The Cathedral Messenger

Transcription

1 St. Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Cathedral ( ( The Cathedral Messenger Orthodox Church in America Diocese of Western Pennsylvania Archpriest Michael Senyo Protodeacon Michael Wusylko Deacon Stephen Boyd January 2019 Baptism in Christ (Fr. John Breck) Theophany is the baptismal feast of feasts. It announces and celebrates as much about our own baptism as it does that of Christ. Both Scripture and the Church Fathers bear witness to the fact that our illumination becomes a reality only insofar as it enables us to participate in Christ s own baptism and in the life and works that flowed forth from it. The feast proclaims two interrelated yet apparently contradictory themes: the death of believers, and their new birth to eternal life. As the apostle Paul declares in Romans 6, our true death occurs as we enter the baptismal waters. There we die with Christ, in order to be raised with him into a new mode of existence. We have been buried with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we also might walk in newness of life (6:4). The sacramental grace conferred by baptism, and not our physical, biological demise, thus marks our true death. It signifies and accomplishes our dying to the old Adam and our rebirth as the new man, in the image of the crucified and resurrected Second Adam, the eternal Son of God (cf.1 Cor 15:45-49). At the same time, as Jesus affirms in John 3, baptism is a new birth, a birth from above (the term anôthen signifies both again and from on high ; this is what leads to Nicodemus confusion in John 3:4). Paul expresses the same idea in Titus 3:5 with the term palingenesia, rebirth or regeneration. Baptism through water accomplishes the washing away of sins, incorporation into the Body of the glorified Christ, the Church, and renewal by the Holy Spirit. In their discussions of baptism, the Church Fathers often shaped their statements so as to combat various forms of heresy. Against those who favored rebaptism, they argued that there is (as affirmed by the Church s Creeds) one baptism only. St John of Damascus, for example, takes up the statement This month s newsletter is sponsored by the church. 1

2 in Hebrews 6:6 to insist that a person who is rebaptized in fact re-crucifies Christ! (On the Orthodox Faith, IV.9) Against those who perform the ritual using other than traditional Trinitarian imagery, he insists that baptism rests uniquely upon the name of the Trinity: a true baptismal epiklesis or invocation of divine power requires the threefold name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Which explains why Orthodox practice cannot accept other formulations, such as Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier, or other politically correct images current today. Baptism in any name other than that of the Holy Trinity is not a true baptism, an incorporation into the personal reality of God as he is in his innermost being. Those who submitted themselves to a ritual that uses non-trinitarian names need therefore to be baptized (for the first time) according to the prescripts of Holy Tradition (beginning with the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19), in order to enter fully into the Church and its Eucharistic communion. The relationship between water and Spirit is seen by the Church s theologians as linking creation with baptism. The first chapter of Genesis declares that God brought all things from non-being into being by his Word. This initial, stupendous act, was fulfilled by the Spirit moving across the face of the waters. In the new creation of baptism the catechumen descends into the waters to die and be co-buried with Christ. Yet this gesture is only fulfilled by chrismation, anointing as the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, which makes us christs, anointed ones. As the Spirit descended visibly upon Jesus and dwelt within him from the time of his baptism (John 1:32-33), so this same Spirit is bestowed upon the newly baptized and chrismated children of God, to dwell within them, and to purify and sanctify them in their pilgrimage toward the Kingdom. Baptism, though, confers not only the Holy Spirit. The Fathers also affirm that through baptism the Lord is in us, united to us and we to him, as Bride and Bridegroom. Thus the ritual also signifies a sacred marriage, a nuptial union, as proclaimed in Ephesians 5. In the words of St Mark the Ascetic, at baptism, Christ comes to live at the altar of the heart. In his work on Orthodox Spirituality, Fr Dumitru Staniloe transposes this affirmation onto a mystical plane, declaring that at baptism [Jesus] is in me, a supreme kenosis (p. 227). Baptism confers not only the Spirit, it also creates a union between the believer and the Son. The Father sends both the Son and the Spirit to dwell within and to sanctify those who submit themselves to rebirth, in faith and in love. And thereby the Father fulfills the work of what St Irenaeus of Lyon called his two Hands. Finally, the Fathers affirm, baptism sets us on the pathway toward deification. It creates the conditions ecclesial and eucharistic by which those who allow themselves to be led by the Spirit can pass through the ascetic stages of purification and illumination, to arrive at last at union with and communion in the God of love. Baptism, however, can only be realized in the life of a person insofar as he or she accepts to make that pilgrimage with a certain ascetic discipline that focuses on repentance. St Peter of Damascus (11th-12th c.?), St Symeon the New Theologian and many others, make the point repeatedly that baptismal renewal demands asceticism, a gradual dying with Christ. This they see achieved through a purification of the passions by the keeping of God s commandments. Baptismal grace remains hidden in the heart, St. Symeon insists, until it is activated by the energy of the Holy Spirit (Practical and Theological Texts, 74ff). This suggests that acquisition of that grace requires a synergy, cooperation between God and the human person, in which God takes the initiative but we respond with faith, 2

3 obedience, and a relentless struggle against our innermost impulses that make us rebel against the divine will and reject divine mercy. The baptismal pilgrimage, and the struggle it entails, is summed up in a remarkable passage by the fourteenth century spiritual master, St Gregory of Sinai. The pathway of the baptized Christian is conceived as reproducing the various stages of Christ s own earthly life: Everyone baptized into Christ should pass progressively through all the stages of Christ s own life, for in baptism he receives the power so to progress, and through the commandments he can discover and learn how to accomplish such progression. To Christ s conception corresponds the foretaste of the gift of the Holy Spirit, to His nativity the actual experience of joyousness, to His baptism the cleansing force of the fire of the Spirit, to His transfiguration the contemplation of divine light, to His crucifixion the dying to all things, to His burial the indwelling of divine love in the heart, to His resurrection the soul s lifequickening resurrection, and to His ascension divine ecstasy and the transport of the intellect into God. [1] This passage, as clearly as any other, makes the point that baptism is not merely a ritual of initiation, a liturgical passport into the life of the Church. Nor does it involve a mere imitation of Christ s own baptism and the events of his life. As the work of the two Hands of the Father in the life of the believer and the entire community of the faithful, baptism offers us actual participation in Christ s own death, resurrection and glorification. It offers, in the fullest sense, eternal communion in his divine life. [1] Further Texts, The Philokalia IV (London, Faber & Faber, 1995), p No Choir rehearsals in January. Enjoy the break! Choir Rehearsal (on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm (or following Compline during Lent) February 5 February 19 March 5 March 18 (Monday) April 2 April 16 Junior Choir Rehearsal (After Liturgy) February 10 February 24 March 10 March 24 April 14 May 5 Youth Sunday is on May 19th 3

4 SANWA Announcement Annual SANWA Sisterhood Christmas Party, Tuesday, January 8 at 6 PM at Walnut Grille in Wexford. Purchase gift cards at fundability for the event. Sign up sheet downstairs any questions please contact Matushka Mary. Please mark your calendars; 2 special luncheons prepared by our sisterhood: 1. March 3, 2019 Meatfare Sunday Lamb roast 2. March 10, 2019 Cheesefare Sunday Pancakes from around the world! Holy Supper Meal after Compline on Saturday, Jan 5. Sign-up sheet in church hall. For questions, ask Matushka Mary St. Alexander Nevsky Church School Calendar March 17, 2019 Icon Procession Sunday of Orthodoxy TBD March 31, 2019 Lenten Retreat No Church School April 21, 2019 Procession with Palms Palm Sunday April 28, 2019 No Church School Pascha May 5, 2019 No Church School / Egg Hunt St. Thomas Sunday May 19, 2019 Youth Sunday / Last Day of Church School Mother's Day ** Classes start at 9:00 a.m. Sunday mornings revised 09/07/2018 Thank you to the Benjamin Moore Paint store in Wexford for donating the paint for the teen classroom! 4

5 Schedule of Divine Services January 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Dec. 30 Holy Righteous Ones No Church School Hours 9:40 am Liturgy 10:00 am Dec. 31 Forefeast of the Circumcision of Christ 4:00 pm 1 Circumcision of Christ Hours 8:40 am Liturgy 9:00 am New Year Moleben Forefeast of Theophany Royal Hours 9:00 am 5 Forefeast of Theophany FAST DAY Compline, Litya and Great Blessing of Water 5:00 pm Holy Supper Meal follows 6 Theophany of Christ Hours 9:40 am Liturgy of St. Basil 10:00 am 13 Sunday After Theophany (St. Hilary of Potiers) Church School 9 am Hours 9:40 am Liturgy 10:00 am Postfeast of Theophany 9th Hour and Vespers 7:00 pm 9th Hour and Vespers 7:00 pm Saturday after Theophany and Confessions 5:00 pm and Confessions 5:00 pm th Sunday After Pentecost (Ven. Euthymius the Great) Church School 9 am Hours 9:40 am Liturgy 10:00 am 7:00 pm St. Xenia of Petersburg Hours 8:40 am Liturgy 9:00 am and Confessions 5:00 pm 27 New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia Church School 9 am Hours 9:40 am Liturgy 10:00 am :00 pm 30 Synaxis of the Three Hierarchs Hours 8:40 am Liturgy 9:00 am 31 Feb. 1 Feb. 2 and Confessions 5:00 pm 5

6 Gift Shop It's not too late to get your 2019 Lives of the Saints Calendar Book. (Inspirational reading) We still have some copies available. We also have the 2019 Pocket Calendars which give the feast days, fasting days, and major feasts. We have two 8 x 10 icons of St Alexander Nevsky in stock. Come and see the Family IconTree. It will be custom made-to-order for individual families. We also have Orthodox cards for birthdays, sympathy, baptism, and congratulations. New for young children, we have an Orthodox Alphabet Memory Game. Message from Council President Church changes from Dues to Proportional Giving The first two weeks of December Fr. Michael provided me the blessing to speak to the Parish about changes in 2019 for Parishioner giving. There were two main themes that we want to highlight: 1. The generous donations received in 2018 were 10% under our actual expenses 2. The Cathedral Parish is adopting the Archdiocese recommendation for pledge giving Cathedral donation shortfall of $26,000 in 2018 resulted from less than anticipated donations in the general donation (white) envelope. We do expect that the new budget, which is scheduled to be adopted by the Parish at the Annual Meeting on January 27, 2019, will be equal to the 2018 budget of roughly $260,000. Our collections in 2018 were $235,469, which was $26,469 less than we spent. In addition, we asked that everyone remove Dues envelope from the envelope box in 2019 and ask that everyone include what you would normally have placed in the dues envelope into the general giving envelope. As you read above, we do need to collect 10% more in 2019 to meet the needs of the Cathedral. We plan to explain the changes from a Dues based donation system to a Proportional Giving system at the annual meeting on January 27, 2019, after Liturgy. We hope you are planning to attend. 6

7 SUNDAY BRUNCH GROUPS GRP GROUP LEADER GROUP MEMBERS DATES ( ) 1 MAT MARY MAT SUSANNE, BARB B, WARSHANKSKY, ZHIKHAREV Mar. 3 Mar. 10 PASCHA Oct. 6 2 SOPHIA BENTON, FEDOR, LANE, KLIMKO, PITZ, WOLENSKI Jan. 27 May 5 Jul. 21 Oct NIKKI WILLIAMS HERSHEY, LESZUNOV, BAKER, TOMASIC Feb.3 May 12 Jul. 29 Oct LENA O'ROURKE RENNISON, GAYKOVA, RUEDENKO, DIMITRIEV, TARASSOV, DILLE Feb. 10 May 19 Aug. 4 F Oct CLAUDIA STEEB T. STEEB, GLISAN, ROMANCHIK, MASTERS, VERNAK, BRKOVICH Feb. 17 May 26 Aug. 11 F Nov. 3 6 MARILYN MARKOFF HINKLE, CHAFFIN, KOVACEVIC, TESONE, ZALLOW Feb. 24 Jun. 2 Aug. 18 Nov JANET CASCIATO 8 LORY NESCOTT EASTON, STAYANOS, HORODNIC, POLANICHKA, MULCAHY, BALOG, GEEZA, HANNA, MOONEY Mar. 17 F Jun. 9 Aug. 25 Nov. 17 F Mar. 24 F Jun. 16 Sept. 1 Nov. 24 F 9 CAROL NAMISNAK DASKIVICH, SAVCHIK, DUNFEE, MERVOSH, MIKLOS Dec. 30 Mar. 31 F Jun. 23 Sept. 8 Dec. 1 F 10 TIZ GOEHRING G. PAZIN, G. PAZIN, J. PAZIN, RIBAR Jan. 6 Apr. 7 F Jun. 30 Sept. 15 Dec. 8 F 11 LARISSA LINDQUIST BOYD, FRANCINO, VOLYNKIN, SAVASTA, SCHEWCZYK Jan. 13 Apr. 14 F Jul. 7 Sept. 22 Dec. 15 F 12 BRAIN DUBOS YOUTH GROUP, K DUBOS Jan. 20 Apr. 21 F Jul. 14 Sept. 29 Dec. 22 F 15 F = FASTING PERIOD Please note: Underlined bolded dates are out of order. They are special meatfare, cheesefare and Pascha Night Meals. 7

8 Clip and insert in prayer book to pray for those in the prayer list Prayer List (All names should be submitted to one of the Cathedral Clergy for commemoration at the divine services.) For Health and Salvation: Metropolitan Herman Archpriest Paul Archpriest John Archpriest David Archpriest Stephen Subdeacon Christopher Subdeacon Gregory Matushka Susanne Matushka Emily Matushka Larissa Patricia with child Nicholas Gregory Michael Stephanie Michael Barbara Olga Katherine Juliana Gregory Hayley Marie with child Maria Mara with child Carrie Dorothy Lillian Anne Anastasia Gregory Patricia Claudia Marina Irene For the Newly Departed: Rodion James Assignments Date Epistle Hours Greeters Candle Desk Dec 30 D Leszunov S Francino R Glisan, A Ribar F Balog Jan 6 JM Pazin R Hershey C Steeb, V Rennison S Romanchik Jan 13 L Lindquist L Nescott E O Rourke R Glisan Jan 20 R Hershey Romanchik Class J Pazin F Balog Jan 27 D Geeza L Lindquist E Glisan S Romanchik Feb 3 J Pazin F Namisnak C Steeb, V Rennison R Glisan Feb 10 G Pazin S Francino E O Rourke F Balog Other Assignments Date Collection Counters Fundability Dec 30 N Tesone, K Zallow S Radinsky, J Casciato Jan 6 G Ribar, R Steeb J Savchik Jan 13 J Dille, G Ribar B Banosky Jan 20 R Steeb, R Hrodnik A Lane Jan 27 N Tesone, K Zallow J Casciato Feb 3 G Ribar, R Steeb J Savchik Feb 10 J Dille, G Ribar B Banosky 8

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10 Special Church Events Tom and Barbara Paskewitz moved to Texas earlier in December to be closer to their family. Photos show their last Sunday at SANOC. 10

11 A Successful Yolka 2018! Below are select photos taken during the Church School Presentation of Yolka 2018: Christmas Traditions last December 9th. 11

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