the Archangel Orthodox 146 Third Avenue, Rankin, PA 15104 Pastor: Very Reverend Nicholas Ferencz, PhD Cantor: Professor Jerry Jumba Parish President : Carole Bushak

Glory to Christ! Glory Forever! Slava Isusu Christu! Slava vo v’iki!

Rectory Phone: 412 271-2725. E-mail: [email protected] Hall Phone: 412-294-7952 WEB: www.stmichaelsrankin.org

APRIL 11, 2021 REMEMBERING OUR HOLY FATHER JOHN CLIMACUS

Sun., Apr. 11 4th Sunday of Lent. Remembering our Holy Father John Climacus. The Good Samaritan Martyred Mark of Arethusa 9:00 AM Holy Mystery of Confession Wed., Apr. 14 Mary of 5:30 PM Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts Fri., Apr. 16 Nikita the Confessor 5:30 PM Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts Sat., Apr. 17 Akathistos Saturday. Monk the Hymnographer & George of Maleon 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy

Sun., Apr. 18 5th Sunday of Lent. Remembering our Holy Mother . 2 Lazaruses: The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Martyrs Theodoulos, Agathopodes et al. 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy Panachida: Jake Ingelido – by family.

Holy Mystery of Confession: You can make an appointment. Also, Service of the Mystery of Confession, Sunday, April 11 after Divine Liturgy. PEOPLE STUFF Prayer List: Deceased: Living: Fr. George Livonas. Kristina Anatakis. Walter Bolbat. Nicholas Burkhart. Carole Bushak. Barbara Chappie. Rebecca, & Bradley Cozad. Delores Cubakovic. Martha Danchak. Nicholas Duranko. Margaret Dorogy. Breanne Glass. Dorothy Glass. Eddie Gombos. Joseph Hlavac. George Hrabchak. Raymond Hrabchak. Shirley Hrubic. Andrea Kerkentzes. Bobby Malackany. Joan Martell. Helen Mihalik. Teresa Onuska. Dimitri and Kelli Stathogiannis. Milton and Thelma Supak. Diana Terezis. Trudy Trifanoff. Josh Walendziewicz. Bakers: Trudy Trifanoff. Delores Cubakovic and their intentions. Reminder! Special Notice about the Prayer List: As I mentioned last week, I am restarting the list. All are welcome to add names to the list, as you have all been doing, including the names of those who were already on the list. So, if you have names of folks you would like us to pray for, living or deceased, please email me,

Page 1 of 6 or give me a new list starting this Sunday, and I will add them to the new list. On your list, please make sure to say somewhere on the page “For the Bulletin”. Thanks. F(E)ASTING Akathistos Saturday: This Saturday, April 17, we celebrate the Akathistos of Holy Mary . It is essentially Our Gifts to and our Church another opportunity to celebrate the Feast of the Sundays 3/28 4/4 Annunciation, since that feast is very short because of Lent. Attendance 31 19 Divine Liturgy at 9 AM. Communions 10 8 New! Looking Ahead to Holy Week Services: Collections Monthly 30.00 As of now, we will be tweaking the Holy Week Services a Sunday 1235.00 1503.00 bit, to adjust to our new pandemic-caused situation. Here is All Votive Candles 327.00 188.00 a quick run down of changes. Blding Maintenance 150.00 217.00 ! Time changes: All evening Holy Week Services will be Dioc Membership 118.00 42.00 celebrated at 5:30 PM, except for Good Friday. Friday Major Blding Repairs 100.00 50.00 Vespers and Entombment of the Holy Special Donation for Plašèinitsa/Shroud will still be held at 7:00 PM. Friday Building Repairs 1400.00 morning and Saturday morning services will be held at Patriarchal Pence 180.00 10:00 AM. Paschal Candles 50.00 ! The Full Holy Week Schedule As of now we are Dona.: St. Cyril Pantry 312.00 60.00 making the following changes in the Schedule: Total Offerings: 3672.00 2290.00 Update: The reported numbers were a bit off " The Sacramental Mystery of the Anointing of the last week – my apologies. These are the Sick is being moved to the week before Holy Week, correct numbers. and so will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 21, at Building and Repairs Donations which are 5:30 PM. All are welcome to come and receive the available for upcoming repairs to date are sacramental Anointing. $7016! God bless your generosity! " The Mystical Supper Liturgy, celebrating the last supper Our Lord had with his friends, and the beginning of the of Holy Communion, will be celebrated on Great Thursday Evening, at 5:30 PM. You may prepare for receiving the Holy Eucharist with the usual evening fast (i.e., from after lunch). " The Matins of the Passion (the 12 Gospels) will be celebrated on Good Friday Morning, at 10:00 AM. ! Staying the Same: " Resurrection Matins on Sunday will begin at 8:30 AM, followed immediately by the Divine Liturgy. " We will bless Easter Baskets this year after the Easter Liturgy. We are making plans to set up enough space so that folks (and baskets) will be properly ‘Social Distanced’. " We will distribute the Red Easter Eggs at the end of the Divine Liturgy, for those who wish them. ! No Thomas Sunday Lunch: This year, unfortunately, we have to cancel this annual event. But Next Year! LENTEN FASTING: Traditional Guidelines: ! On weekdays (Monday through Friday inclusive) in the fifth and sixth weeks, one meal a day is permitted, to be taken in the afternoon following Vespers, and at this one meal xerophagy [Strict Fast] is to be observed.

Page 2 of 6 ! On Saturdays and Sundays in Lent, with the exception of Holy Saturday, two main meals may be taken in the usual way [i.e., cooked], around mid-day and in the evening, with wine and olive oil; but meat, animal products and fish are not allowed. ! On Palm (Flowery) Sunday, fish is permitted as well as wine and oil, but meat and animal products are not allowed. A Pastoral Interpretation: Try to fast and pray more than last year, with more focus and concentration. Who knows, in fifty or sixty years, if we keep trying, we may become more perfect! PARISH STUFF New! Hospital and Home Visits to our parishioners who cannot get out. I have been purposely extra cautious about visiting folks during this pandemic, even though now there are some places where are allowed in to see patients, etc. Given the nature of our parish, and the fact that most of us fall into the “high risk” category, I have felt it best for all of us to just stay away all this time, except in cases of imminent death. I have missed all those of you that I regularly visited, but am being careful for all of us. That said, I have received my first vaccine shot this past week, and will receive my second towards the end of the month. After the appropriate time has lapsed, I will be working on being able to visit those of our parishioners who are unable to come to church. Let us ask God to keep us all well and in his grace! New! There will be a brief “Kitchen Meeting” today after the Divine Liturgy (actually it will have to be in the hall to Social Distance) to discuss the Cleaning Bid from Service Master. New! Triangle Hoagie Sale! Back by popular demand! We will be selling Triangle Hoagies (for the uninitiated, that means Hoagies from the Triangle Bar, not 3-sided hoagies. Although, that is an interesting idea). Jeanne Zajac will be taking orders starting next Sunday, April 18, through Sunday, May 16. Pick up Day is Thursday, May 20. Hoagies are $8.00 each. We are taking orders for all flavors and types (that Triangle makes, of course. There will not be any anchovy hoagies available. Sorry). Reminder! Holy Mystery of Confession: We will be celebrating a Service of Confession today after the Divine Liturgy. There is a short service of Confession, which we will chant all together. Toward the end of the service, I will read an Examination of Conscience (like the old priests used to, if you remember those days) aloud. During that time, you will be able to decide if any question or evil action applies to you, and quietly say yes or no. At the end of the Examination, we will finish the brief dismissal. Then, each person will come forward in turn. I will put the epitrachil over your head, then ask you if you have anything else to confess (for instance, if you are concerned about some action that was not on the list, or that particularly bothers you). I will ask you if you are repentant of the things that you have done, and then say the prayer of absolution over you. You will then be able to go. Please remember that this service is only the Sacramental Mystery of Confession. It is not a time for spiritual consultation, advice, etc. If you wish to speak with me about such spiritual counsel, you can reach me any time and we will make an appointment. God bless us all. New! Christmas Candle Offering for Special Intention: As we have done in the past, we will collect donations for the Festal Pascha candles which we will use during the Easter season. All are welcome to participate. Janet and David Alm – in memory of family. Elsie Ingelido – in memory of family. Building and Repairs Donations which are available for upcoming repairs to date are $7016! Reminder! Tickets for The Spring Lottery Basket Raffle are now available!. You will be able to pick up yours in the church hall this Sunday. It is the same Raffle that we have been running: Prize: At least $400 worth of Lottery Tickets. 1 (one) winner guaranteed. Winner does not have to be present to win. NOT based on State Lottery numbers. Maximum of 500 tickets sold. DRAWING SUNDAY, May 9, 2021. DONATION $5 Please be sure to pick up your tickets today!!!!!!!

Page 3 of 6 PINOCCHIO AND OUR DISTORTED IMAGE In the hills outside of the city of Lucca, Italy, there is the small village of Collodi. Other than the beauty of the countryside and the ripping stream that runs through it, it is not famous for anything except a story that shares a profound message about humanity and change. The character and the story are entitled The Adventures of Pinocchio and [the author’s] short trip to this quaint mountain village was most delightful. Pinocchio, you may recall, was a wooden marionette carved out of a unique piece of wood by a woodcarver named Gepetto. Gepetto was elderly and very lonely and thought that such a marionette would bring joy and solace to his otherwise monastic existence. While carving the marionette he realized that movement came from the wood. At the moment he completed the puppet, Pinocchio jump out of Gepetto's hands to begin his great adventures. Many are familiar with the story…how Pinocchio is drawn to be both mischievous as well as helpful, precocious as well as kind, and, as the story progresses, desires to become a real live boy. There are many connections between the story of Pinocchio and our own story. The relationship that Pinocchio has with his father, or his creator, Gepetto, aligns very similarly with our relationship with God, our Father and Creator. This is probably why, despite his precocious and mischievous nature, he is so endearing. As we, once again, continue through this Lenten Season of fasting, prayer, and reaching out to others, we recognize the great opportunity we have to renew our relationship with God our Creator. His is a sacrifice without end and a constant reminder of His willingness to love us always and forever. As did Pinocchio, we have strayed and fallen to temptations, small and great. We have missed the mark, repeatedly. Sometimes our sin is deliberate, other times unintentional. Regardless, it is always forgivable. Yet to receive His mercy we must first acknowledge our mistakes and seek His loving forgiveness. offers us this opportunity. So why do many of us neglect "so great a salvation" and put off until another day what we need to take of care today? I believe it is our pride, which compromises our heartfelt faith in Him who redeems. Pride coupled with disobedience moves us further away from Him who has unconditional love for us yet respects the freewill with which and by which we were created. The discipline of Great Lent is to check the power and energy of our pride and to redirect our energy to becoming that which our Lord intended. Pride clouds our vision. Truth and lies become distorted, eventually blinding us to the real truth in our relationship with God. How beautiful it is that the Church, in her wisdom, began our preparation for Great Lent with the Gospel of Zacchaeus and its theme of desire (remember that Gospel, only a few weeks ago?) and moves us forward, ever so gently, to help us recognize our own sin and distortion. Following Zacchaeus, we have the Publican and Pharisee, which again slowly peels away the layers of pride. Yet we still have difficulty in recognizing our own sin and seek forgiveness from our Father. Finally, for those of us who still have trouble recognizing our prideful ways, the Gospel of the Last Judgment clearly points out by means of sheep and goats where we have strayed and what we have neglected in our spiritual struggle. Lastly, our Lord instructs us through the Gospel of Cheese Fare Sunday as to where our priority should be regarding prayer, fasting and material possessions. Each of these parables are used by our Lord to bring us around, so that, standing before the very image of ourselves, we may hopefully recognize the result of our pride and avarice and begin the slow but sure ascent to redemption. Give of yourself this Great Lent to the spiritual exercises outlined by our Holy Orthodox Tradition. Pray and fast and share our Lord's blessing with others without expecting a response…simply give of ourselves to God through those with whom we have contact. Let us not be as a wooden marionette, stubborn and prideful, but as one who recognizes that our father stands with outstretched arms awaiting our return, so that we can understand why Pinocchio said, "How ridiculous I was as a marionette! And how happy I am, now that I have become a real boy!” (from The Adventures of Pinocchio by C.Collodi) and thereby, celebrate the truths embodied in the Feast of Pascha.

Page 4 of 6 HOLY WEEK AND BRIGHT WEEK SCHEDULE 2021 Suitable for framing, or for posting on your refrigerator just in cases

Sun., Apr. 18 5th Sunday of Lent. Remembering our Holy Mother Mary of Egypt. 2 Lazaruses: The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead. 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy Panachida: Jake Ingelido – by family.

Wed., Apr. 21 Apostles Herodian, Agabus et al of the 70. Bishop Celestine of Rome 5:30 PM Holy Mystery of the Anointing of the Sick

Fri., Apr. 23 Last Day of Lent! Bishop Gregory of Constantinople 5:30 PM Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

SAT., APR. 24 LAZARUS SATURDAY 8:30 AM Holy Mystery of Confession 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy SUN., APR. 25 PALM (FLOWERY) SUNDAY. Confessor Basil of Parium 8:45 AM Liturgical Hymns 9:00 AM Blessing of Palms and Pussy Willows. Divine Liturgy – Red Pew Book, pp 210–214

WED., APR. 28 HOLY & GREAT WEDNESDAY. Prince Mstislavv (Theodore) of Kiev 6:30 PM Holy Mystery of Confession 7:00 PM Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

THU., APR. 29 HOLY & GREAT THURSDAY. Virgin Martyrs Agape, Irene and Chionia 5:30 PM Last Supper Liturgy - Vespers and Liturgy of Basil Set up the Tomb

FRI., APR. 30 HOLY & GREAT FRIDAY. Martyred Priest Artemon and companions 10:00 AM Matins of the Passion – Strasti Utreòa (12 Gospels) 7:00 PM Vespers and the Burial Procession with the Holy Shroud

SAT., MAY 1 HOLY & GREAT SATURDAY. Confessor Martin, Bishop of Rome 7:00 AM Tomb Vigil Begins 10:00 AM Paschal Vigil Liturgy – Great Vespers and Liturgy of Basil Tomb Vigil continues until 10:00 PM. Please sign up for your hour!

SUN., MAY 2 PASCHA! 8:30 AM Resurrection Matins Divine Liturgy & Blessing of Baskets MON., MAY 3 BRIGHT MONDAY! Monk Theodore Trichinas 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy and Paschal Procession SAT., MAY 8 BRIGHT SATURDAY Holy Great-martyr George the Myrrh-gusher 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy

SUN., MAY 9 THOMAS SUNDAY. Martyred Bishop Basil of Amasea 8:45 AM Liturgical Hymns 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy – Special Sheets RAISING OF LAZARUS (LAZARUS SATURDAY) by Fr. Paul Lazor (March 2015) , from www.oca.org Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday Visible triumphs are few in the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ. He preached a kingdom "not of this ." At His nativity in the flesh there was "no room at the inn." For nearly thirty years, while He grew "in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52), He lived in obscurity as "the son of Mary." When He appeared from Nazareth to begin His public ministry, one of the first to hear of Him asked: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John I :46). In the end He was crucified between two thieves and laid to rest in the tomb of another man. Two brief days stand out as sharp exceptions to the above—days of clearly observable triumph. These days are known in the Church today as Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday. Together they form a unified liturgical cycle which serves as the passage from the forty days of Great Lent to Holy Week. They are the unique and paradoxical days before the Lord's Passion. They are days of visible, earthly triumph, of resurrectional and messianic joy in which Christ Himself is a deliberate and active participant. At the same time they are days which point beyond themselves to an ultimate victory and final kingship which Christ will attain not by raising one dead man or entering a particular city, but by His own imminent suffering, death and resurrection. O Christ our God, You confirmed the Resurrection of all * before the time of your Passion by raising Lazarus from the dead. * Therefore, we as the children of Israel carry the symbols of victory * and cry out to You, the Conqueror of Death: * "Hosanna in the highest! * Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord." – ( of the Feast, sung on both Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday) Lazarus Saturday In a carefully detailed narrative the Gospel relates how Christ, six days before His own death, and with particular mindfulness of the people "standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me" (John I I :42), went to His dead friend Lazarus at Bethany outside of Jerusalem. He was aware of the approaching death of Lazarus but deliberately delayed His coming, saying to His disciples at the news of His friend's death: "For your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe" (John 11:14). When Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus was already dead four days. This fact is repeatedly emphasized by the Gospel narrative and the liturgical hymns of the feast. The four-day burial underscores the horrible reality of death. Man, created by God in His own image and likeness, is a spiritual-material being, a unity of soul and body. Death is destruction; it is the separation of soul and body. The soul without the body is a ghost, as one Orthodox theologian puts it, and the body without the soul is a decaying corpse. "I weep and I wail, when I think upon death, and behold our beauty, fashioned after the image of God, lying in the tomb dishonored, disfigured, bereft of form." This is a hymn of St sung at the Church's burial services. This "mystery" of death is the inevitable fate of man fallen from God and blinded by his own prideful pursuits. With epic simplicity the Gospel records that, on coming to the scene of the horrible end of His friend, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). At this moment Lazarus, the friend of Christ, stands for all men, and Bethany is the mystical center of the world. Jesus wept as He saw the "very good" creation and its king, man, "made through Him" (John 1:3) to be filled with joy, life and light, now a burial ground in which man is sealed up in a tomb outside the city, removed from the fullness of life for which he was created, and decomposing in darkness, despair and death. Again as the Gospel says, the people were hesitant to open the tomb, for "by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days" (John 11:39). When the stone was removed from the tomb, Jesus prayed to His Father and then cried with a loud voice: "Lazarus, come out." The of the feast shows the particular moment when Lazarus appears at the to the tomb. He is still wrapped in his grave clothes and his friends, who are holding their noses because of the stench of his decaying body, must unwrap him. In everything stress is laid on the audible, the visible and the tangible. Christ presents the world with this observable fact: on the eve of His own suffering and death He raises a man dead four days! The people were astonished. Many immediately believed on Jesus and a great crowd began to assemble around Him as the news of the raising of Lazarus spread. The regal entry into Jerusalem followed. Lazarus Saturday is a unique day: on a Saturday a Matins and Divine Liturgy bearing the basic marks of festal, resurrectional services, normally proper to Sundays, are celebrated. Even the baptismal hymn is sung at the Liturgy instead of Holy God: "As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ."