|
Christ
is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!!
Schedule
of Services for Holy Week and Pascha 2007.
March
31 -- LAZARUS SATURDAY - Divine Liturgy 10 am
April
1 -- PALM SUNDAY - Divine Liturgy 10 am
April
4 -- GREAT WEDNESDAY - Holy Unction 7 pm
This service
will by led by His eminence Archbishop Metropolitan of America
and Canada g. Metodij
April
5 -- GREAT THURSDAY - Divine Liturgy 10 am
Evening Service:
Reading of the 12 Passion Gospels 7 pm
April
6 -- GREAT FRIDAY Royal Hours 10 am
This service
will by led by His eminence Archbishop Metropolitan of America
and Canada g. Metodij
Evening Service:
Burial of Jesus 7 pm
April
7 -- GREAT SATURDAY Divine Liturgy 10 am
April
7 -- Midnight EASTER Service Procession 11:30 pm
April
8 -- EASTER SUNDAY Divine Liturgy 10 am
This service
will by led by His eminence Archbishop Metropolitan of America
and Canada g. Metodij
April
9 -- Second Day of EASTER Divine Liturgy 10 am
April
10 -- Third Day of EASTER Divine Liturgy 10 am
Dear Parishioners,
May in
these Easter Holidays, our souls and hearts be with the Risen
Saviour. Let us exert ourselves to recognize and live His
divine love and wisdom for our salvation. Let us cleanse our
souls spiritually, to see Jesus with pure hearts and to rejoice
His resurrection. May our God of love and peace, with the
blessing for the Risen Saviour, be with us all.
History
of the Macedonian Orthodox Church
According
to the sources in the Acts, Saint Paul, Christ's disciple,
began spreading Christianity in Macedonia and elsewhere on
the Balkan Peninsula towards the mid 1st century AD. He visited
this region on two occasions during his journeys through Europe
and Asia. He was followed by Timothy and Silas, who remained
in Macedonia after his departure. At that time, as a Roman
province Macedonia often changed its borders and its ethnic
composition. As a result of the Christianization in the first
three centuries, the Christians in Macedonia at the beginning
of the 4th century already had an organised Church with an
established ecclesiastical hierarchy, whose bishops regularly
participated at the ecumenical councils.
In
the 5th century the Church had several metropolises and dioceses.
The metropolises of Thessalonica and Skopje were the most
distinguished among them. Several Christian basilicas originate
from this period, including the one near the village of Bardovci,
in the western outskirts of Skopje.
Read
more...
Featured Article for the
Week of March 4th, 2007
Insight into the Christian
Mysteries...
This article was taken
from 'The Truth of Our Faith'. A booked published by Uncut
Mountain Press in December 2000. It gives insight into the
wisdom and teachings of Elder CleopaIlie, a monk of the Sihastria
Monastery. During this Lenten time and during our preparation
for the Holy holiday of Easter, I felt it was important to
reflect upon the Christian Mystery of Fasting.
Chapter 12 - On Fasting
Inquirer: Some
say that the great Apostle Paul conveyed a different teaching
concerning fasting from that of our Saviour Christ. Can you
explain this to me?
Elder Cleopa: Fasting,
according to the testimony of Saint Basil the Great, is the
oldest commandment given by God to man. This great father
of the Church of Christ says:
"O Man, be pious
and meditate with the fear on the antiquity of the fast,
for as old as is the world so old is also the commandment
of fasting. Indeed this commandment was given in paradise
when God said to Adam: 'Of every tree of the garden thou
mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that
thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.'"
With the word "fasting"
we mean abstinence from food, but also from all evil desires,
so that the Christian may communicate his prayers to God with
peace and fervour, kill his evil desires and acquire the Grace
of God. The fast is a work of virtue for it bridles the desires
of the flesh, strengthens the will, assists in repentance
and thus is a means of salvation.
Continued...
|
