Canon of St. Andrew of Crete - At the beginning of Lent, we find the great penitential Canon of St Andrew of Crete.   Divided into four parts, it is read at Great Compline on the evenings of the first four days of Lent.  It can best be described as a penitential lamentation showing us the scope and depth of sin, repentance and hope.   It is the function and the purpose of the Great Canon to reveal sin to us and to lead us to repentance, and it reveals sin not by definitions and enumerations but by a deep meditation on the great biblical story which is the story of sin, repentance, and forgiveness.     The Lenten journey begins thus with a return to the “starting point” – the world of Creation, Fall, and Redemption, the world in which all things speak of God and reflect His glory, in which all events are referred to God, in which man finds the true dimension of his life, and having found it, repents.  –Alexander Schmemann

Canon of St. Andrew of Crete - At the beginning of Lent, we find the great penitential Canon of St Andrew of Crete.   Divided into four parts, it is read at Great Compline on the evenings of the first four days of Lent.  It can best be described as a penitential lamentation showing us the scope and depth of sin, repentance and hope.   It is the function and the purpose of the Great Canon to reveal sin to us and to lead us to repentance, and it reveals sin not by definitions and enumerations but by a deep meditation on the great biblical story which is the story of sin, repentance, and forgiveness.     The Lenten journey begins thus with a return to the “starting point” – the world of Creation, Fall, and Redemption, the world in which all things speak of God and reflect His glory, in which all events are referred to God, in which man finds the true dimension of his life, and having found it, repents.  –Alexander Schmemann

Divine Liturgy - St. Theodore Saturday - Julian the Apostate, knowing that the Christians purify themselves by fasting most of all during the first week of the Fast – which is why we call it Clean Week – planned to defile them especially at that time.  Therefore he secretly commanded that during those days the markets be filled with foods that had been defiled with the blood of animals offered in sacrifice to idols.  But by divine command the Martyr Theodore appeared during sleep to Eudoxius, then Archbishop of Constantinople.  The Saint revealed to him the tyrant’s plan, then told him to call the faithful together immediately on Monday morning and prevent them from purchasing those foods, but rather to make kollyva to supply their needs.  Kollyva is boiled wheat.  Thus, the purpose of the Apostate was brought to nought, and the pious people who were preserved undefiled for the whole of Clean Week, rendered thanks to the Martyr on this Saturday.  The Church keeps this commemoration each year to the glory of God and the honor of the Martyr.      

Blessing of Kolivo

Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy - Sunday of Orthodoxy - Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Lent and the Church celebrates the "Triumph of Orthodoxy" commemorating the victory over Iconoclasm and the restoration of the veneration of icons in Constantinople in 843.  The connection of this celebration with Lent is purely historical; the first "triumph of Orthodoxy" took place on this particular Sunday. 

Divine Liturgy - Sunday of Orthodoxy - On the first Sunday of Great Lent, we celebrate the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.  This is an historical feast commemorating the restoration of icons, which had been banned for several decades, to their rightful liturgical use in the year 843 A.D.  The heresy of iconoclasm was overcome.  The major emphasis of this feast is victory of the true faith, the victory which always ultimately triumphs. 

Presanctified Liturgy - Saddle Brook - In the Orthodox Church, Great Lent is not a season of morbidity and gloominess.  On the contrary, it is a time of joyfulness and purification.  We are called to “anoint our faces” and to “cleanse our bodies as we cleanse our souls.”

Akahist to Divine Passion and Panikhida - Jesus, Son of God, remember us when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom! 

Memorial Saturday

Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy - St. Gregory Palamas - St.Gregory Palamas defended a method of prayer for the Hesychast monks that allowed them to participate in God’s love and to experience God through His divineenergies.  This method of prayer involved repentance for sins, and purifying oneself through prayer, worship, meditation and concentration.  This prayer is so intense that it can be accomplished only with supervision.  What St. Gregory Palamas emphasized was that God can be known and is a Living God Who reveals Himself in action.  This revelation is granted through the grace of the Holy Spirit.  St. Gregory of Palamas teaches us contemplation and the awareness of God.

Divine Liturgy - St. Gregory Palamas - St.Gregory Palamas defended a method of prayer for the Hesychast monks that allowed them to participate in God’s love and to experience God through His divineenergies.  This method of prayer involved repentance for sins, and purifying oneself through prayer, worship, meditation and concentration.  This prayer is so intense that it can be accomplished only with supervision.  What St. Gregory Palamas emphasized was that God can be known and is a Living God Who reveals Himself in action.  This revelation is granted through the grace of the Holy Spirit.  St. Gregory of Palamas teaches us contemplation and the awareness of God.

Please give Barbara all articles before this date. Thank you. 

Presanctified Liturgy - With Archbishop Michael - The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is one of the great masterpieces of Orthodox piety and liturgical creativity.  It reveals in its form and content the central Christian doctrine and experience, namely that our life must be spent in prayer and fasting in order that we might enter into communion with Christ who comes at the end, as “a thief in the night.”  The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is one of the most beautiful and most meaningful liturgical services in the Orthodox Christian Church.  –Father Thomas Hopko  

Akathist to Jesus Christ and Panikhida - "Creator of Angels and Lord of Hosts, as of old You opened the ear and tongue of him that was deaf and dumb, so now open my perplexed mind and tongue to praise Your most Holy Name that I may cry to You:  Jesus most wonderful, Astonishment of Angels. Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me." 

Memorial Saturday

Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy - Veneration of the Cross - With the help of God, we have almost reached the middle of the course of the Fast, where our strength has been worn down through abstinence, and the full difficulty of the labor set before us becomes apparent.  Therefore our Holy Mother, the Church of Christ, now brings to our help the All-Holy Cross, the joy of the world, the strength of the faithful, the staff of the just, and the hope of sinners, so that by venerating it reverently, we might receive strength and grace to complete the Divine struggle of the Fast.

Sunday Divine Liturgy - Veneration of the Precious Cross - With the help of God, we have almost reached the middle of the course of the Fast, where our strength has been worn down through abstinence, and the full difficulty of the labor set before us becomes apparent.  Therefore our Holy Mother, the Church of Christ, now brings to our help the All-Holy Cross, the joy of the world, the strength of the faithful, the staff of the just, and the hope of sinners, so that by venerating it reverently, we might receive strength and grace to complete the Divine struggle of the Fast.

Trustees' Meeting - The March meeting will follow coffee hour.   

Presanctified Liturgy - Clifton - "Out of the depths I cry to Thee, O Lord.  Lord, hear my voice.  Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications."

Vigil for the Feast of the Annunciation tomorrow - Annunciation to the Virgin Mary – “Today is the beginning of our salvation, the revelation of the eternal mystery!  The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin as Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.  Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos:  Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you!”  (Troparion)

Divine Liturgy - Annunciation to the Virgin Mary - Annunciation to the Virgin Mary – “Today is the beginning of our salvation, the revelation of the eternal mystery!  The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin as Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.  Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos:  Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with you!”  (Troparion)

Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy - St. John of the Ladder - He is commemorated today because his book, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, is a sure guide to the ascetic life.  St. John was a great man of prayer experienced in all forms of the monastic polity; it teaches the seeker after salvation how to lay a sound foundation for his struggles, how to detect and war against each of the passions, how to avoid the snares laid by the demons, and how to rise from the rudimental virtues to the heights of Godlike love and humility.  It is held in such high esteem that it is universally read in its entirety in monasteries during the Great Fast.

Sunday Divine Liturgy - St. John of the Ladder - He is commemorated today because his book, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, is a sure guide to the ascetic life.  St. John was a great man of prayer experienced in all forms of the monastic polity; it teaches the seeker after salvation how to lay a sound foundation for his struggles, how to detect and war against each of the passions, how to avoid the snares laid by the demons, and how to rise from the rudimental virtues to the heights of Godlike love and humility.  It is held in such high esteem that it is universally read in its entirety in monasteries during the Great Fast.

Mission Service here at St. John's - From the first week of Lent sweet-voiced chants are eliminated; instead, we hear penitential psalms of David and the prayer of St. Ephraim, that the Lord would take from us the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power and idle talk.  We ask God to give us a spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love instead.  As you come to the Lenten services, participate in the beauty of the readings and songs all of which help us to recognize our sin and turn humbly and reverently to God.

Presanctified Liturgy - Paramus - "Now the powers of heaven do serve invisibly with us.  Lo, the King of Glory enters.  Lo, the mystical sacrifice is upborne, fulfilled."  (Hymn of the Entrance)

Akathist to the Theotokos - "Rejoice unfading rose.  Rejoice, the only one who budded forth the unfading apple.  Rejoice, birth-giver of the aromatic balm of the King of all.  Rejoice, O Bride unwedded, the world's salvation."