The Responsibility of Love

Metropolitan  Ieronymos of  Larisa and Tyrnavos

We were in debt to such an extent that nothing could act as a counter-weight to our sinful apostasy or give us any hope of salvation. And yet the Creator didn’t become enraged with His creation. If creators- painters, poets, artists, composers, sculptors or writers- don’t like what they’ve created, when it doesn’t meet their expectations, when it’s failed, they have the right to destroy it and start something else. God didn’t do this, though, when His creation didn’t meet His expectations and when it rose up and made war against Him. He sent His Only-Begotten Son and Word, so that, through His incarnation, He could refashion the human race, not simply granting forgiveness of sins but bestowing something very much greater: sanctification, deification, eternal restoration in the kingdom of heaven.

Read more HERE

 

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun” (Rev. 12:1). In the bodily “translation” of the Virgin, the Church recognizes a “great sign.” A prophetic sign, that speaks to us of our destiny, of the meaning of death, of bodies, of human relations.

This sign tells us: death is not the final end of the human being. We are not lastly, as the philosopher Heidegger thought, only “being-unto-death.” Finite time and death are not our ultimate horizon. The mother of Jesus was “translated unto life.”

This sign tells us: a “heaven” of pure spirits is not our last estate. Christians are not Platonists! The body is not the soul’s prison, a cocoon to be sloughed off for the “true self” to emerge like a butterfly. Plato was wrong: our true person, as God intended it, is not just soul, but also body. Salvation of the person means salvation of the body.

This sign tells us: through the resurrection of Jesus, each one of us will rise again in our body, restored, as we were also once conceived in our mother’s womb: as male or female. And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun (Rev. 12:1). Risen to glory, Mary is still Woman.

Read more HERE

Please plan to join us for a Parish Family Luncheon this Sunday after Divine Liturgy!

Every time we celebrate the Dormition of the Mother of God it’s as though we have Easter again. The summer Easter.

Our Lady the Mother of God prepares Easter for us. A glorious crossing ‘from death to life’.

A second Easter, holy, spotless, giving life to the human race, because today, in truth ‘ the laws of nature are overcome’. Read more HERE

Services this week:

Monday, August 2nd Paraklesis 6p

Wednesday, August 4th Paraklesis 6p

Thursday, August 5th Bible Study 11a

Friday, August 6th Holy Transfiguration Orthros 8a; Divine Liturgy 9a; Paraklesis 6p

Saturday, August 7th Vespers 6p

Sunday, August 8th Orthros 9a; Divine Liturgy 10a

Face Masks Again Required

The mission of our Church is to bring people to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18) To fulfil this mission we must all have the commitment and conviction to live the life in Christ as an individual and within the community.

State health official announced on Tuesday that Nevada will follow the CDCs latest mask guidance, which means everyone – vaccinated or not – must wear a mask in public indoor settings in counties with high transmission of COVID-19.  Washoe is currently one of these counties.

Beginning Friday, all who enter our church and its facilities will be required to wear a mask.  Open seating will remain for all services (no reservation needed).  Live streaming and expanded seating in the Small Hall will continue to allow for flexibility and use as needed.

Since the onset of Covid-19, our Parish has followed guidelines of health and civil authorities and our Metropolis. We will continue to do this, keeping the safety and wellbeing of our parishioners a top priority.

Please know that all decisions are being made in love and out of an abundance of care as we keep the health and well-being of all parishioners, and the Parish, a top concern. Looking forward, let us all continue to trust in the Lord, and be steadfast in faith, hope, and love. Let us be grateful for both the good we experience as well as the challenges we face.

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)

 

Commemoration of the Holy Martyrs Elizabeth the Grand Duchess and the Nun Barbara

Saint Elizabeth was the older sister of Tsarina Alexandra, and was married to the Grand Duke Sergius, the governor of Moscow. She converted to Orthodoxy from Protestantism of her own free will, and organized women from all levels of society to help the soldiers at the front and in the hospitals.

Grand Duke Sergius was killed by an assassin’s bomb on February 4, 1905, just as Saint Elizabeth was leaving for her workshops. Remarkably, she visited her husband’s killer in prison and urged him to repent.

After this, she began to withdraw from her former social life. She devoted herself to the Convent of Saints Martha and Mary, a community of nuns which focused on worshiping God and also helping the poor. She moved out of the palace into a building she purchased on Ordinka. Women from the nobility, and also from the common people, were attracted to the convent.

Saint Elizabeth nursed sick and wounded soldiers in the hospitals and on the battle front. On Pascha of 1918, the Communists ordered her to leave Moscow, and join the royal family near Ekaterinburg. She left with a novice, Sister Barbara, and an escort of Latvian guards.

After arriving in Ekaterinburg, Saint Elizabeth was denied access to the Tsar’s family. She was placed in a convent, where she was warmly received by the sisters.

At the end of May Saint Elizabeth was moved to nearby Alopaevsk with the Grand Dukes Sergius, John, and Constantine, and the young Count Vladimir Paley. They were all housed in a schoolhouse on the edge of town. Saint Elizabeth was under guard, but was permitted to go to church and work in the garden.

On the night of July 5, they were all taken to a place twelve miles from Alopaevsk, and executed. The Grand Duke Sergius was shot, but the others were thrown down a mineshaft, then grenades were tossed after them. Saint Elizabeth lived for several hours, and could be heard singing hymns. You can read more details of her life HERE

The bodies of Saint Elizabeth and Saint Barbara were taken to Jerusalem in 1920, and buried in the church of Saint Mary Magdalene.

Click to listen to a 12 minute podcast about her inspiring life and martyrdom.