Meditation On: Protection of the Mother of God. Volume 34 October 7, 2018 Number 42

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1 The Church Herald Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church 2053 North Road, NE Warren, OH Church Phone: (330) Rectory Phone: (330) Pastor: The Very Rev. Protopresbyter Kenneth M. Bachofsky, D. Min. Parish Web Page: Volume 34 October 7, 2018 Number 42 Meditation On: Protection of the Mother of God Today the Holy Church marks the day of the protection of the All-Holy Theotokos. This is essentially a Russian celebration, but happens in a very few parishes of other Orthodox Churches. Most of you know that this feast arose in Greece, in Constantinople. In the Church of the Balchernae, St. Andrew, the Fool-for-Christ, a well-known ascetic in Constantinople at that time, beheld the Mother of God during the Divine Services standing above all the faithful, holding her Veil of Protection above them, her archiepiscopal omophorion, invisible protecting each worshipper, each one who was in the Church, striving wholeheartedly toward God. Only two people saw this spiritual vision. Andrew the Fool-for- Christ and his disciple. The rest continued praying as before. They stood reverently, paying attention to the words of the prayers. But what a difference there is between those two, who saw the Holy Theotokos, and us who stand with faith in Church while faith raises our souls up to God? In each of our lives there have been supernatural occurrences, one or several, which indubitably confirmed for us the existence of the spiritual world, that the Lord God, whose nature is inconceivable, the Ruler and Master of the world, directs all the fates of men, and He leads a man form this life, from temporal life, to eternal life. Before Him each of us must give an account for the way we have spent our lives, for each deed and for every thought which we have made and brought to fruition in this world. And there is indeed a great difference between the ascetics, chosen ones of God, who like in the reality of the spiritual world, and us, who only form time to time are made worthy of special revelations, special visions. What is this mystery, and in what does our unworthiness and insufficiency consist? We have come today to the temple of God in order to offer Him the sacrifice of repentance, prayer, and candles. What more can a man give to God? In general, the relationship between God and man takes place only on the level of sacrifice. Here in our temple there is an altar to God, whereon God Himself offers Himself in sacrifice to us. He offers all of Himself, just as the great sacrifice was offered on Golgotha, when the Lord Jesus Christ lowered Himself, Divinity lowered itself to the level of mankind and offered itself entirely in sacrifice out of love for us, in order that He might raise us up from a condition of death to one of eternal life, whereunto we are all called. We all know about the sacrifice of Christ, and we all live by this sacrifice. But God also awaits a sacrifice from us. The only sacrifice that is a true gift and a true sign of love is that which is important and dear to us that we give up from ourselves to someone else. C o n t e m p o r a r y man, unfortunately, is not, as a rule, prepared for sacrifice. We have no decisiveness to cut out from ourselves our habits that run contrary to the commandments of Christ, that get in the way of divine communion, and which are empty or harmful for us, being very dear to our passions. And this weaknesses, sicknesses, sins, habits, and (most importantly) our laziness, we are unable to offer in sacrifice to God by cutting them out from ourselves. But this is the only thing that God is waiting for. Observe how people come to Church and, in the first years they have a wondrous and fruitful spiritual life, when they come to know God, come to the Church and begin to live a new life. Why? Because, of course, their first zeal has given them the strength to offer their former habits and attachments in sacrifice to God, and God in return has given them wondrous grace and spiritual power, wonderful foresight and communion with God. But then,

2 when he comes back to a normal state, to every day life, then a new sacrifice is required from us. But we offer it with greater and greater difficulty and this causes the life of the Christian to bear little fruit, and to become more and more tiresome. He understands intuitively and by the experience of his previous life that this is the right path, but he is unable to renounce that which he knows it necessary to renounce. He understands that it is necessary to offer these weaknesses and laziness to God in sacrifice, and then to begin again a strong and renewed spiritual life, but Orthodox Christians make such a step wit great difficulty. It is the now the case that, even until his death, a man abides in a divided state, having not the power to step over his own pride, over his own predilection for ease and pleasure which, it would seem, are not sinful in themselves...but in order to enter a new spiritual state, in order to excise one s passions, such a sacrifice is entirely necessary. Andrew the Fool-for-Christ was just such a man, who sanctified his entire life by the greatest method and, as the Holy Fathers write, by the science of sciences, which is Divine communion. Gradually he excised form himself all that stood between him and God: passions, pride, selfopinion that came form people exalting him. And it was precisely this man who was made worthy of the vision of the All-Holy Theotokos. But his was only one of the many visions that he had. St. Seraphim, the Elders of Optima, the Saints of our time, according to whose spiritual lives we orient ourselves, they lived and now live as a constant sacrifice, offering themselves in sacrifice to God! These words sound terrible to the external man, who still does not know what the love of God is. But if any man thinks about these words a husband, for example, who brings something that is very important to him as an offering to his spouse then he will understand that he has enriched himself, inasmuch as he has deeply understood the importance of their relationship. A mother begins to understand this when she offers her hours, days, and strength to her children, giving up her own future; and in this she finds her happiness. Every Christian understands this, who is able to be raised to the state of Divine communion, and in this he finds that true happiness which exists on the earth, rather than those things which unhappily come to an end when we pass from temporal life to eternal life. May the Lord raise us also to this spirit of the Saints, even if only in part! May He grant us to understand the mystery of which the Lord spoke when He said: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. May we ascend to that spiritual stature where the sacrifice of God, offered to us ourselves, will be as mercy, as happiness and joy! Very few are capable of this, but each of us is called to do it! Amen! - By: Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) - Our Worship Schedule Sunday, October 7th 9:30 a.m. The Reading of 10:00 a.m. The 19th Sunday After Pentecost, Tone 2. (Page 84). The Martyrs: Sergius, Bacchus, Polychronius and the Venerable Sergius the Obedient are commemorated. Epistle 2 Corinthians 11:31-12:9 Gospel Luke 7:11-16 Wednesday, October 10th 4:00 p.m. The Saturday, October 13th 4:00 p.m. The Evening Vesper Service and Bible Study Class. Sunday, October 14th 9:30 a.m. The Reading of 10:00 a.m. The 20th Sunday After Pentecost, Tone 3. (Page 87). The Martyrs: Nazarius, Gervase, Protasius & Celsus and the Venerable Parascevi are commemorated. Epistle Galatians 1:11-19 Gospel Luke 8:5-15 Wednesday, October 17th 4:00 p.m. The Saturday, October 20th 4:00 p.m. The Evening Vesper Service. Sunday, October 21st. 9:30 a.m. The Reading of 10:00 a.m. The 21st Sunday After Pentecost, Tone 4. (Page 90). The Venerable Hilarion the Great, the Martyrs Dasius & Gaius, Saints Bessarion & Oprea are commemorated. Epistle Galatians 2:16-20 Gospel Luke 16:19-31 Wednesday, October 24th 4:00 p.m. The Saturday, October 27th 4:00 p.m. The Evening-

3 Vesper Service with Bible Study Class! Sunday, October 28th 9:30 a.m. The Reading of 10:00 a.m. The 22nd Sunday After Pentecost, Tone 5. (Page ). The Martyrs: Terrance, Neonila, the Venerable Job of Pochaev and St. Arsenius are commemorated. Epistle Galatians 6:11-18 Gospel Luke 8:26-39 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30TH 9:00 A.M. LIT- URGY OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE WEEPING ICON AT ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH! Wednesday, October 31st 4:00 p.m. The for the sick and anointing of the faithful. Happy Birthday! Rachael Delida. Renay Choma... Happy Anniversary! Ed & Gloria Berish... A Historic Ordination! What a glorious day it was last Sunday at the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy when so many of us were able to witness the Ordination of our Parish Son, Father Nathaniel Choma, to the Holy Priesthood! This Sacrament of Holy Orders was conferred by way of the Ancient Rite of the Laying on of Hands by His Grace, Bishop Gregory of Nyssa, our Diocesan Hierarch. Our sincere thanks to His Grace, Bishop Gregory, for being with us! And to: Father Michael Chendoran (St. John s Church Perth Amoby, NJ and Father Andrew Bartek (Assumption Church Marble Head, OH) for attending as our guests. This was a great blessing for us, as a family-in-christ, to witness, and an honor for our parish, as we offer our fifth son to the Church s Sacramental ministry of Holy Orders! Once again, we extend to the newly ordained priest, Father Nathaniel, a fruitful priestly ministry in the Vineyard of Christ! And to he and his Pani, Nicole, peace, good health, joy and salvation, for Many Years!!! Attention! For a complete pictorial coverage of this memorable day, in the life of our parish, please visit our Church Web Site: stnicholaswarren.org. We are sure that you will enjoy the photos that were taken of the days activities! Our special thanks to Fred Anzivino for giving the stewardship of this time and talent to this accomplishment! God blessings upon you! Panagia Kardiotissa It is with great spiritual joy that we announce that the Myrrh- Streaming Icon of the Panagia Kardiotissa, from St. George s Orthodox in Taylor, Pennsylvania, will be visiting our St. Nicholas Church! The date of this Holy and Sacred Visit will be on Friday, November 16, 2018! We are very grateful to Father Mark Leasure, the guardian of the Icon, and his assistants, for allowing time in their busy schedule, to bring the Panagia Kardiotissa Icon to us! God bless you abundantly! We make this announcement for your information enabling you to make plans to attend. There will no media publication of this visit so as to provide the Icon s visit the proper dignity! This information is only circulated by word of mouth. There will be a committee formed shortly to make the proper plans for the Icon s arrival. If you are interested in being a part of this committee please see Father Ken. Completed information will be published in the November 4th edition of The Church Herald. Appreciation Dinner Don t forget about the Youngstown Deanery Distinguished Diocesan Donor Appreciation Dinner this afternoon! It will be held at the Di Lucia Restaurant, located on Elm Road in Warren, Ohio. The dinner will begin at 5:00 p.m. this evening. The excellent cooks at Di Lucia Restaurant have gone all out to prepare something that everyone is sure to enjoy at this eve-

4 Next on the schedule for our St. Nicholas Samaritan Outreach is the Free Dinner schedule for Tuesday, October 23, This will be held at the American Legion Hall in Windham, Ohio. The dinner will be served from 5:00 until 6:00 p.m. that evening. The menu will feature: Chicken, stuffing, vegetable, bread & butter, beverage and dessert. We are now calling upon our faithful to utilning s buffet dinner! There will be cash bar and some nice dinner music playing in the background to top off the atmosphere. After the opening prayer and the singing of God Bless America the dinner will begin. There will be a talk by Bishop Gregory followed by a DVD picture presentation of our parish and Youngstown Deanery week at Camp Nazareth! Let s look closely to see some students from our parish have a great time! This is a wonderful opportunity for our newer parishioners to introduced to Camp Nazareth and its ministries! We hope to see all of you for an enjoyable evening at the 3 D Appreciation Dinner at Di Lucia Restaurant! Don Appetite! ing will be held in the Food Prep Room of our Fellowship Hall. The major topic will be the reopening of the Church Kitchen for another season of our Internationally Renowned Holupki & Perohi Dinners and Take Outs! We have already been getting a lot of calls these past two weeks with loyal, hungry customers inquiring when we will be opening. Hope to see all of you there and have your dedicated help for the beginning of the new season! Our Church School Train a child in the way that they should go and they will not depart from it! (Proverbs 22:6) The training and education of our children is one of the most sacred ministries of our St. Nicholas Church! As a parish, we all share in this calling of our Lord: to make disciples...baptizing them...teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you! (Matthew 28:19), and lend our time and talent to its most effective accomplishment! It is that time of year to reopen the class room doors to our St. Nicholas Church School for the new academic year. Children have to be registered, teachers have to come forward to volunteer their time and talent, curriculum has to be reviewed and chosen, schedules have to be made and other matters pertaining to this educational ministry have to be discussed. We need to have an organizational meeting for this goal this morning. It will be held in the Church Library during the coffee social that morning. If anyone would like to give of their dedicated time and talent to this ministry please come to the meeting. The education of the faith and the spiritual development of our parish youth depend on our dedicated work! Society Meeting Attention all St. Nicholas Society Officers, members and Kitchen Crew personal! There will be a special organizational meeting on this morning, and we are asking everyone to allow some time in their schedule to attend! This meet- Each year, thousands of Orthodox young adults graduate from high schools and begin college, often miles away form the familiarity, comfort and love of their families and church communities. Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) is the official campus ministry of our Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops, serving all of our Orthodox jurisdictions, and is dedicated to keeping our students alive in their faith during these most formative years. With statistics showing that 60% of young adults never return to the church, OCF s mission is to challenge that trend by connecting our young adults in fellowship with other Orthodox students on campus, introducing them to an Orthodox parish and spiritual advisor near their school, educating them in the beauty of their faith, counseling them through demanding social and moral issues, and engaging them in service projects and mission trips that impact communities in need both around the corner and around the globe! The first Sunday in October has been designated as College Student Sunday across jurisdictions and across the country, to raise awareness to assist this vitally important ministry! We are asking that our parishioners kindly give generously to this most worthy cause! Many of the college students from our parish have benefited greatly from OCF chapters from their colleges and universities! God bless you in advance of your gracious support! Samaritan Outreach

5 TEST ize their PAGE Christian 5 TEXT stewardship of time and talent to make this dinner successful for the sake of those who are facing some financial difficulties in our neighborhood! If you are able to give a helping had in this capacity please contact Father Ken or Deacon Ed Brisbine. Your cooperation is always appreciated! Our Church Offerings One of the many acts of worship conducted at each Sunday Divine Liturgy, is performed in our generous donations made during the Church Offering! This is an excellent way of expressing our love, devotion to the Lord, as well as our thanksgiving, for the many blessings received from His Hands! We would like to share with you the Church Offerings from last Sunday: Regular Church Offering $983.00/ Candle Offering $97.00/ Donations $210.00/ Gift Shop $45.00/ Food Donations $458.00/ Total Church Offerings = $1, We would like to acknowledge gratefully the following donations made to our Church in loving memory of the newly departed +Andrew Graham: Grace & Gary Edwards, & Irene Graham $50.00/ Christopher & Anastasia Kazarian $150.00/ Mr. & Mrs. Peter Rossi Jr. $25.00/ Arlene & David Dicesare $25.00/George & Ethel Geordan & Nita Hendryx $20.00/ and Cash Donations totaling $ May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, bless all of you 100 fold for your gracious gifts offered for the continuing salvic work being done here at our beloved St. Nicholas Church!!! Yours of Your Own B u t who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from You, and of Your own have we given You! (I Chronicles 29:29:14) It had been King David s lifelong dream to build a permanent dwelling-place for God: a Temple rather than a temporary, movable tent. How David felt about this dream can be clearly seen in Psalm 131: Remember David, O Lord, and all his meekness. How he swore to the Lord, and vowed to the God of Jacob: I shall not enter my dwelling, I shall not recline on my bed, I shall not close my eyes in sleep, nor my eyelids for dosing, nor give any rest to my temples, until I fine a place for the Lord! (Psalm 131:1-5). When the time came for King David to pass his kingship along to his son, Solomon, David gathered all the people. He spoke to them about his dream to build a temple to the Lord. He left this task to Solomon. But, before King David did so, he announced that he would be the first to give of his great riches for the building of this Temple. He then called on all the people: Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the Lord? (I Chronicles 29:6). The people responded with gift after gift large gift after large gift. Then the people rejoiced because these had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD; David the king also rejoiced greatly. (I Chronicles 29:9). And David prayed: O LORD our GOD, all this abundance that we have provided for building You a House for Your Holy Name comes from Your Hand and is all Your own! (I Chronicles 29:14). We are reminded each time we serve God in the Divine Liturgy, We offer unto You, Yours of Your own, in behalf of all, and for all! These words are based on David s prayer. After all that had happened to King David, and all the had suffered in his lifetime, from the sins of adultery and murder to the loss of his own beloved son Absalom, David could still acknowledge...all this...comes from Your Hand and is all Your own! Some people say that God is hard on us by claiming for Himself what seems to belong to us. But we can bring God nothing that is not already His. Not only did God create everything that seems to be ours, He has also made all things new through the death and resurrection of Christ. It is not only useless to claim anything, money, talent, possessions, even our own lives, as our own it is a lie!: For all things come from You, and of Your own have we given You! Board Meeting The next meeting of our St. Nicholas Church Board will be held on Monday, October 15th at 6:30 p.m. It will be held in the Food Prep Room of the Fellowship Hall and we ask that all of the officers and trustees of the parish please attend. If you are not able to attend please kindly inform our Church president, Gig Pugh. Thank you for your kind attention to and consideration of this important ministry of our parish! Your stewardship of time and talent helps in our common mission of extending the Kingdom of God here in our part of the Lord s Vineyard, in Warren, Ohio!