Saints Cyril & Methodius
Bulgarian Orthodox Mission
(web address: www.bocdc.org)
Meeting
at St. Luke Orthodox Church
6801
Georgetown Pike, PO Box 1015
Mc Lean, VA 22101
Synaxis of the
Twelve Apostles
(Celebrated on June 30)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH, Primate
Orthodox Church in America
Diocese of Washington and New York
Saints of Georgia
Commemorated on June 29
Having examined the history of Georgia and the hagiographical
treasures attesting to the faith of the Georgian nation, we become convinced
that Heavenly Georgia— the legion of Georgian saints, extolling the Lord
in the Heavenly Kingdom with a single voice—is infinitely glorious. It is
unknown how many cleansed themselves of their earthly sins in merciless warfare
with the enemy of Christ, or how many purified their souls in unheated cells
through prayer, fasting, and ascetic labors.
To God alone are known the names
of those ascetics, forgotten by history, who by their humble labors tirelessly
forged the future of the Georgian Church and people.
St. George of the Holy Mountain
wrote: “From the time we recognized the one true God, we have never renounced
Him, nor have our people ever yielded to heresy.”
A decree of the Church Council of
Ruisi-Urbnisi states: “We will not depart from thee, the Catholic Church which
bore us in holiness, nor will we betray thee, our
pride—Orthodoxy—to which we have always been faithful, for we have
been granted the honor to know thee, the witness of the Truth Itself!” This
relationship to Orthodoxy is the cornerstone of the life of every Georgian
believer.
It is impossible to count the
names of all those Christians who have been raised up from the earthly Church
in Georgia to the heavens, let alone to describe all the godly deeds they have
performed. For this reason December 11 has been set aside for the commemoration
not only of the saints whose Lives are known to us but also of the nearly three
hundred more whose names, but not stories, have been preserved as well.
Most Georgian people bear the
name of a saint who is commemorated on this day, and they entreat the saint to
intercede before the Lord in their behalf.
The
Twelve Holy Apostles
Commemorated
on June 30
The Synaxis of the
Glorious and All-Praiseworthy Twelve Apostles of Christ appears to be an
ancient Feast. The Church honors each of the Twelve Apostles on separate dates
during the year, and has established a general commemoration for all of them on
the day after the commemoration of the Glorious and First-Ranked among the
Apostles Peter and Paul.
The holy God-crowned Emperor
Constantine the Great (May 21) built a church in Constantinople in honor of the
Twelve Apostles. There are instructions for celebrating this Feast which date
from the fourth century.
For lists of the Apostles' names,
see: Mt.10:2, Mark 3:14, Luke 6:12, Acts 1:13, 26.
Saints
Commemorated Today
2nd SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 1. All Saints of America (All
Saints of Russia). THE HOLY GLORIOUS AND ALL-PRAISED LEADERS OF THE APOSTLES,
PETER AND PAUL (ca. 67 A.D.).
† May
Their Memory Be Eternal
†
The newly
departed servant Alexander; Archbishop GREGORY; Priests Peter, Ishmael, Leo,
Homer, Victor, and Thomas; Readers John, Philemon, John, and Robert Michael; Sophia,
Shafik, Michael, Steven, Christo, Radka, Anna, Dale, Mary, Carmel, Thomas,
Vasili, Mary Ellen, Andrew, Irene, Stamatia, Peter, Vera, George, Marianthe,
Panaigioti, Christophor, Rada, & Julia.
Those Who Are In Need of Prayer
Priests Milorad,
Photius, Anthony, and Joseph; Presbyteras Marie, Miriam, Barbara, Artemis, &
Marie; Matthew, Oliver, Zell, Theresa, Catherine, Yonka, & Bojanka,
-
Upcoming Services -
Services at SS Cyril & Methodius begin at 2:00
Services at St. George begin at 12:15
June 28 – SS Peter and Paul, @ SS Cyril & Methodius.
July 12 – Fr. Timothy may be serving at St. Mark Church. Stay tuned.
July 19 - TBA
Next service at St. George Bulgarian Church – unknown
Donations for Saints Cyril and Methodius Names
Day Celebration
Dr. George Lazar, $200
Anonymous $100
Thanks to all those who donated.
Monies have been applied to the General Fund that will be used to meet
budgetary demands of the Mission.
The Parish Council of SS Cyril & Methodius
(Elected each year at the Annual Parish Meeting
in January)
In support of our pastor the Very Reverend Timothy
Perry, who is appointed by the Orthodox Church in America, this year’s Council
members are:
Ms. Nadya Choparinoff, President
Mr. George Kochev, Vice-President
Ms. Elena Murphy, Treasurer
Ms. Elisabeth Sipkov-Piñeros, Secretary
Mr. Lawrence Woods, Council Member