St. Innocent Orthodox Church Z 1967-2018 Z Patriarchal Parishes Z 23300 W. Chicago _ Redford, MI 48239 _ 313-538-1142 _ Fax: 313-538-8126 Church Website: www.stinnocentchurch.com _ E-Mail: [email protected] St. Innocent Monastic Community: 9452 Hazelton, Redford, MI 48239 _ 313-535-9080 PASTOR: Mitered Archpriest FR. ROMAN STAR _ Cell: 313-319-0590 Dean, Central States Deanery, Patriarchal Parishes APRIL 8, 2018 ASSISTANT PRIEST: FR. JOSHUA GENIG _ 630-936-6386 DEACON: Dn. Michael Comerford EPISTLE: Acts of the Apostles 1:1 - 8 (#1) ATTACHED: Sister Ioanna GOSPEL: St. John 1:1 - 18 (#1) CHOIR DIRECTOR: Elizabeth Star Hatfield TONE: READERS: George Hanoian, William Davis, Henry Hancock

Z HOLY PASCHA Z THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD CHRIST Z

_ 11:30pm (Sat.)— NOCTURNE _ 12:00 Midnight—, RESURRECTION MATINS _ & of St. ; Blessing of Baskets & Agape Meal _ _ 11am (Sunday)—PASCHAL , with Gospel read in different languages _

COMMEMORATED TODAY: HOLY PASCHA — THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. [Beginning of the ]. Holy Apostles of the Seventy: Herodion, Agabus, Asyncritus, Rufus, Phlegon, Hermes, and those with them (1st c.). St. Niphon, Bishop of Novgorod (1156). Ven. Rufus the Obedient, of the Kiev Caves (Far Caves—14th c.). Martyr Pausilippus of Heraclea in Thrace (2nd c.). St. Celestine, Pope of Rome.

FOR THE REPOSE OF: Estelle & Joseph Star; Anna & John Witkowski; Michael Sr. & Margaret Rusko; Mary, Andrew, Daniel, Michael & Lottie Yakuber; Ross & Margaret Falsetti; Helen, John & Carole Andrayko; Peter & Theresa Harvilla; Betty Martell; Frances, Todd , John & Theresa Smoly; Peter Glover; Irene Adams; Ethel Elizabeth & Wayne Joshua deVyver, David Horka; Michael Rusko; Anna Lichagina, Yelena & Zinaïda Korniyevskaya; Joseph Nossal; Michelle Tucker; Todd Comerford, John Manier, Jr. ! Olga Angelo, (40th-day, Friday, 4/6 ), by Cousin, Fr. Roman & Matushka Rose Marie

FOR THE HEALTH OF: Archimandrite Seraphim, Mat. Debra Shirak, Mat. Mary Ellen & Julius Comerford, Matushka Mary Donahue, Reader George & Betty Hanoian, Rose Nossal, Mary Glover, Nancy Cupp, Vasiliki Stamoulis, Gerald Martell, Azbehat, Carl deVyver, Jo Anne Nicholas, Joan Rusko, Daria, Joseph Nossal, Ed Manier, Fr. Dimitrie Vincent, Elaine R, Levi Troyer ALSO FOR: Fr. Michael Oleksa, (recovering from heart by-pass surgery on Thursday, 3/22), by Fr. Roman & Matushka Rose Marie Š MAY GOD GRANT THEM MANY YEARS! Š

SCHEDULE FOR THE COMING WEEK (NO FASTING DURING ) TODAY: Sun, 4/8 11am PASCHA: AGAPE VESPERS, with Reading of the Gospel in different languages; Agape fellowship Saturday 4/14 BRIGHT SATURDAY: NO GREAT VESPERS Sunday 4/15 St. Thomas Sunday (2nd Sunday of Pascha) 9:15am Hours & Akathist for the Resurrection; Confessions 10am DIVINE LITURGY, Followed by Coffee Hour 1pm GRAVE BLESSINGS (after Coffee Hour, about 1:00pm) Tuesday 4/17 “Joy-Day” (“Radonitsa) (bringing the Joy of the Resurrection to the departed at their graves)

PROSPHORA FOR TODAY IS OFFERED BY: Marianna & Jason Wess In Memory Eternal of: Anna Verstakova, Maria Boikova, Lev Chernuhin, Ivan Malutin, Svetlana Chernuhina, & Josephine Wess; and For the Health of: Jason, Marianna, Amilia, Liliana & Andrew Wess; Galina Chernuhina, Oleg Chernuhin, Sophia Chernuhina, Elena Kuligina; & Patricia Wess, Eric Wess, Dena Livingston

Z CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN! Z ÕÐÈÑÒÎÑ ÂÎÑÊÐÅÑÅ! ÂÎÈÑÒÈÍÓ ÂÎÑÊÐÅÑÅ! Z CANDLES FOR LAST SUNDAY, 1 APRIL YEARLY CHURCH VIGIL LAMPS: Royal Doors Lamp: In Memory of Husband, Joseph; Son, Kenneth; parents, Michael & Margaret Rusko, & John & Martha Nossal, by Rose Nossal Altar Candelabra: In Memory of my Parents, John & Anna Witkowski & Fr. Roman’s Parents, Joseph & Estelle Star, by Matushka Rose Marie Altar Candles (2): In Memory of Irene Adams, by Goddaughter, Rose Ann Everhardt Iconostasis Lamps: In Memory of departed family & friends; & Health of family & friends, by Fr. Protodeacon Daniel & Mat. Irene Sudol Candles on the Solea: In Memory of Peter & Theresa Harvilla, Norman & Monica Holst, & Ricky Ellis, by Jason & Debra Truskowski Table of Oblation Lamp: In Memory of Parents, Helen & John Andrayko, Sr. & sister, Carole Andrayko, by John Andrayko, Jr. Reliquary- Lamps: Sts. Innocent, Tikhon & Herman: Health of Joseph/Sue; Robert/Diane; Pat/John; Joseph B., Jared, Jay; Rachelle/Aaron, Gabriel; Tricia, Lindsey; & In Memory of sisters, Anna, Margaret, Theresa & Irene; & brothers, John, Edwin & Michael by Rose Nossal Reliquary-Icon Lamps: Sts. Elizabeth & Raphael: Health of the Genig and the Just Families, by Fr. Joshua & Matushka Abigail Genig Reliquary-Icon Lamps: St. Seraphim & St. Alexis: In Memory of Ross & Margaret Falsetti, by daughters, Rose Ann Everhardt & Margie Martell Reliquary-Icon Lamps: St. Nestor & St. Gerontius: In Memory of Rusko Family: Grandparents, Anna, Alexandra, Mike, Margaret, John, Mary, George, Pauline, Pete, Irene, Andrew, Anna, Grandparents Nickolas & Anna Schulik, by Rose Nossal Reliquary-Icon Lamps: St. Hilarion & Sts. Alexandra & Martha: In Memory of Parents, Ethel Elizabeth & Wayne Joshua; Robert David H; // IN MEMORY OF (MEMORY ETERNAL!) //& Health of brother, Carl, by Sister Ioanna Joseph & Estelle Star, by son Father Roman and family Paul & Alexandra Yupco, Basil & Ellen Starinshak, by grandson, Father Roman and family John & Anna Witkowski, by daughter, Matushka Rose Marie and family Samuel & Mary Kupec, by granddaughter, Matushka Rose Marie and family Parents, Helen & John Andrayko, and sister, Carole Andrayko, by John Andrayko + + + My husband, Michael Rusko, by Joan Rusko My husband, Joe; my sisters, Margaret & Ross Falsetti, Anna & Mike Elaschat, Theresa & Pete Harvilla, Irene, & brothers, Michael, John & Edwin Rusko; niece, Rose Mary & Dean Hough; Joe’s brothers, Raymond & Walter Nossal, & sisters, Theresa, Florence & Helen Nossal, by Rose Nossal ++ + Pete & Theresa Harvilla, by Mary Ann Harvilla & Kay Truskowski + + + Jaimie Truskowski, by daughter Kay T. Parents, Ethel Elizabeth & Wayne Joshua; David H; Nina I; Marion P; Fr. Photius; Archm. Roman; Mo. Benedicta, Molly, Olive, by Sr. Ioanna Christ is Risen for parents, Michael & Lottie Yakuber; Grandparents; Uncle Chet & Aunt Irene; Dan Yakuber, Don Yakuber, by Nancy Cupp Thelma Ratcliff, Louis Pitts, Gloria Robinson, Reginald Bell, Lessie Favor, Lois Hamby, John Manier III, by Manier family FOR THE HEALTH OF: (MANY YEARS!) Elizabeth & Lawrence, Caitlin & Zachary, by parents & grandparents, Father Roman & Matushka Rose Marie Gregory & Tamiko Star, by parents, Father Roman & Matushka Rose Marie Children, Grandchildren & Great-grandchildren; Monk Fr. Sdn. Tikhon (Dade); by Rose Nossal Father Roman & Matushka & family; Sister Ioanna; John Andrayko; Nancy; Mary G; Jo Anne N; Grandson Joey (in the Navy Reserves) & all people in the Armed Forces; & all St. Innocent Church parishioners, by Rose Nossal + + + Family & Friends, by Mary Ann Harvilla & Kay Brother, Greg & Donna; nephew, Gregory & Liz & new baby; & nephew, Alex, by Mary Ann & Kay + + + Ed Manier, by Mary Ann H. & Kay Archimandrites Nafanail, Gregory & Seraphim; Fr. Roman & Mat. Rose Marie; Fr. Daneil & fam; Fr. Lawrence B & fam; Fr. Laurence L & fam; Fr. Dcn. Michael & fam; Mat. Mary D; Carl; Monk Fr. Tikhon; Sdn Andrew; Rdr Robert; Robert M; David Samuel/Sky & Avi; JoAnne/Nick; Athanasius; John A; Ed/Tiffany; Kim/Mark & fam; Frances/Ken; Deborah H; Rose; Vasiliki; Levi; Elaine; Mark S; Fr. Dimitrie, by Sr. Ioanna Rose Nossal, by John Andrayko + + + John Andrayko (May God watch over him), by Rose Nossal + + + Levi Troyer; Mike/Leia/ Reece/Wyatt Wilson; Bob & Joan Jurczyszyn; Rob/Sue/Rachel/Chris/Jack Jurczyszyn; Damon Trestain; Paul/Pete/ Krista/ Jacob/Claire/Matt Stelmaszek; Toni & Richard Bussen; Liz Tomachewski, Nathan/Andrea Faust; Gussie Salvaggio; Matt/Sue/Brandon/Haley Jurczyszyn; Debbie/Ed/Trevor/Emily/Amelia Maresh, by Becky Jurczyszyn + + + Elena Kuligina, by Marianna Wess Jason, Marianna, Amilia, Liliana, Andrew, by Wess Family + + + Galina, Oleg, & Sophia Chernukhina, by Marianna Wess Alice & Autumn & new-born-baby Juliet, by grandmother, Frances Roy + + + John (Jasiu), Anastasia (Ana) & Eric, by mother, Fran Roy Ed Manier (100% recovery from stroke); Candice Grant (marital issues); Donna Williams (MS), by Manier family Children, Grandchildren, Wassen, Fr. Roman, Matushka Rose Marie, all clergy, Sister Ioanna, Rose Nossal, Mary Glover, all St. Innocent parishioners, by Nancy Cupp + + + Ed Manier (100% recovery from stroke); Candice Grant (marital issues); Donna Williams (MS), by Maniers

ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) PASCHA FLOWERS & BOWS: Thank you very much to all those who donated the flowers that beautified Christ’s Tomb and are now beautifying our Temple for Pascha, and to all those who donated for Pascha Bows. (See Mary Ann if you didn’t donate any bows yet & wish to.) (2) THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO: (1) cleaned the church and the hall, and (2) to those who brought food for our Agape Meal for after the Resurrection Service early in the morning, and what was left over, for the Agape fellowship after Pascha Vespers later in the morning (11am). (3) BRIGHT SATURDAY HIERARCHAL DIVINE LITURGY: Fr. Roman & Fr. Joshua will be driving to Philadelphia, PA, on Friday, 4/13, in order to participate in the annual Patriarchal Parishes Bright Saturday Hierarchal Divine Liturgy with our Bishop John on 4/14. All of the PP clergy are expected to attend this annual event. Our priests intend to drive back to the eastern Ohio area on Saturday, and then complete their trip back home on Sunday morning, arriving back in time for today’s St. Thomas Sunday Divine Liturgy and grave blessings.

Z CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN! Z ÕÐÈÑÒÎÑ ÂÎÑÊÐÅÑÅ! ÂÎÈÑÒÈÍÓ ÂÎÑÊÐÅÑÅ! Z Z KHRISTOS ANESTI! ALITHOS ANESTI! Z HRISTOS A ÎNVIAT! ADEVÃRAT A ÎNVIAT! Z FR. ROMAN’S 2018 PASCHAL MESSAGE

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

I greet you with that glorious salutation of the Feast of Feasts — CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!

Today we are living in a world filled with despair, hatred, conflict, fear, idle talk and much more negativity. But listen to the words of our Risen Lord when He spoke to His Disciples after His Resurrection: Being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” How much we need to hear those words: “Peace be with you.” Don’t we want peace on earth? Shouldn’t we desire the peace of Christ? How do we gain that peace? How do we change our hearts so that the peace of Christ Himself stays with us? We may find our answer in the Book of Isaiah: If only you had heeded My commandments, then your peace would be like a river, and righteousness, as a wave of the sea. What is that peace that we search for? It is the peace that Christ gave us, and still offers to us— peace of the heart, peace of mind, and peace from a heavenly source. And our Lord spoke of peace to His disciples before His death on the cross: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you (John 14:27). CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN! Our belief in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth makes a religion of great joy. Our faith calls us to the Kingdom of Heaven, but at the same time it teaches us that we should always be joyful on earth, should love one another, take care of others.....It is only by our efforts on earth for others, for our country and for society, that we can fulfill God’s commandments and gain eternal life with the Risen Christ. (†Metropolitan John Wendland, 1976) In his Paschal message, St. Gregory of Nazianzus reveals to us the true meaning of our celebrations. It is not our feasting, or our /Pascha clothing, or our egg hunts, but as St. Gregory says:

Let us become like Christ, since Christ also became like us; let us become gods because of Him, since He also, because of us, became human. He assumed what is worse, that He might give what is better. He became poor, that we, through His poverty, might become rich. He took the form of a slave, that we might regain freedom. He descended, that we might be lifted up. He was tempted, that we might be victorious. He was dishonored, to glorify us. He died to save us. He ascended to draw to Himself us who lay below in the Fall of sin. Let us give everything, offer everything, to the One Who gave Himself as a ransom and an exchange for us. But one can give nothing comparable to oneself, understanding the mystery and becoming, because of Him, everything that He became because of us. I close with the greeting of St. Peter:

My beloved brethren, greet one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus.

CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN! Father Roman THE PASCHAL SERVICE By Fr. Paul Lazor

Enjoy ye all the feast of faith; receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness. (Sermon of St. John Chrysostom, read at Paschal Matins)

The Christ from the dead is the center of the Christian faith. St. Paul says that if Christ is not raised from the dead, then our preaching and faith are in vain (1 Cor. 15:14). Indeed, without the Resurrection there would be no Christian preaching or faith. The disciples of Christ would have remained the broken and hopeless band which the Gospel of John describes as being in hiding behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. They went nowhere and preached nothing until they met the Risen Christ, the doors being shut (John 20: 19). Then they touched the wounds of the nails and the spear; they ate and drank with Him. The Resurrection became the basis of everything they said and did (Acts 2-4): ". . . for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have" (Luke 24:39).

The Resurrection reveals Jesus of Nazareth as not only the expected Messiah of Israel, but as the King and Lord of a new Jerusalem: a new heaven and a new earth. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. . . the holy city, new Jerusalem. And I heard a great voice from the throne saying "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. . . He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away (Rev. 21:1-4).

In His death and resurrection, Christ defeats the last enemy, death, and thereby fulfills the mandate of His Father to subject all things under His feet (1 Cor. 15:24-26).

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing (Rev. 5: 12) THE FEAST OF FEASTS

The Christian faith is celebrated in the liturgy of the Church. True celebration is always a living participation. It is not a mere attendance at services. It is communion in the power of the event being celebrated. It is God's free gift of joy given to spiritual men as a reward for their self-denial. It is the fulfillment of spiritual and physical effort and preparation. The Resurrection of Christ, being the center of the Christian faith, is the basis of the Church's liturgical life and the true model for all celebration.

This is the chosen and holy day, first of sabbaths, king and lord of days, the feast of feasts, holy day of holy days. On this day we bless Christ forevermore (Irmos 8, Paschal Canon).

PREPARATION

Twelve weeks of preparation precede the "feast of feasts." A long journey which includes five pre-lenten Sundays, six weeks of Great and finally is made. The journey moves from the self-willed exile of the prodigal son to the grace-filled entrance into the new Jerusalem, coming down as a bride beautifully adorned for her husband (Rev. 21:2) Repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and study are the means by which this long journey is made. Focusing on the veneration of the Cross at its mid-point, the lenten voyage itself reveals that the joy of the Resurrection is achieved only through the Cross. "Through the cross joy has come into all the world," we sing in one Paschal hymn. And in the , we repeat again and again that Christ has trampled down death — by death! St. Paul writes that the name of Jesus is exalted above every name because He first emptied Himself, taking on the lowly form of a servant and being obedient even to death on the Cross (Phil. 2:5-11). The road to the celebration of the Resurrection is the self-emptying Crucifixion of Lent. Pascha is the Passover from death to life. Yesterday I was buried with Thee, O Christ. Today I arise with Thee in Thy Resurrection. Yesterday I was crucified with Thee: Glorify me with Thee, 0 Savior, in Thy kingdom (Ode 3, Paschal Canon).

THE PROCESSION

All the texts for the divine services of the night of Pascha are contained in this booklet. These services commence near midnight of . At the Ninth Ode of the Canon of Nocturns, the initial service of the booklet, the priest, already vested in his brightest robes, removes the Holy Shroud from the tomb and carries it to the altar table, where it remains until the leave-taking of Pascha. The faithful stand in darkness. Then, one by one, they light their candles from the candle held by the priest and form a great procession out of the church. Choir, servers, priest and people, led by the bearers of the cross, banners, and Gospel-book, circle the church. The bells are rung incessantly and the angelic hymn of the Resurrection is chanted.

The procession comes to a stop before the principle doors of the church. Before the closed doors the priest and the people sing the Troparion of Pascha, "Christ is risen from the dead. . .", many times. Even before entering the church the priest and people exchange the : "Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!" This segment of the Paschal services is extremely important. It preserves in the experience of the Church the primitive accounts of the Resurrection of Christ as recorded in the Gospels. The angel rolled away the stone from the tomb not to let a biologically revived but physically entrapped Christ walk out, but to reveal that "He is not here; for He has risen, as He said" (Matt. 28:6).

In the Paschal Canon we sing: Thou didst arise, O Christ, and yet the tomb remained sealed, as at Thy birth the Virgin's womb remained unharmed; and Thou has opened for us the gates of paradise (Ode 6).

Finally, the procession of light and song in the darkness of night, and the thunderous proclamation that, indeed, Christ is risen, fulfill the words of the Evangelist John: "The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5).

The doors are opened and the faithful re-enter. The church is bathed in light and adorned with flowers. It is the heavenly bride and the symbol of the empty tomb: Bearing life and more fruitful than paradise, Brighter than any royal chamber: Thy tomb, O Christ, is the fountain of our Resurrection (Paschal Hours). MATINS Matins commences immediately. The risen Christ is glorified in the singing of the beautiful Canon of St. John of Damascus. The Paschal greeting is repeatedly exchanged. Near the end of Matins the Paschal verses are sung. They relate the entire narrative of the Lord's Resurrection. They conclude with the words calling us to actualize among each other the forgiveness freely given to all by God: This is the day of Resurrection. Let us be illumined by the feast. Let us embrace each other. Let us call "brothers" even those who hate us And forgive all by the Resurrection. . . '

The Sermon of St. John Chrysostom is then read by the celebrant. The sermon was originally composed as a baptismal instruction. It is retained by the Church in the Paschal services because everything about the night of Pascha recalls the Sacrament of Baptism: the language and general terminology of the liturgical texts, the specific hymns, the vestment color, the use of candles and the great procession itself. Now the sermon invites us to a great re-affirmation of our baptism: to union with Christ in the receiving of Holy Communion.

If any man is devout and loves God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. . . the table is fully laden; feast you all sumptuously. the calf is fatted, let no one go hungry away. . .

THE DIVINE LITURGY

The sermon announces the imminent beginning of the Divine Liturgy. The altar table is fully laden with the divine food: the Body and Blood of the risen and glorified Christ. No one is to go away hungry. The service books are very specific in saying that only he who partakes of the Body and Blood of Christ eats the true Pascha. The Divine Liturgy, therefore, normally follows immediately after Paschal Matins. Foods from which the faithful have been called to abstain during the lenten journey are blessed and eaten only after the Divine Liturgy.

THE DAY WITHOUT EVENING

Pascha is the inauguration of a new age. It reveals the mystery of the eighth day. It is our taste, in this age, of the new and unending day of the Kingdom of God. Something of this new and unending day is conveyed to us in the length of the Paschal services, in the repetition of the Paschal order for all the services of Bright Week, and in the special Paschal features retained in the services for the forty days until Ascension. Forty days are, as it were, treated as one day. Together they comprise the symbol of the new time in which the Church lives and toward which she ever draws the faithful, from one degree of glory to another.

O Christ, great and most holy Pascha. O Wisdom, Word and Power of God, grant that we may more perfectly partake of Thee in the never-ending day of Thy kingdom (Ninth Ode, Paschal Canon). By Fr. Paul Lazor, St. Vladimir’s Seminary, NY, 1977