On November 4, on the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, feast of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan, St. George Parish held a beautiful celebration. Divine Liturgy at our temple was served by the Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov who returned from his trip abroad. Confessions were heard by our guest priest, Abbot Eutychius (Dovganyuk).

Following the Gospel lesson the Rector preached a homily on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus which concerns the life beyond the grave. He pointed out that according to our faith and to the divine Revelation life does not stop when we die. Our existence goes on after death. But our eternal life will depend on our deeds and choices during our earthly life. Nothing goes away without a trace, no deed will be forgotten. As Christians, we are called to perform the works of mercy and love. The rich man failed to do them, thus he ended up in a place of torment. Lazarus did not perform those works but he was humble and patient, enduring the sorrows of his earthly state. Therefore, we need to be careful about our choices and our actions. The Gospel parable says that in order to avoid punishment in eternity people have to hear Moses and the Prophets. For us Christians that means that we have to be guided by the divine Revelation and by the Holy Church.

Since we had no services on the previous day which was the St. Demetrius Memorial Saturday, the Rector proclaimed the Litany of commemoration of the deceased which is not usually taken in our parish on Sundays.

The choir prayerfully performed some hymns in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos due to the celebration of Her Icon of Kazan.

Following the Liturgy dismissal the Rector preached a short sermon in English to convey the main ideas of his Russian homily.

Our celebration continued at the trapeza table where the clergy and parishioners enjoyed delicious meals and a nice company.