Saints Cyril & Methodius
Equals to the Apostles and Teachers of the Slavs
Bulgarian Orthodox Mission
Fifth Sunday of Great
Lent:
Sunday of St. Mary of
Egypt
April 10, 2011
FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT — Tone 5. St. Mary of Egypt. Martyrs Terence, Pompeius, Africanus, Maximus, Zeno,
Alexander, Theodore, Macarius, and 33 others, beheaded at Carthage (3rd
c.). Martyrs James (Jacob) the Presbyter, and Azadanes and Abdicius—Deacons, of
Persia (ca. 380).
The Divine Liturgy of
St. Basil the Great (+ 379),
Archbishop of Caesarea
in Cappadocia
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, Rose, Juliana, & Anne;
the servants of God, Annie,
Flora, Karen, Stella, Victor, Erin, Kyriaki, Helen, Therese, Jane, Denny, Ivan,
Oliver, Marion, Ellen, Marios & Sophia, Alexandra & Joseph, Catherine
& Wayne, John & Carmeta, Dimitrie & Rachael, Charlie & Karen, Chariessa
& Nicholas, and David & Patricia.
Schedule of Services
April 10 – St. Mary of Egypt,@ Saints Cyril & Methodius
April 16 – Lazarus Saturday, @ St. Mark Church, Bethesda, MD (9:30 AM)
April 17 – PALM SUNDAY,@ St.
Mark Church, Bethesda, MD (9:30 AM)
April 18 – Bridegroom Matins, @ St. Mark Church, (7:00 PM)
April 19 – Bridegroom Matins, @ St. Mark Church, (7:00 PM)
April 20 – Unction service, @ St. Mark Church (10:00 AM)
April 20 – Matins and anointing, @ St. Mark Church, (7:00 PM)
April 21 – Holy Thursday, Vesperal Divine Liturgy, @ St. Mark Church, (10:00
AM)
April 21 – Matins, 12 Passion Gospels, @ St. Mark Church (7:00 PM)
April 22 – Holy Friday, Vespers & Burial Procession, @ St. Mark
Church (4:00 PM)
April 22 – Matins & Praises, @ St. Mark Church (7:00 PM)
April 23 – Holy Saturday, Divine Liturgy, @ St. Mark Church (9:30 AM)
April 23 – Holy Saturday, Nocturns, @ Christ Lutheran Church (11:30 PM)
April 24 – VELIKDEN, Matins and Divine Liturgy, @ Christ Lutheran Church
(12 AM)
April 31 – St. Thomas Sunday, @ TBA
Japanese Orthodox Hierarchs to Develop Ongoing
Recovery Efforts
BALTIMORE, MD --
Nearly a month after the fourth largest earthquake ever recorded struck the
eastern coast of Japan and touched off a devastating tsunami, earthquakes
continue to rattle the nerves of survivors and complicate relief efforts. More
than thirty earthquakes measuring 6.0 and above on the Richter scale have been
experienced in eastern Japan as efforts to assist survivors and rebuild
continue.
Over the past three weeks the staff of the
Sendai Diocese of the Orthodox Church in Japan have been working to assess the
needs of survivors, account for the Orthodox faithful and survey the condition
of Church properties along the coastal areas impacted by the disasters.
Six Orthodox faithful were lost in the
disasters, four are still missing and one church was totally destroyed by the
tsunami and fire, reported Fr. Clement Kodama, Secretary to Bishop Seraphim of
the Sendai Diocese.
The Orthodox Church of Japan will convene a
meeting of its bishops in Tokyo on April 12, 2011 to hear reports on the
current needs in the disaster area and plan for the continued response and
reconstruction efforts.
International Orthodox Christian Charities
[IOCC] has extended offers of assistance to the Orthodox Church in Japan to
provide essential aid, as needed, and will support efforts to provide
assistance as the disaster response moves into the recovery phase.
While immediate relief supplies have been
provided to shelters serving survivors of the disasters, access to the
disaster-affected areas is restricted and travel and communication remains
difficult due to the road conditions, rationing of gasoline, rolling blackouts
and intermittent telephone service.
Thousands of people displaced by the
earthquake, tsunami and radiation have been sheltered by relatives outside of
the disaster zone as authorities in the prefectures begin construction of over
10,000 temporary homes.
"The earthquake and tsunami were
something unreal, but people's spirits are still high and they encourage each
other," reported Priest Mark Koike of Tohoku. "As sad as each story
is, there are miracles we encounter."
Father Mark related
the story of one parishioner who was desperately looking for her aged mother
near their house that had been destroyed by the tsunami. She located the site
of the house and found the family cross standing upright in the rubble.
"She said she found the bright light in
the darkness," said Father Mark.
IOCC is the official humanitarian aid agency
established in the early 1990s by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox
Bishops in the Americas. It is a member of the ACT Alliance, a global coalition
of churches and agencies engaged in development, humanitarian assistance and
advocacy.
Donations may be made on-line on IOCC's web
site at www.iocc.org, by calling 1-877-803-4622; 1-877-803-4622 toll
free, or by sending a check or money order payable to IOCC to PO Box 630225,
Baltimore, MD 21263-0225.
Candle Lighting During the Liturgy
Lighting of candles during the services may be done at most any time
during the divine liturgy. However, at
the times of the processions (small entrance, great entrance) and at the time
of the sermon, candle lighting is to be paused.
Especially at the time of the scripture readings and sermon, attention
should be focused on the words, not on individual candle-lighting.
St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia
Basil was born about 330 at Caesarea in Cappadocia. He came from a
wealthy and pious family which gave a number of saints, including his mother
Saint Emily
(also styled Emilia or Emmelia), grandmother Saint Macrina the
Elder, sister Saint Macrina the Younger and brothers Saints Gregory of
Nyssa and Peter of Sebaste. It is also a widely held
tradition that Saint Theosebia was his youngest sister, who is also a saint in the
Church.
While still a child, the family moved to Pontus; but he soon returned to
Cappadocia to live with his mother's relations, and seems to have been brought
up by his grandmother Macrina. Eager to learn, he went to Constantinople and
spent four or five years there and at Athens, where he had the future emperor Julian for a fellow student and became friends
with Gregory the Theologian. Both Basil and
Gregory were deeply influenced by Origen and compiled an anthology of uncondemned writings of
Origen known as the Philokalia (not to be confused with the later
compilation of the same name).
It was at Athens that he seriously began to think of religion, and
resolved to seek out the most famous hermit saints in Syria and Arabia, in
order to learn from them how to attain enthusiastic piety and how to keep his
body under submission by asceticism.
After this we find him at the head of a convent near Arnesi in Pontus,
in which his mother Emily, now a widow, his sister Macrina and several other
ladies, gave themselves to a pious life of prayer and charitable works. Basil
sided with those who overcame the aversion to the homoousios
in common opposition to Arianism, thus drawing nearer to Saint Athanasius the Great.
He was ordained presbyter of the Church at Caesarea in 365, and his ordination
was probably the result of the entreaties of his ecclesiastical superiors, who
wished to use his talents against the Arians, who were numerous in that part of
the country and were favoured by the Arian emperor, Valens, who then reigned in
Constantinople.
In 370 Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, died, and
Basil was chosen to succeed him. It was then that his great powers were called
into action. Caesarea was an important diocese,
and its bishop
was, ex officio, exarch of the great diocese of Pontus. Hot-blooded and
somewhat imperious, Basil was also generous and sympathetic. His zeal for
orthodoxy did not blind him to what was good in an opponent; and for the sake
of peace and charity he was content to waive the use of orthodox terminology
when it could be surrendered without a sacrifice of truth.
With all his might he resisted the emperor Valens, who strove to
introduce Arianism into his diocese, and impressed the emperor so strongly
that, although inclined to banish the intractable bishop, he left him
unmolested. To an imperial prefect, astonished at Saint Basil's temerity, he
said, "Perhaps you have never before dealt with a proper bishop."
To save the Church from Arianism, Basil entered into connections with
the West, and with the help of Athanasius, he tried to overcome its distrustful
attitude toward the Homoousians. The difficulties had been enhanced by bringing
in the question as to the essence of the Holy Spirit. Although Basil advocated
objectively the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the
Son, he belonged to those, who, faithful to Eastern tradition, would not allow
the predicate homoousios to the former; for this he was reproached as early as
371 by the Orthodox zealots among the monks, and Athanasius defended him.
His relations also with Eustathius were maintained in spite of
dogmatic differences and caused suspicion. On the other hand, Basil was
grievously offended by the extreme adherents of Homoousianism, who seemed to
him to be reviving the Sabellian heresy.
He did not live to see the end of the unhappy factional disturbances and
the complete success of his continued exertions in behalf of Rome and the East.
He suffered from liver illness and his excessive asceticism
seems to have hastened him to an early death.
A lasting monument of his episcopal care for the poor was the great
institute before the gates of Caesarea, which was used as poorhouse, hospital,
and hospice.