+St. Sophia Orthodox Church+

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Updated Calendar for this week

You may not have heard, but, of course, there was not a completed parish calendar for this week because I did not finish and prepare the bulletin before I left for the weekend. My apologies. But thanks to Angie for making a go of it.

I wanted to direct your attention to some of the services for the remainder of this week:

Wednesday - 6:30pm Akathist to the Mother of God for the feast of the "Kazan" icon of our Lady

Saturday - 5:30pm, Great Vespers

Sunday - 9:45 adult education, 10:30 liturgy

I will point out that we're starting the adult education fifteen minutes earlier to offer that time for either questions not related to our topics at hand or, barring that, to take the chance to offer you some of the gems that I've collected from Orthodoxy over the years. For example, two weeks ago we took an opportunity on the feast of Sts. Sergius and Herman of Valaam to discuss the history of the monastery that sent America its two first saints and our current Metropolitan. See you there!

Sunday, July 05, 2009

5 July - 12 July

Sunday, July 5 - Ven. Sergii of Radonezh

Monday, July 6 - Ven. Sioses the Great

Tuesday, July 7 - Ven. Thomas of Mt. Maleon

Wednesday, July 8 (FAST) - Greatmartyr Procopius of Cesarea

Thursday, July 9 - Heiromartyr Pancratius

Friday, July 10 (FAST) - 45 Martyrs of Nicopolis in Armenia

Saturday, July 11 - Greatmartyr Euphemia the All-praised; St. Olga, Princess of Russia
5:30 pm Great Vespers

Sunday, July 12 - St. Veronica (Bernice), a woman healed by Christ
10am adult education
10:30am Liturgy

COMING UP
18 July - LINK soup kitchen

Monday, June 29, 2009

28 June 5 July

Sunday, June 28 (FAST: fish, wine & oil) - Venerable Sergius and Herman of Alaska
5:30pm Great Vespers for Sts. Peter and Paul

Monday, June 29- Chief Apostles Sts. Peter and Paul

Tuesday, June 30 - Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles

Wednesday, July 1 (FAST: fish, wine & oil) - Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian of Rome

Thursday, July 2 - St. John of San Francisco

Friday, July 3 (FAST) - Hieromartyr Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow

Saturday, July 4 - Ven. Andrew Archbishop of Crete; Ven. Martha the Mother of Simeon Stylites

5:30 pm Great Vespers

Sunday, July 5 - Ven. Athanasius of Athos; Ven. Sergii of Radonezh

9:30am Choir practice
(no adult education)
10:15 hours
10:30 Typika
Parish Council meeting following Typika

COMING UP
5 July - Parish Council Meeting
18 July - LINK soup kitchen

Sunday, June 21, 2009

21 June - 28 June

Sunday, June 21 - All Saints of North America Sunday

Monday, June 22 (FAST: wine & oil) - Hieromartyr Eusebius of Samosata

Tuesday, June 23 (FAST: wine & oil) - Martyr Agrippina of Rome
6pm - Great Vespers for John the Baptist

Wednesday, June 24 (FAST: fish, wine & oil) - Nativity of John the Baptist

Thursday, June 25 (FAST: wine & oil) - Martyr Febronia of Nisibis

Friday, June 26 (FAST) - St. David of Thesoliniki

Saturday, June 27 (FAST: fish wine & oil) - St. Joanna the Myrrhbearer
5:30 pm Great Vespers

Sunday, June 28 (FAST: fish, wine & oil) - Venerable Sergius and Herman of Alaska
9:30am Choir practice
10am Adult education
10:30am Liturgy
5pm Vesperal Liturgy for the Feast at Sts. Peter and Paul, Topeka KS (Fr. Justin Matthews, officiating)

Sunday, June 14, 2009

14 June - 21 June

Sunday, June 14 - All Saints Sunday

APOSTLES FAST Begins this week...
Monday, June 15 (FAST) - St. Jonah of Moscow (Patron of Metropolitan Jonah)

Tuesday, June 16 (FAST: wine & oil) - St. Tikhon of Amathus

Wednesday, June 17 (FAST) - Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ismael
6:30pm Paraklesis to the Mother of God.

Thursday, June 18 (FAST: wine & oil) - Martyr Leontius of Tripoli and those with him.

Friday, June 19 (FAST) - Apostle Jude

Saturday, June 20 (FAST: fish wine & oil) - Hieromartyr Methodius of Patar
5:30 pm Great Vespers

Sunday, June 21 (FAST: fish, wine & oil) - Sunday of All Saints of North America
9:30am Choir practice
9:45am Adult education
10:30 Typika

COMING UP
15 June - Apostles Fast begins
20 June - LINK soup kitchen (see Erin for details)

Sunday, June 07, 2009

7 June - 14 June

Sunday, 7 June - Holy Pentecost
**Kneeling Prayers can be read here**

Monday, 8 June - Day of the Holy Spirit

Tuesday, 9 June - Third day of the Holy Trinity

Wednesday, 10 June (NO FAST) - Hieromartyr Timothy of Prussa
6:30pm - Akathist to the Mother of God

Thursday, 11 June - Holy Apostles Bartholomew and Barnabas

Friday, 12 June (NO FAST) - Ven. Onuphrius the Great and Peter of Athos

Saturday, 13 June - Martyr Aquilina of Biblos

Sunday, 14 June - Sunday of All Saints, Prophet Elisha
10:00am - Adult Education Class,
10:30am - Liturgy

COMING UP
14 June - Parish Council Meeting
15 June - Fast of Ss. Peter and Paul begins
20 June - LINK soup kitchen

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

31 May - 7 June

Sunday, 31 May - Sunday of the Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council

Monday, 1 June - Martyr Justin the Philosopher

Tuesday, 2 June - Ven. Nikiphoroos the Confessor of Constantinople

Wednesday, 3 June (Fast) - Martyr Lucillian and those with him

Thursday, 4 June - St. Metrophanes of Constantinople

Friday, 5 June (Fast) - Leavetaking of Acension, Hieromartyr Dorotheos of Tyre

Saturday, 6 June - Memorial Saturday

Sunday, 7 June - PENTACOST, The Feast of the Holy Trinity
10:10 Hours, 10:30 Typika
**POTLUCK coffee hour**

COMING UP
14 June - Parish Council Meeting
20 June - LINK soup kitchen

Sunday, May 24, 2009

24 May - 31 May

Sunday, 24 May - Sunday of the Blind Man

Monday, 25 May - Third Finding of the Head of John the Baptist

Tuesday, 26 May - Apostles Carpus and Alphaeus of the 70 ; Greatmartyr George the New at Sofia, Bulgaria

Wednesday, 27 May (NO FAST) - Leavetaking of Pascha
6:30 pm Paschal Hours and Great Vespers for Ascension

Thursday, 28 May - Ascension of our Lord

Friday, 29 May (Fast: wine and oil) - Postfeast of Ascension; Virgin Martyr Theodosia of Tyre

Saturday, 30 May - Postfeast of Ascension; Ven Isaac of Dalmatia
5:30pm - Great Vespers

Sunday, 31 May - Sunday of the Fathers of the First Council

10:10 Hours and Typika
*no adult education class this week*

COMING UP:
31 May / 7 June - no adult education class
31 May Micah Lantz's birthday (Lantz's coffee hour)
7 June - Pentecost **Potluck Coffee Hour**
20 June - LINK soup kitchen

Monday, May 11, 2009

10 May - 17 May

Sunday, 10 May - Sunday of the Paralytic

Monday, 11 May - Sts. Cyril and Methody

Tuesday, 12 May - St. Epiphanius of Cyprus

Wednesday, 13 May (Fast: fish, wine and oil) - Midfeast (midpoint between Pascha and Pentacost)
6:30 pm Akathist to the Mother of God

Thursday, 14 May - St. Nikita of Novogrod

Friday, 15 May (Fast: fish, wine and oil) - Ven. Pakhomius the Great

Saturday, 16 May - Ven Theodore the Sanctified
5:30pm - Great Vespers (with Fr. Andrew)

Sunday, 17 May - Sunday of the Samaritan Woman

10am Adult Education / 10:30am Liturgy (w/ Fr. Andrew)

COMING UP:
16 May
12pm LINK (see Erin)
2-4 pm graduation party for Elizabeth at Moulton's

17 May
All-Parish Semi-Annual Assembly (Fr. Andrew's here, Liturgy)
Coffee Hour: Andersons, Plakes

Sunday, May 10, 2009

New Blog Spinoff: Adult Education

Check out our new blog spinoff for our adult education class, dedicated to the Three Hierarchs. So that this site can continue to focus on the overall schedule of the parish, we will link to this site, but this will be maintained elsewhere. Be sure to check it out, as we'll post links to supplemental information related to what we're discussing, where you can go for more information, some information I referenced, etc.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

3 May - 10 May

Sunday, 3 May - Sunday of the Myrrhbearing Women and Joseph of

Aramathea

Monday, 4 May - Virgin Martyr Pelagia of Tarsus

Tuesday, 5 May - Greatmartyr Irene of Thessalonica

Wednesday, 6 May (Fast: fish, wine and oil) - Righteous Job the Longsuffering
6:30 pm Akathist to the Mother of God

Thursday, 7 May - St. Alexis Toth

Friday, 8 May (Fast: fish, wine and oil) - Apostle John the Theologian

Saturday, 9 May - Prophet Isaiah
5:30pm - Great Vespers

Sunday, 10 May - Sunday of the Paralytic

10am Adult Education / 10:30am Liturgy

COMING UP:
10 May - Coffee Hour: Rathmel, Shipley, Lehrman
16 May - LINK (see Erin)
17 May - All-Parish Semi-Annual Assembly (Fr. Andrew's here, Liturgy)

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Adult Education Readings for 10 May 2009

Before you try to jump in and do learn the Christian Faith, Fr. Thomas Hopko insists on these 12 rules for those trying to find God. We strongly advocate this system.

Next week, we will be discussing pages 34-43 in Fr. Hopko's The Orthodox Faith, vol. i: Doctrine. Copies are not yet available in our parish, but you can buy them here. Or, you can get a copy of our next reading that you can find here.

Study questions for this next reading

What kinds of things do we learn from the Nicene Creed?
What is the importance of living our faith?
Discuss the titles/attributes for God: Holy, Lord, Father, and Love.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

St. Sophia Holy Week and Pascha Celebration

Sunday, April 26, 2009

26 April - 3 May

Sunday, 26 April - Thomas Sunday

Monday, 27 April - Hieromartyr Simeon, Kinsman of our Lord

Tuesday, 28 April - Day of Rejoicing

Wednesday, 29 April (Fast: fish, wine and oil) - St. Basil of Ostrog
6:30 pm Akathist to the Mother of God

Thursday, 30 April - Apostle James, the brother of John

Friday, 1 May (Fast: fish, wine and oil) - Prophet Jeremiah
5:30pm - Great Vespers

Saturday, 2 May - Ss. Boris and Gleb

Sunday, 3 May - Sunday of the Myrrhbearing Women and Joseph of Aramathea
10am Adult Education / 10:30am Typika

COMING UP:

3 May - Adult Education (pre-typika)/ Parish Council Meeting (post-typika)
16 May - LINK

Adult Education

Today we began our adult education class, which will meet every Sunday at 10am. The books we are reviewing are Fr. Thomas Hopko's The Orthodox Faith, volumes one and two.

Here is the in-progress syllabus for what we will be doing. Right now, this only covers the first volume, so I will be updating this as we go.

Josh is still waiting on them to come in for purchase, but you can read the book online here.

Here are the notes and bibliography for what we discussed today.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Saint Sophia Orthodox Christian Church was formed in September 2002 and our congregation consists of approximately 50-75 friends and family. Our current location in a small "strip mall" includes the Holy Wisdom Orthodox Bookstore.

In partnership with area Orthodox communities, we support and serve the needs of the Lawrence community and the KU campus OCF.

Fr. Michael Medis, attached to Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Overland Park, KS, serves our parish on the second and fourth Sundays each month.

Glory to God for all things. Pray for us.

For Consideration...

Now Jesus shows the reason why He put off healing [the Canaanite woman] at the beginning. So that the faith and understanding of the woman might be made manifest, Christ did not immediately give His assent at the beginning and even drove her away. But now when her faith has been revealed she hears the words of praise. "Great is thy faith". By saying, "Be it unto thee even as thou wilt," Christ showed that if she too had not had faith, she would not have obtained her request. So, too, if we desire to obtain something, nothing prevents us from obtaining what we desire. Notice that even if saints should ask on our behalf, as the apostles did for the woman, still, we accomplish even more when we ask for ourselves. The Canaanite woman is also a symbol of the Church gathered from among the Gentiles. For Gentiles who first were even driven away, later were advanced to the rank of sons and we deemed worth of Bread, I mean, the Body of the Lord; while the Jews became dogs, thinking that they were being fed by the crumbs, that is, the minute and insignificant details of the letter of the Law.

-- St. Theophylact of Ochrid, in Explanation of the Gospel of Luke

On the face of it, there is nothing at all in the world over which it is worth losing our temper; for what is more valuable than the soul and its peace? This peace is destroyed by anger. When a man is angry, he assumes the role of a slanderer and fans the flames into a great blaze, in his imagination magnifying the offence of another. The reason for all this is that he does not keep his attention turned on himself - and so ill-feeling bursts out. Deep in the heart we cling to our right to judge and punish others for their sins, instead of ourselves. That is all there is to it. If a man saw himself as a sinner, being vividly conscious of all the consequences of sin, anger would be far from him.

Recollection of God is the life of the spirit. It fires your zeal to please God, and makes unshakeable your decision to belong to Him. It is, I repeat, the mainstay of the spiritual life; and it is, I will add, the base for your campaign against every passion that invades the heart.

- St. Theophan the Recluse.

The inner man, amidst worldly vanity, amidst the darkness of his flesh, is not so bound by the temptations of the evil one, and looks out more freely early in the morning, just after waking up, like a fish, which sometimes throws itself up playfully on the surface of the water. All the remaining time he is enveloped in almost impenetrably darkness, his eyes are covered by a bandage, which conceals from him the true state of things spiritual and physical. Take advantage of these morning hours, which are the hours of a new life, or of a life renewed by temporary sleep. They show us in part that state in which we shall rise up renewed on that great and universal morning of the nightless day of resurrection, or when we shall rid ourselves of this mortal body.
- St. John of Kronstadt, from My Life in Christ

It was said of Abba John the Dwarf that when he returned from the harvest or when he had been with some of the old men, he gave himself to prayer, meditation and psalmody until his thoughts were re-established in their previous order.
- from The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

The soul knows but cannot contain Him, and therein lies her pain. Our days are filled with longing to penetrate into the Divine sphere with every fibre of our being. Our prayer must be ardent, and many-sided is the experience that may be given. In our hearts, subjectively, it would seem – to judge by the love whose touch we feel – that the experience cannot be open to doubt. But despite the all-embracing surge of this love, despite the light in which it appears, it would not only be wrong but dangerous to rely exclusively on it. From sacred writ we know that the most pure Virgin Mary hurried off to her cousin Elizabeth to hear whether the revelation was true that she had received – of a son to be born to her who should be great and should be called the Son of God the Highest; and whose kingdom should have no end. St. Paul, who 'was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words,' affords another example. 'It pleased God...to reveal His Son in me;' nevertheless, he went twice to Jerusalem to submit to Peter and others 'which were of reputation' the gospel he was preaching 'lest by any means he should run, or had run in vain.' The history of the Church provides innumerable such instances, and thus we learn to ask those with more experience to judge whether our case is not merely imagination but grace proceeding from on High. We look for reliable witnesses who are to be found only in the Church, whose age-old experience is immeasurably richer and more profound than our individual one... Only after authoritative confirmation may we trust our personal experience, and even then not to excess. Our spirit ought not to slacken in its impulse towards God. And at every step it is essential to remember that self-confident isolation is fraught with the possibility of transgressing against the Truth. So, we shall not cease to pray diligently to the Holy Spirit that he preserve our foot from the paths of untruth.
-Archimandrite Sophrony of Essex, His Life is Mine

Yesterday we leveled an accusation at women – or, rather, not women, only Eve – for introducing servitude through sin. Women would reply to us, Why are we condemned for her sin, and one persons fall became a charge against all humankind? Slaves would also say, Why on earth was it that, when Ham was insolent to his father, the effects of sin were transmitted to the whole race? People in fear of governors would also make a complaint as to why it is that, when others were living a life of wickedness, they were the ones consigned to the yoke of government. So what reply would we give to all these people? There is, in fact, a single resolution to all the problems: while they were the first to sin and thus introduced slavery through disobedience on their part, once it was introduced, those who came afterwards ratified it by sins of their own. In other words, if they had been able to show that they were always free from sin, later generations would decide to object; but if they were even liable to many punishments, the basis of this claim would have no substance. My statement, in fact, was not that sin does not henceforth introduce sin; it was that every sin has been associated with slavery, and my censure was directed at the nature of sin, not at a solitary kind of sin. Just as all incurable diseases bring one to the point of death without all being of the same nature, therefore, so too all sins give rise to slavery wihout all being of the same nature. Eve sinned by tasting of the tree, and was condemned for it; accordingly, in your turn do not commit a sin that is different but perhaps graver than hers.
-St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Genesis

The blind man believed that Jesus was the awaited Messiah; having been raised among the Jews, it is certain that he knew that the Christ would be of the seed of David. Therefore he cries out with a great voice, Son of David, have mercy on me. His words have mercy on me show that he understood Jesus to be divine and not merely a man. Marvel at his staunch confession: although rebuked by many, he did not keep silent, but cried out all the more, urged on by the fervent zeal within him. Therefore Jesus summons him as one who is truly worthy to approach Him and asks him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? He asks the question not in ignorance of what the blind man wanted, but so that it would not appear to others who were present that the Lord gave something different from what the man wanted. Otherwise, some might have said that the Lord, in a vainglorious show of power, healed the man's blindness when the man had only been begging for alms.

--St. Theophylact of Ochrid in his Commentary on Luke

Abba Poemen said, “As far as you can, do some manual work so as to be able to give alms, for it is written that alms and faith purify from sins.” The brother replied, “What is faith?” The old man replied, “Faith is to live humbly and give alms.”

-Abba Poemen in The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

On another occasion, while walking through the desert, Sava came upon four Saracens weak from hunger. The saint fed them with his own food, the root of melagria and hearts of reed. After regaining their strength, the Saracens departed. A few days later they returned, bringing bread, cheese, and dates, in thanks to Sava for his compassion. Moved by this, the saint lamented from the bottom of his soul, “Woe is me! How grateful are these people for the little favor done them! What shall become of us who live carelessly and slothfully, failing to keep God's commandments, although we are benefitted hourly by His ineffable goodness?”

from the life of St. Sava the Sanctified

Snow can never emit flame. Water can never issue fire. A thorn bush can never produce a fig. Just so, your heart can never be free from oppressive thoughts, words or actions until it has purified itself internally. Be eager, therefore, to walk this path. Watch your heart at all times; constantly say the prayer, 'Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me.' Be humble, and set your soul in quietude.

-St. Hesychios the Priest

Abba Anthony once said, “Whoever sits in solitude and is quiet has escaped three wary: those of hearing, speaking and seeing. Then there is only one war left in which to fight, and that is the battle for your own heart.”

-from The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

"This should be our chief endeavor, this the steadfast and constant aim which our heart makes its own: that the mind should cling always to things divine, and to God." - St. John Cassian

"When a man walks in the fear of God he knows no fear, even if he were to be surrounded by wicked men. He has the fear of God within him and wears the invincible armor of faith. This makes him strong and able to take on anything, even things which seem difficult or impossible to most people. Such a man is like a giant surrounded by monkeys, or a roaring lion among dogs and foxes. He goes forward trusting in the Lord and the constancy of his will to strike and paralyze his foes. He wields the blazing club of the Word in wisdom" - St. Symeon the New Theologian

"Forget yourself and know yourself." St. Barsanuphius of Palestine

"There is among the passions an anger of the intellect, and this anger is in accordance with nature. Without anger a man cannot attain purity; he has to feel angry with all that is sown in him by the enemy... He who wishes to acquire this anger that is within himself must uproot all self-will, until he establishes within himself the state natural to the intellect." -St. Isaiah the Solitary, Philokalia

+St. Sophia Orthodox Church+

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Updated Calendar for this week

Sunday, July 05, 2009

5 July - 12 July

Monday, June 29, 2009

28 June 5 July

Sunday, June 21, 2009

21 June - 28 June

Sunday, June 14, 2009

14 June - 21 June

Sunday, June 07, 2009

7 June - 14 June

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

31 May - 7 June

Sunday, May 24, 2009

24 May - 31 May

Monday, May 11, 2009

10 May - 17 May

Sunday, May 10, 2009

New Blog Spinoff: Adult Education

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

3 May - 10 May

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Adult Education Readings for 10 May 2009

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

St. Sophia Holy Week and Pascha Celebration

Sunday, April 26, 2009

26 April - 3 May

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