Saints Cyril
& Methodius
Bulgarian Orthodox
Mission
Archdiocese of Washington
Orthodox
Church in America
St. Tikhon, Apostle
to America
(Commemorated annually on October 9)
Sunday,
October 10, 2010
2:00
PM
Services at:
St. Luke Orthodox Church
6801 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101
His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH
The Very Reverend Archpriest Timothy Perry
The Reverend Deacon Chterion Zaprionov
St. Tikhon, Apostle to America
St Tikhon,
Patriarch of Moscow and Apostle to America was born as Vasily Ivanovich Belavin
on January 19, 1865 into the family of Ioann Belavin, a rural priest of the
Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese. His childhood and adolescence were
spent in the village in direct contact with peasants and their labor. From his
early years he displayed a particular religious disposition, love for the
Church as well as rare meekness and humility.
When Vasily was still a boy, his
father had a revelation about each of his children. One night, when he and his
three sons slept in the hayloft, he suddenly woke up and roused them. He had
seen his dead mother in a dream, who foretold to him his imminent death, and
the fate of his three sons. She said that one would be unfortunate throughout
his entire life, another would die young, while the third, Vasily, would be a
great man. The prophecy of the dead woman proved to be entirely accurate in
regard to all three brothers.
From 1878 to 1883, Vasily studied at
the Pskov Theological Seminary. The modest seminarian was tender and affectionate
by nature. He was fair-haired and tall of stature. His fellow students liked
and respected him for his piety, brilliant progress in studies, and constant
readiness to help comrades, who often turned to him for explanations of
lessons, especially for help in drawing up and correcting numerous
compositions. Vasily was called "bishop" and "patriarch" by
his classmates.
In 1888, at the age of 23, Vasily
Belavin graduated from the St Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman, and
returned to the Pskov Seminary as an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology.
The whole seminary and the town of Pskov became very fond of him. He led an
austere and chaste life, and in 1891, when he turned 26, he took monastic vows.
Nearly the whole town gathered for the ceremony. He embarked on this new way of
life consciously and deliberately, desiring to dedicate himself entirely to the
service of the Church. The meek and humble young man was given the name Tikhon
in honor of St Tikhon of Zadonsk.
He was transferred from the Pskov
Seminary to the Kholm Theological Seminary in 1892, and was raised to the rank
of archimandrite. Archimandrite Tikhon was consecrated Bishop of Lublin on
October 19, 1897, and returned to Kholm for a year as Vicar Bishop of the Kholm
Diocese. Bishop Tikhon zealously devoted his energy to the establishment of the
new vicariate. His attractive moral make-up won the general affection, of not
only the Russian population, but also of the Lithuanians and Poles. On
September 14, 1898, Bishop Tikhon was made Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska.
As head of the Orthodox Church in America, Bishop Tikhon was a zealous laborer
in the Lord's vineyard.
He did much to promote the spread of
Orthodoxy, and to improve his vast diocese. He reorganized the diocesan
structure, and changed its name from "Diocese of the Aleutians and
Alaska" to "Diocese of the Aleutians and North America" in 1900.
Both clergy and laity loved their archpastor, and held him in such esteem that
the Americans made Archbishop Tikhon an honorary citizen of the United States.
On May 22, 1901, he blessed the
cornerstone for St Nicholas Cathedral in New York, and was also involved in
establishing other churches. On November 9, 1902, he consecrated the church of
St Nicholas in Brooklyn for the Syrian Orthodox immigrants. Two weeks later, he
consecrated St Nicholas Cathedral in NY.
In 1905, the American Mission was made
an Archdiocese, and St Tikhon was elevated to the rank of Archbishop. He had
two vicar bishops: Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) in Alaska, and St Raphael
(Hawaweeny) in Brooklyn to assist him in administering his large, ethnically
diverse diocese. In June of 1905, St Tikhon gave his blessing for the
establishment of St Tikhon's Monastery.
In 1907, he returned to Russia, and was
appointed to Yaroslavl, where he quickly won the affection of his flock. They
came to love him as a friendly, communicative, and wise archpastor. He spoke
simply to his subordinates, never resorting to a peremptory or overbearing
tone. When he had to reprimand someone, he did so in a good-natured, sometimes
joking manner, which encouraged the person to correct his mistakes.
When St Tikhon was transferred to
Lithuania on December 22, 1913, the people of Yaroslavl voted him an honorary
citizen of their town. After his transfer to Vilnius, he did much in terms of
material support for various charitable institutions. There too, his generous
soul and love of people clearly manifested themselves. World War I broke out
when His Eminence was in Vilnius. He spared no effort to help the poor
residents of the Vilnius region who were left without a roof over their heads
or means of subsistence as a result of the war with the Germans, and who
flocked to their archpastor in droves.
After the February Revolution and
formation of a new Synod, St Tikhon became one of its members. On June 21,
1917, the Moscow Diocesan Congress of clergy and laity elected him as their
ruling bishop. He was a zealous and educated archpastor, widely known even
outside his country.
On August 15, 1917, a local council
was opened in Moscow, and Archbishop Tikhon was raised to the dignity of
Metropolitan, and then elected as chairman of the council. The council had as
its aim to restore the life of Russian Orthodox Church on strictly canonical
principles, and its primary concern was the restoration of the Patriarchate.
All council members would select three candidates, and then a lot would reveal
the will of God. The council members chose three candidates: Archbishop Anthony
of Kharkov, the wisest, Archbishop Arseny of Novgorod, the strictest, and
Metropolitan Tikhon of Moscow, the kindest of the Russian hierarchs.
On November 5, following the Divine
Liturgy and a Molieben in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, a monk removed
one of the three ballots from the ballot box, which stood before the Vladimir
Icon of the Mother of God. Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev announced Metropolitan
Tikhon as the newly elected Patriarch. St Tikhon did not change after becoming
the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. In accepting the will of the
council, Patriarch Tikhon referred to the scroll that the Prophet Ezekiel had
to eat, on which was written, "Lamentations, mourning, and woe." He
foresaw that his ministry would be filled with affliction and tears, but
through all his suffering, he remained the same accessible, unassuming, and
kindly person.
All who met St Tikhon were surprised
by his accessibility, simplicity and modesty. His gentle disposition did not
prevent him from showing firmness in Church matters, however, particularly when
he had to defend the Church from her enemies. He bore a very heavy cross. He
had to administer and direct the Church amidst wholesale church
disorganization, without auxiliary administrative bodies, in conditions of internal
schisms and upheavals by various adherents of the Living Church,
renovationists, and autocephalists.
The situation was complicated by
external circumstances: the change of the political system, by the accession to
power of the godless regime, by hunger, and civil war. This was a time when
Church property was being confiscated, when clergy were subjected to court
trials and persecutions, and Christ's Church endured repression. News of this
came to the Patriarch from all ends of Russia. His exceptionally high moral and
religious authority helped him to unite the scattered and enfeebled flock. At a
crucial time for the church, his unblemished name was a bright beacon pointing
the way to the truth of Orthodoxy. In his messages, he called on people to fulfill
the commandments of Christ, and to attain spiritual rebirth through repentance.
His irreproachable life was an example to all.
In order to save thousands of lives
and to improve the general position of the church, the Patriarch took measures
to prevent clergy from making purely political statements. On September 25,
1919, when the civil war was at its height, he issued a message to the clergy
urging them to stay away from political struggle.
The summer of 1921 brought a severe
famine to the Volga region. In August, Patriarch Tikhon issued a message to the
Russian people and to the people of the world, calling them to help famine
victims. He gave his blessing for voluntary donations of church valuables,
which were not directly used in liturgical services. However, on February 23,
1922, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee published a decree making all
valuables subject to confiscation.
According to the 73rd Apostolic Canon,
such actions were regarded as sacrilege, and the Patriarch could not approve
such total confiscation, especially since many doubted that the valuables would
be used to combat famine. This forcible confiscation aroused popular
indignation everywhere. Nearly two thousand trials were staged all over Russia,
and more than ten thousand believers were shot. The Patriarch's message was
viewed as sabotage, for which he was imprisoned from April 1922 until June
1923.
His Holiness, Patriarch Tikhon did
much on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church during the crucial time of the so-called
Renovationist schism. He showed himself to be a faithful servant and custodian
of the undistorted precepts of the true Orthodox Church. He was the living
embodiment of Orthodoxy, which was unconsciously recognized even by enemies of
the church, who called its members "Tikhonites."
When Renovationist priests and
hierarchs repented and returned to the church, they were met with tenderness
and love by St Tikhon. This, however, did not represent any deviation from his
strictly Orthodox policy. "I ask you to believe me that I will not come to
agreement or make concessions which could lead to the loss of the purity and
strength of Orthodoxy," the Patriarch said in 1924.
Being a good pastor, who devoted
himself entirely to the church's cause, he called upon the clergy to do the
same: "Devote all your energy to preaching the word of God and the truth
of Christ, especially today, when unbelief and atheism are audaciously
attacking the Church of Christ. May the God of peace and love be with all of
you!"
It was extremely painful and hard for
the Patriarch's loving, responsive heart to endure all the Church's
misfortunes. Upheavals in and outside the church, the Renovationist schism, his
primatial labors, his concern for the organization and tranquility of Church
life, sleepless nights and heavy thoughts, his confinement that lasted more
than a year, the spiteful and wicked baiting of his enemies, and the
unrelenting criticism sometimes even from the Orthodox, combined to undermine
his strength and health.
In 1924, Patriarch Tikhon began to
feel unwell. He checked into a hospital, but would leave it on Sundays and
Feast Days in order to conduct services. On Sunday, April 5, 1925, he served
his last Liturgy, and died two days later. On March 25/April 7, 1925 the
Patriarch received Metropolitan Peter and had a long talk with him. In the
evening, the Patriarch slept a little, then he woke up and asked what time it
was. When he was told it was 11:45 P.M., he made the Sign of the Cross twice
and said, "Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee." He did not have
time to cross himself a third time.
Almost a million people came to say
farewell to the Patriarch. The large cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery in
Moscow could not contain the crowd, which overflowed the monastery property
into the square and adjacent streets. St Tikhon, the eleventh Patriarch of
Moscow, was primate of the Russian Church for seven and a half years.
On September 26/October 9, 1989, the
Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church glorified Patriarch Tikhon
and numbered him among the saints. For nearly seventy years, St Tikhon's relics
were believed lost, but in February 1992, they were discovered in a concealed
place in the Donskoy Monastery.
It would be difficult to imagine the Russian
Orthodox Church without Patriarch Tikhon during those years. He did so much for
the Church and for the strengthening of the Faith itself during those difficult
years of trial. Perhaps the saint's own words can best sum up his life:
"May God teach every one of us to strive for His truth, and for the good
of the Holy Church, rather than something for our own sake."
Communique of the
Commissions of the Russian Church Abroad
and the
Orthodox Church in America
SEA CLIFF, NY -- On
October 5, 2010, the first joint meeting of the Commissions of the Orthodox
Church in America and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was held at
St. Seraphim Church in Sea Cliff, NY. The Commissions’ members prayed during a
moleben "invoking the aid of the Holy Spirit upon commencing a good
work," after which they began their meeting at the parish rectory.
The main goal of these meetings was to discuss and resolve issues that
have in the past stood in the way of full Eucharistic communion and to come to
an understanding of how we can pray and work together in the future.
The representatives of the
Orthodox Church in America were the Commission Chairman, His Grace Bishop
Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania; Archpriest Alexander Garklavs;
Archpriest Leonid Kishkovsky; Archpriest John Erickson; Hegumen Alexander
(Pihach) and Alexis Liberovsky, consultant.
Representing the Russian Orthodox
Church Outside of Russia were the Commission Chairman, His Grace Bishop George
of Mayfield, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese; Archimandrite Luke
(Murianka); Commission Secretary Archpriest Alexander Lebedeff; Archpriest
David Moser and Priest Peter Jackson. Archpriest Serafim Gan participated as a
consultant.
Archpriest Alexander Lebedeff presented his paper "The Russian
Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Orthodox Church in America Relations
– Past, Present and Future". Alexis Liberovsky, OCA archivist, then gave a
presentation on the history of the Orthodox Church in America. These
presentations were followed by fruitful and wide-ranging discussions among the
members of these commissions.
After praying at Great Vespers,
celebrated by clergy of St. Seraphim Church, the participants shared a
fraternal meal with the clergy and choir of the parish.
On October 6, the feast of St.
Innocent of Moscow, Enlightener of America, the meetings began following the
Divine Liturgy at the Church of Our Lady of Kazan in Sea Cliff (OCA),
celebrated by Bishop Tikhon assisted by Deacon Nicholas Olhovsky (ROCOR), at
which clergy of both Churches communed.
The commissions then reconvened to continue discussions which resulted
in a draft joint statement to be submitted for approval to their respective
Synods of Bishops regarding the history and present relations of the two
Churches and proposals for the future.
The Commissions are very grateful to St. Seraphim’s choir and Ladies’
Auxiliary headed by Alla Ryl and singers at Our of Lady of Kazan Church, along
with Matushka Alexandra Kishkovsky for facilitating all practical aspects for
the meetings.
The meeting concluded with a moleben of thanksgiving at which all the
participants gave thanks to God for ability to work together in the spirit of
brotherly love for the good of Christ’s Holy Church
2010
Annual Parish Meeting
This is the first announcement
of the SS Cyril & Methodius Annual Parish Meeting. As required by our parish Bylaws, the Parish
in its entirety meets once a year to hear reports, elect Parish Council
members, and to orient the parish for that year.
Reports will be heard from
the, 1/ Parish Priest, 2/ Parish President, 3/ Parish Treasurer, 4/ Parish
Secretary, and 5/ a report on the social activities of the Parish.
As required in the Bylaws, the
meeting will be held after the last Divine Liturgy of the month. At this time, the draft Divine Liturgy
schedule determines the meeting will be held on January 23, 2011. As you are well aware, winter weather
sometimes interrupts safe travel so, if the Divine Liturgy schedule is altered,
announcements to that effect will be made well in advance by updates in this
Bulletin, in church, and by email.
Members of the public are
welcome to attend by only members of the parish may vote at an Annual Meeting.
Upcoming Service
Schedule:
Services at
St. George Church begin at 12:15 PM
Services
at SS Cyril & Methodius Mission begin at 2:00 PM
October 10 – St. Tikhon of Moscow, at SS Cyril & Methodius Mission
October 17 – Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council, St. George,
Potomoc, MD
October 24 – St. Demetrius the Myrrhbearer, at SS Cyril & Methodius
Mission
October 31 – SS Cosmas and Damian, Unmercenaries, at St. George,
Potomoc, MD
Saints
Commemorated Today
20th
SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 3 (3rd of Luke). Martyrs Eulampius and
Eulampia, at Nicomedia, and 200 Martyrs with them (303-311). St. Amphilókhy
(Amphilochius), Bishop of Vladimir in Volyn’ (1122). Synaxis of the Saints of
Volyn’: Ven. Job of Pochaev, Ss. Stephen and Amphilókhy, Bishops of Vladimir in
Volyn’; Hieromartyr Makáry, Archimandrite of Kanev; St. Yaropolk, Prince of
Vladimir in Volyn’; Ven. Theodore (in monasticism Theodosius), Prince of
Ostrog; and St. Juliana Ol’shánskaya. Bl. Andrew of Tot’ma, Fool-for-Christ
(1673). Martyr Theotecnus of Antioch (3rd-4th c.). St.
Bassian of Constantinople (5th c.). St. Theophilus the Confessor of
Bulgaria (8th c.). Ven. Amvrosy of Optina (1891). Hieromartyr Peter
(Polianskii), Metropolitan of Krutitsy (1937—Sept 27th O.S.) The
“AKATHIST” Icon of the Most-holy Theotokos at Zographou (Mt Athos).
† May Their Memory Be Eternal †
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, Maria, Megan, Bojanka, Magdalena, Alexander,
Sophia, Shafik, Christo, Julia, Rada, Radka, Anna, Dale, Olivera, Marianthe, Panaigioti,
& George.
Those
Who Are In Need of Prayer
The Priests Photius,
Anthony, Vadim, and Joseph;
the Presbyteras
Artemis, Marie, Miriam, Juliana, & Anne;
the servants of God,
William, Stella, Douglas, Alexandra, Victor, Erin, Catherine, Kyriaki, Helen, John,
Carmeta, Jane, Daniel, Oliver, Charlie, and Patricia;
Those who are
traveling or are sick and suffering and those who have asked us to pray for
them, unworthy though we may be.
Diocese of the Midwest Presents
Episcopal Candidate to the Holy Synod
MINNEAPOLIS, MN [MW DIOCESE
COMMUNICATIONS] -- Priestmonk
Matthias [Moriak] was nominated as the candidate for Bishop of Chicago and the
Midwest at a special diocesan assembly at Saint Mary Cathedral here Wednesday,
October 6, 2010.
It is anticipated that Father Matthias' name will be submitted to the
Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America for canonical election
in November 2010. His consecration to the episcopacy and enthronement are
slated to be celebrated in May 2011.
The special assembly opened with the celebration of a Service of Prayer
Invoking the Holy Spirit by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, Locum Tenens of
the Diocese of the Midwest.
In addition to Father Matthias, Archpriests Paul Gassios and David
Mahaffey were candidates.
Father Matthias' selection came on the second round of voting, in which
he received the greater number of votes. A call to present him by acclamation
followed.
Father Matthias is currently
under the omophorion of His Grace, Bishop Michael of New York. He serves Holy
Myrrhbearers Monastery, Otego, NY
Administration of the Sacraments
The parish priest, responsible to the diocesan bishop and answerable to
God, is the sole administrator of the sacraments in the Orthodox parish.
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