of Saint Mark with one exception: the 1st Sunday of Lent, when the Gospel is taken from the Gospel according to Saint John. The Epistle readings are from Hebrews.

I think the reasons of this selection are obvious. As far the Gospels are concerned, Mark is the evangelist who presents Christ as the prototype of a Martyr, actually the unique, true and authentic Martyr. In view of the liturgical celebration of the passion of Christ during Holy Week, what else would be more suitable and appropriate than to read the Gospel that emphasizes the martyr character of Christ. As far as the Epistle readings are concerned, the Epistle to the Hebrews, is the Epistle that emphasizes the intercessional, mediatory and placatory role of Christ’s self-sacrifice: “For Christ has entered not into a sanctuary made with hands… but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. … He suffered once for all anticipating the end of all the worlds, in order to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. … So, Christ having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to appear for their salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for Him.” (Hebrews 9: 24-28 the Epistle reading of Saturday of the 5th week of Lent.)

Now, based on the readings, the Sundays of Lent are dedicated to a variety of themes, with which the spiritual stream of Lent flows naturally into the climate of Holy Week. Thus, according to the Gospel of the 1st Sunday, Philip calls Nathaniel to get to know Jesus personally. He calls him with the words “come and see”. The words of Philip are obviously an allusion to the visual character of Holy Icons. The 2nd Sunday is dedicated to the double healing of the paralytic, through the forgiveness of his sins followed by the restoration of his physical health. The relationship between this Gospel passage and the penitential character of Lent is obvious! The 3rd Sunday is dedicated to the self-denial, self-sacrifice and Cross, not of Christ, but of every faithful person who wants to follow Christ. The 4th Sunday’s gospel is the miracle of a healing of a demon-possessed young man. When the disciples asked Christ why they were not able to heal the boy, Christ in reply emphasizes the instrumental importance of Prayer and Fasting to the effect of getting rid of the evil powers.

There is nothing more relevant to the struggle of Fasting and the insistence on Prayer that constitute the main aspects of Lenten spirituality. Finally the 4th and the 5th Sundays’ readings contain preannouncements of Christ’s voluntary death on the cross, whereas the 5th also contains the lesson of humility and self-offering as a response to the selfish and naive worldly query of the disciples about “who is greater” among them. Let us add here that all these Sunday Gospel themes are the coninuation of the fundamental ideas proclaimed through the Gospel readings of the first 4 Sundays of the Triodion, the most significant among them being that of limitless love towards neighbors, which is expressed as an unconditional gift of forgiveness.

Sunday celebrations during Great Lent

However, as far as the Sundays of Lent are concerned, let us note here that in addition to the original connections of every Sunday to a Scriptural theme, later events in the history of the Church or further pastoral needs, gave to the Church the opportunity to connect every Sunday of Lent with some additional themes: the celebration of Orthodoxy on the 1st Sunday, the commemoration of Saint Gregory Palamas on the 2nd, the Veneration of the Cross on the 3rd, the veneration of Saint John the author of the Ladder on the 4th, and Saint Mary of Egypt on the 5th.

With these celebrations, the festal themes of every Sunday of Lent in their totality form an exposition of the aspects of theory and practice in the life of the Church as they celebrate and expose basic doctrinal and ascetical principles. However, let us note here that in the Sundays of Lent the doctrinal truths and the ascetical methods of the Church are not presented as theoretical and abstract intellectual concepts. Dogma is presented as history, as a dynamic achievement of human beings struggling to explore the Truth. It is not an abstract formulation of dogma that is presented, but a historical event, the triumph of the veneration of the holy icons, or a person, a theologian, like Saint Gregory Palamas, a Saint who became a theologian by his personal dedication to prayer and self-purification. The ascetic life and the practice of holiness are also presented as living experiences of real human persons. It is not the abstract notion of holiness that is presented to the faithful, but the persons of Saint John the Sinaite and Saint Mary of Egypt. And, finally, in the midst of Lent, both dogma and ethics are recapitulated in the veneration of the Cross of Christ!

Sacred Hymnology

As far as the hymnology and the services of the weekdays of Lent are concerned, things are more elaborated and the enrichment more intense. We could at least mention the penitential orientation of the hymns of this period. I think that it is here that the particular character of Lent is most obvious. The best example of this case could be the canon of Saint Andrew of Crete, inserted into the regular service of Great Compline of the first 4 days of the 1st week of Lent, as well as into the Orthros (Matins) of the Thursday of the 5th week.

The literal, spiritual, and theological content of the texts of hymns and prayers of Lent constitute an excellent school of self-knowledge. The highest conclusions of the psychology of depth and the best methods of psychotherapy look like lessons of elementary education in front of the healing power of the hymns, prayers and services of Great Lent, if they are used appropriately. In the hymns, prayers and patristic readings of this period all the hidden folds of the human soul are exposed to light.

The hymns of the Triodion teach us first about the consequences of sin. They describe the human soul as full of passions, sinful tendencies, spiritual weaknesses, psychological inclinations that go against the will of God almost naturally. In the Ascetic Literature, passions are sinful habits that serve, slavishly and almost naturally, the effective power of death and separation from God.

However, these hymns do not describe only the negative aspect of the human fall. They inspire also optimism and cheerfulness in the hope of the open possibility of return to God, the possibility of salvation through repentance. They tell us that if we want, we can fight against the passions and defeat them.

What is more important though is that this hymnology offers the healing experience of being a part of a communion of persons with bonds of authentic love: the Church. Through the Church as a communion of life, it is obviously manifested that spiritual weaknesses and sinfulness fall, and spiritual achievements and holiness are shown to have a character of commonality and are equally shared experientially by all. Nobody is alone or rejected in his/her failure in the Church, and the Saints do not form an elite group of people separated from the rest of the members of the Church’s body: the personal spiritual achievements of the Saints can be a benefit for and a gift to all the members of the Church. Saints and sinners are together members of the one holy body of Christ.

You learn then that you fail and fall, but not alone, because you fail and fall as a member of the Church, which means, that in spite of your personal sinfulness you are a part of the same body with the Saints, the angels, the Theotokos and finally Christ Himself. And Christ and the Saints take on their shoulders your weakness, making your falls their loving care, and allowing you to take part in their purity and holiness. Thus, even as a sinner, you are sanctified by grace, as long as you repent and fight and keep yourself in the Church.

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

In harmony with the just mentioned joyful and hopeful penitential character of the Lenten services and hymns is the most imposing Lenten liturgy: the liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts a unique expression of the pastoral wisdom of the Byzantine liturgical tradition, the pearl of Lenten devotion.

In the Byzantine times, the liturgy of the Presanctified was celebrated daily. In the spiritual struggle of Great Lent, the faithful needed more than ever the strengthening partaking of Holy Communion. Thus, by the celebration of the Presanctified the opportunity of receiving Holy Communion every day was given to the faithful.

It is very interesting though to observe the reasons why this communion takes place from presanctified gifts and there is no consecration in this service:

In order to have the consecration of the Gifts, you need to have this important part of the Eucharistic Liturgy that is called “Holy Anaphora”. The Holy Anaphora is the prayer with which the bread and the wine become the body and the blood of Christ in the Liturgy. If we compare the structures of a complete Eucharist with the service of the Presanctified we will notice that it is exactly the Anaphora which is missing. Why? The Anaphora is not only the consecration of the Gifts through the epiclesis, but before this it is the act of offering the Holy Gifts to God joyfully, praising Him triumphantly for the gift of our salvation.

The Anaphora, the act of offering the gifts to God, always had the cheerful and triumphant character of boldness and confidence before God. However, boldness and triumph do not fit with the penitential character of Lent. Thus, the wisdom of the holy fathers formulated the service of the Presanctified Gifts as a participation in the Eucharist but without the Anaphora, a Eucharist without thanksgiving and jubilation, a Eucharist that is rather a cry for help than a joyful acclamation: “O God set free our senses from deadly passions, let our eyes abstain from evil sights, our hearing from idle talk … purify our lips as they sing your praises, let our hands produce only works that are pleasing to You…” (1^st Prayer of the faithful of the Liturgy of the Presanctified). And this cry finds response and comfort in the self-giving love and grace of God. Holy Communion is finally given after the penitential and purifying course of prayers and hymns of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

Fasting and Devotion

The time does not allow us to move on to further analysis of other services and other aspects of Lenten devotion. I will finish with an observation on the historical evolution of Great Lent. We have already mentioned that it seems that the Church, through the centuries, in formulating the services of Lent, tried to add things to the already existing liturgical elements, as if she was trying to make this period of the liturgical year as heavy and more tiresome as possible! The Church maintained the Liturgy of Saint Basil for the Sundays of Lent, added Psalms and canons to the various services of the Liturgy of the Hours, used the Egyptian longer version of Compline, the Great Compline, instead of the regular Palestinian Compline, etc. The same can be observed with the practice of fasting. In the early centuries it was just two days of fast before Easter Sunday. The two days became a whole week later on. The whole week became three weeks in Rome in the 4th century. The three weeks became 5 weeks in Egypt in the 4th century. The 5 weeks became 6 in Antioch and Constantinople in the 4th century, in Jerusalem in the 5th century, in Alexandria in the 7th century. The monks of Palestine would fast for 8 weeks since the 4th century. In Constantinople, an 8th week of moderate fast was added during the 7th century. It is really hard to understand this increase of numbers of weeks of fasting, as well as the increase of length and number of prayers, hymns, prostrations and other liturgical practices.

The selfish and comfort-seeking spirit of the Western society would lead us to the opposite kind of acts: to try to cut short all the services and the days of the fast. However, this urge and willingness to suffer more and to be more patient, has always been a common and constant tendency of the Church. I think the explanation can be found in the words of Saint Ignatius, when he was trying to convince his friends in Rome not to do anything to spare him from going through the martyrdom, even if they had the power and the possibility to do so. Saint Ignatius, having used all sorts of arguments to convince them to allow him to be martyred, he concludes:

“Christ, my passionate love, has been crucified!”

I think this small sentence of Saint Ignatius says everything!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

God Bless!

The time has come. The hour has been received. The opportunity to respond to our Lord’s gift of salvation is at hand. Beginning with this Sunday evening, The period of Great Lent will begin for 2019. Let us not be like the foolish virgins referenced in the 25th chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel; locked out, unrecognized; discarded. They were late to the celebration for they were ill-prepared and while leaving to find oil for their lamps, the Bridegroom came, welcomed in the wise women, shut the door of the feast, then found those who wandered through the dark streets in vain, to be unworthy of entry.

Great Lent is the exact time to think of such a message. What shuts us out of the kingdom? What removes us from the sight of the Lord? Are we counted among those whom He does not recognize? Entering into an ascetic struggle, a heightened spiritual awareness, a stricter discipline of prayer, a more conscious awareness of needs around us, and committing to a deliberate attempt at the Fast will allow us to begin the process of attaining wisdom. The wise are saved. The foolish parish. Of course I don’t speak of the wise and foolish as pertaining to the intellect, but rather to the maturity of the soul.

The wise, in this sense, are aware of God’s gracious and longsuffering love towards them. And they respond in kind and with prayerful humility. The foolish depend on only themselves, not realizing that their every accomplishment is actually a blessing from the Lord. Their strengths are freely-given gifts from the hand of their Creator and their successes are allowances from above.

The wise are brought in. The foolish are left out. The wise are welcome. The foolish are sent away. The wise are beloved of the Lord. The foolish, though pitied, are rejected.

The rich and beneficial days of the Fast shape and contour our character, resolve, self respect and dedication. This is the process towards wisdom. This is the rejection of foolishness.

The foolish Virgins were shut out of the celebration for they did not demonstrate a true desire to be in the presence of the Bridegroom. Their words did not match their actions and their efforts fell short of their intentions. Please, as your pastor and spiritual father, I implore you not to make the same mistake as we approach our own entrance into the eternal celebration that is the Kingdom of Heaven.

This Kingdom is re-opened to us by a Savior who died for our sake, rose from the dead and lead us back through the gates of Paradise. This same Savior, before His glory is made manifest before the entirety of the world, will be rejected, convicted, violated, mutilated, humiliated and sentenced to an inhumane death. These are the days when we soberly account for all He came to remove and all He took on for Himself. Our sins placed Him in the Cross. His love keeps us from the jaws of death. His love is sacrificial. Our love towards Him, often times is superficial. We can use the days of the Fast to reverse the course of our stubbornness towards Him, the Gospel, and an actual relationship with Jesus Christ.

The foolish women were kept from joining the party perhaps because they did not keep the commandments, observe the Law, love as He loves serve as he serves. They neglected the weighty and important aspects of life. They were flippant and casual. Now is our chance to not imitate those qualities and suffer a similar fate.

On a practical front, how is this going to be made possible? Will reading more spiritual books during Lent save our souls? No. But it will help. Will fasting allow for life everlasting? No, but it will prepare us for the rigors that will. Will praying more often lead us to Heaven? Well, perhaps no if we are praying for the wrong reasons, asking the wrong questions, blaming the wrong persons and not repenting for the sins committed. These days allow us to put all of these, and other practices to the test. And when observed for the singular purpose of glorifying God, we are seen through the eyes of mercy and judged through the process of forgiveness. That said, during Lent:

Pray more often and come to the Services of the Church. Not for your own sake, but because you love the Lord and desire to encounter Him in His House.

Feed the poor. Not for an eternal reward, but because people are hungry.

Give alms and demonstrate selfless generosity. Not because it makes you feel good, but because it will make someone feel valued.

Visit those who are sick. Not because you need something to do, but because they need someone to see.

To that end, we are in the process of working towards a stronger ministry towards our St. Anna Shut-Ins. If you are aware of someone in your family or a friend who is unable to get to church, please send their information to Gary Barker at gbarker10@msn.com. He is the chairman of our Men’s Ministry Visitation Ministry. And together with our St. Anna Men, I would like to greatly enhance this much-needed and too often neglected ministry.

God bless you in this journey. God strengthen you in the task ahead. God inspire you in the process that awaits. Please be aware that I have received the second shipment of the book Tending the Garden of our Souls, and they will be available for purchase this Sunday. Please purchase this Lenten Meditation book and, as I wrote about last week and have been preaching about for a while, share the daily devotionals with your family and dedicate a deliberate amount of time to contemplation and study. It will be a tremendous addition to your Lenten plans.

And lastly, as you gaze upon the above referenced icon and ponder its theological truths, doctrinal message and Scriptural basis, please also pay attention to the obvious. Read the message and remember we lose an hour this Sunday with Daylight Saving Time.

With Much Love in Christ,
Fr. Anthony

Special Reminder: This Sunday, following the Divine Liturgy, the 2019 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival will take place in the church. Please join us as we listen to what these brilliant, young people have to share about their vibrant faith.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is in our Midst!
He is and Ever Shall Be!

The time is at hand, the hour has nearly arrived. The fruitful, contemplative, reflective, penitential, ascetic and productive days of Great Lent are upon us. In little more than a week; one precious week, we will immerse ourselves in the most valuable time of the church calendar – the days that will prepare us for the richest and most profound celebration in the history of creation. Great Lent is a time when our spiritual disciplines are intensified and the loving, ever-present Lord is given a greater portion of our every day, in every way. We are called to pray more intently, worship more frequently, fast more diligently and give more generously. That, my Beloved, is the standard and the blueprint for Lent. Follow those guidelines, and your relationship with Christ will be more vibrant than ever before.

It’s simple. It’s just not easy.

Of course, if it were easy, then there would be no value, no purpose, no challenge. Great Lent is a challenge; it is a collective challenge and indeed, a personal challenge. Everyone of us will approach these days differently. Some of us will have a history of Lenten journeys behind us, having build up a multitude of experiences. For others, we are delving into uncharted waters. We may be new to Orthodoxy. We may be new to fasting. We may be new to an intimate and complete relationship with Christ. Perhaps in the past, we were afraid to fully commit. Perhaps we were too lazy or distracted. Maybe we are still lazy and distracted, but let’s be a little less lazy and a bit less distracted today. And let’s do it together.

As I announced last Sunday, I am presenting a lovely opportunity to the good people of St. Anna’s that will enrich and bless us. Through the years, there have been many Lenten Meditation books that are designed to create a consistent and measured approach to our Lenten readings and devotions. A new book has been recently published that is refreshing, practical, rewarding and motivational. The cover of this book is above and is the center of my challenge to you.

This year, I propose that we begin a new tradition at our beloved St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church. While I encourage you to participate in everything, like our increased worship schedule, parish retreats, and Wednesday-evening guest speakers. But these experiences all take place at the church. How can I, as your pastor, support and encourage you to take home the principals and lessons that are acquired within the sanctuary and lecture hall, and put them to use in your living rooms?

Using this book will help. And next year, we’ll use another book for the same purpose. What is the purpose? Two fold:

To learn something each day that you might not have thought about before.

And to commit to a disciplined regiment of a spiritual nature.

If you have children, participate with them, and use the ideas that were created for Orthodox young people to guide them through Lent.
If you are a couple, read, pray and discuss these meditations together. If you live alone, this gentile read will guide you, no differently.

We will have these books available this Sunday in the Narthex at a discounted rate of only $15.00. If I see that we have or will run out, I’ll order another case on Monday. We will have them in time for everyone to begin.

To add to the accountability and motivational factors, I will be preaching from this book each Friday evening of Great Lent at the Salutations Services. I will also have a special receptacle placed inside the church in front of the icon screen. Here, you are encourage to write down your own, personal and private thoughts on the lessons and meditations. Treat them as a journal entry; articulating the lessons learned, the values gained, the challenges introduced and the complexities experienced. Putting your thoughts into writing will help to galvanize the effort and crystalize the purpose. I will not read these notes – these little love letters to yourselves – but I do plan on sending them to the authors after Pascha, so they can reflect upon what you say, what you write and how you think, in the hopes that Elissa and Kristina will be motivated to continue their efforts in producing tools that will help us attain the Kingdom. To be clear, they did not request this. But doing this will help us, and them.

That is my challenge to you; that is my challenge to myself. I look forward to the spiritual rewards and the difficulties that will, no doubt, present themselves. I anticipate failures mixed with successes. I suppose there will be opportunities to be proud of my accomplishments and disappointments that will stare me down. And all the while, I, together with my family, will tend to the garden that is our hearts.

During Great Lent:

Participate in Divine Services.
Pray Earnestly.
Fast with Discipline (safely and with common sense).
Be Generous Alms-Givers.
Read, Meditate, Reflect and Respond.

With Much Love in XC,
Fr. Anthony

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Though I have very much enjoyed my time spending a couple days with my brother priests of the Metropolis of Denver, I look forward to returning home. Catching up with old friends and making new ones, in Christ’s holy Name are treasured blessings. I always enjoy returning to Texas, for our two daughters were born here, and the Lone Star State holds many fond memories for our family. I thank you for the opportunity to be here at our Clergy Pre-Lenten Retreat and ask you to pray fervently for our sister parishes and His Eminence Metropolitan of Isaiah of Denver.

We are by far, the largest Metropolis in term of land mass, and very much by far, the least populated Metropolis of our Archdiocese. However, we are per capita, the most generous, prolific and growing Metropolis in America. Our thinking is progressive, our hearts are open and our love for the Lord is deep and rich. I know all this to be true, and I am reminded of these blessed truths each time I find myself with the fine people of our holy Metropolis.

St. Anna’s is a prime example of all that is strong in our regional and national church (not my words, but publicly proclaimed by our metropolis leadership). It’s easier to accomplish any sacred task when your bishop is your strongest cheerleader. As a parish – keep up the good work! As individuals, while we make our way toward the Great Fast, I ask that you maintain your spiritual preparations for a fruitful and edifying Lent.

To that end, I have a special announcement and challenge to discuss this coming Sunday following the Divine Liturgy.

And though we do our best to avoid conflicts with Holy Trinity Cathedral, our celebration of Godparent Sunday is taking place on the same day that Bill and Sophie Drossos will be honored downtown by the Hellenic Cultural Association. Mr. and Mrs. Drossos are most deserving of this acknowledgement for they represent with dignity and humility, all that is sacred; and they typify all that has ever been positive within the Salt Lake Greek Orthodox community. To them, we proclaim, Axioi! They are worthy! They are the parents of two, incredibly dedicated St. Anna parishioners: Connie Cayias and Perry Drossos. We congratulate you on the recognition of your beautiful parents.

Again, Great Lent is around the corner. There is much work to be done and preparations to be made. If called upon, please assist in any and every way to make our Lenten Journey, Holy Week experience and Pascha, truly memorable.

Lastly, I remind you that tonight, Friday evening, we will celebrate our monthly Paraklesis Service to St. Anna at 7:00 pm. Please join us.
Wishing You Well From Texas and the Gulf of Mexico…

With Love in Christ,Fr. Anthony