Blagochestie

The Parish Bulletin of St. Martin the Merciful Orthodox Christian Church Outside Russia

Volume 11, Issue 2 Christ is Risen! May-June, 2013 A Paschal Epistle of Metropolitan Laurus

Important Dates: Once again, our merciful Lord has And the Holy Church tirelessly calls May 4-5 enabled us to cross the expanse of upon us to cleanse our hearts. In the Great and to greet this day, Canon before Holy Communion we PASCHA which the Lord has made, the day of hear: Create in me a clean heart, O God, May 11 His glorious Resurrection from the and renew a right spirit within me. Clean- Bright Saturday Liturgy at dead! sing the heart is achieved through the St. John’s in Eugene Pascha is the Feast of Feasts and the struggle of prayer and fasting, with May 12 Triumph of Triumphs, the pinnacle of Divine grace-filled help, especially Thomas Sunday the annual cycle of church services. granted us in the Holy Mysteries. Parish Board Meeting On this day, our Lord Christ After the Lord's Resurrection, He de- May 14 Who descended to Earth, Who lived scended into the depths of the earth, Radonitsa (Locke Cemetery) among mankind and was crucified, and led forth the righteous dead of June 9 makes us participants in His Resur- the Old Testament. Similarly, in the Annual Meeting after Liturgy rection. Mystery of the Eucharist, He de- June 13 Our entire earthly life is reflected in scends into the depths of men’s souls, ASCENSION the preparatory weeks of this day – and illumines them in communion during Lent we bear the cross of ab- with His Divinity, joins them to Him- June 23 self, that they might more perfectly par- stinence, cleansing our senses, as the Church sings: Let us cleanse our senses take of Him in the unending day of His Let us arise in the deep and we shall behold Christ radiant with the Kingdom. Dear brothers and sisters, let dawn and, instead of unapproachable light of the Resurrection. us frequently approach the salvific myrrh, offer a hymn to the Chalice of the Lord, for therein, most Lord, and we shall behold And in our earthly life we bear the Christ, the Sun of Right- cross of sorrows and sufferings, so profoundly, is His Presence in our eousness, Who causes life salvation and eternal life! to dawn on all. that by bearing our crosses with pa- tience, we may see Christ radiant in In the bright days after Pascha, we — Irmos of Ode V of the Paschal Canon eternal life and be together with Him. experience, as did the first Christians, The Paschal midnight service begins the joyous events of the appearance Thou hast ascended in with the singing of prayers, which for of the resurrected Lord to His disci- glory, O Christ our God, centuries have brought the hearts of ples, His bodily Ascension into having gladdened Thy dis- heaven, and the establishment of the ciples with the promise of Orthodox Christians to trembling: the Holy Spirit, and they Thy Resurrection, O Christ our Savior, the Church through the descent of the were assured by the bless- Angels in Heaven sing; do Thou vouchsafe Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. ing that Thou art the Son of God the Redeemer of that we on earth may glorify Thee in purity I greet you all, dear archpastors, pas- the world. of heart. tors, monastics, and laymen, on the — Troparion of the Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall radiant feast of the Resurrection of Ascension of Our Lord see God (Matthew 5:8), said the Lord. Christ! On Pentecost (Troitsa) The Feast of the All-Holy Trinity by Protopresbyter Mikhail Pomazansky

After the on the radiant and fra- own rule and authority, all-ruling, life-giving, omnipo- grant feast of Pentecost, there follows the sol- tent, of infinite power, sanctifying and filling with emn and compunctionate of the Trin- knowledge, containing and maintaining all, and mak- ity, with its three inspired Kneeling Prayers. ing provision for all. The first prayer is to God the Father; the sec- The transcendent God revealed Himself to the ond is to the Lord Jesus Christ in behalf of us world through the advent into the world and sinners living on the earth; and the third is to the Incarnation of the Son of God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, on behalf of our breth- through the descent of the Holy Spirit into the ren departed in the Faith. world into the Church of Christ. God dwells Only on certain days – special moments of the in light unapproachable. Yet God also dwells liturgical cycle – is prayer offered up in church with us in human form, in the person of Our to God the Father directly. In the cycle of Lord Jesus Christ. And He is likewise in us, in daily services, such a Eucharistic prayer is the grace of the Holy Spirit. How close is God made before the Holy Table at the Divine Lit- to us in the All-Holy Trinity! The name of urgy, between the chanting of I believe... and God among Christians – Trinity – bears wit- Our Father . . ., when the bloodless Sacrifice of ness that God is over us, with us, and within us. the Son of God is offered up as a memorial. It is thus not surprising that the concept of the But on the feast of the Holy Trinity, we are All-Holy Trinity imbues and sanctifies all of filled with a vivid awareness that all barriers Orthodox Church life – every prayer, all the have been destroyed by our Savior, and those divine services, the whole Church; and the glo- who believe in Christ come with sacred bold- rification of the saints of God is accomplished ness before God the One Father, for Christ is within the Holy Trinity, the glory of God in a Son in His home, of Whose household we three Hypostases, Who resteth in the saints. are. O most pure, undefiled, unoriginate, invisible, Consider the structure of any church service – incomprehensible, inscrutable, immutable, invincible, even the least important and least solemn – immeasurable, gentle Lord, Who alone dost possess and how it is wholly imbued with the idea of immortality, Who dwellest in light unapproachable . . . the Trinity! Can we find any more exalted words than these of the first Pentecost prayer to God, Who is The beginning prayers: Holy God . . ., Glory . . ., uncircumscribable in His essence? Both now and ever . . ., Most Holy Trinity . . . , the triple Lord, have mercy!, Glory . . . , Both now and God! Only using feeble allusions can we de- ever . . ., the Lord’s Prayer and its exclamation, scribe to What our mind refers in this mystical For Thine is the kingdom . . . – are all directed to Name. Here is a model of such a description God in three Hypostases. from the Exact Exposition of Saint John of Da- mascus: God is a Being uncreated, without begin- And further – the many times repeated Glory to ning, immortal, infinite, eternal, immaterial, good, all- the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit . . ., creating, just, enlightening, immutable, passionless, un- the exclamations of the litanies in the name of circumscribable, incomprehensible, unlimited, undefined, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the tri- invisible, inconceivable, wanting in nothing, being His ple O come, let us worship . . ., the three psalms, the triple Alleluias, the triple Lord, have mercy! ’s; Let us ponder – with trembling, compunction, and again and again the group of prayers from and gratitude – that this, the greatest prayer in Holy God . . . through For Thine is the kingdom... – the history of the world – is a prayer for us! all testify to the glory of the All-Holy Trinity. The name of the Holy Trinity has been re- Can we even enumerate all the symbols of trip- vealed to us, that entering more profoundly licity? The sign of the Cross in the Name of into the life of the Church, we ourselves may the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the become bound to one another with love in joining together of three fingers to make it, the Christ, in the image of the unity of the Holy making of it three times over oneself and over Trinity. Every prayerful thought concerning sacred objects, the three bars of the Cross, the the consubstantial Trinity is not only a glorifi- three parts of the services of the Church and cation of God, but is, at the same time, a teach- the church building itself, and many other ing, a reminder, for us to love our brethren – forms of the Church’s law and way of life? to see in them the image of God, as members of the one body of the Church of Christ. Fitted for concentrated prayer in the stillness of the night, Sunday Nocturns (which we fre- Our goal is holy, never-ending, and eternal: to quently serve in church Sunday mornings before the be one with our brethren, just as the Holy Hours – ed.) is one uninterrupted hymn to the Spirit and the Son of God are one with God Trinity, Who is Lord over the Cherubim and the Father. Let us then bow down our minds the divine Creator of the Seraphim. How com- and hearts before the magnitude of this calling pletely is the Trinity – undivided in Unity, Who and goal, and let us with oneness of mind join with brilliant flashes of lightning overshadows our thought to the exclamation of the Church: the hearts of those who pray – hymned in the And grant that with one mouth and one heart we may laudations of Pentecost! glorify and hymn the most-honorable and majestic Name: of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy What can one say about these solemn services: the All-Night Vigil, which opens with the ex- Spirit – now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. clamation: Glory to the holy, consubstantial, life- Amen. creating and undivided Trinity . . .? Or of the Di- Translated from the anthology On Life, Faith & the vine Liturgy itself, which leads us into the Church, Vol. I (Jordanville, NY: St. Job of Pochaev realm of the kingdom of God from the first Press, 1976). exclamation: Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, Nameday Greetings and unto the ages of ages? That calls us to love one Mark Denham 25 April/8 May Apostle & another for the sake of the most sublime goal – Mark Baglien Evangelist Mark that with one mind we may confess the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in essence and un- James DeSoto 30 April/13 May Apostle James Son of Zebedee divided? Irina Sahakian 5/18 May GM Irene God is love (1 John 4:8). And the Son of God, Irina Kiseleva before His sufferings upon the Cross, prayed to the Father for those who believe in Him: I Junia Baglien 17/30 May Martyr Junia have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: Svetlana Williamson 4th Sun Pascha St. Svetlana the that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in (20 May/2 June) Samaritan Woman them, and I in them (John 17: 26). As thou, Father, Val Challe 7/20 June Martyr Valeria art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Columba Prince 9/22 June St. Columba Us [v. 21]. of Iona Parish Hall Update HTML Class We have recently received donations to undertake Patrick Leathrum is offering an HTML class major work in the ongoing construction of our over four (4) sessions in May for those who parish hall. These include framing the porch and would like to acquire basic web site coding covered walkway to the restrooms, pouring the skills. No prior programming experience is sidewalks, installing a second 10,000 gallon fire necessary, and most young people ages 9 and cistern adjacent to the current one, and shingling up are probably qualified to attend. Topics to the roof. This will complete most of the contrac- be covered include creation of a webpage with tor work on the project, after which our task will HTML, page formatting, web forms that will be finishing work that can be performed by parish retrieve data from a user, interactive websites volunteers in good weather during the summer and Javascript, dynamic websites, and mobile and fall. Additional donations will be necessary considerations. If you have a laptop, please during this period to pay for materials. During the bring it to class; if you don’t have one, let Pat excavation for the sidewalks, the area between the know, and he will provide extra ones in class. church and utility building will also be scraped and The sessions will be held in the rectory class- graveled, in preparation for laying down pavers to room May 13, 15, 20, and 22, beginning at 7 create a beautiful patio area within the ‘cloister’ pm and lasting between 1½ and 2 hours each formed by the buildings and walkways. session. Pat needs a final headcount by Friday, May 10th, so he can prepare sufficient materi- Sunday School als. To confirm your attendance, or with ques- Our current class of The Law of God (Закон tions about the class, please contact Pat at Божий) concludes May 19. This is a two-year [email protected]. course in the basics of the Orthodox Christian faith, our Church history, and traditions. A new class will begin in September.

ST.MARTIN ORTHODOX CHURCH PO Box 157 Corvallis, OR 97339-0157 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Phone: 541-738-0600 stmartinorthodoxchurch.org [email protected]

Published with the blessing of His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco & Western America Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia