On June 29, on the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost Archpriest Igor Tarasov, Rector of St. George Church served the Divine Liturgy in our temple.
Following the Gospel reading the Rector preached a homily:

“Today’s Epistle lesson is telling us about faith, hope and love. St. Paul teaches that we are justified not by the works of the Old Testament law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation comes from faith. And faith makes us acquire the grace of the Lord and makes us rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Rom. 5, 2). St. Paul assures us that hope in Jesus does not disappoint, “because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5, 5). St. Paul also says that the love of God is shown in the fact that God Himself died for us although we were sinners. “In due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5, 6).”
“St. Paul further reflects upon that fact that Christ died for us who seemed to be unworthy of such sacrifice, saying that “scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die” (Rom. 5, 7). He then comes to an important conclusion: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5, 8).”
“God loved us always. He loved us although we were sinners. That is what makes God’s love so wonderful. He did not wait until we reformed and found our way back to Him. He did not wait until we loved Him. He loved us before that. He loved us while we still spurned and rejected His love. And He still does love all of us despite our sins. For us, Christians, it is important to remember that God loves us no matter what we are or what we do. However, we should not forget all the things which are wrong with us. We have to be realistic about our sins and our weaknesses and our unworthiness. At the same time we have to be optimistic and remember that God nevertheless loves us.”
“It can be compared to good parenting. A good parent will try to correct a child for wrong behavior, but not humiliate him as a person. There is a difference between a parent saying to a child, “The thing you did was wrong and I will not stand for that, because I love you too much to allow you to grow up with that kind of behavior,” or saying to the child, “You are a terrible person because you did such a thing”. God is like a good and wise parent. He does not like when we do wrong things but He does not belittle us for that. When we think of these things we come to a basic biblical truth: hate the sin but love the sinner. This is the way God loves us. He showed His love by dying for us while we were still sinners. God hates the sin but never withdraws His love from the sinner.”
“The Scripture tells us how God did actually love the sinners. Why did God love Moses or David or Paul or Zacchaeus? Did He love them because of their goodness? Certainly not! They were all sinners. Moses was a murderer. David was a murderer and adulterer. Paul was a persecutor of Christians. Zacchaeus was a thief, a dishonest tax collector. It was because God loved them in spite of their sins that they became Saints. Christ loved harlots and murderers and thieves and adulterers. He shed His precious blood to save them. It was the transforming power of His love that made these people new persons – the same love that can make us new persons.”
“Therefore, when the devil comes to us and tempts us with the thought, “How could God love me? I have been bad – no, God could never love me”, remind the tempter of other sinners before you, like Moses, David, Paul and Zacchaeus. Or, when the devil tempts us with the thought, “How could God love that person? He is so bad! How God could love a criminal, a pervert, a maniac, a godless scoffer?” – again, remind the tempter of other sinners who were loved by God, take him to the Cross, and confront him with the words of today’s Epistle lesson, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5, 8). Christ did not die for Saints. He died for sinners to make them Saints.”
“Today we commemorate St. Tychon, bishop of Amathus. While he was even a young man he performed a miracle. A certain gardener threw away the dried prunings of vines from the vineyard. St Tychon gathered them, planted them in his garden and prayed the Lord that these branches might take root and yield fruit for the health of people. The Lord did so through the faith of the holy youth. The branches took root, and their fruit had a particular and very pleasant taste. It was used during the lifetime of the saint and after his death for making wine for the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Something similar God does to us, the sinners. When we sin, we are like the dried branches. But God wishes to plant us and to restore us to life, so we can produce good fruits.”
“Dear brothers and sisters! Let us cherish our faith by which we are saved. Let us rejoice in the hope of Christ by which we understand that God loves us. Let us appreciate His love for He loved us even while we were sinners. And let us love Him in return to become Saints!”

After the dismissal of the Liturgy the Rector congratulated our parishioner and altar server Elisej Flora on his past name day and wished him God’s blessings and intercession of the Holy Prophet Elisha whose memory was celebrated on June 27. Traditional ”Mnogaia leta” was proclaimed and sung.

Following the service our parishioners and the Rector gathered at the table to enjoy coffee and refreshments.

On June 22, on the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost when we celebrate feast of All the Saints of the Church of Rus’, our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy in our temple. Following the Scripture readings he preached a sermon:

“On the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost we honor All the Saints of our Russian Orthodox Church. If last Sunday we celebrated feast of All Saints who pleased the Lord being members of the universal Orthodox Church, today we glorify those who belonged to our local Church, the Church of Rus’. It is good that this feast had been recently renamed. It used to be called “Sunday of All the Saints who shone in the Russian land”. Last year our Holy Synod renamed it as “Sunday of All the Saints of the Russian Church”. It is appropriate because not all of the holy men and women lived in Russia or were Russian. But all of them belonged to the local Church of Rus’.”
“In today’s Epistle lesson St. Paul teaches us that all the people will be judged by God according to their deeds. God will give “glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good” (Rom. 2, 10). Good works will be rewarded and evil deeds will be punished regardless our social, national or even religious background. St. Paul confirms that saying that “there is no partiality with God” (Rom. 2, 11).”
“As we mentioned once before, for St. Paul the world was divided into two classes of people: the Jews who had the law given to them directly by God in written form, and the Gentiles who, although they did not have the written law, nevertheless had God-implanted instinctive knowledge of right and wrong within their hearts. Both would be judged by God. But Jew on the basis of the written law; the Gentile on the basis of the law that was written not on tablets or books but in the heart. St. Paul writes, “When Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness” (Rom. 2, 14-15). Therefore, the law written in the hearts of men is a God-given sense of right and wrong which we call conscience.”
“Our conscience directs us in a right way and often tells us what should be done. John Milton, famous English classical poet, pictured God saying as He is creating man, “I will put Mine umpire, conscience in his breast”. What better definition of conscience can be given? The God-implanted umpire who calls the plays – fair and foul. St. John Climacus says, “After God, let us have conscience as our aim and rule for everything”.”
“Today, celebrating feast of the Saints of our Russian Church, we should recall that all our holy men and women who came from our Church of Rus’ lived according to the voice of their conscience. One of our first glorified Saints, Metropolitan Hilarion even wrote a book called “The Word on the Law and on Grace” where he suggested that not the works of the law but the grace of Jesus Christ is leading to salvation. Conscience leads to grace. Another Russian Saint, Prince Alexander Nevsky said, “God is not in power but in truth”. Such truth is told us by our conscience.”
“But what should be done if someone’s conscience tells that person to do wrong things? It happens. And we often become witnesses to such things when people do evil and terrible things because they believe that they are correct and do the right thing. We could see that in the last century. On today’s date, on June 22 of the year 1941 Hitler invaded our old country, the lands of the historical Rus’. It happened on the same day as today, on the day the Church celebrated All the Saints of the Russian land. Hitler and the Germans felt that they were correct in their desire to conquer new lands, to get the life space for their nation which they believed was supreme to others. God allowed this evil to happen. He permitted this to occur even on the feast of our Russian Saints. We know and we understand that the Nazis were wrong. And the Lord did not permit them to achieve victory. Similarly, these days we are witnessing a strife on the lands of historical Rus’. Internal strife is taking place in Ukraine. And the Russian state is very much involved in that. There is a great political tension between Russian and Ukrainian people. The two Orthodox nations who both originate from the same ancient Rus’, from the same baptismal font of St. Vladimir are now turned against each other! The blood is shed. Rus’ is destroying Rus’. And both sides feel that they are right. Their conscience tells them that they are on the right side and their rivals on the wrong. How to deal with that?”
“We have to admit that conscience itself is not a safe guide. It cannot stand by itself. It needs to be developed by Godly training. Conscience is a safe guide only when it is properly educated and safely guided by the Holy Spirit. Conscience does not tell us what is really good and what is really bad. It praises us for doing good without telling us what good is. Conscience needs to be educated. As a radio has to be tuned to a certain station, our conscience has to be turned to Christ. The Church can help us with that. We can educate our conscience through spiritual life. Then we will see that hostility, hatred and violence are bad helpers. Political views and national objectives are bad advisors. Only in love, understanding and dialogue you can achieve peace and well-being. This is why, if conscience told Hitler that he is correct, it was not an educated conscience, not a conscience tuned to Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit. And this is why, if someone believes that his conscience is directing him to kill, destroy and fight his compatriots or brothers in faith, does not have conscience tuned to Jesus Christ and is not guided by the Holy Spirit. He will fail and will be judged for his misdeeds.”
“The Saints of Rus’ always attempted to be above strives and hostilities of their times. The lands of Rus’ were divided and underwent a lot of domestic wars between different rulers and regions. But those who wished to tune their conscience to Christ always stayed above those divisions and prayed for unity and called for reconciliation. Such was our famous Saint, Venerable Sergius who labored to unite the Russian lands. Such were many other Saints of our Church.”
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us tune our conscience to our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us listen to the voice of our conscience if it is really guided by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Let us implore our Saints of the Russian lands to intercede for us and for the suffering land of Ukraine to bring peace and well-being. All the Saints of Rus’, pray God for us!”

During the Liturgy the Rector proclaimed a kneeling prayer for peace in the suffering country of Ukraine, calling the Saints of Rus’ to intercede for the people living in the time of strife.

After the Liturgy dismissal Fr. Igor preached a brief sermon in Russian, touching his main points of the homily proclaimed earlier in English. He also called faithful to attempt to become new Saints of the Russian Church, and said that nothing can stop us to become Saints except our own evil will and our giving up to the temptations of the enemy.

On June 15, on the 1st Sunday after Pentecost dedicated to All Saints, St. George Church’s Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. After the Gospel lesson he preached a homily:

“The Epistle lesson gives us today a good instruction on how to become a Saint. St. Paul mentions the glorious and heroic deeds of the Old Testament Saints and then he says to his listeners, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12, 1-2). St. Paul’s instruction has three parts. Let us talk about them today.”
“Life for St. Paul was a race to be run and a crown to be won. Those who win such a race become crowned with holiness, become invited to the Kingdom of God. In order to win that race you need to free yourself from any unnecessary burden and obstacles. This is why the first part of St. Paul’s advice on how to become a Saint is to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us” (Heb. 2, 1). One of the known Orthodox preachers compared such weight to the small animals called barnacles. Barnacles are little crusty creatures that accumulate on the bottom of ships. They cause a great headache for shipowners. No bigger than walnuts, they can slow down a ship weighing thousands of tons. Within six months after it goes into the water, a vessel may acquire 2 or 3 inches of these barnacles. The layer can weigh 100 tons and reduce a ship’s speed by more than 10 percent. It increases consumption of fuel and it requires cleaning of the vessels every couple of years.”
“Like ships, we human beings can also accumulate barnacles that slow us down and burden us with unnecessary drag. They make our race for a crown of holiness much harder to win. What kind of barnacles we collect? St. Paul gives us a whole list of barnacles in his Epistle to the Galatians and calls them “the works of flesh”: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like”. And he warns that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God (Gal. 5, 19-21).”
“How do we remove the weight of sin, the annoying barnacles that accumulate in our lives? As it is not an easy task with ships, so it is not an easy task for us. St. Paul teaches us to crucify our flesh with its passions and desires. Kill your sinfulness. Our Lord Jesus Christ compares it to the severance of the members that cause us to sin. He says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell” (Mt. 5, 29). The same advice the Lord is giving about a hand (Mt. 5, 30). Jesus, of course, is not speaking literally here. He does not want us to start dismembering our bodies. But He is using strong language to stress the necessity of removing anything that hinders us, weighs us down, and impedes us in running the race and winning the prize.”
“By far the best way to keep our lives free of the weight of sin is by coming to Jesus daily and letting Him scrape us clean of every weight and sin through heartfelt repentance and honest confession. He alone can make us clean. He alone can present justified before God.”
“The second part of the instruction is “to run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12, 1). We understand that that race is our life which needs to be spent in serving God and other people. To complete this task we need endurance. Again, the example of Jesus Christ can help us. St. Paul reminds that our Lord “for joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Heb. 12, 2). We are also called to endure our own crosses for the joy set before us, the joy of heavenly blessedness.”
“And finally, the third part of the instruction is to look unto Jesus (Heb. 12, 2). As we run the race of life we must keep Jesus in full view at all times, looking to Him, for He is the author and finisher of faith. He is the Creator and the Finisher of everything, Alpha and Omega. He is our God and our Savior. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us run the race of our Christian life laying aside every weight and sin; let us run with endurance the race for holiness which is set before us; let us always keep our spiritual eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith. If we will do so, our names will be written in heaven and we will join the Saints.”

After the Liturgy dismissal the Rector congratulated all men in the parish on the occasion of Father’s Day and wished them God’s blessings and assistance in their endeavor of  being good fathers and raising children. Traditional “Mnogaya leta!” was sung. Fr. Igor also reminded that next week we begin St. Peter’s Fast dedicated to the works of the holy Apostles. The Rector called God’s blessings upon parishioners to assist them in undergoing the spiritual journey of the fast.

Following the service parishioners and the Rector enjoyed delicious meals and a good company at the coffee hour.

On June 8th, on Pentecost Sunday when the Church celebrates the great holy day of the Most Holy Trinity, we had a solemn service at St. George’s Church. Before the celebration, according to our pious custom, our temple was decorated with the greenery. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov celebrated the Divine Liturgy.
Following the Scripture readings of the Liturgy Fr. Igor preached a homily:

“Today we celebrate one of the greatest feasts of our calendar. One of the names of this holy day is Pentecost which is translated as ‘the 50th’ because it is celebrated on the 50th day after Pascha. The real reason of our celebration of that 50th day after Easter is that on this day the Holy Spirit descended upon the holy Apostles.”
“Today’s Epistle lesson vividly describes that holy event. It tells us that the Apostles were all together in one place when the day of Pentecost had fully come (Acts 2, 1). It should be said that the Jews have their own celebration of Pentecost. This feast is called the Feast of Weeks , and it comes 50 days after Passover. It was a celebration of the first fruits of harvest. People use to adorn their homes with greenery, in the same way as we Orthodox Christians do it now for our celebration. It was a feast of the greenery, as it is called now in some Slavic countries, the ‘Green holidays’. The Jews also believe that this was the day when Moses received Ten Commandments from God, the day when the Jews acquired the Law of God. Thus, holy Apostles were in Jerusalem on the Jewish celebration of Pentecost. They stood together as the Lord commanded them to do when He ascended into heaven.”
“The Epistle lesson says that they were together in one place. “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2, 1-2). Then the Epistle says that divided tongues, as a fire, appeared to the Apostles, and one sat upon each of them (Acts 2, 3). This was the appearance of the Holy Spirit, as a mighty sound of the wind from heaven and the tongues of fire. It also had great results. After each of the fiery tongues sat upon the Apostles, they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2, 4). This was the first miraculous sign of the Holy Spirit filling the Apostles. They became able to speak different languages. The Epistle tells that people from different countries who were gathered in Jerusalem for the feast could hear their native tongues from the Apostles. All these people were Jews. They could be born Jewish or were proselytes, Gentiles who converted to Judaism. At those times the Jews already lived in many different countries and spoke different languages. Today’s reading mentions a number of those ancient countries from where the pilgrims came to Jerusalem and became witnesses to that miraculous speaking of the Apostles.”
“We know that the Apostles were not very educated men. Some of them were fishermen from Galilee. However, the Holy Spirit made them wise and enabled them to catch a lot of men to the nets of salvation in Jesus Christ. Today’s festal troparion describes that saying, “Blessed art Thou, Christ our God, Who didst make the fishermen wise by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit, and through them didst draw the universe into Thy net…” The Holy Spirit made these people who were not wise in the world wise in Christ.”
“Dear brothers and sisters! If the Old Testament Pentecost celebrated the birthday of the Mosaic Law, our Pentecost is the birthday for the Church. If the Jews celebrated acquiring of the Torah, we celebrate acquiring of God Himself, His Holy and Good and Life-creating Spirit. The same Spirit Who “was hovering over the face of the waters” in the first creation and made order out of chaos came upon the Disciples of Christ. But in the similar way as the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles when they expected Him to come praying together, this Spirit continues to come upon us when we are together as members of the same Apostolic Church. Recently, I had a conversation with a person who was once baptized but is not really practicing Christian faith. He was asking why should we assemble in the temples and attend the church services. The answer is in the Apostolic behavior. The Lord Himself commanded them to stay together in Jerusalem, to pray in humility and to wait for the promised gift, the Holy Spirit. Only upon all of them being together the Holy Spirit could descend. Thus, only if we are gathered in the temple the Holy Spirit could come upon us and bestow His abundant gifts, His rich graces. We may pray alone, we may conduct a righteous life alone, but in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit we need to be together, in the community of believers, in one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. This is why I am so concerned with your attendance of the church services. This is why the Church commands us not to miss Sunday Liturgy. Together we may be blessed in a special and unique way.”
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us be grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Church existing for us. Let us pray that today especially, but also on any other day, the Holy Spirit may come and dwell within us, and may cleanse us of all impurity and save our souls!”

After the Liturgy dismissal the Rector and altar servers performed a rite of glorification in front of the festal icon in the middle of the church singing the troparion, kontakion and magnification of the feast.

Following the Liturgy the 9th Hour was read and the Great Vespers followed. At the Vespers traditional kneeling prayers of the Pentecost were read by the Rector.

After services of the feast Rector and parishioners had a luncheon at our favorite Pier 25A restaurant. We enjoyed delicious meals and a nice company.

On June 1, on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, St. George Church’s Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. After the reading from the Holy Gospel he preached a homily:

“These days we live after the feast of the Ascension of the Lord and before the celebration of Pentecost. We are under the impression of the glorious lifting up of our Lord into heaven, and, at the same time, we are expecting the Descent of the Holy Spirit. In the same way, holy Apostles were experiencing this double feeling. They were missing their Teacher who ascended from them into heaven, and they were expecting the promised Holy Spirit to come down upon them. Thus this was a special time for the Apostles, a time of being together, joined in a constant prayer, waiting for the Holy Spirit.”
“Today’s Sunday the Church dedicates to the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council. This is so because the First Council was the result of the Church life after the Apostles. It showed that Christian community needs certain hierarchical authority and definition of true faith. Otherwise, many false teachings and errors may come and spread among Christians. In today’s Gospel lesson our Lord Jesus Christ is praying for His followers that they may be preserved in truth and have eternal life (Jn. 17, 1-13). That truth became endangered when a lot of false teachers appeared among the Christians right after the time of the Apostles. They began to proclaim erroneous opinions about God and about Christ. These teachings are called heresies. This is why the Ecumenical Councils had to define Orthodox faith, the right belief in God and Christ.”
“Despite the Councils and despite the labors of the Holy Fathers the heresies appeared again and again. The communities of the people who called themselves Christians but in fact had deviated and departed from Christ, multiplied. We may be wondering about this but we should read the Scripture carefully. It tells us that all this was supposed to happen. Today’s Epistle lesson describes how St. Paul preached to the elders of the early Church. He tells them: “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20, 28-30).  We may ask how the Church of Christ could divide into different denominations. But the Scripture told us all about this. St. Paul warned his followers about this in today’s Epistle lesson.”
“Our Lord Jesus Christ purchased us with His own precious blood. But it does not preserve us from going astray. People tend to make mistakes and to fall into errors. Christian communities had always been attacked by strange teachers whom St. Paul calls “savage wolves not sparing the flock” (Acts 20, 29). In the early times these were the influences of paganism or Judaism which attempted to penetrate into the Christian thought. They created numerous heresies of Gnostics or of the communities practicing Jewish customs. In our times these are the influences of different pagan religions, secular philosophies or just the spirit of this world which invades the minds of Christians. St. Paul also mentions that from among Christians “men will raise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after themselves” (Acts 20, 30). And this was fulfilled many times when among Christian communities, even among the clergy appeared some individuals or groups of people who began to preach false teachings and to draw the Christians away from the true Church. These were a lot of heresies which started to appear in the early times and continue to arise. These people claim to be Christians, but they deviate from Christ and went away from Him. The Scripture is being fulfilled in them. When you drive through a typical American town you may see several different churches, Baptist, Evangelical, Methodist, Adventist, or even so-called “the Churches of Christ”. Who are they? They call themselves the followers of the same Jesus Christ, however they teach differently, pray differently and live differently. They are the followers of those men who once arose among true Christians and began to speak perverse things, leading true Christians away. Not only St. Paul, but our Lord Jesus Christ Himself warned against them saying, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Mt. 7, 15).”
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us beware of the false teachings! Let us be grateful to the Lord who purchased our souls with His own precious blood, who gave us eternal life. And, as He says, eternal life is to know the only true God and His Son, Jesus Christ (Jn. 17, 3). Thus, let us desire eternal life by knowing our true faith, by adhering to the holy Orthodoxy defined by the Holy Fathers of the Councils. Let us fervently pray along with St. Paul of today’s Epistle lesson that we may be commended “to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20, 32).”

On May 29, on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord into heaven, Archpriest Igor Tarasov, Rector of St. George Church, celebrated Divine Liturgy in our temple. After the Scripture lessons he preached a sermon:

“Today’s feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven has a great significance. Our Lord accomplished His mission of salvation and now He has to return to His heavenly abode. He lived a righteous life of a just Man, He performed glorious miracles, He taught the people, He humbled Himself to die on the cross. Then He was risen from the dead and instructed His disciples, being with them for 40 days. Now it is time for the Lord to return where He came from. Ascending into heaven Jesus takes there both His divine nature, as well as His human nature. Thus, our nature in Jesus is now in heaven, at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus left the Apostles on earth, but He went to prepare a place in heaven for those who follow Him. These are the basic spiritual aspects of this important feast. But today’s Epistle lesson tells us a little different things regarding Ascension.”
“Today we read the very beginning of the book of the Acts of the Apostles. The writer, St. Luke describes the event of the Ascension. He says that the Lord commanded the Apostles “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father” (Acts 1, 4). By that Promise of the Father, Jesus meant the Holy Spirit Who was going to be sent upon the Apostles. To confirm that the Lord said, “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1, 5). The Holy Spirit was going to be poured out on the Apostles very soon. So, the first idea of today’s Epistle lesson is to wait for the descent of the Holy Spirit.”
“However, even after seeing the glory of the Lord in His Resurrection, even after being instructed by Jesus for forty days after that glorious event, the Apostles still lived by the ideas of this world. They asked the Lord whether He at this time will restore the kingdom of Israel (Acts 1, 6). This was because they have not yet received that promised gift of the Father, the Holy Spirit Who would enlighten them and guide the Apostles in all spiritual matters. Instead of asking about eternal wisdom, they are wondering about earthly, political and temporary things. Jesus patiently instructs them saying, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1, 7-8).”
“Then in today’s Epistle lesson follows the description of the Ascension itself. “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1, 9). Jesus was taken up, He was received by a cloud. We may note that clouds have a special meaning in the Scripture. They indicate the presence of God. A number of times in the Bible the clouds are mentioned when God appears to someone. A cloud enveloped Mount Sinai when Moses went up there to receive Ten Commandments. When our Lord transfigured on Mount Tabor also a cloud was there from which the Apostles heard the voice of God. As we also see, not only a cloud but a high place, a mountain indicates a special place where men can receive God’s revelation. The Scripture mentions a number of mountains where God revealed Himself or His will to the people. At this point, the Ascension took place on Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. Ascension was a special, supernatural, divine event.”
“But today’s Epistle reading is not so much concerned with the very event of the Ascension, as it is with the future life and deeds of the holy Apostles. As we said the Lord Jesus before being taken up to heaven instructs them regarding the future descent of the Holy Spirit. He commands them to wait for that Promise of the Father. And when He was ascended the Angels also advised the Apostles not to stand idly gazing into heaven, but to go and prepare themselves for receiving the precious gift of God. The Epistle tells us, “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner…”” (Acts 1, 11). The Apostles had to go and begin their ministry, begin to continue the mission of Jesus and await His second coming. They could mot stand gazing into heaven, but to prepare living Christ-like lives, as His servants, filled with the Holy Spirit.”
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters! Let us honor today’s feast. But let us not just stand staring up into heaven, but go and live Christian life, do the works of faith, love and charity. Let us acquire the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments of the Church. Let us live a Christ-like life awaiting the second coming of the same Jesus, who was taken up from us into heaven, and who will come in like manner as the Apostles saw Him go into heaven (Acts 1, 11).”

Upon the Liturgy dismissal the Rector and the altar servers came out of the sanctuary to the middle of the temple and performed the rite of glorification before the icon of the feast. They sang troparion, kontakion and magnification of the holy day.

Please, note that beginning with Sunday, June 1 we switch to our Summer Schedule. Sunday services will start at 9:00 AM.
For more information please check our monthly Service Schedule.

On May 25, on the Sunday of the Blind Man we had a beautiful celebration at St. George Church. Our Rector, archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. After the Gospel lesson he preached a sermon:

“In today’s Epistle lesson we heard an adventurous story about holy Apostles Paul and Silas who were put into an inner prison, but released by the keeper of the prison after the city was struck by an earthquake. The jailer asked them an important question, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16, 30). Thus we are going to think about that question today.”
“There are many different questions we ask during our life. But there is one question above every other question, what to do to be saved. When we hear the word “saved” some people may think about earthly life. For instance, they may think of being saved from death or a misfortune. But even if we think of salvation in its spiritual, Christian sense, we may simplify that matter. We may think that salvation is escaping hell and achieving heaven. This is true, but it is very limited way to think of that. It puts the whole matter in the future, the time after we die or the time of the Last Judgment. As a result, we forget that we can be saved here and now while we are on this earth. Salvation of Christ is extended to our earthly life as well.”
“We may be wondering from what we may be saved here on this earth? We may be saved from different misfortunes, pains and sufferings of this life if we will be living with Christ. He will heal our pain, help us to solve our problems. Salvation is a process, not a fact. We are being saved, not already saved.”
“Then, along with the prison keeper of today’s Epistle lesson we may ask what must we do to be saved. Holy Apostles Paul and Silas answered and said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16, 31). The key to salvation is to believe in Jesus Christ. It means to rest the whole weight of your life on Jesus. It means to bet your whole life on Him. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned”, says the Lord (Mk. 16, 16). It is very clear. Yet some people are tempted to believe that man does not need Jesus as a Savior anymore. They say that science is so progressed today that it can save us from almost everything. Science is the new savior!”
“Man needs science. But science is not the savior. You cannot live by science alone. Science can modernize a house, but it can never turn a house into a home. Jesus can! Science can invent a medicine for the body, but it cannot heal a guilty conscience. Jesus can! Science can give man a great power, but not the moral strength to use this power wisely. Jesus can! His very name, the name “Jesus” means “God saves”. He is able to save. And we must believe in Him in order to be saved.”
“Today’s Epistle tells that the prison keeper and all his family were baptized (Acts 16, 33). If we believe we have to be baptized. Many of us were baptized when we were small children. Our godparents confessed belief in Christ for us. But if we are to be true Christians, there must come time in life when we must say these words for ourselves – a time when we ourselves decide to follow Christ as our personal Lord and Savior and commit our whole life to Him as our God. Unless this happens we are not Orthodox Christians. We are Christians in name only, or Christians by baptismal certificate only – to whom the Gospel of Christ means little or nothing. A baptismal certificate alone is not enough. Payment of church dues is not enough. Occasional church attendance alone is not enough. Believe, lean your whole life upon Lord Jesus Christ, and then you will be saved.”
“It took an earthquake to make the jailer ask Paul and Silas the question: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Will it take another earthquake to make us ask the same question? Haven’t we had enough earthquakes? All the wars, the despair, the anxiety, the meaningless, the boredom, the immorality of our age? Do we need something more devastating than these to make us ask the question, “What I must do to be saved?” We must believe in Jesus Christ, live by that faith. Then we will live in the process of our salvation which will lead us from being saved now to being saved in the eternity.”

On that day our parish was visited by the Rector’s childhood friend, Mitered Archpriest Nicholas Florinschi who is serving in Chisinau (Kishinev), Moldova. Fr. Nicholas was praying at the Divine Liturgy and read the Epistle.

After the Liturgy dismissal Fr. Igor greeted our guest. He recalled that they together belonged to the same cathedral parish in their home city of Kishinev. While future priest Igor was a young boy, future Fr. Nicholas was an altar server and subdeacon serving to the Archbishop. He also stressed that still a lot of things unite him and our parish with Fr. Nicholas, including the fact that he is the Rector of a church also dedicated to Holy Great Martyr George. Answering to Fr. Igor’s greeting Fr. Nicholas expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and promised to maintain connection between our two St. George Churches.

Following the services the Rector and parishioners enjoyed delicious meals and a nice company at the coffee hour.

On May 18, on the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, Archpriest Igor Tarasov, Rector of St. George Parish celebrated the Divine Liturgy in our temple. Following the Scripture lessons he preached a homily:

“Today’s Sunday is dedicated to the Samaritan woman who had a very serious and profound conversation with our Lord Jesus Christ described in today’s Gospel lesson (Jn. 4, 5-42). Jews and Samaritans were two hostile communities. But when they were becoming the followers of Christ, they became united in faith and had to forget their past differences. In Jesus Christ all became the same, for in Christ “there is neither Greek nor Jew” (Col. 3, 11). All the true followers of Christ are now called Christians. This is their most important name.”
“Today’s Epistle lesson tells us that the name “Christian” was first given to the followers of Jesus in the city of Antioch (Acts 11, 26). Scholars say that Antioch was known for its ability to produce names. Those names were usually given in derision and contempt. Antiochians called one of the Roman emperors “the Goat”. Thus the name “Christian” was given to the followers of Jesus as a nickname. The people of Antioch had many names in their resourceful language, but they had no name to cover this type of character. These followers of Jesus did things, said things, lived things unheard of in the history of the world. They lived purity, forgiveness, love, humility of Jesus. So, the Antiochians made a new name for these people in whom they saw the behavior of Jesus Christ. They called them in Greek ‘Christianoi’ – Christ people.  There was something so new about these people, something so refreshingly different, that they created a new name for them. “And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11, 26).”
“The Christians took this name given in mockery and turned it into one of the most revered names in history. The name tells us something very important the Christian: that there is resemblance between Christ and the Christian. The Christian is first and foremost a Christ person.
“If someone were to ask you, “Why are you a Christian?”, what would you reply? Many would reply that they are Christians because they were born in a Christian family, or because they were baptized. This is not good enough. Some would say that they are Christians because they believe in God and try to do good. But to be a Christian means far more than that. To see exactly what it means let us go back to the first Christians, the holy Apostles. How did they become Christians? One day Jesus said to them, “Follow Me!” And they left their past life and past cares and followed Him.”
“Here we have the answer. A Christian is someone who follows Christ consciously and by personal choice, who responds to his call, who says “yes” to Jesus. First and always it is a relationship to a Person, not a code or philosophy. To be a Christian is to be committed to God in Christ. It is to be living member of His Body, the Church.”
“A little boy once asked his father, “What is a Christian?” The father, who knew the Bible well, described to his son what being a Christian really is according to the New Testament. When he finished explaining, the little boy said, “Father, have I ever seen a Christian?””
“The pagans in Antioch did see Christians. In fact, they saw Christ in His followers – so much so that they called them by the very name of Christ. Does the world today see something of Christ in us? Does it see the purity, love or forgiveness of Christ in us? Is our lifestyle, our words and deeds, bear a witness of our faith in Christ? Can anyone point to you or me and say, “This is a Christian!”? Can anyone look at our parish and say, “These are Christians”?”
“Dear brothers and sisters! Our Lord said, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5, 16). Christians are people who shine before men. They shine by the light of Christ. It was because of such a light of Christ, because of such a Christ-like lifestyle that the early disciples of Jesus came to be called Christians. Let us ask ourselves whether anyone would be able to look at us and guess that we are Christians.”

On May 11, on the Sunday of the Paralytic, Rector of St. George Church, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy in our temple. After the Gospel lesson he preached a homily:

“On this Sunday the Scripture readings tell us about some examples of miraculous healings. In the Gospel lesson, Jesus healed the paralytic at the Pool near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem (Jn. 5, 1-15). And in the Epistle lesson, the same power of Christ to perform healings is seen in holy Apostle Peter. St. Peter healed the paralytic named Aeneas and raised the woman named Tabitha from the dead. It is interesting that in each one of these three miracles the word “rise”, or “arise” is used. Jesus says to the paralytic, “Rise, take up your bed and walk” (Jn. 5, 8). St. Peter says, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make up your bed” (Acts 9, 34). He also says, “Tabitha, arise” (Acts 5, 40). The word “rise” is the key word in today’s Scripture readings. Therefore, today we are going to reflect upon this single but important word.”
“We may say that the whole message of the Holy Gospel is contained in that little word “rise”. Jesus was risen from the dead, so we have to rise. He raised us from the depths of sin and death to a new life of peace and power. When Peter began to sink into the sea because of his little faith, Jesus reaches out to raise him, as He raised us in the waters of Baptism lifting us from sin and death to a new life.”
“One of the images of the Resurrection shows the Lord as He victoriously rises from the tomb. It is a very popular image. It depicts Jesus alone or along with the Angels. This picture is known both in the Eastern and Western Church. Another icon, known only in the Orthodox Church, is in reality the icon of Christ’s Descent into Hell. The glorified Christ descends into the abyss. Even while the body of Jesus was in the tomb those three days, His love was active. He used that time to descend with His soul into the very depths of hell, into the abyss of death, to break the bonds of death and to proclaim there the good news of salvation. He, the Second Adam, the perfect Man reaches out to touch, renew and raise the First Adam, the man who had fallen from life, who dwelt in the land of the shadow.”
“That icon of the Resurrection shows Christ not standing alone, but raising, lifting Adam and Eve out of the depths through the broken doors of hell. He frees them, but at the same time He frees us. The hand that reaches out to grasp the hand of Adam reaches out to embrace the descendants of Adam as well. We are also bound by death, held captive by the power of sin. We too, have died and been cast out into the abyss. Yet the Risen Christ comes to us as to lost sheep, descending in His love to seek us out in the darkness and to raise us up with Himself. If we make our bed in hell, He is there, ever present, ever reaching out to raise us with Him into the glory of the resurrected life. From anxiety in the face of death, He raises us to an unshakeable hope in the resurrected life. From fear of the future, He raises us to undiminished joy. From loneliness and separation, He raises us to friendship with God. Because He is risen, He has the power to help us rise from the tombs of slavery, sin and death to fullness of life.”
“Some people say that religion is moonshine. They mean that it does not give enough light and heat, does not really help. But they forget that the power of the moon lifts trillions of tons of water each day to make the tides rise in the oceans of the world. In the moon there is a great power. Greater than the moon’s power is the power of Him Who created the moon. It is the power to help us rise from the deepest abysses in life.”
“Dear brothers and sisters! We all have troubles in life. We are all sinful. What we need more than anything else is power to rise above them. But we cannot rise above all troubles, and difficulties; we cannot rise from the depths of sin unless we have within us Him Who helps us rise, the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His power Aeneas was raised; Tabitha was raised; the paralytic by the pool at Sheep Gate was raised. This same Jesus gives us the power today to rise above whatever obstacles life can place in our way.”

Following the Liturgy dismissal Fr. Igor congratulated the ladies in the parish on the occasion of Mother’s Day which was celebrated in the United States on this Sunday. Traditional polychronion was sung.