+ = = p^fkqp=mbqbo=^ka=m^ri=loqelalu=`ero`e NEWSLETTER June, 2014 Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church A Parish of the Orthodox Church in America Archpriest John Udics, Rector Deacon Demetrios Richards 305 Main Road, Herkimer, New York, 13350 Parish Web Page: www.cnyorthodoxchurch.org Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church Newsletter, June, 2014 Parish Contact Information Clergy: Archpriest John Udics, Rector: (315) 866-3272 – [email protected] Deacon Demetrios Richards – [email protected] Council President and Cemetery Director: John Ciko: (315) 866-5825 – [email protected] Council Secretary: Deacon Demetrios Richards (315) 865-5382 – [email protected] Saint Anna Altar Society President: Barbara Daley: 315-866-7834 -– [email protected] Birthdays in June 2 – Christine Sokol 18 – Michael Stehnach 10 – Joseph Gale 20 – Kristen Pawlusik 17 – Esther Hladysz Memory Eternal 4 - Paraskeva Spytko (1973) 22 - Andrew and Paiza Yaneshak 5 - Josephine Sokol (2008) 22 - Mary Behuniak 9 - Anna Malinchak (1980) 22 - Ann Kowalsky 9 - Helen Sobolowski (2007) 23 - Metro Demchko (2002) 10 - Anna Byrda (1971) 24 - Eva Sokol (1992) 12 - Michael Alexczuk (1982) 25 - Paul Sokerka (1970) 14 - Stanley Bayzon 25 - Mary Sokol (1996) 14 -Theodosia Kluka 25 - Michael Rinko Sr (1995) 15 - Jacob Eskoff 25 - Stephen Hladysz (1996) 15 - Ludmilla Sopiski (1974) 27 - George Herko (1992) 17 - Thomas Hubiak (1981) 27 - Michael Pupchek (1991) 17 – Rose Sokol (2013) 28 - Ethlyn Krenichyn (1973) 18 - Thomas Mezick (1991) 29 - Harry Homyk Sr (1973) 18 - William Pupchek (2009) 29 - Helen Nesterak 18 – Rose Sokol (2012) 30 - William Hladysz (1985) 21 - Stanley Wieliczka (2000) 31 - Ksenia Homiak (1983) COFFEE HOUR HOSTS FOR JUNE AND JULY Jun 1 John Ciko and Sonia Buttino Jul 6 John Elnicky Jun 8 Margaret and Nick Keblish Jul 13 Anne Gale and Family Jun 15 Debie and David Chlus Jul 20 Walt Tirenin and Steve Leve Jun 22 Norma and John Stehnach Jul 27 Norma and John Stehnach Jun 29 Lyszczarz Family AFTER PASCHA – how do we keep the intense feeling of Lent, after the Resurrection? Or - Living the life of an Apostle Lent was so filled with beautiful dramatic services, wonderful prayers and hymns, and even the prayer and fasting we do at home. But after Pascha, some people feel let down. This shouldn’t be. In the Early Church, Lent was the time of preparing catechumens for entry into the Church. This aspect of Great Lent is so important for us as the reminder of our own catechumenate. The 2 Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church Newsletter, June, 2014 catechumens were very important in the life of the Church, not only because they were fresh and new, but also because they were so zealous and energetic about the faith and about being Christians. They rejuvenated the old-timers and encouraged those who were ‘weary in well-doing’ (2 Thessalonians 3:13) or tired from doing charity and good things for others. They were like the addition of fresh leaven or yeast into the dough – remember that in those early times that meant sourdough and it was possible that your leaven would get old or weak… One of the post-baptism instructions to the neophytes (Christian newbies) was heard in the Gospel lesson, "Just as the Father has sent me, even so I send you" (John 20:21) – thus changing them from students into workers and doers. But this is also “The Great Commission” which is addressed to ALL Christians, neophytes and elders alike. Great Lent may be the training ground for catechumens, but it’s also the ‘retreat’ for the older Christians. Great Lent is a time for all of us to hone our skills as missionaries and workers in the vineyard of Christ – the kingdom of Heaven. So, what do we ‘veterans’ need to remember about this Great Commission, this Great Command? First, we need to remember that we are being SENT, and not just asked, or recommended. We are SENT, just as God the Father SENT God the Son. So, we are under obedience, as soldiers are under obedience to their commanders. This is not a willy-nilly ‘sending’ but a part of the strategy in the war of good against evil. Not every soldier is on the front line, but every soldier is one who is prepared to face the fight when the need arises. Not every soldier is called to be a foot-soldier, but some are called to be leaders and officers. That means that everyone has a job to do, and no job is more or less important than another. What else? This sending is not the happiest thing, from the point of view of the non-Christians. That’s because this sending is to labor and served – unpaid, to struggle and overcome – unacknowledged, to be hated and despised because of Our Master and devotion to righteousness and goodness, to be unloved, mistreated, unknown, and unsought. Doesn’t appeal to you? It was part of Our Lord’s life – so if we accept the commission, we shouldn’t be surprised at this aspect of it. But none of this matters, because our food and our reward is to do the will of God. All our needs will be taken care of because as God clothes the fields with lilies, as he feeds the birds of the air, as he finds rest for those who have nowhere to lay their heads, so He cares for us. This reward from God is more beautiful and wonderful and incredible blessing than any praise or reward from men. Sounds like a tall order? Remember that God sent his only-begotten Son to teach us the most important things about life – to love God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength and to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves, by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, and by visiting the sick and imprisoned. If we soldiers can do even part of that, we’ll be fed from by the Bread of Heaven. But more than that, we are not sent alone – after being taught the basic training by our Lord Jesus Christ, God promised to send and continues to send us His Holy Spirit, to comfort us and to reward us, and to watch over us, to help us learn what’s right (because He is the Spirit of Truth), who is everywhere, and who gives life and blessings. He will come and stay with us, guide us and protect us. SO, having taken up our cross, and having accepted the command to go and be his apostles and disciples and announce His Good Word to the world, let us rely on God’s Holy Spirit to show each of us the way we should go about accomplishing His great work. 3 Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church Newsletter, June, 2014 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 327. Father, where does the clergy collar come from? Is it Orthodox? My priest says that Orthodox Clergy should never wear clergy shirts, because they are Latin. Fads and fashions come and go, and times change even in clergy dress and vestments styles. The beginning of the ‘clerical collar’ can be said to go back to the middle ages to clergy attire adapted for use by students studying for the priesthood. Later, when secular and religious education became separate fields of study, this garb was adapted for use by all academics as the academic gown, and even later, it was adapted for use by clerkes or clarks, [‘clerks’ in plain English], lawyers, advocates, and judges. Today we see the descendence of this in the academic gowns of university professors and legal apparel of judges. The particular use of black garments can be traced to the Presbyterian clergy in the age of the Puritans – the late 1680s – who protested the use of fancy clothing and for purity’s sake dressed simply, all in black with white collars which had two white tabs connected under the chin like an upside-down letter V. These “preacher’s tabs” were kept by the clergy as their particular form of dress long after other clerks gave them up for more modern fashion. In the United States, we see photographs of preachers wearing these tabs from the late 1800’s to the present day. This form of dress was common for most Protestant clergy, though the more ‘evangelical’ they were, the less likely they would be to wear distinctive clergy attire. The ‘clergy collar’ is a relatively recent innovation, dating only from the 1850’s or so. In fact, the collar is simply the normal collar worn on any man’s dress shirt, made of heavily starched white linen, attached to the shirt by special collar buttons which look like miniature mushrooms with a flattened out ‘foot,’ one buttoned under the chin and one at the back of the neck. In times when doing laundry was a backbreaking chore, it was a lot easier to wash only a collar, and allow a shirt multiple wearings before it saw a laundry day. Only within the last 50 years were collars regularly sewn directly onto shirts. This date might be coincidental with the introduction of washing machines. Even today, in the most formal clothing styles for men, as in the tuxedos and suits worn for weddings, proms, concerts, balls, appearances at a royal court and so on, collars may be separate from the rest of the shirt. However, historically, clergymen came to wear their collar backwards, and without a necktie, in order to distinguish themselves from laymen. Some clergy wear a rabat (pronounced like ‘rabbit’ or ‘rabbee’) which is a sort of bib-front to which the collar is attached.