Saints Cyril
& Methodius
Equals to
the Apostles & Teachers of the Slavs
Bulgarian Orthodox
Mission
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The Mission’s services are being hosted through the
gracious support of:
Fr. John Vitko and the parishioners of St. Luke Orthodox
Church
6801 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101
A Parish of the
Orthodox Church in America
Archdiocese of
Washington
Special
thanks to the Reverend Deacon Chterion Zaprionov of St. George Bulgarian
Orthodox Church for his support of the divine services and parish activities.
†
May Their Memory Be Eternal
†
the
Bishops Nestor, Gregory and Job;
the
Priests Peter, Ishmael, Michael, Leo, Homer, Thomas, Victor, and Milorad;
the Matushki Mary,
Platonida, Sophronia, and Barbara;
the
Readers Philemon, John, John, and Robert Michael; and
the
Servants of God, Ruby, Timothy, Megan, Bojanka, Magdalena, Alexander, Sophia,
Shafik, Julia, Rada, Radka, Anna, Dale, Olivera, Marianthe & Panaigioti,
and George.
Those
Who Are In Need of Prayer
His Beatitude,
Metropolitan JONAH;
the Priests Photius,
Anthony, Vadim, Thomas, Paul, and Joseph;
the Presbyteras, Artemis,
Marie, Miriam, Mica, Helen, Juliana, & Anne;
the
servants of God, Flora, Karen, Stella, Marios & Sophia, Douglas, Alexandra,
Victor, Erin, Catherine & Wayne, Kyriaki, Helen, John & Carmeta, Jane,
Denny, Ivan, Oliver, Marion, Ellen, Dimitrie & Rachael, Charlie &
Karen, Chariessa & Nicholas, and David & Patricia.
Schedule of Services
March 13 – Sunday of
Orthodoxy, @ Saints Cyril & Methodius
March 20 – St. Gregory
Palamas, @ St. George
March 27 – Veneration of
the Cross, @ Saints Cyril & Methodius
April 3 – St. John
Climacus, @ St. George
April 10 – St. Mary of
Egypt,@ Saints Cyril & Methodius
April 16 – Lazarus Saturday, @ St. Mark Church,
Bethesda, MD
April 17 – PALM SUNDAY,@
Saints Cyril & Methodius
April 20 – Vespers and Anointing of Holy Wednesday, @ St.
Mark Church
April 21 – Holy Thursday, 12 Passion Gospels, @ St.
Mark Church
April 22 – Holy Friday, Vespers, @ St. Mark Church
April 23 – Holy Saturday, Divine Liturgy, @ St. Mark
Church
April 23 – Holy Saturday,
Nocturns, @ TBA
April 24 – VELIKDEN/
PASCHA / EASTER, @ TBA
April 31 – St. Thomas
Sunday, @ TBA
Now is the Time to Make Plans to Attend the 16th
All-America Council
SYOSSET, NY [OCA] -- In a
letter sent to all parishes of the Orthodox Church in America during the first
week of March 2011, Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary, addressed a number
of matters relative to the 16th All-American Council, slated to convene in Seattle/Bellevue,
WA October 31-November 4, 2011.
The text of Father Eric's letter
reads as follows.
"We enter this year in
anticipation of the 16th All-American Council to be held on October 31 to
November 3, 2011. Once again the Orthodox Church in America will gather in
meetings, fellowship and prayer. This All-American Council will be the first
one to be held in the Pacific Northwest. We are particularly thankful for the
Diocese of West and the local committee in the Seattle area for sponsoring this
Council.
"The Council will be held at
the Hyatt Regency Bellevue, which is in a suburb just east of Seattle. Flights
to and from the Council are through Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The hotel is 30
minutes from the airport with convenient public transportation to Bellevue. We
encourage you to look at the new Council website at http://aac16.org,
which will provide detailed Council information including the distribution of
all Council materials. The website will also be helpful in orienting you to the
region.
"As has been reported, there
will be a special pilgrimage to Sitka, following the Council, for the
consecration of the new bishop of Alaska. FOS Tours will also be handling the
arrangements for this wonderful event; you can contact FOS Tours and check with
the Diocese of Alaska website at http://dioceseofalaska.org
for detailed information. To simplify your traveling arrangements, a package
deal with FOS Tours is available for the All-American Council and the Sitka
trip.
"There will be some
cost-saving changes regarding the distribution of the study materials and
reports for delegates; they will only be available online for attendees to
download. Each delegate is expected bring these downloaded materials to the
Council with them. Binders and dividers will be provided at Council
registration. These unnecessary printing and transportation costs represent a
considerable savings and helps in keeping the Council assessments manageable.
"Registration material, as
well as, calls for resolutions and statute changes will be made available this
spring. There will be a change to registration process in that each delegate
will be asked to preregister for a specific working group which will
meet for two sessions during the Council. These working groups are based on a
recommendation of the Strategic Planning Committee and will continue the
ongoing discussions of the Strategic Plan that was mandated by the last
Council. The recommendations that will come out from these working groups will
then be presented to the Council’s general assembly to determine initiatives.
"We all look forward to the
upcoming Council. Please continue to check the OCA and the All-American Council
websites for further announcements and materials. We look forward to seeing
everyone in Seattle as we gather as the "Household of Faith."
Administration of the Sacraments
The preparation for receipt of any sacrament whether the receipt of the
Eucharist at the Divine Liturgy, marriage, baptism, or any other is preceded by
a period of preparation and sober contemplation. In the case of reception to adults into the Church, a period of
study, careful thought, and instruction is involved.
Fr. Timothy is to be contacted well
in advance of planning for any sacrament outside of the receipt of the
Eucharist by Orthodox Christians.
Fr. Timothy’s email
address: revtperry@hotmail.com
OCA's Bulgarian Diocese Announces Episcopal Nominee
Candidates
TOLEDO, OH -- In June 2010, the Bulgarian
Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America initiated a search for a candidate to
take on the ministry of diocesan bishop. The Bulgarian Diocese has been without
a bishop since the repose of His Eminence, Archbishop Kyrill, in May 2007.
A Search
Committee was formed consisting of the Diocesan Spiritual Council --
Archpriest Don A. Freude, Diocesan Chancellor; Archpriest James Jorgenson;
Priest Matthew-Peter Butrie, Secretary and member of the Diocesan Board of
Trustees; and Priest Paul G. Monkowski -- and members of the Diocesan
Board of Trustees, Protodeacon Michael Myers; George Popoff, Treasurer; and
Stanley Pentsos. The final member of the committee is search coordinator
Archpriest Andrew Jarmus of Saint Nicholas Church, Fort Wayne, IN.
At the
close of the first phase of the search in August 2010, the Search Committee
reviewed the names of 22 possible episcopal candidates. These names came from
diocesan members and from a list of names of potential candidates identified by
the OCA’s Holy Synod of Bishops. Out of these 22 names, the Committee created a
short list of eight names. After a second review, the list was further reduced
to six names.
All six men were contacted and their suitability as
candidates was further reviewed. Through this process, the Search Committee
arrived at the two candidates for episcopal nominee that will be presented for
election at a Diocesan Congress-Sobor to be held in July 2011 at Saint Nicholas
Church, Fort Wayne, IN.
The two candidates are as follows.
· Archpriest Paul Gassios. Father Paul grew up in a
Greek Orthodox family. In the 1980s, he received a Master of Social Work from
Wayne State University. It was also in the mid-1980s that he became a member of
the Orthodox Church in America, drawn by the OCA’s vision of a local Orthodox
Church in North America. A 1994 graduate of Saint Vladimir's Seminary, Father
Paul served as a priest in the OCA Diocese of the Midwest for 11 years in
Kokomo, IN and an additional seven months in St. Louis, MO. During this time,
he developed a relationship with Saint Gregory Palamas Monastery, Perrysville,
OH. In 2007, he transferred into the Bulgarian Diocese and was assigned to
Saint George Cathedral, Toledo, OH, where he serves today.
· Archimandrite Alexander
Golitzin. A native of Saint Innocent Church, Tarzana, CA, Father Alexander received
a BA in English from UC Berkeley and an M. Div. from Saint Vladimir's Seminary.
He spent seven years pursuing doctoral studies at Oxford University in England
under His Eminence, Metropolitan Kallistos [Ware]. During this time, he also
spent two years in Greece, including one year at Simonos Petras Monastery on
Mount Athos. After receiving his D.Phil. in 1980, he returned to the US, where
he was ordained to the diaconate in January 1982 and to the priesthood two
years later. In 1986, he was tonsured to monastic orders. He served OCA
missions in northern California and headed the Diocese of the West's mission
committee. In 1989, he took a teaching position at Milwaukee's Marquette
University in the Theology Department, a position which he holds today.
“We are
very confident in our selection of episcopal nominee candidates,” said Father
Jarmus. “Both are very devout and capable men, each offering his own unique set
of talents and experiences. In our interviews with the candidates, the search
committee was impressed that both men, independently of one another, identified
the building up of trust between the bishop and his diocesan membership as
critical to building up a healthy, functional diocese.”
By early
April, video interviews with both candidates will be posted on the Bulgarian
Diocese's web site. After Pascha, the candidates will visit a selection of
diocesan parishes and meet with diocesan clergy during a convocation at Holy
Dormition Monastery, Rives Junction, MI, May 19 and 20, 2011.
“We are
looking forward to our search process continuing and to gathering in July for
the selection of our episcopal nominee,” Father Jarmus said. “We ask our diocesan
membership to continue to pray for the Lord’s guidance in this critical work.”