On January 10, on the Sunday after the Nativity, we had a nice celebration at St. George Church. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy in our temple. After the reading from the Gospel he preached the following homily in English:

“On this Sunday after Christmas we have to learn what happened very soon after the Birth of Christ on the earth. Today’s Gospel lesson is telling us that after the departure of the Wise Men the Holy Family had to flee to Egypt because king Herod was looking for the Child Jesus to destroy Him (Mt. 2, 13). So, right after the joy of having Her first-born Child, Blessed Virgin had to run and hide. This gives us a very common picture of the life in this sinful world where fallen human nature, human envy and hatred, human lust for power and wealth do not allow to live peacefully, but, on the contrary, spoil the lives of others and tend to destroy it.”
“King Herod represents all human corrupt rulers who desire to preserve their power at any cost. Herod knew that the Messiah was to come into the world. However, his own power was more important for him than salvation of his own people. And when Jesus was born and the Wise Men came to search for him, Herod became very disturbed (Mt. 2, 3). Instead of being excited about the Birth of the Messiah, he was worried that this little Child could take over his throne. Today we hear from the Gospel that Herod became angry after being deceived by the Wise Men who did not tell him about the place where the Child Jesus was. So he sent to kill all the infants in Bethlehem from two years old and under (Mt. 2, 16). The history of mankind is full of the examples of many Herods who sacrifice their own people, who shed innocent blood in order to strengthen their power. They do not care for spiritual matters but only use them to support their dominion.”
“But we may say that the Christmas story represents the whole human society, gives us a picture of the human world. We said that we see Herod, a ruler who is obsessed with his power. But we also see other kinds of people. We see the shepherds. They become worthy of the appearance of the Angels who proclaim the joyful news to them – that the Savior is born. And the shepherds rush to the cave to worship Him. This is an example of simple, sincere and pious people who are blessed by God. We should now recall that from the beginning of humanity God loved the shepherd. Righteous Abel was a shepherd and God blessed his sacrifice. Thus shepherds are the devout people who sincerely love God.”
“In the story of the Nativity we see the Wise Men. These were the astrologers, the scientists of their age. Many of them were serving false gods, practicing magic and sorcery, but those three wise men described in the Gospel were looking for the truth. And being led by the star of Bethlehem they found the true Savior of the human race, the Child Jesus. Thus those wise men represent the scholars who look for the truth, who search for God.”
“Finally, we see the Holy Family. Especially, the head of the household, righteous Joseph the Spouse. He humbly fulfills his duty to care and protect the Holy Family. Being advised by the Angel of the Lord he accepted Mary when She was pregnant. Now, again, advised by the Angel he takes the Child Jesus and His Mother and flees to Egypt. We may only imagine how hard it was for him and for the Holy Family to leave their native country and to go to the different land. But they did so in order to preserve the future Savior of the world. Therefore, St. Joseph represents a worthy and decent man who is fulfilling his obligation of taking care of the family, who protects his spouse and his children.”
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, the Nativity story shows us the human race in different types of people. And we need to imitate some of them and avoid the attitude of others. We need to imitate the shepherds in their sincere trust to God, in their simple but fervent faith. We need to imitate the wise men in their love for knowledge but combined with the search for spiritual truth, the longing for God. And when they found God, found the Child Jesus they presented Him with the gifts. We also should give the Lord our own gifts – gifts of material nature like gold, gifts of spiritual nature like incense and gifts of moral nature like myrrh. But we have to avoid the attitude of Herod, the attitude of sin, evil desire and lack of love. Like those Wise Men who did not return to Herod, we should avoid being in contact with such people or such powers in the world, but to worship the true God, our Lord Jesus Christ born for us in a manger but who will rule the universe and redeem it.”

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

Following the sermon the Rector congratulated our parishioner and altar server Joseph Kay on the occasion of his name day and wished him God’s blessings and protection of his heavenly patron, righteous Joseph. Traditional Polychronion (“Mnogaia leta!”) was sung.

After the liturgical celebration the Rector and parishioners enjoyed delicious meals and a nice company at the trapeza table during the coffee hour.

On January 7 our Parish family celebrated great holy day of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, also known as Christmas Day. We held a beautiful celebration in our temple. The Divine Liturgy was served by our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov. Following the Gospel lesson he proclaimed the Catechetical Sermon of St. John Chrysostom on the Nativity.

Upon the dismissal of the Liturgy the Rector and the altar servers came out of the sanctuary and performed the rite of glorification before the icon of the Nativity singing the troparion, kontakion and magnification of the feast.

Following the Liturgy Fr. Igor preached a short homily in Russian and congratulated parishioners on the occasion of the great holy day of the Birth of our Savior. He also handed out little presents with the sweets and candies to the parish children.

Parish Warden and Choir Director Olga Roussanow congratulated Fr. Igor on the occasion of his anniversary of priestly ordination. A short speech was also made by the altar server Andrew Malyshew who expressed his appreciation for the spiritual care provided by Fr. Igor to the faithful. An elaborated version of the Nativity kontakion, as well as traditional Polychronion (“Mnogaia leta”) was sung in honor of Fr. Igor. The Rector expressed his gratitude to the parishioners for their heartfelt wishes and rendered thanks to the Lord who made him worthy and able to serve the faithful as a priest for 26 years.

After the service in the temple the Rector and parishioners continued celebration of Christmas at the nearby Veranda Caffe.

On January 3, on Sunday before the Nativity, Rector of St. George Church, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy in our temple. Following the reading from the Gospel he preached a homily in Russian. The English translation of that homily is as follows:

“Dear brothers and sisters! Last Sunday the Church commemorated all the righteous of the Old Testament who awaited the coming of Christ. Today, the Sunday before the Birth of Christ on earth, the Church remembers all those in the Old Testament who were related to Christ by blood and those who spoke of His Birth as a man. That is why today we have read Christ’s family tree from the Gospel of St Matthew.”
“In this way the Church shows us that Christ was a historical figure, not a mythical or a legendary person. He really lived on Earth and was part of the human history. And in a more profound and spiritual way today’s celebration and today’s reading from the Gospel teaches us that Jesus Christ really became a man. Тhe Son of God really took on human nature. He was not a ghost, an apparition, a myth, a distant imagined god, the abstract god of philosophers. Such a god does not have a family tree. Our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He has flesh and blood, human ancestors, many of whom sinned greatly, but like David, also repented greatly. By taking on human nature, the Son of God became like us in all ways, in flesh and blood, in tears and sweat, in mind and soul, in heart and will, He differed from us in only one way, He did not sin. Since we know that Christ’s human nature remained sinless, He shows us the way that we too can go in order to strive to avoid sin and so improve and transform our failing human nature.”
“However, the fact that Christ took on human nature and has a family tree, has another meaning too. Christ is descended from Adam through Abraham and David, through His ancestors Joachim and Anna – in His human nature He is therefore related to us and we are related to Him. He is a cousin of our ancestors. He is one of our own forebears. He is our relative and we are His relatives, we belong to the same family. It is now that we understand that with Christ we belong to a family, a family of Saints and sinners, but a family of which He is the Head and we are His children, the children whose Mother is the Church and the Father is God. And believing in the Fatherhood of God, we believe in the Brotherhood of Man.”
“And our Lord Jesus Christ came to save this human brotherhood who became Man, so through Him we may become true children of God, not only by the fact of our creation by God, but by divine grace and our faith which make us saved in God.”
“These thoughts may be seen proved in the life of the Holy hierarch Peter, Metropolitan of Rus’ whose memory we celebrate today. St. Peter was born in the region of Volyn which is presently on the territory of Ukraine. But he finished his life in the city of Moscow which is, of course, on the territory of Russia. In his time Rus’ was already divided. St. Peter lived in the principlality of Halych and Volyn. But it was the will of God that he was appointed to be the Metropolitan in Vladimir, on the territory subjected to a different prince. And later St. Peter moved his residence to Moscow, which was also God’s will. His life shows us that the Church should not have boundaries. Many servants of God may be born in one country, belong to a certain nation but live and serve in a different country. In fact, many of us here present are a proof of that. We are from different countries but now live in America and belong to this parish. The Church is in fact universal, and we all belong to the great family which is human race. And if we are Orthodox Christians, we belong to a great family which is one, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We still have to love our countries and be good citizens and patriots, but we should be aware that our human brotherhood in Christ, under the Fatherhood of God and Motherhood of the Church are very important and must define our spiritual life.”
“And therefore, dear brothers and sisters, preparing for the solemnity of the Birth of our Lord in flesh, let us become aware of our human brotherhood, as well as of our sonship to God, and let us implore our holy Ancestors: “Holy Fathers of Christ, pray to God for us!”

After the dismissal of the Liturgy the Rector preached a short sermon in English and stressed the main thoughts of his Russian homily. He also called the parishioners to properly prepare for the feast of the Nativity and expressed his gratitude to Natalia Soho who already arranged for a Christmas tree and set it up in the church.

On December 27, on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, we had a nice celebration at St. George Church. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. Following the reading from the Holy Gospel he preached the following homily in English:

““Many are called but few are chosen” (Lk. 14, 24). This is the main idea of today’s Gospel lesson. Taking the whole history of mankind, we may say that not many people were chosen by God to be blessed. We may examine that by recalling how different people knew the true God and kept that precious knowledge.”
“Some nations conserved a dim memory of events of the human past. In Australia the Aborigines kept a vague memory of how God created the world perfect, which they call the “Dreamtime”. All over the world, from Asia to South America, some 120 different nationalities and cultures have kept the memory of a great, universal flood, which is known to us in detail through the Bible. In India the Hindus long ago kept an intuition of God as a Trinity, but that knowledge of God became so twisted that their trinity is a trinity of destructive gods. Other peoples fell even further and began worshipping stones and trees, rivers and mountains, mistaking creation for the Creator. Our ancestors, Eastern Slavs, were among those nations. They worshiped forces of nature, but even doing so they made the idols of those gods who represented those forces. This was the pagan world, especially before the coming of the Savior.”
“Many were called but few were chosen, for among all these nations and cultures, there were representatives of one nation who conserved the true history of mankind. This nation were the Jews, the chosen people, and today we commemorate all the righteous among them, our forefathers in the Faith. From Adam and Eve on, there were among that people righteous and holy men and women. In their lives they showed the image of the life of Christ or foresaw Christ by their lives. Speaking in theological language, we say that they are a “prefiguration” of Christ.”
“Abel, who was killed by his brother Cain, is a prefiguration, an image of Christ, who was also murdered by men. Melchizedek the priest is the prefiguration of Christ the High Priest. Enoch and Elijah, who were taken up to heaven, prefigure Christ who was also taken up to heaven. Noah, whose family alone survived the Flood, is a prefiguration of Baptism given to us by Christ. Job the Long-suffering prefigures the long-suffering of Christ. Abraham, who was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac, prefigures the sacrifice that God the Father made with His Son. Jacob prefigures Christ, for he saw the ladder that connects earth to heaven, enabling heaven to come down to earth and earth to rise up to heaven. Joseph, who was betrayed by his twelve brothers, prefigures Christ who was betrayed by His disciples. Moses saw the burning bush unconsumed, which is the Virgin’s womb, which was unconsumed by the fire of Christ. Joshua, whose name is the same as Christ’s, that is Jesus, the Savior, prefigures Jesus the Deliverer of His people. David, related by blood to Christ, saw Christ in the Psalms. Prophet Daniel saw the Holy Trinity through the Three Holy Youths in the furnace of Babylon. Prophet Isaiah saw Christ the suffering Servant. Prophet Jonah prefigures the three-day burial of Christ through his three-day stay in the belly of the whale.”
“All these holy Forefathers together with our holy Foremothers, Sarah, Rebecca, Ruth, Deborah and many, many more – all these we commemorate today. All these are our spiritual family, for long before we were born they saw the One Whom we confess, Christ our true God Who is risen from the dead.”
“Let us in these last few days before the celebration of the Birth of the Savior, read one, or at least one part, of the writings about them, the books of the Old Testament, like Genesis, Exodus, or simply the Psalms, and let us renew our links with our ancestors in the Orthodox Faith.”
“Let us exclaim today in prayer, “Holy Forefathers and Foremothers of Christ, pray to God for us!””

After the dismissal of the Liturgy the Rector preached a short sermon in Russian to name the main thoughts of his English homily.

Following the liturgical service the Rector and parishioners enjoyed delicious meals and an interesting conversation during the coffee hour.

On December 20, on the 29th Sunday after Pentecost Rector of St. George Church, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy in our parish temple. Following the Gospel reading he preached a homily in Russian interpreting the Gospel story about the healing of ten lepers by our Lord Jesus Christ (Lk. 17, 12-19). The Rector pointed out that the Gospel lesson teaches us to be aware of our sinfulness, to follow the commandments of the Lord, to make spiritual efforts and to be grateful for the grace and benevolence of the Lord.

Despite the absence of our altar servers on that day the Rector was not left without assistance at the Liturgy. We were happy to welcome subdeacon Vladimir Fedorov, a long-time cleric of the Russian Church in New York. He served at our church altar on that day.

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

On December 19, on the holy day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker our cathedral church in Manhattan celebrated its patronal feast. His Grace, Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk led the Divine Liturgy on that occasion. Bishop John was co-served at the Liturgy by a number of clergy including the Rector of St. George Church in Bayside, Archpriest Igor Tarasov. 

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy Bishop John preached a homily and greeted the parishioners on the occasion of the patronal feast. His Grace also congratulated Archpriest Nikolai Babijtchouk, Rector of the Church of All the Saints of Russian lands in Pine Bush, NY on his name day. 

After the Liturgy His Grace, clergy and the faithful continued their celebration of St. Nicholas feast at the luncheon held in the cathedral hall.

On December 13th, on the 28th Sunday after Pentecost and on the feast of the Holy Apostle Andrew, we had a nice celebration at St. George Church. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. Following the Gospel lessons he preached the following homily in English:

“Today’s first Gospel tells us about a miracle of healing performed by our Lord Jesus Christ over a sick woman. She had a spirit of infirmity 18 years, and was bent over and could not raise herself up (Lk. 13, 11). As in many other instances when our Lord healed the people, He had compassion, He felt for this woman, thus He called her and said, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity” (Lk. 13, 12). He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God (Lk. 13, 13). We should recall that St. Luke whose Gospel we read today, was a physician, therefore he attempted to describe people’s illnesses with precision.”
“If we were present there at that glorious miracle of the Lord, we would probably rejoice for the woman who was healed and for the glory of God revealed. But the reaction of some people present there was different. We read that the ruler of the synagogue was not happy because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. So, the ruler said to the people that they may come to be healed on the other six days, but not on the Sabbath. In such a reaction we see a very formal and superficial observance of the law of Moses. The ruler of the synagogue, as well as all the Pharisees and scribes, kept the letter of the law, instead of the spirit of the law. Such an observance can still be seen in the orthodox Jewish communities. Many of those orthodox Jews populate this city of New York, and we may see how they strictly adhere to the Old Testament regulations, specifically on the observance of the Sabbath day. Thus, these people, as well as their ancestors mentioned in today’s Gospel, kept the letter of the law, not the spirit. This is why the Lord called them hypocrites. He said, “Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?” (Lk. 13, 15). Certain things should be done no matter whether today is Sabbath or any other day. Especially, good deeds of mercy should be performed on each day. Furthermore, Jesus wishes us to understand that such works of love and charity should especially be done on the holy days. Good Christians understand that. We are also called to keep Ten Commandments, to honor and sanctify the Sabbath. For us Sunday is our Sabbath, the holy day of the week, the day of rest and the day of worship. However, we cannot think that a miracle could not be performed on such a day. We further cannot imagine that works of mercy could be prohibited on Sunday. In addition, we agree that certain jobs like emergency help or works necessary for your life or health may be done on Sunday.”
“This is why today’s Gospel teaches us to observe the spirit of the God’s law, not just the letter of it. We have to live by our faith, and not just show that we are so religious. Our piety has to show what is in our hearts. Otherwise we risk to become similar to the Jewish scribes or Pharisees who demonstrated their piety and zeal in external observance of the rituals, but inside of their hearts were evil. Our Lord called them “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Mt. 23, 27). Jesus warned His disciples from the “leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy” (Lk. 12, 1).”
“Honoring today Holy Apostle Andrew whom we name the “First-called”, we may remember that he was free from that leaven of the Pharisees. Although St. Andrew was a Jew he did not fall under that influence of the hypocritical Pharisees and scribes. If we recall today’s second Gospel reading, Andrew was one of the disciples of St. John the Baptist. Thus before being called to become an Apostle of Christ he was a disciple of the Holy Forerunner. He was well prepared to accept the Messiah. This made him the “First-called” while some other disciples were not so ready. If we recall St. Paul, he was a Pharisee himself. Only after his conversion St. Paul freed from that leaven of the Pharisees. Thus it is important to note that holy Apostle Andrew was so much prepared to accept the Christ, and we should imitate him as one of the best.”
“Dear brother and sisters! The spirit of the law is found in the whole works of divine grace. The healing, life-giving, renewing power of God, His grace has no limits. It cannot be limited to the certain days, to the certain places or certain nations. It acts everywhere. And we have to be joyful to receive it and to see it at work. This was the purpose of the Lord to come into this world, that His grace may be shed upon every person. As a sign of that Jesus Himself cured all the infirmities and diseases among the people whom He encountered in pain. And the whole human race had to be healed, made well and straight the way the Lord healed and made straight the woman in today’s Gospel. Thus, dear brothers and sisters, let us be grateful and adhere to His commands, fulfilling first of all the spirit of His law, to be worthy of His eternal ruling.”

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

Following his sermon the Rector congratulated our parishioner and altar server Andrew Malyshew on the occasion of his name day and expressed to him heartfelt wishes of God’s help, intercession of St. Andrew and many happy years. The traditional Polychronion (“Mnogaia leta”) was sung.

Fr. Igor also expressed his sincere condolences to Olga Vnukova for the loss of her brother Andrei who passed away last week. Fr. Igor noted that today, celebrating St. Andrew the Apostle, we congratulate one Andrew who is here with us and we also commemorate another Andrew who just passed away. It is coincidental but it tells us that in God everyone is living.

After our services the Rector and parishioners enjoyed delicious meals and a nice company at the trapeza table during the coffee hour.

On November 29, on the 26th Sunday after Pentecost, and on the feast of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, our parish had a nice liturgical celebration. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. After the Gospel lesson he preached a homily in Russian. An English translation of that homily is as follows:

“Today’s first Gospel lesson offers us a great instruction telling the parable about Good Samaritan. It is interesting to note that those two words were not imaginable by the Jews in the time of Christ. Samaritans were enemies and could not be called “good”. However, our Lord tells this parable and wishes His listeners to change their mind. As we celebrate today the feast of the Holy Apostle Matthew, we learn from the second Gospel lesson that this disciple of Christ was called from the tax office. St. Matthew was a publican, a tax collector. Publicans were considered immoral people and public sinners. Pious Jews could not communicate with them. Therefore, it was not imaginable also to call a publican “good”. But Holy Apostle Matthew became a “good” publican when he followed Christ. Therefore, Jesus was breaking stereotypes of the Jews and wished the people to change their mind regarding “bad” people. By His parable about Good Samaritan He teaches us that God’s commandment of love towards the neighbor concerns all men, and not just our relatives or compatriots. That is the direct and moral sense of that parable.”
“But today we should reflect about the spiritual meaning of that parable.”
“A certain man goes down from Jerusalem to Jericho. A certain man means any man, any one of us. Jerusalem signifies heaven and Jericho signifies the earth. This is the destiny of us all, to be on earth, although our home is in heaven. This man falls among thieves who strip him of his raiment, wounding him and leaving him half-dead (Lk. 10, 30). Here the thieves are the demons who attack us through our weaknesses and wound us, leaving us weak and spiritually dying, having lost grace and faith, in sorrow and despair.”
“A priest and then a Levite pass by and do not help (Lk. 10, 31-32). By them we understand those who, having a certain rank and duty, have hard hearts and show no love, for they are hypocrites and “pass by on the other side”. But a Samaritan helps the man, shows compassion. Although the Samaritan does not share the fullness of the official faith, his heart is kind, and he shows mercy. This Good Samaritan represents Christ Himself. Christ was rejected by the Jews, but had the essential compassion which the Jews did not have.”
“The Samaritan went to the man and bound up his wounds and poured in oil and wine and then set the man on his own animal (Lk. 10, 34). This is what Christ did for us: He came to us. In other words He became man, one of us. He then bound up our spiritual wounds with His word and poured on us His grace of salvation, the oil and wine of our souls. Then he set us on his own animal, in other words he gave us faith. Without faith we are not able to walk, so faith is our ride to salvation, our transport.”
“The Samaritan then took the man to an inn, cared for him and gave the innkeeper two coins to look after the man, telling the innkeeper that if it cost more, he would repay him when he returned. (Lk. 10, 34-35). By the inn, we would understand the Church, where men can receive Christ’s healing and care. Faith transports us to the Church. Then the innkeeper is the priest, the dispenser of sacramental grace and healing. But it is true that all members of the Church are also innkeepers, dispensers of spiritual and other help to those in the world around us.”
“The two coins represent the two ways in which we are saved. First of all, we need to take an effort through, fasting and repentance. That is the first coin. The second coin is the grace of the Sacraments that we receive from God in response to our efforts. And there is a connection between those two coins. If we members of the Church of God, ‘innkeepers’, stretch ourselves and give more of ourselves, then Christ will reward us when He returns at the end of the world.”
“Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! This is the spiritual meaning of today’s parable. Christ tells it to the lawyer who knows the commandments but does not apply them. And Christ says to him: “Go and do likewise” (Lk. 10, 37). Let us also, after reflection on that parable, do likewise by showing compassion towards those who are in need, those whom we encounter during the journey of our life. Today’s second Gospel tells us that our Lord desires compassion, not sacrifice (Mt. 9, 13). Let us show that and take care of our neighbors bodily and spiritually, so when our Lord returns to the earth, He may bless our deeds and reward us for them in the eternity!”

Following the dismissal of the Liturgy the Rector preached a short sermon in English conveying the ideas of his Russian homily. He also reminded the parishioners that we began the Nativity Fast, a period of spiritual preparation for the solemnity of the Birth of Christ.

On November 22, on the 25th Sunday after Pentecost, we had a beautiful celebration in our parish church. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. After the reading from the Holy Gospel he preached the following homily:

”Today’s Gospel reading from St. Luke (Lk. 8, 40-56) tells us about two miracles, one the healing of an illness and the other the overcoming of death. This double miracle is also reported in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark (Mt. 9, 18-26; Mk. 5, 22-43). Thus, these two miracles should be viewed as related, for both illness and death have the same origin, the same cause, they are both the result of sin, both entered the world as a result of the sin of Adam. As the Apostle Paul says, “The wages of sin are death” (Rom. 6, 23).”
“Let us consider the healing of the woman with the issue of blood. We should note that this issue of blood was not that monthly issue of blood suffered by all women, but something else. It had lasted for twelve years. On this subject, it is worth making clear that the monthly issue of blood endured by all women is not of course the result of personal sin, but a result of the general sin of Eve. It is written in the Book of Genesis that women will suffer this as a result of the fall: “In pain you will give birth”  (Gen. 3, 16). In the same way men are forced into having to work for a living, into “toiling by the sweat of their brow”. Both men and women suffer from the fall, but in different ways.”
”The issue of blood suffered by this woman was then an illness and it was healed by her touching the fringe of the clothes of Our Savior, Who, as it is written, felt ‘the power go out of Him’ (Lk. 8, 46). In these words we have a description of the nature of all illness. If it takes the power of Christ to heal an illness, then it is clear that every illness is in fact some lack, some absence of the power of Christ. Sickness is not something that is added, it is rather the sign of absence of the grace of God. As we are told in the Gospel when the woman was healed, or in other words she was ‘made whole’. Thus, a sick person suffers from a lack, that person is not whole. Such a person lacks the fullness of the power of Christ.”
“How and why was the woman in the Gospel “made whole”? This question is easy to answer, for Christ Himself says to her that: “Your faith has made you well” (Lk. 8, 48). In other words, if any of us is to be made whole, to be made well, we must first have faith. If we do not have faith, we lack something, we are without something, we are faithless or godless. But if we have faith, then healing can be inspired in us by the power of God.”
“This combination of faith and the power of God is so special that it can even overcome death. We see this very clearly in the second miracle, the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter. Here was this young girl, twelve years old, dying. We can easily imagine the frustration of her father Jairus. And yet he had faith, for he was seeking out Christ, the Only One Who could heal his daughter. As a result of Jairus’ faith and the power of Christ, his daughter was not only healed, but restored from death before the eyes of those who mocked Christ.”
”Reflecting upon those two closely related miracles, we may see that today our Lord Jesus Christ says to us all: “Have faith and I will give you all the power that you need to do My will”. Let us then hear His words to be made well in this life and later to be raised from the dead, especially for the eternal blessedness after His second coming.”

Following the Liturgy dismissal the Rector preached a short sermon in Russian to stress the main ideas of his English homily. He also reminded the parishioners that next week we begin the Nativity, or St. Philip’s Fast which is a special time of spiritual preparation before the celebration of the Birth of Christ. The Rector mentioned that right before we start fast we could celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Although it is not a Church holy day, it has an important spiritual significance – we have an opportunity to give thanks to the Lord for all the blessings we received during the past year. Fr. Igor encouraged the parishioners to spend the Thanksgiving in the spirit of gratitude to the Lord. We can also have a nice traditional turkey dinner but we should remember that next day, on Friday, we begin fasting. Thus our festal food should be all consumed on the Thanksgiving Day.

Following the service the Rector and parishioners already enjoyed Thanksgiving meal together, having a very abundant luncheon with a delicious turkey and other meals prepared by our great cooks.

On November 15, on the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, Archpriest Igor Tarasov, Rector of St. George Church, served the Divine Liturgy in our temple. Following the Gospel lesson he preached a homily in Russian. An English translation of that homily is as follows:

“Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Today’s reading from the Holy Gospel takes us to the country of the Gadarenes which is opposite of Galilee. Our Lord Jesus Christ came there along with His disciples after crossing the Lake of Gennesaret, and there He cast out the evil spirits from a possessed man (Lk. 8, 26-39).”
“Reflecting upon this Gospel story we may say that the power of Christ was able to cast out the demons. It was able to command the forces of the invisible world. It is important to remember that evil is not more powerful or even equally powerful to God.”
“Further we read in today’s Gospel that the demons asked Christ to permit them to enter the herd of swine. And He did. This indicates that God allows evil things to happen for a reason. Last Sunday we said that God allows terrible disasters to happen due to our sinfulness. And in today’s Gospel story we are talking about a much less terrible, but still impressive loss – the demons entered the swine and the whole herd ran down the steep place into the lake and drowned (Lk. 8, 33). According to the Old Testament, pigs were unclean animals, but they are still God’s creatures. And the demons, although it sounds weird, are also God’s creatures! God created them as good, but they chose to be evil and fell away from Him. But today’s Gospel story tells us that the Lord heard their request and allowed that the animals would suffer because of them. And what is a request from a creature to the Creator? It is a prayer. Thus, although it sounds weird, the demons did pray Christ and He answered their prayer.”
“But the demons remained those who they were – the evil spirits. They killed the swine. It shows us their malice, their hatred towards all the God’s creatures. St. John Chrysostom says that if they could, the demons would destroy all God’s creation. They would kill all the people if they could and would not be restrained by God. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, if not for God’s power the evil spirits would long ago destroy all the human kind.”
“The Gospel lesson further tells us that the people from the country of the Gadarenes asked Jesus to depart from them (Lk. 8, 37). This was an evil choice. They did it because they do not wish Jesus to break, to change their usual way of life. He would disturb their sinful way. Those people were pagans, not the Jews. The fact that they had swine tells us that. So, they did not really know the faith in one God and did not probably wish that their pagan lifestyle would be disturbed. They have already suffered a loss, losing several thousand head of cattle, when he was only approaching the town! What might happen if he comes to the city itself? This is an example of selfish fear, a fear before something high and divine, a fear that the Lord may enter into our life and change it. He may make us different while we are so used to be what we are, sinful and unclean, just like those pigs. Something similar happens now, when a person is afraid to let the Lord somehow enter into his soul. Did not we hear sometimes even from the church going people about someone who wants to pray more, fast more and to exercise more piety: “We are no monks! Is it possible to us to demand what is required of the monks and the clergy? We are ordinary laymen.”
“We have to beware of that attitude and avoid it. It makes us renounce God’s grace. In the same way the people from the country of the Gadarenes renounced God’s grace in today’s Gospel lesson when they asked Jesus to depart from their land. But again, we become convinced that God may hear the prayers of those who even wish evil things to happen. When the demons beg Him to permit them to enter the swine the Lord allows them. When the sinful people ask Him to depart from their country, He departs. But today’s Gospel is telling us that before His departure Jesus has left instead a preacher, the healed man (Lk. 8, 38-39). That man who had been freed from the demons and who desired to follow the Lord, he was left by Christ in his own city to preach. He had to instruct his relatives and do not allow at least some of them to perish.”
“Dear brothers and sisters! Today’s Gospel story teaches us a few things. It teaches to pray in faith. God listens to the prayers, He heard the prayer of the demons. It also teaches us to avoid evil. We need to stay away from any forms of the evil forces in this world such as occult teachings, spiritism, fortune telling, sorcery and different superstitions. Otherwise, the evil spirits could have a power over us. And finally, today’s Gospel teaches us not to chase Jesus away, but ask for His grace, and preach Him to others. Asking for His grace and instructing others about the Lord and about His salvation we may be delivered from all evil and to may be not among those who chases the Lord away, but among His faithful disciples who follow Him everywhere, follow Him in their earthly life and will follow Him into the eternal blessedness!”

After the Liturgy dismissal the Rector preached a short sermon in English explaining the main ideas of his previously preached Russian homily.

Following the service our parishioners and the Rector enjoyed delicious food and a nice company at the trapeza table during the coffee hour. At the end of the coffee hour a special Parish Meeting was held and some newly emerged issues had been discussed.