Saints Cyril
& Methodius
Bulgarian Orthodox
Mission
Beheading of St. John
the Baptist
(Commemorated annually on August 29)
Sunday,
August 29, 2010
2:00
PM
Held at:
St. Luke Orthodox Church
6801 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101
His Beatitude, Metropolitan
JONAH
The Very Reverend Archpriest
Timothy Perry
The Rev. Deacon
Chterion Zaprionov
Upcoming Service
Schedule:
Services at
St. Mark Church begin at 9:30 AM
Services
at SS Cyril & Methodius Mission begin at 2:00 PM
August 29 – St. John the Baptist, at SS
Cyril & Methodius Mission
September 5 – Services at St. Mark Church, River Road, Bethesda.
September 12 – Elevation of the Cross,
at SS Cyril & Methodius Mission
September 19 – Service location TBA.
September 26 – St. John the Theologian,
at SS Cyril & Methodius Mission
October 3 – Pokrov, Service location TBA.
October 10 – St. Tikhon of Moscow, at SS
Cyril & Methodius Mission
October 17 – Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council, Service
location TBA.
Saints
Commemorated Today
14th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 5.
THE BEHEADING OF THE HOLY GLORIOUS PROPHET, FORERUNNER, AND BAPTIST JOHN.
Parish
Council Meeting
The August Parish Council Meeting will take
place on Sunday, August 29 following the Divine Liturgy. For a copy of the draft agenda please see
Fr. Timothy. Agendas are distributed by
email prior to the meeting. If you
would like to be a part of the distribution, please provide your email address
to Fr. Timothy – your address will not be made publicly available.
Everyone is invited to attend the meetings
and listen or discuss the issues, however, only the elected Parish Council
members may cast a vote.
† May Their Memory Be Eternal †
The
newly departed servant of God, Timothy;
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 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, Alexandra,
Victor, Erin, Catherine, Kyriaki, John, Carmeta, Jane, Oliver, Charlie, and
Patricia;
the servants of God,
Jane, Peter, David, and Lynne;
Those who are
traveling or are sick and suffering and those who have asked us to pray for
them, unworthy though we may be.
"Many Cultures, One Faith"
theme of SVS Education Day
CRESTWOOD, NY
[OCA/SVOTS] -- Archpriest Michael Oleksa will be the keynote speaker at
Saint Vladimir's Seminary annual Education Day October 2.
Father Michael
will set the tone for the day's theme, “Many Cultures, One Faith.” He will
share insights gained in his 40 years of ministry in Alaska, where he has
served as village priest, university professor, and consultant on intercultural
relations and communications. He also has authored several books on Alaskan
native cultures and history, including Alaskan Missionary Spirituality.
A 1969 graduate of Georgetown University,
Father Michael earned his M. Div. at Saint Vladimir’s in 1973, and went on to
complete his doctoral degree at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Presov,
Slovakia, with an emphasis in Alaska Native History during the Alaska-Russian
period (1741–1867). He is recognized as an “Elder” by the Alaska Federation of
Natives, a “Distinguished Public Servant” by the Board of Regents of the
University of Alaska, and has been honored by the Alaska Sate Legislature and
the National Governors Association.
The complete Education Day schedule, with
includes the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, hands-on and how-to workshops,
question-and-answer sessions with SVS faculty, entertainment by musical groups
and dance troupes, and ethnic dishes and delicacies, will be posted shortly on
the seminary web site at www.svots.edu.
The Quest to be truly
Orthodox and truly American
The
Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky
During the
week after Pentecost 2010, the Orthodox churches in America entered a new stage
in their common life. Acting as the Exarch of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,
Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America convened the
Episcopal Assembly for North America, as mandated by the conference of
Patriarchates and Autocephalous Churches held in Chambésy, Switzerland, at
Pentecost 2009.
By all accounts, the Assembly
succeeded in laying the foundation for a more coherent and collaborative
ordering of Orthodox life and mission in America.
Bishop Basil [Antioch] and
Archbishop Antony [Constantinople/Ukrainian] were elected Secretary zfand
Treasurer, respectively, of the Assembly, joining Archbishop Demetrios, Chairman,
and Archbishops Philip [Antioch] and Justinian [Moscow], Vice Chairmen, in the
Executive Committee. The agencies and commissions of the Standing Conference of
Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas [SCOBA] were affirmed by the
Assembly as efficient expressions of the common mission of the Orthodox
Churches. Committees of the Assembly are in process of formation. It was
proposed by consensus, and in consultation with hierarchs from Mexico and
Canada, that the bishops in Canada form their own Episcopal Assembly, and that
the bishops in Mexico join the Episcopal Assembly of South [Latin] America.
Finally, it is anticipated that the entire Episcopal Assembly process will lead
to canonical solutions to the problems of the so-called diaspora, in this way preparing
for the convening of a Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Churches.
The successful beginning does not
tell us very much about the road ahead. Obstacles are sure to emerge, while
challenges with no easy solutions remain.
One such challenge is the place
of the Orthodox Church in America in the Episcopal Assembly.
One-third of the Orthodox
Churches recognize the autocephaly of the OCA. One-third are determined to
reject this status. One-third take a neutral position. All the bishops of the
OCA were full participants of the Episcopal Assembly, equal in this way to all
the other canonical bishops. On the other hand, the OCA as a church was not
seen at this time as a participating church.
It is difficult to describe the
situation of the OCA in the Assembly as anything other than humiliating. This
is so even though the Chairman and others did everything possible to avoid any
words or actions that would be heard or felt as humiliating. The only adequate
Christian response to humiliation is found in humility. And this was the
response and attitude in which the OCA hierarchs were grounded. By this means
they preserved dignity -- their own dignity and the dignity of the OCA,
as well as the dignity of the Assembly. By this, they contributed to the
successful and hopeful outcome of the Assembly.
Another challenge ahead will be
the question of movement towards the transformation of the Episcopal Assembly
into a real Synod of Bishops for a united church. Will the experience of the
Episcopal Assembly create such a deep sense of mutual trust and common mission
that jurisdictional divisions within the Assembly will become relatively
unimportant, and the common Orthodox identity in the One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic church will become the priority?
Even the achievement of such love
and unity will not be enough if we as Orthodox Christians fail to encounter and
engage America -- American society and American culture. It is possible
to be united and yet self-satisfied and isolated. It is not enough to put
"our" Orthodox house in order if this is an end in itself.
We are called to put our house in
order to be true and adequate witnesses to Jesus Christ, to the Good News of
Christ, and to the joy of Christ's Resurrection. And to accomplish this in
America, Father Alexander Schmemann told us many years ago that our Church is
called to be truly Orthodox and truly American.
Administration of the Sacraments
The parish priest, responsible to the diocesan bishop and
answerable to God, is the sole administrator of the sacraments in every 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.
Fr. Timothy is to be contacted well in advance of planning for any
sacrament outside of the receipt of the eucharist.