Redeeming the Time

St Nicholas Orthodox Church, Dallas TX

Rector: Priest Seraphim Holland 972-529-2754 cell:972 658-5433 seraphim@orthodox.net

St Nicholas Web Site: http://www.orthodox.net

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephes.5:16)

December 2007

A Word from the rector

Brothers and sisters, we are in the midst of the Nativity fast. I have sent the fasting guidelines to the parish mailing list, and repeat them briefly here. On all days, we do not eat any meat, eggs or dairy products. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are the strictest fast days, when we also should not eat oil or wine. On Tuesday and Thursday the fast is a little relaxed, and we can have oil and wine. On Saturday and Sunday, the fast is the most relaxed and we may have oil, wine and fish. Please check your calendar for variations to these general guidelines.

If there are any questions about fasting, and especially if you have difficulty keeping this rule, please contact me as soon as you can. Although the Lord tells us to fast in secret, we never should fast "alone". Fasting is something you and your confessor should struggle together with. If you struggle with fasting, please do not do it "alone". Talk with me, and let's together work something out that is spiritually profitable for you.

The rules of fasting are beneficial to us only if we also struggle to follow them along with increasing our prayer, reading of scripture, and overall "effort" in the Christian life. May God help us in this.

PLEASE NOTE: We have Vespers and a teaching about the Church's prayers every Tuesday at 6:30 PM. This would be an excellent commitment to make on your part during the Nativity Fast.

I am no longer working, and plan to concentrate exclusively on pastoral work for at least the next six months. I am therefore more available during most parts of the day, and want to be seeing more of you all (and not only in church!) We hope to have our new facility built within 6 months, and I will be working on that, in conjunction with many others of you who are giving your talents and effort to our community. I also will be writing and teaching a lot more, and you can expect to see more things in your email. Please call or email me at any time for any reason.

I am currently updating my records. Please, everyone who can, send me all your contact information (address, phone, email). I have most of your email addresses, but am missing a few. I am also missing many home addresses and some phone numbers.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR EACH OTHER EVERY DAY. I assure you of my unworthy, yet expectant prayers. We will grow as a parish family by caring for each other. Prayer for each other is the most important manifestation of this care. If you need lists of parishioners names, please contact me.

unworthy Priest Seraphim, who prays for you daily and asks for your daily prayers.

News and Announcements

• By God's mercy, we are preparing to build a hall and chapel on our land in McKinney, but we still need money to finance the building process! Please consider making an extraordinary donation to the building fund as you are able.
• We are instituting a group bible reading program. Fr. Seraphim asks thay everyone would try to read each week's readings, according to the church calendar. We will discuss these on occasion, provide commentaries when possible, and provide a list of these readings each week. In addition, you can find the readings each day at these web sites:
  • In English: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/daily-reading/
  • In Russian: http://www.pomog.org/scripture_russian.shtml
  • The readings are also available (in English) in the Menologian program, which you can get here: http://saintjohnwonderworker.org/menologion.htm.
    

Name Days this month

• Dec 19th: Nicholas Quillen, Nicholas Quillen Jr., Nikolai Slavine THIS IS OUR PATRONAL FEAST!
  
• Dec 26th: Lucy Park

Principles of the Orthodox Faith

by Bishop Alexander (continued from November Edition)

(По-Англиский и По-Руский)

We believe that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, came down from heaven for our salvation. He came to earth and took on our flesh by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. Being God from all eternity, He in the time of King Herod took on our human nature, both soul and body, and is therefore truly God and truly man, or the God-man. In one divine Person He combined two natures, divine and human. These two natures will remain with Him always without change, neither blending nor changing from one into the other.

We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ, while living on earth, enlightened the world by His teaching, His example, and miracles. He taught people what they should believe and how they should live so that they may inherit eternal life. By His prayers to His Father, His complete obedience to the Father's Will, His sufferings and death, He defeated the devil and redeemed the world from sin and death. By His Resurrection from the dead, He laid the foundation for our resurrection. After His Ascension in the flesh to Heaven, which took place forty days after His Resurrection from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ sat at the right hand of God the Father; that is to say, He received equal power with God the Father and since then together with Him governs the face of the world.

We believe that the Holy Spirit, proceeding from God the Father from the beginning of the world, together with the Father and the Son gives existence to all creation, gives life, and governs all. He is the source of a grace-filled spiritual life, both for angels as well as people, and equally with the Father and the Son is worthy of all glory and worship. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament spoke through the prophets. Then in the beginning of the New Testament, He spoke through the Apostles and now lives in the Church of Christ, guiding her pastors and people in the truth.

We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ founded the Church on earth for the salvation of all who believe in Him. He sent the Holy Spirit to the Apostles on Pentecost. Since that time the Holy Spirit abides in the Church, that grace-filled community or union of believing Orthodox Christians, and preserves her in the purity of Christ's teaching. The grace of the Holy Spirit abides in the Church, cleanses those who repent of sins, helps the believers grow in good deeds, and sanctifies them.

We believe that the Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. She is One because all Orthodox Christians, although belonging to different national, local churches, are one family together with the angels and saints in Heaven. The oneness of the Church depends on oneness of Faith and Grace. The Church is Holy because her faithful children are sanctified by the word of God, prayer, and the Sacraments. The Church is Catholic because what we believe is the same teaching held to be true by all Orthodox Christians, always and everywhere. The Church is called Apostolic because it preserves Apostolic teaching and the Apostolic succession. From ancient times, this Apostolic succession passes on without interruption from Bishop to Bishop in the sacrament of Ordination. The Church will remain of our Lord and Savior until the end of time.

We believe that in the sacrament of Baptism the believer is forgiven all sins. The believer becomes a member of the Church. Access to the other sacraments of salvation becomes available to him at this time. In the sacrament of Chrismation the believer receives the grace of the Holy Spirit. In Confession or Repentance, sins are forgiven. In Holy Communion, offered at the Divine Liturgy, the believer receives the very Body and Blood of Christ. In the sacrament of Matrimony, an inseparable union is created between a man and a woman. In the sacrament of Ordination Deacons, Priests, and Bishops are ordained to serve the Church. In Holy Unction, the healing of physical and spiritual illness is offered.

We believe that before the end of the world Jesus Christ, accompanied by angels, will again come to the earth in glory. Every person, according to His Word, will resurrect from the dead. A miracle will occur in which the souls of people who have died will return into the bodies which they possessed during their earthly life. All the dead will come to life. During the General Resurrection, the bodies of the saints, both those resurrecting and those still living will be renewed and become spiritualized in the image of the Resurrected Body of Christ. After the resurrection, everyone will appear before the Judgment of Christ, to receive what he is due, according to what he has done when he lived in his body, good or evil. After the Judgment, unrepentant sinners will enter into eternal torments and the righteous into eternal life. This will begin the Kingdom of Christ, which will have no end.

With the one word "Amen" we witness to the fact that we accept and acknowledge with our whole heart this Creed which we confess to be true.

The Creed is read by a Catechumen (one about to receive Baptism) during the sacrament of Baptism. During the Baptism of an infant, the Creed is read by the Sponsor. The Creed is sung at the Liturgy and should be read daily at Morning Prayers. An attentive reading of the Creed greatly strengthens our faith. This happens because the Creed is not just a formal statement of belief but a prayer. When we say "I believe" in a spirit of prayer, along with the other words of the Creed, we enliven and strengthen our Faith in God and in all those truths which are contained in the Creed. This is why it is so important for the Orthodox Christian to recite the Creed daily or at least regularly.

Мы верим в то, что Сын Божий, Господь наш Иисус Христос, для нашего спасения, сошел с Небес на землю и воплотился от Святого Духа и Девы Марии. Он, будучи Богом от вечности, во дни царя Ирода воспринял наше человеческое естество — душу и тело, и поэтому Он есть одновременно истинный Бог и истинный человек, или Богочеловек. Он в одном Божеском Лице соединяет два естества, Божеское и человеческое. Эти два естества навсегда пребудут в Нем без изменения, не сливаясь и не превращаясь одно в другое.

Мы верим в то, что Господь Иисус Христос, живя на земле, Своим учением, примером и чудесами просветил мир, то есть научил людей, во что они должны верить и как должны жить, чтобы наследовать жизнь вечную. Своими молитвами к Отцу, совершенным исполнением воли Его, страданиями и крестной смертью Он победил дьявола, искупил мир от греха и смерти. Своим воскресением из мертвых Он положил начало нашему воскресению. Вознесшись с плотью на Небо, что произошло на 40-й день после воскресения из мертвых, Господь Иисус Христос сел “одесную (по правую сторону) Бога Отца,” то есть принял как Бого–человек одну власть со Своим Отцом и с тех пор вместе с Ним управляет судьбами мира.

Мы верим в то, что Дух Святой, исходя от Бога Отца, от начала мира вместе с Отцом и Сыном дает тварям бытие, жизнь и всем управляет. Он есть источник духовной благодатной жизни как для ангелов, так и для людей, и Духу Святому подобает слава и поклонение наравне с Отцом и Сыном. Дух Святой в Ветхом Завете говорил через пророков, потом, в начале Нового Завета, говорил через апостолов, а ныне действует в Христовой Церкви, наставляя в истине ее пастырей и православных христиан.

Мы верим в то, что Иисус Христос для спасения всех верующих в Него создал на земле Церковь, ниспослав на апостолов Духа Святого в день Пятидесятницы. С тех пор Святой Дух пребывает в Церкви, в этом благодатном обществе или союзе верующих христиан, и сохраняет ее в чистоте Христова учения. Кроме того, благодать Духа Святого, пребывающая в Церкви, очищает кающихся от грехов, помогает верующим преуспевать в добрых делах и освящает их.

Мы верим в то, что Церковь есть единая, святая, соборная и апостольская. Она едина потому, что все православные христиане, хотя и принадлежат к разным национальным поместным церквям, но составляют одну семью вместе с ангелами и праведниками на Небе, Единство Церкви зиждится на единстве веры и благодати. Церковь свята потому, что верные чада ее освящаются словом Божиим, молитвою и священными таинствами. Церковь именуется соборной потому, что предназначена для людей всех времен и всех национальностей; Церковь именуется апостольской потому, что она хранит апостольское учение и апостольскую священническую преемственность, которая с апостольских времен непрерывно до нашего времени передается от епископа к епископу в таинстве рукоположения. Церковь, по обещанию Господа Спасителя, пребудет неодолимою от врагов ее до конца существования мира.

Мы верим в то, что в таинстве крещения прощаются верующему все грехи и что через это таинство верующий становится членом Церкви. Члену Церкви открыт доступ и к другим спасительным ее таинствам. Так, в таинстве миропомазания дается верующему благодать Святого Духа; в таинстве покаяния или исповеди прощаются грехи, сделанные в зрелом возрасте после крещения; в таинстве причащения, совершаемом во время Литургии, верующие причащаются истинного тела и крови Христовой; в таинстве бракосочетания устанавливается нерасторжимый союз между мужем и женой; в таинстве священства рукополагаются служители Церкви: дьяконы, священники и епископы; а в таинстве соборования подается исцеление от духовных и физических болезней.

Мы верим в то, что перед концом мира Иисус Христос, сопровождаемый ангелами, опять придет на землю в славе. Тогда все, по Его слову, воскреснут из мертвых, то есть произойдет чудо, в котором души умерших людей вернутся в их тела, которые они имели до смерти, и все умершие оживут. При всеобщем воскресении, тела праведников, как воскресших, так и живых, обновятся и станут одухотворенными по образу воскресшего тела Христова. После воскресения, все люди предстанут на суд Божий, чтобы каждому получить соответственно тому, что он делал, когда жил в своем теле, доброе или худое. После суда пойдут нераскаявшиеся грешники в муку вечную, а праведники — в жизнь вечную. Так начнется царство Христово, которому не будет конца.

Заключительным словом “Аминь” мы свидетельствуем о том, что мы всем сердцем принимаем и признаем истинным это исповедание православной веры.

Символ веры читается человеком, принимающим крещение (“оглашенным”) во время совершения таинства крещения. При крещении младенца Символ читается восприемниками. Кроме того, Символ веры поется в церкви за литургией и следует читать его ежедневно во время утренних молитв. Внимательное чтение Символа имеет большое влияние на нашу веру. Это происходит потому, что Символ веры не есть просто вероисповедная формула, но есть молитва. Говоря с молитвенным настроением слово “верую” и другие слова Символа, мы оживляем и укрепляем нашу веру в Бога и во все те истины, которые содержатся в Символе. Вот почему так важно православным христианам ежедневно, или по крайне мере регулярно, читать Символ веры.

The Home as a Little Church:

The Vision of St. John Chrysostom

by Dr. David C. Ford

(continued from November edition)

. . . . One of the most important dimensions of St. John Chrysostom’s exalted vision of the Christian life is his emphasis on Christ-filled marriage and family life. May I ask, how many of you are aware of his emphasis on marriage, and his very high view of Christian marriage? He believed that it is the calling of every Christian married couple to make their home a little church, and he preached with all his heart to inspire the married people in his flock, to fill them with this vision, this ideal, this goal, and to instruct them in how to bring this vision to pass in their own homes.

Let’s look now at some of the most important characteristics of the home as a little church that can be found in St. John Chrysostom’s preaching and writing. I believe six such characteristics stand out: First, we see a great emphasis on the need, indeed the requirement, that husbands love their wives with Christ-like, self-sacrificial love. . . .The second characteristic of the home as a little church is a pattern of order and discipline in the family, with the husband as the servant-head of the family, and his wife as second-in-command, and their children in obedience under them. . . .

Thirdly, such a godly home is characterized by careful, attentive, heartfelt

instruction and training of the children by the parents. Chrysostom strongly exhorts parents to train their children carefully and diligently in the ways of the Lord. Not to teach them virtue, not to call them to account for their actions, is, as he says, “to trample upon the noble nature of the soul” (Homily III on Philemon; NPNF 1, XIII, p. 557; my emphasis). Concerning those who may become leaders in the Church, he asks, “For he who does not instruct his own children, how should he be the teacher of others?” (Homily II on Titus; NPNF 1, XIII, pp. 524-525).

For Chrysostom, the Christian training of a child begins with the very name he or she is given by the parents:

Let none of us hasten to call his child after his forebears – his father or mother or grandfather or great-grandfather, but rather after the righteous – martyrs, bishops, apostles. Let this be an incentive to the children. Let one be called Peter, another John; and let another bear the name of one of the other saints.

As we know, this is a strong Orthodox tradition to this day – to give the new child the name of a Saint, and thus to make sure he or she has a patron Saint. Chrysostom believes that this will bring great benefit not only to the children, but also to the parents. As he goes on to say:

So let the names of the saints enter our homes through the naming of our children, to train not only the child but the father, when he reflects that he is the father of John or Elijah or James. For, if the name be given with forethought . . ., and we emphasize our kinship with the righteous rather than [or, at least, more than] with our forebears, this too will greatly help us and our children (An Address on Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring Up Their Children, in M. L. W. Laistner, Christianity and Pagan Culture [Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1951], pp. 107-109; modified translation; my emphasis).

In this same remarkable essay, St. John tells parents, “thou art raising a philosopher, an athlete, a citizen of Heaven” (p. 102), and he speaks of parents shaping their children into “wondrous statues for God”:

To each of you fathers and mothers I say, just as we see artists fashioning their paintings and statues with great precision, so we must care for these wondrous statues of ours. Painters, when they have set the canvas on the easel, paint on it day by day to accomplish their purpose. Sculptors, too, working in marble, proceed in a similar manner; they remove what is superfluous and add what is lacking. Even so you must proceed. Like the creators of statues, give all your leisure to fashioning these wondrous statues for God (On Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring Up Their Children; Laistner, p. 96; my emphasis).

Chrysostom goes on in this essay to compare the soul of a child to a city, indwelt by good and bad citizens (i.e., good and bad thoughts, dispositions, and habits). He exhorts parents, “Regard yourself as a king ruling over a city which is the soul of your son [or daughter].” And referring to the necessity for the parents to set firm boundaries and guidelines for their children concerning what kind of behavior is proper and what is unacceptable, he says,

Draw up laws for this city and its citizens, laws that inspire fear and are strong, and uphold them if they are being transgressed; for it is useless to draw up laws, if their enforcement does not follow. Draw up laws, and pay close attention, for our legislation is for the world, and today we are founding a city” (Ibid., pp. 97-98; modified translation).

Then he addresses in quite some detail the five gates of this city which is the child’s soul – the tongue, hearing, sight, the sense of smell, and the sense of touch – all of which must be carefully guarded lest unwelcome intruders make their way into the child’s mind and heart. If in his day Chrysostom had to strongly warn parents to carefully supervise what things their children were seeing and hearing in the world around them, how much more is this necessary in our own age of radio, TV, movies, MTV, and the Internet?!

If children are given such diligent care and attention in child-raising, St. John is quite confident that they will turn out well:

For it is not possible, indeed it is not, that one should turn out badly who is brought up with so much care, and has received great attention. Sins are not so prevalent, so deeply rooted, by nature as to overcome so much previous care (Homily II on Titus; NPNF 1, XIII, pp. 524-525).

A fourth characteristic of the home as a little church is regular Scripture study, spiritual discussions, and prayer. Concerning the reading of the Holy Scriptures, in one notable passage Chrysostom suggests that families need this more than monastics do:

The solitaries do not need the consolation and the help of the Holy Scriptures as much as do those who are in the midst of the whirl of a distracting existence . . . [By the way, is this a pretty good description of how most of us live? – “in the midst of the whirl of a distracting existence”?] The hermits sit far from the struggle; therefore they are not often wounded. But you [speaking to his urban-dwelling parishioners] stand always in the front rank of battle (Homily III on Lazarus; PG 48.992C; Women and Men, p. 88; my emphasis).

So he advises:

Hearken, I entreat you, all who are involved with the things of this life, and procure books that will be medicines for the soul. . . . get at least from the New Testament the Acts and the Gospels to be your constant teachers (Homily IX on Colossians, PG 62.361D; NPNF 1, XIII, pp. 300-301; Women and Men, p. 88, n. 46; my emphasis).

We may notice here how this passage implies that copies of at least these portions of the New Testament must have been quite readily available to the average parishioners of Chrysostom’s day, at least in the big cities.

Specifically concerning instructing children, he exhorts, “Let us make them from the earliest age apply themselves to the reading of the Scriptures” (Homily XXI on Ephesians; NPNF 1, XIII, p. 154; Women and Men, p. 88, n. 46; my emphasis). He urges fathers to teach their children the Psalms, including memorizing certain ones, and then to lead them to study the Hymns of the Church:

Teach him to sing those psalms which are so full of the love of wisdom . . . When in these you have led him on from childhood, little by little you will lead him forward even to higher things. The Psalms contain all things, but the Hymns have nothing human. When he has been instructed out of the Psalms, he will then understand that the Hymns are even more divine (Homily IX on Colossians; NPNF 1, XIII, p. 301; modified translation).

The Scripture text for this homily is Colossians 3:16-17, which includes the words “teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Don’t these striking words about the Hymns make you wonder which Hymns he was referring to? Perhaps mostly they were the hymns from his own Divine Liturgy, such as the Cherubic Hymn.

St. John goes on in this homily to give a whole list of things to be learned from particular verses from the Psalms. And in his An Address on Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring Up Their Children, he takes five pages to explain in detail how parents should relate Bible stories to their children, and how to reinforce them so that the children get them virtually memorized. As examples, he uses the story of Cain and Abel, and also the story of Jacob and Esau; and he even gives the specific paraphrasing that the parents should use! (Laistner, pp. 102-107).

We can easily see St. John Chrysostom’s fervent love for the Holy Scriptures shining through all his preaching. On one occasion he cries out:

If we order our lives in this way and diligently study the Scriptures, we will find the lessons to guide us in everything we need! (Homily 20 on Ephesians; Roth, p. 64; my emphasis).

Concerning fostering spiritual discussions in the home, Chrysostom recommends that the father at the family dinner table repeat, and promote discussion about, the instruction given at the Church:

When you go home from here, lay out with your meal a spiritual meal as well. The father of the family might repeat something of what was said here; his wife could then hear it, the children too could learn something, and even the servants might be instructed. In short, the household might become a church, so that the devil is driven off and that evil spirit, the enemy of our salvation, takes to flight; the grace of the Holy Spirit would rest there instead, and all peace and harmony would surround the inhabitants (Homily 2 on Genesis.13; Fathers of the Church, vol. 74, Robert C. Hill, trans., p. 37; my emphasis).

(Notice how this passage implies that the father is attending church by himself. We know that Chrysostom often preached every day, such as during Great Lent, either in the morning before people went to work, or in the evenings on their way home from work.)

Chrysostom also says on this point:

Let us guide the conversation to the kingdom of heaven and to those men of old, pagan or Christian, who were illustrious for their self-restraint (On Vainglory; Laistner, p. 118; my emphasis).

Notice how he freely recognizes (in the spirit of Philippians 4:8) that pagan men (or women) of old can be good examples for Christians too, if they lived virtuously.

Concerning prayer in the Christian home, Chrysostom exclaims,

Here indeed my discourse is for both men and women. Bend your knees, send forth groans, beseech your Master to be merciful. He is more moved by prayers in the night, when you make the time for rest a time for grieving [for your sins]. . . . Do this, you men, and not the women only. Let the house be a Church, consisting of men and women. For do not think that because you are the only man, or because your wife is the only woman there, that this is any hindrance. ‘For where two,’ He says, ‘are gathered in My Name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Matt. 18:20). Where Christ is in the midst, there is a great multitude. Where Christ is, Angels also must be there, and Archangels and the other heavenly Powers. So then you are not alone, seeing you have Him Who is Lord of all. Hear again the prophet also saying, ‘Better is one who does the will of the Lord, than ten thousand transgressors’ (cf. Ecclus. 16:3). . . . Nothing is stronger than one man who lives according to the law of God.

If you have children, wake them up also, and let your house altogether become a Church through the night.

If I may ask at this point, does this sound quite extreme? St. John’s ideal was that the home would really become like a monastery. Once he even said he wished the whole city would become like a monastery (Homily XXVI on Romans; PG 60.644A; NPNF 1, XI, p. 533; Women and Men, pp. 44-45). But now, to continue with this quotation, we’ll see his pastor’s heart come in, and his compassionate understanding of the practical realities of life:

But if they are young, and cannot endure the watching, let them stay for the first or second prayer, and then send them to rest. Only stir up yourself; establish yourself in the habit. Nothing is better than the storehouse which receives such prayers as these. . . . Believe me, there is no fire as effectual to burn off rust as night prayer to remove the rust of our sins. . . . [Pray] in your closet, or in your bedroom; bend your knees, and entreat the Lord (Homily XXVI on Acts; NPNF 1, XI, pp. 172-173; modified translation; my emphasis).

While in this passage he has in mind, ideally, midnight vigils, in a later sermon in this same series (on the Acts of the Apostles), he says, with pastoral moderation and compassion,

I have both before discoursed to you on this, and now repeat it: let us arouse ourselves during the night. And if you do not say many prayers, say one with real attentiveness, and it is enough – I ask no more; and if not at midnight, at any rate at the first light of dawn (Homily XXXVI on Acts; NPNF 1, XI, p. 227; modified translation).

In a similar vein he says elsewhere,

Thus I would have you always [to be in prayer]; and if not always, at least very often; and if not very often, at least now and then, at least in the morning, at least in the evening prayers (Homily XXII on Hebrews; NPNF 1, XIV, p. 468).

And concerning the power of prayer, he assures his people:

Let every man and woman among us, whether meeting together at church, or remaining at home, call upon God with much earnestness, and He will doubtless accede to these petitions (Homily III on the Statues; NPNF 1, IX, p. 356; my emphasis).

Not only should the children be included in daily family prayers, but they should also be taught to pray regularly on their own:

Let the boy be trained to pray with much contrition and to keep vigils as much as he is able, and let the stamp of a saintly man be impressed on the boy in every way (On Vainglory; Laistner, p. 119).

And wives also, if they are able to stay at home during the day – which St. John would certainly strongly favor in our day and age, if this is at all possible – can, in his opinion, use the quiet of the home to foster much spiritual growth for themselves and their families:

But the woman who sits in her house as in some school of true wisdom, and collects her thoughts within herself, will be enabled to devote herself to prayers, and readings, and other heavenly wisdom (Homily LXI on St. John; PG 59.340C; NPNF 1, XIV, p. 225; Women and Men, p. 187; my emphasis).

Do you ladies think this is possible? Is it at least more possible than your husband making his workplace a “school of true wisdom”?

(to be concluded in the January edition)

Regular Service Schedule

• Tuesday 6:30 PM - Vespers followed by a discussion about the spiritual/dogmatic content of various prayers in the church services.
• Saturday 4:00 pm - Confession
• Saturday 5:00 pm - Vigil
• Sunday 10:00 am - Divine Liturgy, Trapeza and Church School

Regular Announcements

• Please use our bookstore. We have books, icons, CD's, Pascha and Nativity cards, souveniers and other items. To make a purchase, please put the following into the donation box, together with the payment: the item name and the dollar ($) amount of the payment. There are pads for your use for this purpose in the bookstore.
• We also have a library of books and CDs for your use. When you borrow from the library, please write the name of the book or CD on the clipboard, and return the items within four weeks. If you have materials to donate to the library, please speak to Natalia Hawthorne or email to stnatalia (at) hotmail (dot) com
• The sisterhood is always open to new members! To join, please speak to Raisa Dudar.
• We welcome new choir members! To join, please speak to Genevieve (Jenny) Park or email her at parknj (at) basicisp (dot) net
• Please remember to support the parish financially.
• Our building fund is our means of financing our land and building efforts. This fund currently contains $70,000, and is growing slowly. To make a contribution, make out a check to St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, and write in the memo line, "Building Fund."

Redeeming the Time

St Nicholas Orthodox Church, Dallas TX

Fr. Seraphim Holland

seraphim@orthodox.net

972-529-2754

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

November 2007

News and Announcements

Building Plans

At long last, our hope to move into a better facility may be turning into a reality! Following discussion at several recent parish council meetings, we are laying plans to construct a building on our land in McKinney. We hope to be able to serve there by Pascha of 2008. May God bless and guide us in this endeavor!

Visit by His Grace, Bishop Peter

On the weekend of November 18th, Bishop Peter will be visiting our parish. The tentative schedule is as follows:

• ARRIVAL 12:50 pm- American Airlines Flight 2317
  
• Early afternoon on Saturday: Lunch and Q&A session with Bishop Peter. Father Seraphim would like everybody to attend!
• 5PM on Saturday: Hierarchal Vigil Service
• 9:30 AM on Sunday: Meeting of the Bishop, followed by Hierarchal Divine Liturgy and Festal Trapeza
• Sunday afternoon: Visit to the land in McKinney, possibly a Molieban
• DEPARTURE: 4:55 pm - American Airlines Flight 2364
  

Name Days this month

• Wednesday, November 21st - Archangel Michael - Michael D., Misha I.
  

Prayer Requests

"I was sick and you visited me." Please continue to pray for Dimitry, Olga and Vladimir Maximov, who will be returning to Dallas this fall for Dima's surgery.

Principles of the Orthodox Faith

by Bishop Alexander

(continued from October Edition)

What do we believe in according to the Creed? We begin the Creed with "I believe." This is because the essence of our religious convictions depends not on external experiences but on our acceptance of God-given truths. Surely one cannot prove truths of the spiritual world by any laboratory experiments. These truths belong to the sphere of personal religious experience. The more a person grows in the spiritual life - the more one prays, thinks about God, does good - the more his inner spiritual experience develops, the clearer the religious truths become to him. In this fashion, faith becomes for him a subject of personal experience. We believe that God is one fullness of perfection; we believe that He is a perfect spirit, timeless, without beginning, all-powerful and all-wise. God is everywhere, sees all, and knows beforehand when something will happen. He is good beyond measure, just and all-holy. He needs nothing and is the reason for everything that exists. We believe that God is one in Essence and Trinity in Persons (i.e., the one true God has appeared to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the Trinity, one in Essence and indivisible. The Father is not born and does not proceed from the others. The Son pre-eternally was born of the Father, and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father. We believe that all the Persons of the Holy Trinity are equaly in divine perfection, greatness, power, and glory. That is, we believe that the Father is true and perfect God, the Son is true and perfect God, and, the Holy Spirit is true and perfect God. Therefore, in prayers, we simultaneously glorify the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as one God. We believe that the entire visible and invisible world was created by God. In the beginning God created the invisible, great angelic world, otherwise known as Heaven. As stated in the Bible, God created our material or physical world from nothing. This was not done at once, but gradually during periods of time which in the Bible are called "days." God created the world not out of necessity or need but out of His all-good desire to do so in order that His other creations might enjoy life. Being Himself endlessly good, God created all things good. Evil appeared in the world from the misuse of free will, with which God has endowed both angels and people. For example, the Devil (Satan) and his demons were at one time angels of God. But they rebelled against their Creator and became demons. They were cast out of Heaven and formed their own kingdom called "hell." From that moment on, they tempted people to sin and became our enemies and the enemies of our salvation. We believe that all things are under God's control; that is, he provides for every creature and guides everything to a good goal. God loves and looks after us as a mother looks after her child. For this reason nothing bad can befall a person who trusts in God.

Во что мы верим согласно Символу? Мы начинаем Символ словом “верую” потому, что содержание наших религиозных убеждений зиждится не на внешнем опыте, но на принятии нами Бого–откровенной истины. Ведь предметы и явления духовного мира нельзя проверить лабораторным путем и логически доказать — они входят в сферу личного религиозного опыта человека. Однако, чем больше человек преуспевает в духовной жизни, например: чем больше он молится, думает о Боге, делает добра, тем больше развивается в нем личный внутренний духовный опыт и тем яснее и очевиднее делаются для него религиозные истины. Таким путем вера становится для верующего человека предметом его личного опыта. Мы верим в то, что Бог есть полнота совершенства: Он есть Дух всесовершенный, безначальный, вечный, всемогущий и премудрый. Бог всюду находится, все видит и знает раньше, чем что-либо произойдет. Он бесконечно добрый, справедливый и всесвятой. Он ни в чем не нуждается и есть первопричина всего существующего. Мы верим в то, что Бог — един по существу и троичен в Лицах: Отец, Сын и Дух Святой есть Троица единосущная и нераздельная. Отец не рождается и не исходит от другого Лица, Сын предвечно родился от Отца, Дух Святой предвечно исходит от Отца. Мы верим в то, что все Лица или Ипостаси Бога равны между Собой по Божеским совершенствам, величию, власти и славе, а именно — мы верим, что Отец есть истинный всесовершенный Бог, и Сын есть истинный всесовершенный Бог, и Дух Святой есть истинный всесовершенный Бог. Поэтому в молитвах мы одновременно прославляем Отца, и Сына, и Святого Духа, как единого Бога. Мы верим в то, что весь видимый и невидимый мир сотворен Богом. Сначала Бог сотворил невидимый, великий ангельский мир или так называемое в Библии “небо,” потом — наш материальный или физический мир (в Библии — “землю”). Физический мир Бог сотворил из ничего, но не сразу, а постепенно в течение периодов, именуемых в Библии “днями.” Бог сотворил мир не по необходимости или нужде в нем, но по Своему всеблагому желанию, чтобы и другие созданные Им существа наслаждались жизнью. Будучи бесконечно добрым, Бог все сотворил добрым. Зло в мире происходит от злоупотребления свободной волей, которой Бог наделил ангелов и людей. Так, например, дьявол и бесы когда-то были добрыми ангелами, но восстали против Бога и добровольно стали злыми. Эти непокорные ангелы, ставшие бесами, были изгнаны из рая и образовали свое темное царство, именуемое адом. С тех пор они подстрекают людей на грех и являются врагами нашего спасения. Мы верим в то, что Бог все содержит в Своей власти, то есть Он всем управляет и все ведет к благой цели. Бог любит нас и заботится о нас, как мать о своем ребенке. Поэтому ничего плохого не может произойти с человеком, надеющимся на Бога.

(to be concluded in the December edition)

St. John Chrysostom

This year marks the 1600th anniversary of St. John Chrysostom's death. St. John, commemorated on November 22nd, was the Patriarch of Constantinople during the late 4th century, during the reign of the Emperor Theodosius the Great. Studying secular philosophy in his youth, St. John turned quickly to the study of sacred scriptures, and entered the monastic life, which he called the "true philosophy," after the death of his mother. Ordained a priest and then a bishop, St. John was the consumate pastor, preaching and writing prolifically. We present here an excerpt from a talk given by Dr. David C. Ford of St. Tikhon's Seminary at the 1600^th Anniversary Symposium for St. John Chrysostom on September 29th. The topic is St. John's pastoral work, and particularly his emphasis on the Christian home.

The Home as a Little Church:

The Vision of St. John Chrysostom

by Dr. David C. Ford

As I’m sure nearly every Orthodox Christian realizes, St. John Chrysostom is one of our most revered and beloved Saints. He was a man small in stature, but mighty in faith in God, in love for his people, in eloquence in preaching the Gospel, and in pastoral wisdom in interpreting the Holy Scriptures. He was a great encourager; over and over again he poured out his heart in his sermons, as he ceaselessly urged his flock to overcome earthly distractions and strive to live in virtue and godliness. As you all well know, he deeply loved the Holy Scriptures, and he mined them for every nugget of practical wisdom he could find that would help his flock to really live Christ’s teachings day by day. And in the end, as we know, he literally gave his life for the Truth of the Gospel.

I think just about anyone who begins reading the writings of St. John Chrysostom quickly feels his intense love for his people, and his profound desire for them to make spiritual progress. Once he cried out in the midst of a sermon, “for I vehemently set my heart upon your salvation” (Homily XLIII on I Corinthians; Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, first series, vol. XII, p. 260; my emphasis). Do you think he still, even now, has his heart vehemently set on our salvation? I think it could be said that these words summarize his whole life as a priest in Antioch, and then as Archbishop of Constantinople. He is so beloved in our Church, I’m quite sure, in large part because of his tremendous love for his flock.

One of the most important dimensions of St. John Chrysostom’s exalted vision of the Christian life is his emphasis on Christ-filled marriage and family life. May I ask, how many of you are aware of his emphasis on marriage, and his very high view of Christian marriage? He believed that it is the calling of every Christian married couple to make their home a little church, and he preached with all his heart to inspire the married people in his flock, to fill them with this vision, this ideal, this goal, and to instruct them in how to bring this vision to pass in their own homes.

Let’s look now at some of the most important characteristics of the home as a little church that can be found in St. John Chrysostom’s preaching and writing. I believe six such characteristics stand out:

First, we see a great emphasis on the need, indeed the requirement, that husbands love their wives with Christ-like, self-sacrificial love; as St. Paul says to the Ephesians, “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her” (Eph. 5:25; my emphasis). In a very memorable passage, Chrysostom speaks of the ceaseless, nurturing, forgiving, protecting love of Christ for His Church using in significant measure the imagery of a good husband’s love for his wife:

For Christ espoused His Church as a wife, He loves her as a daughter, He provides for her as a handmaid, He guards her as a virgin, He fences her around like a garden, and cherishes her like a part of His own body. As a head He provides for her, as a root He causes her to grow, as a shepherd He feeds her, as a bridegroom He weds her, as a propitiation He pardons her, as a sheep He is sacrificed, as a bridegroom He preserves her in her beauty, as a husband He provides for her support (On Eutropius.II; Patrologiae Graeca 52.410D-411A; NPNF 1, IX, pp. 262-263; quoted in Women and Men in the Early Church: The Full Views of St. John Chrysostom, by David C. Ford [S. Canaan, Pa.: St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, 1996], p. 68).

It’s difficult to imagine any wife not responding with great love and gratitude to such solicitous, self-sacrificing love from her husband – would you agree?

St. John speaks of the ineffable unity of husband and wife in the context of such Christ-like love:

The other party thereafter is yourself, when you love: . . . the lover and the beloved should no longer be two persons divided, but in a manner one single person (ενα τινα ανθροπον), something which can never happen except from love (αγαπηϚ) (Homily XXXIII on I Corinthians; PG 61.280A; NPNF 1, XII, p. 197; Women and Men, p. 65; my emphasis).

Emphasizing on another occasion the great unity and love which should be knitting husband and wife together, Chrysostom states,

Let husbands heed this, let wives heed it: wives, so as to give evidence of such great affection for their husbands, and to put nothing ahead of their welfare; and husbands, that they might show their wives great regard and do everything as though having one soul and being one body.

If I may interject here, it always amazes me that this profound understanding of the almost ontological oneness of husband and wife comes from a man who was never married! And since John’s father died when John was very young, he didn’t even have the visible example of his parents to inspire him. How did he know so much about marriage? Certainly he took St. Paul’s words in Ephesians 5 very seriously about comparing marital unity and love to Christ’s unity with His Body, the Church, and His love for Her. To recall verse 23 in this passage: “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the Head of the Church.” Hence each married couple is called to be profoundly united, at least in some degree approaching the ineffable oneness of Christ and His Church. To continue with this quotation:

This, after all, is true wedlock, when such harmony operates between them, when there is such close relationship, when they are bound together in such love. You see, just as a body would never be at odds with itself nor a soul at odds with itself, so husband and wife should not be at odds, but united (Homily 45 on Genesis.9; Fathers of the Church, vol. 82, Robert C. Hill, trans., p. 474; Women and Men, p. 55; my emphasis).

He has such a high vision of Christian marriage that he asserts that marital love is “a thing that no possession can equal; for nothing, nothing whatever, is more precious than to be thus loved by a wife and to love her” (Homily XLIX on Acts; NPNF 1, XI, p. 296; Women and Men, p. 65; my emphasis). Did you know he said things like this? Isn’t it comforting, if you’re married, to hear a Church Father speaking like this? It is true that of all the Church Fathers, he spoke the most – and the most positively – about marriage.

St. John was often very practical in his advice – for instance, he exhorts the husbands of his flock:

Never call her merely by her name, but with terms of endearment, with honor, and with much love (αγαπηϚ) (Homily XX on Ephesians; PG 62.148C; NPNF 1, XIII, p. 151; Catharine Roth, ed. and trans., St. John Chrysostom: On Marriage and Family Life [Crestwood, N. Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1986], p. 63; Women and Men, p. 170, note 8).

And again,

Whenever you give your wife advice, always begin by telling her how much you love her (αγαπηϚ). . . . Tell her that you love her more than your own life, because this present life is nothing, and that your only hope is that the two of you pass through this life in such a way that in the world to come you will be united in perfect love (Homily XX on Ephesians; PG 62.146D; NPNF 1, XIII, pp. 150-151; Women and Men, p. 170; my emphasis).

Here we see St. John Chrysostom’s great overarching perspective – that all of this life is the training ground for eternal life. And we also see expressed here the traditional Orthodox understanding that marriage is meant to last forever – which is a very important part of the Orthodox understanding of and vision for Christian marriage. As the celebrant prays in the marriage service when the crowns are removed: “Receive their crowns into Thy Kingdom, preserving them spotless, blameless, and without reproach, unto ages of ages.” And we also sang last night about St. John’s parents, Secundus and Anthusa, “joining chorus with our heavenly Mistress and the Saints today.”

In another unforgettable passage, the great pastor speaks again to husbands, as he comments on the verses from Ephesians 5 which are the epistle reading for the Orthodox marriage service:

You have seen the measure of obedience [from v. 22 – “Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord”]; so hear also the measure of love [from v. 25 – “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for Her”]. Do you want to have your wife be obedient to you, as the Church is to Christ? Then take yourself the same provident care for her as Christ takes for the Church. Yes, even if it becomes necessary for you to give your life for her, yes, and to be cut into pieces ten thousand times, yes, and to endure and undergo any suffering whatever, do not refuse it . . . In the same way, then, as He brought to Himself her who turned her back on Him [here St. John is referring to the Lord’s love for His people Israel who so often strayed from Him in Old Testament times] – who hated, and spurned, and disdained Him – not by menaces, or by violence, or by terror, or by anything else of this kind, but by His unwearied affection, so also you must act toward your wife (Homily XX on Ephesians; PG 62.137A; NPNF 1, XIII, p. 144; Women and Men, pp. 172-173; my emphasis).

If I may comment a bit on this passage – I used to think that this talk about being willing to be cut in pieces ten thousand times was mostly just another example of Chrysostom’s typical exaggeration in his preaching rhetoric. But, as probably all of us who are married can attest, isn’t it true that our spouses do sometimes say and do things that hurt us deeply – that can indeed cut us to the heart? Yet Chrysostom says we are to endure such things with love and patience – with “unwearied affection.” Of course, this does not mean that we are not to tell our spouses when they hurt us, since they may not realize how their words and actions are affecting us. But it does mean that we must not hold any hidden resentment against our spouses, and that we must forgive them, no matter what they may do to us.

The second characteristic of the home as a little church is a pattern of order and discipline in the family, with the husband as the servant-head of the family, and his wife as second-in-command, and their children in obedience under them:

Seek the things of God, and those of man will follow with great ease. Instruct (ρυθμιζε; from this word we get our word ‘rhythm’) your wife, and your whole household will be well-disciplined. . . . If we regulate our households in this way, we will also be fit to oversee the Church, for indeed the household is a little Church. Therefore, it is possible for us to surpass all others [this would include monastics] by becoming good husbands and wives (Homily XX on Ephesians; PG 62.143A; Roth, p. 57; Women and Men, p. 83; my emphasis).

And Chrysostom gives guidance as to how to properly regulate one’s own family:

True rulers are those who bear rule over themselves. For there are these four things – soul, family, city, world; and these things form a regular progression. He therefore who is to superintend a family, and order it well, must first bring his own soul into order (ρυθμιζειν - again we have the word ‘rhythm’ coming from this word); . . . He who is able to regulate his own soul, and makes the soul to rule and the body to be subject, this man will be able to regulate a family also (Homily LII on Acts; PG 60.366A; NPNF 1, XI, p. 313; Women and Men, p. 170; my emphasis).

Chrysostom also emphasizes that a husband’s headship in his family must be nothing despotic. Rather, it must be centered in self-sacrificing servanthood, flowing from abounding love:

Do not, therefore [he tells husbands], because your wife is subject to you, act like a despot. Likewise, because your husband loves you [he says to the wives], do not be puffed up. Let neither the husband’s love elate the wife, nor the wife’s subjection puff up the husband. For this reason He has subjected her to you, that she may be loved the more (Homily X on Colossians; PG 62.366C; NPNF 1, XIII, p. 304; Women and Men, p. 172; my emphasis).

(to be continued in the December and January editions)

Regular Service Schedule

• Saturday 4:00 pm - Confession
• Saturday 5:00 pm - Vigil
• Sunday 10:00 am - Divine Liturgy, Trapeza and Church School

Regular Announcements

• Please use our bookstore. We have books, icons, CD's, Pascha and Nativity cards, souveniers and other items. To make a purchase, please put the following into the donation box, together with the payment: the item name and the dollar ($) amount of the payment. There are pads for your use for this purpose in the bookstore.
• We also have a library of books and CDs for your use. When you borrow from the library, please write the name of the book or CD on the clipboard, and return the items within four weeks. If you have materials to donate to the library, please speak to Natalia Hawthorne.
• The sisterhood is always open to new members! To join, please speak to Raisa Dudar.
• We welcome new choir members! To join, please speak to Genevieve (Jenny) Park.
• Please remember to support the parish financially.
• Our building fund is our means of financing our land and building efforts. This fund currently contains $70,000, and is growing slowly. To make a contribution, make out a check to St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, and write in the memo line, "Building Fund."

Redeeming the Time

St Nicholas Orthodox Church, Dallas TX

Fr. Seraphim Holland

seraphim@orthodox.net

972-529-2754

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

October 2007

Redeeming the Time

10 years ago, in October 1997, the very first issue of Redeeming the Time opened with these words:

Time is a precious gift, of limited duration, given by God to the Christian to work out his salvation. The Apostle Paul, expressing the entire voice and mind of the church, exhorts us to: "walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." The purpose of this journal is simply to facilitate our struggles to this end. The life in the church is rich, and full of beneficial places where we can be "redeeming the time", and struggle towards moral purity and the knowledge of God, which are gained only through the assiduous use of time. Some of these "places" are the community Christian life; immersion in the liturgical cycle, seasons and fasts; reading the lives of the Saints and commemorating them on the day of their memorial; the God-inspired services; and reading the weekly scripture readings and commentaries of the Holy Fathers who accurately express the mind of the church. This journal hopes to emphasize these things, as well as provide local news about and for the St. Nicholas family in Dallas.

After a hiatus of several years, we hope to resume production of Redeeming the Time on a monthly basis. May this journal once again help us all in our Christian life.

News and Announcements

Visit by His Grace, Bishop Peter

On the weekend of November 18th, Bishop Peter will be visiting our parish. He will serve with us that weekend, will a round-table discussion about our plans for the future, and will - God willing - visit and bless our land in McKinney.

Name Days this month

• Saturday, October 6th - Raisa
• Monday, October 8th - Sergey
• Monday, October 15th - Justina (Tracy), Anna (Park)
• Saturday, October 20th - Patronal feast of our sister parish in Houston, St. Jonah's.

Prayer Requests

"I was sick and you visited me." Please continue to pray for Dimitry, Olga and Vladimir Maximov, who will be returning to Dallas this fall for Dima's surgery.

Homily for the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos By Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky) As the great Abba of Russia Abroad, His Blessedness Metropolitan Anthony, once pointed out, the festive celebration of the feast of the Protection of the Theotokos by the whole Russian Church testifies that spiritual roots stood above all else for the Russian people. For the feast of the Protection of the Theotokos reminds us of an event that took place long ago, and an event in which our ancestors suffered defeat against the Greeks, who were under the Protection of the Theotokos. It turned out, however, that the Greek Church celebrates this feast very little, hardly marking it at all, while the Russian Church and the Russian celebrate the Protection of the Theotokos so festively, that it reminds us of the celebration of the twelve feasts, the greatest feats in our church year. Of course, the reason for this is the calming and encouraging character of the feast. The Theotokos protects the people praying in church. We know this from the great saint and witness of spiritual mysteries, Saint Andrew the Fool for Christ, who testified that the Queen of the heavens did not separate the bad people from the good and the pious: She covered all those standing in the church with Her goodness. That is what the Russian people believed, that She, the All-good Mother, covers all with Her Protection. Life is now difficult. It was never easy, but now it is especially confusing and it has in many ways lost its Christian roots. Everywhere man is suffocating in today's atmosphere. Sometimes it may even seem to him that he is alone, that there is no help, and that spiritual demise inevitably awaits him. But the Church sings in one of its best chants: "To the Theotokos let us run now most earnestly, we sinners all and wretched ones, and fall down in repentance calling from the depths of our souls: O Lady, come unto our aid, have compassion upon us." Help us, showing compassion unto us! That is Who stands guarding people from misfortune and from sorrow--She, Who lived through suffering and sorrow more than anyone else. For when She, having already suffered greatly, stood at the Cross of Her Son, then the foretelling of the righteous Simeon the God-Receiver on the day of the Meeting of the Lord rightly came true in reality: Her purest and holiest of souls was pierced through by a weapon. We cannot even imagine what Such a Mother went through seeing the incredible and superhuman sufferings of Such a Son. Her powerful and patient heart would not have withstood this suffering; it would have been torn apart, if the Lord Himself had not strengthened Her with His grace during Her torment at the Cross, which was greater than any other suffering of any mother. So She, who suffered thus Herself, understands human troubles and especially a mother's sorrow, along with whom She suffers. That is why She is considered the defender of every suffering mother. But She cares for everyone and raises Her hands to the Lord of Glory and to Her Son on everyone's behalf, and She covers everyone with Her All-Powerful Girdle. When one mother, who had many children, was asked which of them she loves the most and which of them she would grieve over most if she were to lose one, the mother answered: "Whichever finger you cut off, it will hurt." The Most Pure Virgin could have answered thus, because when the Lord Jesus Christ left Her as the Mother of Saint John the Theologian, She adopted all of mankind, and She is considered the Mother of the Christian race. Can a mother not hear her children? All the children have to do is not abandon their Mother! One spiritual father told his spiritual daughter, who was sorrowing: Pray to the Theotokos, but pray so that She can hear you! And what Mother will not hear her child and try and help? Let us remember this. Joyous is the day of the Protection of the Theotokos. It reminds us that we sinners, upon whom the righteous anger of the Lord should come crashing down, are covered by Her saving Protection. And when the Lord, angered by our sins, turns His holiest of eyes, He sees the Girdle of His Mother. She has covered us. Let us never despair, regardless of our sorrows and trials, but always call on the Queen of Heaven and the Mother of the Christian race, that She not take away Her Motherly care. Amen.

Проповедь на Покров Пресвятой Богородицы и Приснодевы Марии Митрополит Филарет (Вознесенский) Торжественное празднование всей Русской Церковью праздника Покрова Божией Матери, как указывал в свое время великий Авва Зарубежья, Блаженнейший Митрополит Антоний, свидетельствует о том, что у русского человека духовное начало стояло выше всего остального, ибо праздник Покрова Божией Матери напоминает нам событие, которое было давно и в котором наши предки, осадившие греческий город, находившийся под Покровом Божией Матери, потерпели поражение. Однако же получилось так, что греческая Церковь совсем мало празднует этот праздник, почти его не отмечая ничем, а Русская Церковь и русский народ праздник Покрова Божией Матери празднуют так торжественно, что это празднование напоминает двунадесятые праздники, самые великие в нашем церковном году. И, конечно, причина этого - в утешительном и ободряющем характере этого праздника. Божия Матерь покрывает Покровом людей, молящихся в храме. Это видел великий Божий угодник и зритель тайн духовных, св. Андрей Христа ради юродивый, который свидетельствовал о том, что Царица небесная не отделяла дурных людей от добрых и благочестивых, а покрывала Покровом Своей благости всех, находившихся в храме. Так и веровал всегда русский народ, что Она, как Мать Всеблагая, всех покрывает Покровом Своим. Жизнь сейчас тяжела. Она легкой никогда не была, но сейчас в особенности сложна, запутана и во многом совсем утеряла христианские начала. Человек сплошь и рядом духовно задыхается в теперешней атмосфере и кажется ему иногда, что он совсем одинок, помощи нет, и что его ждет неминуемая духовная гибель. Но вот Церковь поет в одном из лучших своих песнопений: - К Богородице прилежно ныне притецем, грешнии и смирении, и припадем в покаянии, зовуще из глубины души: "Владычице, помози на ны милосердовавши." Помоги, умилосердившись о нас! Вот, Кто стоит на страже человеческого несчастья и человеческого горя - Та, Которая пережила страдания и скорби больше, чем кто бы то ни было. Ибо, когда Она, без того настрадавшаяся, стояла у Креста Сына Своего, то тогда воистину сбывалось предречение праведного Симеона Богоприимца в день Сретения: Ее чистейшую и святейшую душу оружие проходило насквозь. Мы себе и представить не можем, что переживала Такая Матерь, видя невероятные, сверхчеловеческия страдания Такого Сына. Не выдержало бы Ее могучее и терпеливое сердце и разорвалось бы, если бы Сам Господь благодатиею Своею не укреплял Ее в этой Ее выше человеческой материнской муке у Креста. И вот Она, так много перестрадавшая, понимает человеческую беду, в особенности материнскую скорбь, и сострадает ей. Почему и считается Она в особенности покровительницей всякой скорбящей матери. Да и о всех Она заботится, о всех воздевает Свои руки ко Господу Славы и Сыну Своему, и всех покрывает Всемощным Омофором Своим. Когда спросили одну мать, у которой было много детей, кого из них она больше любит, о ком бы больше всего скорбела, если бы его потеряла - она дала известный ответ - "Какой палец не отрежь, все будет больно." Так могла бы сказать Пречистая Дева, ибо Ей Господь Иисус Христос в лице Апостола Иоанна Богослова усыновил весь род человеческий, и Она считается Матерью рода христианского. Мать ли не услышит детей? Лишь бы только дети Матери не оставляли! Один духовник говорил своей духовной дочери, которая была в скорби: молись Божией Матери, но смотри, молись так, чтобы Богородица тебя слышала! А какая же Мать не услышит свое дитя и не постарается ему помочь? Будем же это помнить. Радостен день Покрова Божией Матери. Он так напоминает нам, что нас грешных, на которых следовало бы обрушиться праведному гневу Божию, покрывает ее спасительный Покров. И когда Господь, прогневанный нашими грехами, обращает на нас Свой святейший взор, Он видит Омофор Своей Матери: Она нас покрыла ... Не будем же никогда унывать ни в каких наших скорбях и испытаниях, а всегда призывать на помощь Царицу Небесную - Матерь рода христианского, чтобы Она нас не оставляла Своим Материнским попечением. Аминь.

The Principles of the Orthodox Faith Bishop Alexander (Mileant) Edited by Donald Shufran What is the Creed? The word creed comes from the Latin credo, which means "I believe." In the Orthodox Church the Creed is usually called the Symbol of Faith, which means the "expression" or "confession" of the faith. A person without faith is like a blind man. Faith gives man spiritual vision by which he can see and understand the essence of all that surrounds him: how and why everything was created, what is the goal of life, what is right and what is not, and ultimately what one must strive towards. From earliest times, the Apostolic-period Christians have used the Creed to remind themselves of the principles of the Orthodox Faith. In the ancient church there existed various short creeds. But in the 4th century there appeared false teachings about the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. Thus it became necessary to complete these short creeds and more accurately define the Church's teaching. A Historical Survey The Nicean Creed was composed by the Fathers of the 1st and 2nd Ecumenical Councils. The first seven articles of the Creed were drawn up at the 1st Ecumenical Council, and the last five were drawn up at the 2nd Ecumenical Council. The 1st Council met in Nicea in 325 A.D. to confirm the true teachings about the Son of God and to oppose the false teachings of Arius. Arius believed that the Son of God was created by God the Father. The 2nd Council met in Constantinople in 381 A.D. to confirm the true teaching on the Holy Spirit and to oppose the false teachings of Macedonius. He rejected the divine origin of the Holy Spirit. The Creed is named the "Nicean-Constantinopolitan" after the two cities in which the Fathers gathered for the 1st and 2nd Ecumenical Councils. The Creed consists of twelve articles. In the 1st article we speak of God the Father; from the 2nd though 7th articles we speak of God the Son; in the 8th article about God the Holy Spirit; in the 9th about the Church; in the 10th about Baptism; and in the 11th and 12th about the resurrection of the dead and eternal life. The Creed I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light: true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father; by Whom all things were made: Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man; And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried; And arose again on the third day according to the Scriptures; And ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father; And shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life; Who proceeds from the Father; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spake by the prophets. In One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, And the life of the age to come. Amen. We begin the Creed with "I believe." This is because the essence of our religious convictions depends not on external experiences but on our acceptance of God-given truths. Surely one cannot prove truths of the spiritual world by any laboratory experiments. These truths belong to the sphere of personal religious experience. The more a person grows in the spiritual life - the more one prays, thinks about God, does good - the more his inner spiritual experience develops, the clearer the religious truths become to him. In this fashion, faith becomes for him a subject of personal experience.

О с н о в ы Православной В Е Р Ы Епископ Александр (Милеант) Что такое Символ веры? Символ веры — это молитва, в которой изложены в кратких и точных словах основные истины православной веры. Человек без веры — все равно, что слепой. Вера дает человеку духовное зрение, помогающее человеку видеть и понимать суть того, что происходит вокруг: как и для чего все сотворено, какова цель жизни, что правильно, а что нет, к чему надо стремиться и так далее. Историческая Справка Издревле, с апостольских времен, христиане пользовались так называемыми “символами веры” для того, чтобы напоминать самим себе основные истины христианской веры. В древней церкви существовало несколько кратких символов веры. В 4-м веке, когда появились ложные учения о Боге Сыне и о Духе Святом, возникла необходимость прежние символы пополнить и уточнить. Символ веры, который мы будем здесь объяснять, составлен отцами Первого и Второго Вселенских Соборов. На Первом Вселенском Соборе были написаны первые семь членов Символа, на Втором — остальные пять. Первый Вселенский Собор состоялся в городе Никее в 325 г. по Рождестве Христовом для утверждения апостольского учения о Сыне Божием против неправильного учения Ария, считавшего, что Сын Божий создан Богом Отцом и поэтому не является истинным Богом. Второй Вселенский Собор состоялся в Константинополе в 381 г. для утверждения апостольского учения о Святом Духе против лжеучения Македония, отвергавшего Божественное достоинство Духа Святого. По двум городам, в которых состоялись эти Вселенские соборы, Символ веры носит название Никео–Цареградского. Символ веры состоит из 12-ти членов. 1-ый член говорит о Боге Отце, 2-ой по 7-ой члены говорят о Боге Сыне, 8-ой — о Боге Духе Святом, 9-ый — о Церкви, 10-ый — о крещении, 11-ый и 12-ый — о воскресении мертвых и о вечной жизни. Текст Символа Веры По –Церковно –Славянски Верую во единаго Бога Отца, Вседержителя, Творца небу и земли, видимым же всем и невидимым. И во единаго Господа Иисуса Христа, Сына Божия, Единороднаго, Иже от Отца рожденнаго прежде всех век: Света от Света, Бога истинна от Бога истинна, рожденна, не сотворенна, единосущна Отцу, Имже вся быша. Нас ради человек и нашего ради спасения сшедшаго с Небес и воплотившагося от Духа Свята и Марии Девы, и вочеловечшася. Распятаго же за ны при Понтийстем Пилате, и страдавша, и погребена. И воскресшаго в третий день, по писанием. И возшедшаго на Небеса, и седяща одесную Отца.И паки грядущаго со славою судити живым и мертвым, Егоже Царствию не будет конца. И в Духа Святаго, Господа, животворящаго, Иже от Отца исходящаго, Иже со Отцем и Сыном спокланяема и сславима, глаголавшаго пророки. Во едину святую, соборную и Апостольскую Церковь. Исповедую едино крещение во оставление грехов.Чаю воскресения мертвых, И жизни будущаго века. Аминь По –Русски Верую в единого Бога, Отца, Вседержителя, Творца неба и земли, всего видимого и невидимого. И в единого Господа Иисуса Христа, Сына Божия, Едино–родного, рожденного от Отца прежде всех веков: Света от Света, Бога истинного от Бога истинного, рожденного, не сотворенного, одного существа с Отцом, Им же все сотворено. Ради нас людей и ради нашего спасения сошедшего с Небес, и принявшего плоть от Духа Святого и Марии Девы, и ставшего человеком. Распятого же за нас при Понтийском Пилате, и страдавшего, и погребенного, И воскресшего в третий день, согласно Писанию. И восшедшего на Небеса, и сидящего по правую сторону Отца. И снова грядущего со славою, чтобы судить живых и мертвых, Его же царству не будет конца. И в Духа Святого, Господа, дающего жизнь, от Отца исходящего, с Отцом и Сыном со–покланяемого и прославляемого, говорившего через пророков. В единую, святую, соборную и апостольскую Церковь. Признаю одно крещение для прощения грехов. Ожидаю воскресения мертвых, и жизни будущего века. Аминь (истинно так).

(to be continued in the November edition)

Regular Service Schedule

• Saturday 4:00 pm - Confession
• Saturday 5:00 pm - Vigil
• Sunday 10:00 am - Divine Liturgy, Trapeza and Church School

Regular Announcements

• Please use our bookstore. We have books, icons, CD's, Pascha and Nativity cards, souveniers and other items. To make a purchase, please put the following into the donation box, together with the payment: the item name and the dollar ($) amount of the payment. There are pads for your use for this purpose in the bookstore.
• We also have a library of books and CDs for your use. When you borrow from the library, please write the name of the book or CD on the clipboard, and return the items within four weeks. If you have materials to donate to the library, please speak to Natalia Hawthorne.
• The sisterhood is always open to new members! To join, please speak to Raisa Dudar.
• We welcome new choir members! To join, please speak to Genevieve (Jenny) Park.
• Please remember to support the parish financially.
• Our building fund is our means of financing our land in McKinney as well as our future building plans. This fund is growing slowly. To make a contribution, make out a check to St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, and write in the memo line, "Building Fund."

Parish Newsletter for the remainder of September

Regular Service Schedule:

Saturday:

• 4pm - Confessions

• 5pm - Vigil

 Sunday:

• 10am - Liturgy
• 12pm - Trapeza (Lunch)
• 12:30 - Church School

Other services and events for the remainder of September

There are two great Feasts of the Church in September:

Friday, September 21st - Nativity of the Theotokos: the Church's celebration of the birth of the Mother of God, which (in the words of the festal Troparion) "hath proclaimed joy to all the world, for from [her] hath shown forth the Son of Righteousness, Christ our God, annulling the curse and bestowing the blessing; abolishing death and granting unto us life everlasting!"

• Thursday, 6:30 pm - Vigil
• Friday, 8:00 am - Divine Liturgy

Thursday, September 27th - Exaltation of the Cross: the Church's celebration of the finding of the precious Cross of the Lord, three centuries after the Resurrection.

• Thursday, 6:30 pm - Vigil
• Friday, 8:00 am - Divine Liturgy

Name Days

• Wednesday, September 19th - Mykael Enright
• Sunday, September 30th - Nadezhda (Nadia) Newell, Sophia Park, Sophia T.
  

Announcements

• Please continue to pray for Dimitry, Olga and Vladimir Maximov, who will be returning to Dallas this fall for Dima's surgery.
• Our calendar of services is now available online at the following site: http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=keeahidiiec6pld7f5ut1jr2r0%40group.calendar.google.com .
• We are trying to develop a bilingual monthly newsletter that will be distributed both in church and online at the start of each month. We will include a copy of the church calendar, announcements, and readings in both English and Russian. If anybody would like to assist with this project, please let us know.
• Our Sunday school class for older children has resumed after summer break. We are meeting at 12:30 or so each Sunday, after we have had time to get something to eat. This year, we will be using the book The Incarnate God, which uses the cycle of the church's feast days to give a structured presentation of the essentials of our faith. Adults are welcome to participate. There is no homework for the class, but anybody who desires read the book may do so online, or purchase it, by using this link: http://tinyurl.com/2kg8q6.
  

Prayer Requests

"I was sick and you visited me." We have petitions for the sick, for travellers, and in general for those in need during the Liturgy; so, if you or someone you know needs prayer or would like a visit, please let Father Seraphim know.

Help with the Services

Helping with the services is an important ministry to God and to other members of the parish. We can always use help singing in the choir, reading the prayers and psalms, or assisting in the Altar during the Divine Liturgy. If you wish to help in the Altar, please speak to Father Seraphim. If you wish to help sing or read, please speak to Nicholas Park.

Our Bookstore

Please see and use our bookstore. We are currently having a 60% off sale on all items! We have books, icons, CD's, Pascha and Nativity cards, souveniers and other items. When you buy something, please put the following into the donation box, together with the payment: the item name and the dollar ($) amount of the payment. There are pads for your use for this purpose in the bookstore. If you wish to help maintain the bookstore, please speak to Nicholas Park.
       
Our Parish Library

Our parish library is an opportunity to pool our resources, given each of us access to spiritually profitable books, CD's and other items that we would not otherwise be able to afford. By borrowing from the library, you can have more resources to help you grow in the love of God, and by donating to the library, you can express your love for others by helping them to do the same. When you borrow from the library, please write the name of the book or CD on the clipboard, and return the items within four weeks. If you have materials to donate to the library, or if you wish to help maintain the collection, please speak to Nicholas Park

St. Juliana Sisterhood

All women are welcome to be members of our Sisterhood. To join, please contact Raisa Dudar.

Mary meets Martha! – Cleaning the Church

An excellent opportunity open to both men and women to help maintain the beauty, warmth and hospitable atmosphere of our parish is to help clean the church. In addition to participating in our periodic clean-up days, you may also sign-up to help with one of the tasks that must be done on a weekly basis. The sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board in the kitchen. You may see Matushka Marina for more information.

Financial Stewardship

All Orthodox Christians should make financial contributions to the parish of which they are a part. Doing so enables the parish to be sustained financially, puts one in the position of being a benefactor to the Church, and is an important way to put Christ first in our lives. Our Lord says, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Our parish needs a larger monthly income; currently we are just able to meet our expenses, despite having cut these back to the bare minimum. May the Lord help us as we prayerfully consider our pledge to our church. Tithing (giving 10%) from one's income is a good foundation for personal giving with ample precedent in the life of the Church.

Our Building Fund

Every Orthodox community should build a temple to God's glory. Given the condition of our current facility, it is important for us to move forward with our building plans. To make a contribution to the Building Fund, you can make out a check to St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, and write in the memo line, "Building Fund."

16th week after Pentecost

Services and Events this week (16th week after Pentecost)

Monday, September 10th:

•  6:30 pm Vigil for the Beheading of St. John the Baptist

 

Tuesday, September 11th: Beheading of St. John the Baptist

• This is a fast day, in remembrance of the event described in Matthew 14:1-12, and whose character is depicted beautifully in the kontakion of the feast: "The glorious beheading of the forerunner is a certain divine dispensation, that the coming of the saviour might also be preached to those in hades. Lament, then, Herodias, for thou has demanded a wicked murder; for thou didst love neither the law of God nor eternal life, but one false and fleeting." Thus we see how this world, sunk in evil, treats the righteous, and how God brings forth good even from the evil deeds.

 Saturday, September 15th:

• 3pm - Church Council Meeting
• 4pm - Confessions
• 5pm - Vigil

 Sunday, September 16th:

• 10am - Liturgy
• 12pm - Trapeza (Lunch)
• 12:30 - Church School

Announcements

• Please continue to pray for Dimitry, Olga and Vladimir Maximov, who will be returning to Dallas this fall for Dima's surgery.
• Our calendar of services is now available online at the following site: http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=keeahidiiec6pld7f5ut1jr2r0%40group.calendar.google.com .
• Beginning soon, we will be discontinuing this weekly newsletter. Instead, we will have a bilingual monthly newsletter that will be distributed both in church and online at the start of each month. We will include a copy of the church calendar, announcements, and readings in both English and Russian. If anybody would like to assist with this project, please let us know.
• Our sunday school class for older children has resumed after summer break. We are meeting at 12:30 or so each Sunday, after we have had time to get something to eat. This year, we will be using the book The Incarnate God, which uses the cycle of the church's feast days to give a structured presentation of the essentials of our faith. Adults are welcome to participate. There is no homework for the class, but anybody who desires read the book may do so online, or purchase it, by using this link: http://tinyurl.com/2kg8q6.
• Please remember to support the parish. Financial contributions are very important, as is assitance maintaining the cleaning the church. If you would like to help but aren't sure what to do, just ask!

 Upcoming Feasts

• The Nativity of the Mother of God is on Friday, September 21st. We will serve Vigil and Liturgy.
• The Exaltation of the Precious Cross is on Thursday, September 27th. This is a fast day. We will serve Vigil and Liturgy.

15th Week after Pentecost

Services and Events this week (15th week after Pentecost)

Saturday, September 8th:

• 4pm - Confessions
• 5pm - Vigil

Sunday, September 9th:

• 10am - Liturgy
• 12pm - Trapeza (Lunch)
• 12:30 - Church School

Announcements

• A big thank you to everybody who donate olive oil!
• On Saturday, we celebrate Sts. Adrian and Natalia. Many years to all those celebrating their name day!
• Please continue to pray for Dimitry, Olga and Vladimir Maximov, who will be returning to Dallas this fall for Dima's surgery.
• Our sunday school for younger children continues to meet during the homily every Sunday. Many thanks to Raisa Dudar for organizing the curriculum for this class!
• Our calendar of services is now available online at the following site: http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=keeahidiiec6pld7f5ut1jr2r0%40group.calendar.google.com
• Our sunday school class for older children will resume after summer break this Sunday. We will meet at 12:30 or so each Sunday, after we have had time to get something to eat. This year, we will be using the book The Incarnate God, which uses the cycle of the church's feast days to give a structured presentation of the essentials of our faith. Adults are welcome to participate. There is no homework for the class, but anybody who desires read the book may do so online, or purchase it, by using this link: http://tinyurl.com/2kg8q6.

Upcoming Feasts

• The beheading of St. John the Baptist is on Tuesday, September 11th. This is a fast day. We will serve Vigil on the 10th.
• The Nativity of the Mother of God is on Friday, September 21st. We will serve Vigil and Liturgy.
• The Exaltation of the Precious Cross is on Thursday, September 27th. This is a fast day. We will serve Vigil and Liturgy.