DORMITION OF THEOTOKOS

Transcription

1 August 2017 DORMITION OF THEOTOKOS 665

2 Candle Introduction to Orthodoxy What does a person usually do after entering the Temple? In nine cases out of ten he or she goes to the candle stand. It is with this small wax candle our practical Christianity begins, it s an introduction to Divine service. It is impossible to imagine an Orthodox church without burning candles... Yes, the interpreter of the Divine Liturgy, Blessed Simeon of Thessalonica (XV century) says that pure beeswax means the purity and decency of the people who bring it. It is brought in sign of our repentance in stubborness and self-will. The softness and flexibility of the wax refers to our willingness to obey God. Burning candles means the deification of a person, his transformation into a new creature by the action of the fire of Divine love. Moreover, a candle is evidence of faith, a person's implication to the Divine Light. It expresses the flame of our love for the Lord, the Mother of God, the angels or the saints. One shouldn t light a candle formally, with a cold heart. One s external action should be accompanied with a prayer, at least the simplest one, as they say, in one's own words. Many Divine services are accompanied by lit candles. The newly baptized and those who just received the Sacrament of Marriage hold a lit candle in their hands. A funeral takes place among burning candles. The faithful go to the Cross procession covering the flame of the candle from the wind. There are no mandatory rules, where and how many candles to place. Their purchase is our smallest sacrifice to God, voluntary and not burdensome. Those who regularly attend Church, try to put a few candles every time: to the festal icon, lying on the analogion in the middle of the church; to the image of the Savior or the Mother of God for the health of their loved ones; to the Cross on a rectangular candle stand for the repose of the deceased. If one s heart desires, one can light a candle for any Saint or Saints. Sometimes it happens that there is no space available in the candle stand before the icon, everything occupied with burning candles. Then it is not necessary to extinguish another candle in order to light your own candle, it is more appropriate to ask the server to light it another time. And do not be upset if your not fully burned candle is extinguished at the end of the service - your sacrifice has already been accepted by God. There is no need to listen to the tales that candles should be placed only with the right hand; that if it is extinguished, then misfortunes occur; that to scorch the lower end of the candle for stability in the hole is a mortal sin, etc. There are many pseudo-church superstitions, and they are all senseless and, moreover, spiritually harmful. Yes, a pure wax candle is pleasing to God, because He appreciates the burning of one s heart which this candle symbolizes. Our spiritual life and participation in religious services is not limited to a candle. A candle and our humble sacrifice are only the beginning of our spiritual path. It will not free us from sins, it will not connect us with God, it will not give us strength for the invisible battle, if its symbolism is not filled with spiritual meaning and true faith. The candle is full of symbolic meaning, but it is not the symbol that saves us, but the true essence - Divine grace.

3 PARISH LIFE: Important dates: August 6 th OUR LORD S TRANSFIGURATION (Gr. calendar) August 15 th DORMITION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS August th Master class with V. Gorbik August 19 th - OUR LORD S TRANSFIGURATION (Jul. calendar) August 20 th Dodger Dog Day August 28 th - DORMITION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS September 8 th NATIVITY OF HOLY THEOTOKOS September 14 th ELEVATION OF THE HOLY CROSS September 21 st - NATIVITY OF HOLY THEOTOKOS September 24 th concert of Ganna Sorbat dedicated to the music of G. Gershwin September 27 th - ELEVATION OF THE HOLY CROSS October 1 st PROTECTION OF HOLY THEOTOKOS From the Desk of Fr. Nazari. Dear brothers and sisters, I greet you on the occasion of the upcoming feasts: the Transfiguration of Our Lord and the Dormition of All Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. I want to remind you that beginning from August 1st, according to the Gregorian calendar, we enter Dormition fast, which will continue until August 14th. Those of us who follow Julian calendar keep Dormition fast from August 14th till August 27th. I wish you to keep this fast in prayer and to show your love to God and your fellow man. From August 22nd till August 24th, we plan on presenting an orthodox sacred choral music master class with one of the best church choir directors in the world - Vladimir Gorbik. We have organized this master class primarily to provide an opportunity for our choir members to improve their musical skills. I invite you all to take advantage of this unique opportunity and register for this 3-day course. You will have a chance not only to work under the supervision of a world-class choir director, but also to communicate with the choir directors and choir members of other parishes. More detailed information is on our website I want to thank Mr. Jonathan Wang for his generous and badly needed gift for our office - a computer. I also want to thank all those who responded to my request to help reduce the deficit in our parish budget. I would like to ask again those who have not yet had an opportunity to make their contributions, please respond to this request, thus help us in our development. I want to inform you that in the first week of August, from July 31st till August 4th, I will be out of town for family reasons. For all urgent pastor needs, I ask you to contact Fr. Yousef Rassam at (818) and (714) I ask for your Holy Prayers and as before I am available at (818) and via frnazaripolataiko@gmail.com God Save You All! Archpriest Nazari Polataiko Starosta report Dear parishioners, once again I greet you in the position of Starosta. We all love our historic Temple and we all worry about its future. My predecessor Leonid Gregory and many other parishioners who passed away (reposed), such as Boris Shalygin, my late husband Subdeacon Eugene Bobrov, Irene Leonov, Zoya Wagner, Matushka Margarita Romanovna Gizetti and others, spent much of their free time for the benefit of decoration and repairs in our Temple. The result of this work and of their generous financial donations, is our spiritually rich and esthetically beautiful ancient Temple. As we know, everything ancient needs careful protection and restoration. Father Nazari started this process, and we receive some donations for the restoration and renovation of our unique spiritual shrines. For a long time the problem has been especially acute that we need to arrange more reliable protection for the church, that is why during several Parish Council meetings the installation of a video surveillance system has been considered. It would help us protect our shrines, in addition, ensure the safety of our parishioners and their belongings, as well as the safety of our clergy, servants and employees of our church, who sometimes in the performance of their duties can stay late in the church or on the premises of the parish. At the last parish meeting it was unanimously decided to install video surveillance 24/7, which in the first place will allow us to have video evidence in case of unforeseen situations or accusations. Installation of such a system is, of course, very expensive, but no cost can be compared with the losses that may occur as a result of disappearance of our shrines or other unexpected emergencies. Reviewing several proposals, we selected the average price package of video surveillance at the cost of about $20, We look forward to your help, and I as Starosta kindly ask you to show your love for our parish with your generous donations. Help us protect our history and thus ensure our future! Alla Bobrov Sisterhood News We would like to thank all our members, and friends who donate so generously to make our luncheons so successful. I would like to thank Dean Apostal and his fiancee for purchasing, preparing and cooking the Greek shish kebab lunch for our parishioners. Everyone enjoyed it. This was cooked on a

4 beautiful barbeque grill donated by Mark Moya which will also be used on Dodger Sunday, August 20th. Another person, Clavdia Tihomirov donated flour for prosphora making and also wine for our lunch. Every Sunday, Zara Markaryan surprises us with her delightful recipes of unique dishes. There are so many more to be thanked, We are truly appreciative of all of you who help us with our lunches. Irene Gregory Fundraising Committee Micheltorena Concert Series continues. Look forward to the concert of Ganna Sorbat dedicated to the music of George and Ira Gershwin on September 24 th. Reserve your tickets by calling the church office at or see Liana Vertelkina after August 27 th after Liturgy in the Parish Hall. Limited seating. DODGER DOG DAY! August 20th after the Divine Liturgy. Raffle- Dodger tickets and reserved parking for the game on Saturday August 26th. It's our annual fundraiser please come and help to support our Parish. Parish school programs Registration for the new school year will be held on August 19 th, 26 th and September 2 nd. The first school day, September 9 th, starts with a prayer at the beginning of the school year and a general parental meeting in the church Parish Hall. Welcome to our school! Head of Studies, Irina Usova Human Resources Committee The Parish Council wishes to congratulate Serge Liberovsky on his new position with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and thank him for agreeing to serve as Holy Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Cathedral s Choir Director for another year. L.O.V.E.S. We have changed our raffle from August to October so that we do not conflict with the church's dodger tickets fundraiser. We look forward to your support at that time. Thank you. Sorry for the misunderstanding God bless, Marina Burgmeier, President BAPTISMS: Uliana Carpio June 5 th Maximilian Keenan June 6 th Maya Brumec July 18 th Many years! Prayer Request list: Irene Gregory, Chris Plourde Marina Dobis (in need of a donor kidney) Mary Kokayko, Alexander, Maria, Elena, Theodore, Ann Brown The Parish Council Would Like to Thank the Following Persons for their BUILDING Fund and CENTENNIAL Fund Contributions Zinaida Shalygin... 1,000 John Kowalczyk in memory of Ann Demidova John Sessoyeff in memory of Leonid Gregory Alexander Thompson in memory of Leonid Gregory Nina Perinelle Zinaida Shalygin for good health of parishioners Sisterhood in memory of Leonid Gregory Valentina Ryshko Clara Arsenovich in memory of Leonid Gregory... 50

5 AUGUST 2017 Dormition Fast: (August 1-15 th Greg. calendar) (August th Jul. calendar) 1 Tue 7:00 pm Meeting of the youth and young adult group FORUM; Bible Study with Reader George Abuelkhair, Lecture 9 th 5 Sat 5:00 pm Vigil and blessing of fruit 9 th Sunday after Pentecost 6 Sun 10:00 am Liturgy and blessing of fruit OUR LORD s TRANSFIGURATION (Gregorian calendar) 8 Tue 7:00 pm Meeting of the youth and young adult group FORUM; 9 Wed 10:00 am Liturgy Great Martyr St. Panteleimon (Julian calendar) 12 Sat 5:00 pm Vigil 13 Sun 10:00 am Liturgy 10 th Sunday after Pentecost Righteous Eudocimus (Julian calendar) St. Tikhon of Zadonsk (Gregorian calendar) 14 Mon 10:00 am 7:00 pm Liturgy and water blessing Vigil Procession of Holy Cross; Maccabean martyrs (Julian calendar) 15 Tue 10:00 am Liturgy DORMITION OF THE MOST HOLY 7:00 pm Akathist before the icon of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos Rescuer of the Perishing THEOTOKOS Meeting of the youth and young adult group FORUM; guest speaker 19 Sat 5:00 pm Vigil 20 Sun 10:00 am Liturgy Dodger Dog Day 22 Tue 11 th Sunday after Pentecost Ven. Dometius (Julian calendar) Prophet Samuel (Gregorian calendar) Master Class with Vladimir Gorbik 7:00 pm 23 Wed Master Class with Vladimir Gorbik 24 Thu 8:00 am Liturgy (choir directed by V. Gorbik) Martyr Euplus of Catania (Julian calendar) Martyr Cosmas (Gregorian calendar) 26 Sat 5:00 pm Vigil 27 Sun 10:00 am Liturgy 12 th Sunday after Pentecost Prophet Micah (Julian calendar) Ven. Poemen the Great (Gregorian calendar) 28 Mon 10:00 am Liturgy DORMITION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS (Julian calendar) 29 Tue 7:00 pm Meeting of the youth and young adult group FORUM; iconography presentation by Fr. Nazari

6 SEPTEMBER Sat 5:00 pm Vigil Ap. Thaddeus 3 Sun 10:00 am Liturgy Hieromartyr Anthimus 5 Tue 7:00 pm 7 Thu 5:00 pm Vigil Martyrs Adrian and Natalia 8 Fr 10:00 am Liturgy NATIVITY OF HOLY THEOTOKOS 9 Sat 5:00 pm Vigil Ven. Moses 10 Sun 10:00 am Liturgy Sunday before Elevation 11 Mon 10:00 am Liturgy Beheading of John Baptist St. Theodora of Alexandria 12 Tue 7:00 pm Meeting of the youth and young adult group FORUM; Bible Study with Reader George Abuelkhair, Lecture 10 th 13 Wed 7:00 pm Vigil Church New Year 14 Thu 10:00 am Liturgy/moleben ELEVATION OF THE HOLY CROSS 16 Sat 5:00 pm Vigil Hieromartyr Babylas 17 Sun 10:00 am Liturgy Sophia and 3 daughters 19 Tue 7:00 pm 21 Thu 10:00 am Liturgy NATIVITY OF HOLY THEOTOKOS Ap. Quadratus 23 Sat 5:00 pm Vigil Theodora of Alexandria 24 Sun 10:00 am Liturgy Concert of Ganna Sorbat dedicated to Sts. Juvenaly, Peter Aleut 26 Tue 7:00 pm the music of G. Gershwin Meeting of the youth and young adult group FORUM; iconography presentation by Fr. Nazari 27 Wed 10:00 am Liturgy ELEVATION OF THE HOLY CROSS Martyr Callistratus 28 Thu 7:00 pm Moleben to St. Nicholas followed by discussion 30 Sat 5:00 pm Vigil St. Eumenes of Gortyna OCT 1 Sun 10:00 am Liturgy PROTECTION OF HOLY THEOTOKOS PLEASE CHECK SCHEDULE ON OUR WEBSITE