Page 1 of 9 + Holy Prophet Amos June 15, 2018 Dearest friends, Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ! I hope you are well and I greet you warmly on the feast of the holy Prophet Amos, who wrote, "Thus says the Lord, 'Seek me, and you will live... Let justice run swiftly as does water from the mountain, and let righteousness be as a stream that cannot be crossed.'" Many have asked if we have been safe from the volcanic eruption here in Guatemala. Thankfully, it has not affected any of our churches or communities. Please join us in praying for the repose of those who tragically died in this event, for the comfort and well being of the survivors, and for the safety of all in the event of continuing volcanic activity. With our mission work, thanks be to God, things have continued to go well since my last newsletter. Following this brief letter are some of the highlights of my work during the last six months. Church in Campamento If I haven't called you, you're not alone in that! Because of the many activities I've been busy with, I have made very few calls. Please feel free to call me at the US phone number 631 520 1531 which reaches me here in Guatemala, or at my Guatemalan number country code 502, 3223 4087.
Page 2 of 9 Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for all the people of Guatemala and southern Mexico and all the missionaries, clergy, and faithful. I pray that God grants you many blessings during the fast of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and their feast on June 29, which will be, I think, the patronal feast of the newly renamed Saints Peter and Paul Center for Catechist Formation in Huehuetenango (see below). Much love in Christ Archimandrite Juvenal Aguacate, Guatemala Dec. 13: 140 children chrismated in Aguacate Highlights of activities from November of 2017 to May of 2018 In Nov. 16, I went to Tziscao, Mexico and celebrated the divine liturgy for a youth encounter. There were about 200 people there. On this, as on all trips, I was accompanied by several seminarians. The liturgy was held in the town sala (hall) instead of the church because of the large number. On Nov. 21, I celebrated the divine liturgy here in Aguacate for the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos. Fr Evangelios was away, ministering to one of the many communities he cares for (one of the many reasons I'm here is to allow him to do more of that). On Nov. 23, Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., I went to Campamento, Guatemala, and heard 29 confessions (23 of them children having their first confession), celebrated the divine liturgy, and did 7 baptisms and 3 marriages. This village has no electric power except from generators.
Page 3 of 9 Nov. 25: Newly illumined Magdalena, in Playa Azul, Mexico On Nov. 25, I went to Playa Azul (Blue Beach), Mexico. There were 4 chrismations, 4 baptisms, 1 marriage, and the liturgy. From Nov. 28 to Dec. 4 all the clergy and missionaries traveled to Mexico City, where His Eminence, Metropolitan Athenagoras, had summoned us for a meeting to discuss evangelization of the more than 20 countries under his omophorion in Central America, the Caribbean, and northwestern South America. This gave us a sense of the task to be accomplished in this part of the world, and encouragement for the work. Dec. 7 9 we went to Huehuetenango, Guatemala for catechist training at the Apostolic Center there. The theme was holy chrismation. About 80 100 catechists from all over Guatemala and Chiapas State in Mexico attend these bimonthly gatherings. These catechists then return to their parishes and communities and teach the people what they have learned. Jan. 21: Divine Liturgy in Tziscao, Mexico Dec. 13 in Aguacate, Frs. Evangelios and Daniel and I chrismated 140 mostly older kids whose parents were already Orthodox, and a few adults. The preceding day, we heard their confessions.
Page 4 of 9 Dec. 16 we went to the Church of the Ascension in Pebilpam, Guatemala for a youth encounter titled "The Call of Christ". Dec. 20 21 I went to Santa Eulalia in Barrio Naranjal Quixabaj, Guatemala, and heard many confessions and performed 11 baptisms, 3 marriages, and the Liturgy. Dec. 25 Christmas Fr Evangelios was here and we celebrated together in Aguacate and enjoyed the festivities with all the seminarians and the people. Dec. 16: youth gathering at the Church of the Ascension, Pebilpam, Guatemala Jan. 6, Saturday Theophany With Father Evangelios away, I celebrated the liturgy and the great blessing of water in Aguacate on this day and the next day, Sunday, the Synaxis of St John the Baptist, when about 500 people received holy communion. Jan. 14 19 an OCMC medical missionary team here was treating the sick in Aguacate and from surrounding towns. I helped as a translator with the vision clinic throughout the visit. Jan. 21 Frs Evangelios and John Chakos and I went to Tziscao, Mexico for a special gathering of people from many communities in Chiapas State. The divine liturgy was celebrated in the sala. Road to Santa Eulalia, Guatemala
Page 5 of 9 Jan. 28 Frs. Evangelios and John Chakos and I went with seminarians to Guaxacana, Guatemala for their parish anniversary. There was a divine liturgy and 5 baptisms. Feb. 2 For the Presentation of the Lord, Fr Evangelios was in Tziscao for their patronal feast, and I celebrated the liturgy in Aguacate. Feb. 8 9 we went to the newly renamed Saints Peter and Paul Center for Catechist Formation (formerly called the Apostolic Center) in Huehuetenango for catechist formation training. The theme: sacraments. Feb. 19 25 First week of Lent. Part of my work with the Orthodox Christian Mission Center is the translation of liturgical texts. Before this time, I had only translated texts from Greek into English. Now I began translating some hymns from the lenten triodion into Spanish, that the seminarians' worship might be enriched by these beautiful texts. Feb. 24 St Theodore Saturday, 1st Saturday in Lent. We celebrated the divine liturgy in the Church of the Presentation of the Lord, in Tsizcao, Mexico, which is a kind of "hub" parish in Chiapas State. (During the troubles in Guatemala in recent decades, including the 36 year civil war, many Guatemalans or Guatemaltecos, as they say took refuge in neighboring Chiapas state of Mexico and established new communities there. It's for that reason that we have communities to minister to in Mexico as well as in Guatemala.) Feb. 25, Sunday of Orthodoxy. Fr Evangelios being away, I celebrated Liturgy in Aguacate. There was a power failure, as often happens here. Afterwards there was a procession, and we made 4 stops, chanting a portion of a litany at each. Cenote de Candelaria
Page 6 of 9 March 11, Sunday of the Cross I celebrated the liturgy and preached in Aguacate. Fellow OCMC missionary Jesse Brandow counted 450 to 500 adults; with children there were at least 600 in attendance. Nearly all of this number received communion. (More and more of the babies and small children have been receiving communion Fr Evangelios has been teaching the people the reasons for our Orthodox practice on this.) March 23 I went to Inchehuex, Guatemala and celebrated evening presanctified liturgy and communed about 250 people. March 24 Saturday of the Akathistos and Forefeast of Annunciation. On the eve of the patronal feast, we had matins (orthros) in Aguacate, with about 250 300 present. Palm Sunday procession in Aguacate March 25, Sunday Annunciation. It was the patronal feast of the cathedral in Aguacate. We had the liturgy in the sala because of the great crowd. March 29 On the last Thursday of Lent, Fr Evangelios felt that we all needed a break before Great and Holy Week. So we went to see the Cenote of Candelaria and afterwards had a picnic at Rio de Jordan.
Page 7 of 9 April 1 Palm Sunday Frs Evangelios and John Chakos and I celebrated together and afterwards we processed through Aguacate with crosses made from palms. April 2 Great and Holy Monday I went to Yalombojoch and read a prayer for the blessing of a new church and sprinkled holy water over the grounds where it is to be built. Great and Holy Monday: Blessing of ground in Yalombojoch April 7 Great and Holy Saturday after the Liturgy of St Basil, there were 20 baptisms at Aguacate. April 11 Thursday of the Semana de Luz (Week of Light): Catechist training again, in Huehuetenango at the Ss Peter and Paul Center for Catechist Formation. This time we were accompanied by Fr Martin Ritsi, the executive director of OCMC, and Deacon James Nicholas, missonary director, who were visiting, and Fr John Chakos, who was also with us for several weeks at this time. April 22 we all traveled to Ixcan, Guatemala for the consecration, by His Eminence, Metropolitan Athenagoras, of a beautiful new church there.
Fr Juvenal Newsletter #2 Page 8 of 9 Consecration of the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, in Ixcan, Guatemala May 1 while an OCMC medical team was working in Aguacate, I went to La Esmeralda de los Cipresos, Mexico and chrismated 21 children (after hearing the confessions of the older ones), and did 2 baptisms and the divine liturgy. The next day, very nearby at Nuevo Mundo, we sang the divine liturgy in the Church of the Theophany. May 12 I went with Fr Evangelios to Yalombojoch, where 40 days earlier I had read the prayer to bless the ground. Construction of the new church was well along. We celebrated the liturgy and there were chrismations and 2 marriages. Besides the above, there were many Sundays liturgies, presanctified liturgies, and daily matins and vespers. Thanks be to God!!! To subscribe to this newsletter (if you're not already subscribed), please send email to: juvenal@ocmc.org ~ 631 520 1531 ~ +502 3223 4087 Missionary page at OCMC:
Page 9 of 9 http://www.ocmc.org/archjuvenalrepass Missionary Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/juvenalrepass + + + My mailing address is also that of the: Orthodox Christian Mission Center 220 Mason Manatee Way St. Augustine, FL 32086 (877) GO-FORTH (463-6784) Fax (904) 829-1635 www.ocmc.org Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. This email was sent to ocamail@holyres.net why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences Orthodox Christian Mission Center 220 Mason Manatee Way St Augustine, FL 32086-9302 USA