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Latest NewsDecember 19, 2010.Feast of St. Nicholas, the Wonder-worker, and the Archbishop of Myra. Our church was festively decorated and full of parishioners on the day of St. Nicholas, the holy Miracle-Worker from the city Myra. The day before the Divine Liturgy, our sisters worked hard to prepare for the feast day.
Our church was painstakingly cleaned and decorated with fresh Christmas trees branches, poinsettia plants, and Norfolk pines. The decorations gave the church a more festive appearance, appropriate with the celebration of “Nikola of the Winter” and the beginning of Nativity of Christ – celebrating a new era of mankind.
St. Nicholas, the Miracle-Worker and servant of God, is one of the most venerated and respected saints in all of Russia. He is the protector of the poor and the defender of travelers and sailors. They say that the ships named after St. Nicolas never sink. This saint is also considered a patron of children, students, and anyone who wants to wishes to live as a pious Christian family. In the distant Third Century AD, it was Saint Nicholas who helped three young ladies from the city of Patara avoid disgrace. All of them were happily married with a dowry secretly donated by St. Nicholas to girls’ father in the form of gold bundles. He is loved by Christians and non-Christians alike in the form of Santa Claus, who delivers presents to children. Countless miracles were made within and beyond his lifetime. His prayers have healed wounds, restored life from certain death, and have even calmed the tempest seas. He is loved all around Russia, and is considered the patron saint of the Russian people.
Fr. Lubomir has emphasized how important it is to show gratitude and affection. In the Gospel is it said that The Lord healed ten lepers, but only one returned to give thanks. Can this really reflect the level of gratitude people have to The Lord? Are we grateful to The Lord when we receive gifts or experience good fortune? Do we remember to give thanks to The Lord? St. Nicholas, a holy servant of God, accomplished so many good deeds throughout his lifetime and beyond. And for his good deeds, The Lord granted his honorable body incorruption and gave him miraculous power.
First, following the Divine Liturgy, Fr. Lubomir held a service, Molieben devoted to St. Nicholas. Then, following the Moleben and kissing of the cross, all visiting parishioners were anointed with holy water with the dissolved miraculous myrrh of St. Nicolas. The Myrrh was brought from the city of Bari (the resting place of St. Nicholas) by our sister Sofia Aslanova. This, however, was not the only major news of the day. Our esteemed parishioner – Consul General of Russia Nicolay E. Babich – donated a large collection of new Russian-language books to our church’s library. Nicolay Evgenevich has expressed confidence that this gift will serve as a great contribution to the Russian Orthodox Church in Houston which will help conserve and strengthen the sense of Russian culture. He added by stating that he gladly serves the Russian Orthodox Church and all of its members who so diligently care about preserving the origin of their orthodox faith.
Rector Fr. Lubomir heartedly praised Nicolay Evgenevich’s contribution as a great and charitable deed. Nicolay Evgenevich, his family, and all employees at the Russian Consulate in Houston have always supported St. Vladimir’s Russian Orthodox Church and all of its parishioners. As a means of showing gratitude, Fr. Lubomir presented Mr. Babich, on his name day, with a bouquet of fresh flowers on behalf of our parish. We finished off singing “Many Years” to all the parishioners who share the name of our patron saint, St. Nicholas, and all those, who came to celebrate on this holy day The Russian Orthodox Church not only celebrates the memory of St. Nicholas on December 19th, but also on the 22nd of May and every Thursday with choral music. We wish everyone a safe and happy day of St. Nicholas – the true servant of God!
Molieben to the Holy Theotokos of Iveron On November 24, 2010 a moleben was held for the Holy Theotokos of Iveron Icon (Vratarnitsa) at our St. Vladimir’s church. Orthodox icon of the Virgin Mary with Child – belongs to the iconographic type Odegetria, is one of the most glorified icons, revered as miraculous. The original icon is kept in Iveron (Georgian) Monastery on Mount Athos, in Greece. According to Orthodox tradition, the icon was painted by Luke the Evangelist. The original Athos icon has been witness to many miracles. Recently, the Orthodox world learned of a new miracle – the Myrrh-Streaming Iveron Holy Theotokos Icon of Hawaii, which is another copy from the Iveron icon. This is a copy of the Iveron Montreal Myrrh-streaming icon, which was kept by Brother Joseph Munoz-Cortes, a true martyr, who was murdered in Athens in 1997.
We lifted our prayers before the wondrous icon to the Blessed Virgin Mary with the hope that Her mercy will allow us to see the Myrrh-Streaming Iveron Icon of Hawaii. We also pray to the Mother of God to grant our Fr. Lubomir, and all brothers and sisters of our parish, health both to our bodies and souls. Our Sisterhood relies on goodwill and gracious assistance of the Mother of God in a new endeavor – the creation of several hand-written icons Her holy Countenance. We ask the Blessed Virgin that She may always with us, praying to Her Son and our God – Jesus Christ – for our salvation!
Birthday of our Rector Reverend Fr. Lubomir Kupecz November 18th, 2010 is the birthday of our Batushka, Fr. Lubomir Kupecz. All parishioners of St. Vladimir church gathered on November 21st to congratulate Fr. Lubomir on this special day! After the Divine Liturgy, our warden Vladislav congratulated our priest with his birthday on behalf of all parishioners, and then the choir and all present parishioners sang “Mnogaya Leta!”. After this, we all waited for our priest in the church house. Fr. Lubomir is usually very busy after the Divine Liturgy. Parishioners are always asking for his blessing for upcoming trips and exams. Many others seek his help and advice on spiritual and general life maters as well.
At last, Fr. Lubomir arrived at the door, as we all sang a prayer before the meal. Tables were full of delicious food prepared by our Sisterhood, and the grilled meat prepared by the Brotherhood. Shortly after this, Warden Vladislav and sr. sister Ekaterina asked everyone to raise their glasses, and on behalf of all parishioners, Vladislav congratulated Fr. Lubomir once more with his birthday, wishing him well-being, peace and kindness and presented him with our gift – a laptop, which he is very much in need of during his travels.
Then the word was taken by the Consul General of the Russian Federation in the USA Nikolay Evgenevich Babich. He said that our father is the best priest he has ever known, and that we should appreciate that our parish is headed by a person with a big soul, who is kind and loving towards us all.
Nikolay Evgenevich continued: “How much patience and humility is needed for a priest, we all appeal to him with our sins for confession. We repent, we promise God not to sin anymore, and then we leave, and when time passes, we come back with the same sins for repentance. And so from year to year Fr. Lubomir patiently listens to us again, and guides us to our salvation. How much kindness, patience and depth of understanding one must have to care for damaged human nature. It requires one not to despair, and from year to year with faith, hope and love to begin all over from the start, and to heal our souls with fatherly love, love of Christ”. Mr. Babich also said that Fr. Lubomir gives his all to the parish, trying to increase the well-being of St. Vladimir Church, expanding the opportunities to improve it’s construction. All of us should help our priest in this God blessed matter, supporting him, and trying to participate as much as possible in the activities of our church. Our father is in the prime of his life. He is very creative, and has a lot of experience in church life. He is gifted with an unbending will, desiring to work and to lead the business till the very end. From the bottom of our hearts, we congratulate Fr. Lubomir on his birthday! We wish him and his family Matushka Tatiana and their children happiness and health for many, many years! St. Vladimir Church parishioners
November 2010 Moleben (Prayer Service) before the beginning of any good work On Sunday, November 14th, after the Divine Liturgy, a moleben was served to our Lord Jesus Christ for the start of a new undertaking of our Sisterhood in St. Vladimir Church.
We asked for the help of God and His Most Holy Mother, and St. Kseniya of St. Petersburg – the heavenly patroness of our Sisterhood – to strengthen us in various works for the benefit of our St. Vladimir parish.
Our church warden Vladislav, the brotherhood and many parishioners, prayed together with the sisters, expressing their Christian support and help.
We lifted up our prayers to the Lord jointly with the hope that our merciful Lord will soon help us. At the end of the service Fr. Lyubomir anointed everyone with oil and blessed us with holy water.
The first meeting of the St. Xenia of Petersburg Sisterhood Committee A new epoch has begun in the life of the St. Xenia Sisterhood of St. Vladimir’s Russian Orthodox Church following the Molieben held on November 14th by Fr. Lubomir. Since have grown in numbers, we have become more active new project and developments centered on our church. In response to the demand for new projects and the need for better organization, the New Sisterhood Committee was created. Our Sisterhood is tasked with to solving the many problems and corners our parish may be experiencing. The Sisterhood allows us to unite our efforts and better organize our activities. The committee includes 13 sisters, who assist the senior sister. Senior Sister and Cleaning (and renovation) Church and Parish house Sisterhood Subcommittee: Ekaterina Marinova Secretary of Sisterhood Council: Galina Riachentseva Members of the Sisterhood Council: Lydia Krawtsowa – Financing Sisterhood Subcommittee and Treasurer of the Sisterhood Elena Kondrakova – Fundraising Sisterhood Subcommittee Elena Bogatenkova – Kiosk and Bookstore Sisterhood Subcommittee Elena Texas – Library Sisterhood Subcommittee Sophia Dubinsky – Sunday school Sisterhood Subcommittee Ludmila Miller – Hosting Church Events Sisterhood Subcommittee Irina Gololobova – Supplying Center Sisterhood Subcommittee Tatiana Sheiko – Art and Icon Studio Sisterhood Subcommittee Tatiana Alexandrova – Hand-craft workshop Sisterhood Subcommittee Sofia Aslanova – Church decoration Sisterhood Subcommittee G. Yerokhina, E. Kondrakova – Welcoming new parishioners (orientation) Sisterhood Subcommittee Galina Yerokhina – Candle Factory Sisterhood Subcommittee Elena Egorova – Charity Sisterhood Subcommittee Sisters – members of the Committee – expressed their readiness to participate in the committee activities.
After selection of the members of the Committee, a senior sister explained the course of work. Then, Fr. Lyubomir expressed many new suggestions to the plan of the Committee, and stressed out his belief that many good deeds could be done successfully if they have a well organized body. One of the Sisterhood’s primary tasks is to renovate our parish house and install new furniture. Already, money for this project has been donated by our parishioners. This project will be carried out jointly with the Brotherhood of our church. In the meantime, we will begin preparing for Nativity of Christ and the arrival of the Bishop Peter and His Beatitude Metropolitan of the Czech Republic and Slovakia Christopher. Everyone is expressing hope, that, during the visit, we will be able to see the Miracle-working Myrrh streaming Iveron Icon of the Theothokos from Hawaii and Reader Nectarios. There is a strong level of commitment among the sisterhood and everyone is ready to act on the tasks they are demanded of. We would like to thank God for our sisters having time and have spiritual strength to work for the benefit of our parish. Many of our sisters are ready to help out at a moment’s notice without the fear of encountering unexpected difficulties. However, we cannot accomplish our tasks without help of Fr. Lubomir, Church Warden Vladislav, Brotherhood, and all of our parishioners! Our lord is calling upon each and every one of us to do our part in improving our parish. He is ready to grand us every necessity imaginable, including the strength, the time, and the resources. Our Sisterhood is praying for the help of the Lord, the Mother of God, and St. Xenia of Petersburg. Let the Lord grant every one of us the spiritual and physical strength for the sake of providing this joyful and graceful service for the Glory of Lord.
Demetrius’ Saturday – Commemoration of the Dead May the Lord grant rest to their souls. Demetrius’ Saturday is the commemoration of our relatives, who are no longer present with us in this world. There, in the life after death, some of them are experiencing sufferings. They need our prayers. They trust and hope that we will help them. This is the only hope that many of them have left. We in turn should not let them down. Here we stand with candles and ask the Lord to pardon our relatives. They hear us and are pleased. Their hope does not die and our souls, together with theirs, are merging.
The choir is singing sorrowfully, and prayers are rising to God.
May the Lord grant rest to their souls.
O earnest helper! Today, on November, 4th 2010, Orthodox Christians honor the Kazan icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. The feast day of the Kazan icon of Virgin Mary is commemorated twice each year – on July 21st (July 8th old calendar) – in memory of the phenomenon of the Most Holy Theotokos icon in Kazan, and on November 4th (October 22nd old style), in gratitude for the deliverance of Moscow and all Russia from the Poles in 1612.
The Kazan icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is one of the most reverenced icons in Russia. No other icon is so dispersed in such a quantity of replicas as the Kazan icon. It was found in Kazan on July 8th, 1579. According to a legend, a nine-year girl Matrona saw the Most Holy Theotokos in her dream three times, who specified the place under the ruins of the house, where Her wonder-working image was located. The girl spoke of this vision to the local priest Fr. Ermolayu and the icon was found in the specified place. A moleben with akathist to the Kazan icon of the Virgin Mary was served in our church on this day. Sister Tatiana brought her own antique Russian icon of Kazan. We venerated the icon with tears in our eyes and with hope in our hearts asking the Most Holy Theotokos to gift us with love, strengthening of our belief, and to help us in everyday affairs and study.
After moleben, we all took a group photo with the icon together with our reverend Fr. Lyubomir next to the church Royal doors.
As a drop of water reflects all sunlight, so is the image of the Virgin Mary reflected in numerous Kazan icons. Her protection rescues Russia “House of the Virgin Mary” where a troparion to the Kazan icon never stops: O earnest helper, Mother of the Lord Most High, earnest helper, Mother of the Lord Most High, thou dost entreat Christ, thy Son and our God in behalf of us all, and dost cause all to be saved who have recourse to thy mighty protection. O Lady Queen and Mistress, help us all who, amid temptations, sorrows and sickness, are heavy laden with many sins, who stand before thee and with tears pray to thee with compunction of soul and with a contrite heart before thine all pure image, and who have unfailing hope in thee: Grant deliverance from all evils, and things profitable unto all, O Virgin Theotokos, and save us all, for thou art the divine protection of thy servants. Most Holy Theotokos save us!
We congratulate our Batyushka! The Committee, the Sisterhood, and the parishioners congratulate Fr.Lubomir, the rector of St.Vladimir Russian Orthodox Church, on receiving the right to wear the kamilavka!
His Grace, Bishop Peter of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America, awarded this honorable hierarchical recognition to Fr.Lubomir for his assiduous service to St.Vladimir Russian Orthodox Church in Houston. The kamilavka is a special item of liturgical vestments that is worn on the head. It bears spiritual value and designates a hierarchical place for a cleric during the Divine Service at a cathedral. Receiving this hierarchical award attests to a priest’s assiduous commitment to church service. It is also a sign of respect from the people because it is bestowed as the bishop proclaims “Axios” (i.e., the Greek word that means “worthy” or “he is worthy”). We congratulate our Fr. Lubomir from the bottom of our hearts for this award! May Our Lord give him spiritual and physical strength, good health, and long life! Thank you, dear Fr.Lubomir, for your care, your help, and your prayers for sinners like us. Committee, Sisterhood and parishioners of St. Vladimir Church
Molieben to Mother of God October 3rd a special Molieben to the “Kazan” Mother of God was served in our Church. We prayed to the Most Holy Theothokos for the health and salvation of all brothers, sisters and parishioners of St Vladimir Church in Houston, TX. We specifically prayed also to Bogoroditsa asking humbly for Her divine help to fulfill successfully all objectives in our challenging Sisterhood Church life.
We are very thankful to sister Tatiana for bringing her incredibly beautiful ancient “Kazan” Mother of God icon in front of which our Fr. Lubomir served the Molieben with the help of deacon Vsevolod from Astrakhan, friend of our Church.
Last Saturday in the Parish house Every Saturday, before Vigil we gather together in the Parish house to work on different Sisterhood and Church projects. Last week sister Tatiana, her daughter and mother helped a lot with decorating and preparing jars with honey already available for sell in the Church Kiosk. All donations go for future Sisterhood activities. Every time when you purchase honey and would like it to be blessed, please talk to Fr. Lubomir after Sunday D. Liturgy.
Also other sisters Katerina, Tatiana, Maria helped with some editor’s work for the Sisterhood web pages and other paper work.
We would like to let you know that your help is very important for our Parish and Sisterhood Church life. We are waiting for all of you to join actively in all Sisterhood projects and we are eager to hear every new idea you might have to share. Thank you! Moleben dedicated to St. Ludmila, duchess of Bohemia On September the 29th, 2010 St. Vladimir Orthodox Church held a prayer service dedicated to St. Ludmila, Duchess of Bohemia. Saint Ludmila is highly respected in the Chezh Republic and Slovakia. She is also remembered dearly in Russia as a very holy woman, and is most beloved by the people there. The name Ludmila is considered a Russian name because it has two Slavic elements: “Ludi” meaning people and “mila” meaning dear one or loved by people. In our Church, St. Ludmila is a most revered and honored Saint by the parishioners and our Priest and Rector Father Lubomir. Father Lubomir is an excellent iconographer. He studied iconography in Jordanville under Archimandrit Kipriyn (1904 -2001). Father Lubomir painted a beautiful icon of St. Ludmilla. On his last trip to Chech Republic and Slovakia, with God’s help he was honored with the reception of a relic of St. Ludmila. This holy relic was placed in the Icon that he painted and is on display in our Church.
In our parish we have several women named Ludmila, who are truly Orthodox Christians. They are like St. Ludmila as they love all people, the Church, and the parishioners. Our Ludmilas generously work for the common good of the Church, donating their resources to both the Church and to the Sisterhood. We offer our congratulations to all of our parishioners named Ludmila and we give thanks for all your kindness and love for the people and for helping our Church. Thank you and may God bless you!!
The Dormition of the Virgin Mary On August 28th through 29th, 2010, we celebrated surprising in beauty, revered by all Christians as a holiday since olden days: The Dormition of the Virgin Mary. Previously, a strict holiday fast prepared parishioners for a joyful meeting of The Assumption of the Virgin Mary, as well as Christ’s Resurrection, which shows the trampling of death and the revival in an eternal life.
The fine and humble Image of the Virgin Mary, gold with blue clothes decorated by pearls and silver was presented in our church on a magnificent shroud “The Dormition”.
Our church flowed in colors: the dark blue, blue and white flowers prepared by the Sisterhood decorated the central icon for the holiday. The blue vestments of Rector Fr. Lubomir Kupecz of St. Vladimir Russian Orthodox Church, his assistants, and blue coverlets on icon stands – all these served as a symbol of the Sky on the Earth, which is what Virgin Mary is for all Christians.
Our parishioners, who were standing and praying before the Virgin Mary’s Holy Light Face, were overflowed by a spirit-full joy, as She asked all not to sadden Her gladness of meeting the Lord, and to rejoice with Her.
There is a custom of blessing flowers on The Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Therefore, the Sisterhood of our Church bought flowers, which were cut off and in pots and placed on a table, a short distance from the shroud.
After Sunday liturgy, Fr. Lubomir served celebratory moleben in which at the end he consecrated all flowers, and then, during the kissing of The Cross, he distributed the blessed flowers to all parishioners. Our sisters helped Father with this task and made sure that even the smallest of our parishioners did not go without a flower. How joyful was this holiday! As if our Blessed Virgin Mary herself, being a fragrant settlement of Belief, presented all us with marvelous roses, lilies, and tulips!
On this holiday, we gathered in the Church once again to feel and affirm in the belief that the death is not present! Beauty of divine service, set of colors, and the general reverential mood created the touching mood and sensation of protection of all of us as children, with all our soul we reach to the Virgin Mary as to the Mother.
Let this day a marvelous holiday remains at all in memory, as a holiday of the greatest pleasure. “Velichayem Tya, Preneporochnaya Mati Xrista Boga nashego, i vseslavnoye slavim Uspeniye Tvoye!”
We express our gratitude to the Sisterhood for preparation of the celebration. Our sisters Ekaterina, Maria, Irina and Sofia diligently decorated our Church especially with fine flowers!
Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Apple (2nd) spas. August 19th 2010. Holy liturgy dedicated to the holiday of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ this year was celebrated on Thursday. Despite the difficulty of attending church services on weekdays many of our working parishioners attended the service. Many of them brought apples and other fruits, which are traditionally being blessed on this holiday, often called Apple ( 2nd ) spas. This holiday is one of the most favorite holidays for us which brings wonderful memories from childhood. Many of us remember the delicious smell of the antonovka apples, being picked and stored in the rooms, awaiting the holiday. On the day of Transfiguration of Jesus Christ the apples were blessed and shared with friends and relatives. Often the blessed apples were used later to make pies and jam.
In our church, which was decorated beautifully by our sisters, the tables were packed with buckets of apples, grapes and other fruits. The biggest bucket was prepared in advance the day before by the sisterhood. After the holiday liturgy, the fruits and vegetables were blessed by our priest Lyubomir. During the kissing of the cross Batyushka Lyubomir passed the fruits around to our parishioners for joy and health. Part of the blessed apples from the big bucket was passed to parishioners during the Sunday service following the holiday.
The holy light coming from the body of Christ in the moment of his transfiguration is meant to bless our material world, all people and everything that has been Created by God our Holy Father. By blessing the fruits, this lets the light of the Christ come inside us and stay with us for ever and ever. Happy Holiday!
“The Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord” Holiday in St. Vladimir Church The Sunday Liturgy on August, 15th, 2010 was devoted to the holiday named “The Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord”. This day is also known as ‘medovyi spas’ or ‘Spas na vode’, in honor of small blessing of the waters. At that particular time in Russia, there was a tradition to consecrate new wells, to clean old ones, and a procession of the Cross on natural water pools and springs for consecration of water.
We felt a special festive mood in our St. Vladimir’s Church. The church was cleaned and decorated with fresh flowers by the sisters, and there were tables where parishioners placed jars with honey and bottles with water were prepared in advance.
After a kneeling prayer to the Life-Creating Cross, the Rector Fr. Lubomir Kupecz blessed these gifts and congratulated everyone on the holiday, sprinkling the gathering with the consecrated water. Water drops, sparkling in beams of the sun descending from the arch of the Church, reached everyone, even far- standing parishioners. Our parishioners especially love this action and like small children, they shout: “here, here, Father, more!”.
In Russian Church, this holiday incorporated memoirs of the Conversion of Russia to Christianity on August, 1st (old calendar) 988. Therefore, it is a special pleasure for our Church since we are under protection of St. Vladimir the Great Prince and Equal-to-the-Apostles, the Enlightener of Russia. Easter ornaments made by our sisters! About 3 months ago our talented sisters Olga Lamont, Tatiana Sheiko and Alla Slyozkina (with God’s help) diligently worked on the painting of three Easter eggs, size 10 inch. by 7 inch.
Christ’s Resurrection was depicted on one side of an egg, and the other side was adorned with the image of our St. Vladimir Church! And, of course, the glorious statement ‘Christ is Risen’ beautifully framed the images from top to bottom.
In August 2010, the Sisterhood of St. Vladimir’s presented these magnificent Easter ornaments with much joy to His Eminence HILARION, Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York, to the Most Rev. ALYPY, Archbishop of Chicago and Detroit Diocese on his name’s day, and to the Rt. Rev. PETER, Bishop of Cleveland, Vicar of the Chicago Diocese.
Glory to God, and “mnogaya leta – many years” to everyone, who participated in this project! Day of conversion of Russia to Christianity On July, 28, 2010, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated the feast day of Saint Vladimir the Great, Prince and Equal-to-the-Apostles. Originally baptized as Vasily, Prince Vladimir was named the collector of Russian lands and the Enlightener of Russia. St.Vladimir converted the Russian people to Orthodoxy.
During the sermon given during the Holy Liturgy on July 28th, there was a phenomenon. A bright beam of sunlight appeared through the window. It looked as though it was symbolizing the Russian national name of Prince of Vladimir, who is known as “The Red Sun”. The light was shining on the face of the Saint in the central icon. Many parishioners beheld this graceful sight with affection and gratitude. This display of natural light was especially well seen from above in the choir. Our choir director George was the first to notice this phenomenon. This consoled and assured us that our Church is truly under St.Vladimir’s heavenly protection.
After the Divine Liturgy and festive moleben, there was a procession of the Cross around the Church with an icon of St.Vladimir decorated with flowers. At the conclusion of the service, Fr.Lubomir thanked all parishioners for their prays and he congratulated them for the grandeur of the decoration of the Church on our Patron Saint’s feast day and for all the support and works, which are done in our Church named after St.Vladimir the Great.
The tradition of providing obligatory meals after Holy Liturgy on a feast day was started by Prince Vladimir. He would provide festive tables filled with food for the “whole village”, for rich and poor alike. He knew a lot about the gracious hospitality and kindness of the Russian peasants and their desire to share their joy with any stranger. “Unbidden” visitors were also welcomed, as well as invited ones.
We joyfully support this tradition. Following our feast day Holy Liturgy, we enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by parishioners Vladislav, Rustik, Tatiana, and many others. Wreaths were decorated with flowers by Maria, Ekaterina, and Sofia. Galina Benkovich graciously donated money for flowers and a roasted pig. Lyudmila Miller also graciously contributed to the cost of the meal. Thanks to all! Once again we wish God’s blessings on all our parishioners on our Patron Saint’s feast day! May God protect us all! Fundraising garage sale to support Advita-Fund One of the main goals of the Sisterhood of St. Vladimir Church is to help people who are in need. With the help of God, we find time and the ability to support professional charity organizations. One such organization is the Advita-fund, which raises money for cancer patients who need bone marrow transplants. In most cases, the parents of the persons under care do not have enough means financially for medical treatments. The goal of Advita is to help families, regardless of their origin, to receive the most effective health care in the course of their fight with a serious illness. Despite the fact that it was a very hot summer day, the sisters of our sisterhood together with senior sister Ekaterina Marinova gathered at the parish house to organize a garage sale of summer clothes, toys and other belongings. The brotherhood of our parish also assisted us in setting the tents and the tables. There were a lot of things for sale. Parishioners brought a lot of clothes, kids’ toys and books, furniture, lamp stands, bikes etc..
Advita also placed photos of some of the persons under the care of their organization. Kiryll Tityunuk, a 6 year old boy from Russia, was one of the kids whom we supported the most. Kiryill was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2008. The boy’s illness was threateningly amplified in 2009. Doctors in Russia could not help the child with any more treatments, but with the help of God his parents were able to receive an opportunity to be treated in MD Anderson Cancer Center here in Houston.
We share the sorrow with parents of those children who could not recover. We pray for their pure souls so that the Kingdom of Heavens will be granted to them. We, as Orthodox Christians, consider this as our duty to use any opportunity to participate in a charitable gathering to help to sick children. During this action the Sisterhood prepared a small table with the candles prepared by the sisters, small icons from Russia, and small books with spiritual guidance. The proceeds from these items were donated to the fund with the hope that it will help some children, who are fighting such a severe illness. Some parishioners also simply donated money for the fund with no purchase. We would like to address all our parishioners not to forget that you have an opportunity to help the sick children – participate in charity! Let God grant you spiritual and physical health and help you in all for your good deeds! The Sisterhood of St. Xenia of Saint-Petersburg Feast of the Holy Trinity at St. Vladimir “O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good things and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us of all impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.” On May, 23, 2010, we joyfully celebrated the feast of the Holy Trinity. This feast marked the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles. It is the 50th day after Pascha/Easter, when Christ was resurrected from the dead. On this feast day we ask the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, cleanse us of all impurity, and save our souls. In observance of a very old Pentecost tradition, our church was decorated with young green branches, and at times even the floor is covered with green grass. The color of green is the color of spring and a symbol of the life-giving Holy Spirit. Green is an expression of our joy of life (joie de vivre) and gratitude to God, the Creator of All Things, for arranging our salvation. Green is a sign of the renewal of nature’s fields and the bountiful gift of the completeness of our lives.
Since olden days, many people have marked the approach of spring by decorating their dwellings with green branches. Slavic people considered a young birch tree to be the “queen of spring”. That is why churches are decorated with birch branches for the feast of the Holy Trinity.
Our Church was also decorated with green leaves, wreaths, and, yes, even birch branches on this day! Many parishioners lighted green-colored candles that had been made by our sisters especially for this holy day.
Our parishioners felt the “growth energy” of the young green plants being transferred from the ground to the people. The Grace of the Holy Spirit blessed all of us on the joyful feast day of the Holy Trinity! At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy and the Pentecost Vigil, Fr.Lubomir wished everyone a happy holiday. We then exited the Church and went to see how our children were giving tribute to an old tradition. They were letting snow-white pigeons out of baskets. Pigeons are a symbol of the Holy Spirit from time immemorial, and that moment was the culmination of the holiday! All the parishioners were uplifted by the celebration. Our children were full of joy and so too were the adults!
On behalf of the Sisterhood, Father Lubomir invited all the parishioners to the parish house, where a special celebratory meal had been prepared. May the joy of the feast of the Holy Trinity fill our hearts today and always! The Myrrh-bearing Women day, April 18th, 2010 The day of the Myrrh-bearing Women was celebrated this year on April 18th. The Orthodox Church remembers them on the second Sunday after Easter. The Myrrh-bearing Women where the women who, out of their great love, hosted the Savior in their houses, and followed Him to the place where Christ was crucified – Golgotha. They were witnesses to the sufferings of Christ. It was them, who ran in the darkness to the Sepulcher of our Lord to spread myrrh on His holy body as it was an ancient custom to do so before burial. It was them, who first learnt about Christ’s resurrection. One of the Myrrh-bearers, Maria Magdalina, was the woman who first saw Christ the Saviour after His resurrection. Everyone Christian woman is a myrrh-bearing woman in life. As she bears the peace to the world, to her family, and to her home. She gives birth to children, and she gives support to her husband. Orthodoxy respects the woman-mother, the woman of all estates and nationalities.
On the day of the Myrrh-bearing Women there were many flowers in St. Vladimir Orthodox Church. During the sermon Fr. Lubomir explained the story of the Myrrh-bearing Women from the New Testament.
He had many warm words for all sisters of our Sisterhood. He said that there are always parishioners on whom the priest can rely on the most. Especially in such matters as church decoration, keeping the church house clean, and in organizing trapeze etc..
He expressed his gratitude to our parishioners for their care towards the church. He congratulated with celebration, and thanked the Sisterhood of St. Xenia of St. Petersburg once more for their hard work and for their benefit to our parish. After venerating the cross, Matushka Tatiana gifted each parishioner, both the women and the girls, a fine fresh flower. At the end of Divine Liturgy, we all took a group photo in front of the royal doors, where all our women are smiling; all are young, beautiful and full of joy!
We congratulate all on this holiday! |
