On November 3, on the 19th Sunday after Pentecost we had our liturgical celebration at St. George Church. The parish Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. Following the Gospel lesson he preached a sermon:
“In today’s Epistle lesson we are told strange words that St. Paul says the Lord Himself told him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12, 9). This is a paradox of our Christian faith: strength is made perfect in weakness.”
“We have to say that Christianity is full of paradoxes, of certain contradictions. We believe in God Who is ineffable, inconceivable and incomprehensible, yet we believe that we may know Him. We say that God does not belong to the world, yet He is present everywhere in the world. We believe that God is Spirit, yet He became man. We believe that God is strange to our nature, yet He acquired our own nature. We believe that God is inapproachable by men, yet we may become the partakers of His nature. In the same way St. Paul tells us that the Lord says that our strength is made perfect in our weakness.”
“When we are weak, then we are strong. This is so because our weakness makes us lean on God’s strength. There is a story of a sheep that limped and never went away from the shepherd. Someone asked about this sheep – why it limped and why it never left the shepherd’s side. The shepherd explained that that sheep was partially deaf and could not hear the shepherd’s voice. As a result, it was often in danger. Many times it had to be rescued. Finally the shepherd had to injure the sheep’s leg. Since then the sheep limped, but it stayed closer to the shepherd and it was safe. The sheep was weak, but it was strong along with the shepherd.”
“In today’s Epistle reading St. Paul tells that he was also afflicted by some “limp”. It did not come from God, but from the evil one. Paul says that he was given “a thorn in flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me” (2 Cor. 12, 7). Many interpreters of the Scripture guessed what kind of “thorn on flesh” St. Paul had. It could be a chronic illness, or troublesome Christians who criticized him, or hard-hearted Israelites who persecuted him, or even some sinful desire which burned St. Paul, tempted his flesh. We don’t know for sure. But what we do know is that God allowed that thorn to remain in order to keep Paul weak, “limping” at the Shepherd’s side where he would find constant strength for his weakness. And when St. Paul discovered that the true purpose of that thorn was to keep him close to the Source of power, he rejoiced. He said, “Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12, 9).”
“All of us, at least once in our lives, were driven into a corner from which there seemed to be no way out. If this happened, you may be sure that God allowed it, so He may come with His almighty power to deliver you. But first He wants you to discover that you are powerless and that you have to depend on Him. “When I am weak then I am strong.” If we are weak, let us admit it and accept it. Let us not pretend that we are able to do a lot of things. Accept the weakness, but not just the weakness. Accept that such feeling of weakness is needed to lead us to Him Who is the real source of strength.”
“Some young man once said to a priest, “Don’t you see, your religion is a crutch!” The priest replied, “Sure it is. But who is not limping?” Like the sheep in the story, we have to limp by the Shepherd’s side. St. Paul did and became strong.”
“St. Paul prayed three times that the thorn in flesh, his weakness might depart from him. God answered him and said, “My grace is sufficient for you…” (2 Cor. 12, 9). To all our weaknesses God may give us His help which will be enough to overcome the difficulties, to solve the problems and to feel secure. And God said to Paul that His power is made perfect in weakness. Paul discovered that God is right. In his weakness Paul leaned on Christ and found power beyond what he thought possible.”
“Let us then, dear brothers and sisters, ask our Lord that our weaknesses may drive us closer to Him and that we may find in Him the strength to follow Jesus on the path of our salvation. Let us then boast in our infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon us!”

Upon the Liturgy dismissal Fr. Igor reminded the parishioners of the feasts celebrated during the following week, especially the solemnity of the Icon of our Lady of Kazan on November 4th. This feast is now a national holiday in Russia because the miraculous icon of Kazan at least two times saved that country from the foreign enemies, especially in 1612 when it helped the people to free Moscow from the invaders.

On October 27, on the 18th Sunday after Pentecost St. George Parish family had a nice celebration. This time it combined several festive occasions.
At the Divine Liturgy served by our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov we celebrated Sunday resurrection joy and honored the Holy Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. After the Scripture readings Fr. Igor preached a homily interpreting the Epistle lesson:
“The first Epistle lesson for today is about giving. St. Paul teaches the Corinthians saying, “Let each one give as he purposes in his heart…” (2 Cor. 9, 7). Thus, today we will talk about the way we should give to the Church and how St. Paul instructs us to give.”
“Speaking of giving leads us to talk about money. We all heard a saying, “Money talks”. This words are sometimes true, and not always in a negative sense. For instance, the way we spend our money will say a lot about us, about our preferences. If a biographer wanted to write a book about you, he would want to review your old financial records, for instance, your old checks. They could tell him what kind of person you are. He could find out that you are a member of the church. But suppose that in looking through your checks and other records he learned what your income is, and discovered that in a typical year you spend one percent of your income for God’s work and ten percent for your personal luxuries. Then he would probably be justified to write that you loved the Lord in the amount of 1 dollar per week and loved your personal luxuries in the amount of 10 dollars per week. Money talks! It tells what kind of people we are, what we value most in life, what we love and care for most.”
“Our church giving is very often much less than our spending for our different needs. This is why it is important to understand that our giving has to be proportionate to what we have. The important thing in Christian giving is not “how much” we give, but “how much in comparison to our ability”. A gift does not need to be large in order to be significant. It is great or small in proportion to the amount of other things we possess. One of the greatest examples of Christian giving is the poor widow who came in to the Temple one day and gave “all that she had”. It was not very much, just two copper coins, but the Lord said about her, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all of those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood” (Mk. 12, 43-44).”
“Dear brothers and sisters, let us give proportionately as God blessed us. And let us give lovingly. The Christian giving is a personal commitment to Christ. Therefore, if you don’t love God, don’t give. God does not need a support from those who do not really care. But if you do care about the Church, about God’s work, let your giving be some indication of your love.”
“Give proportionately, give lovingly, give generously. St. Paul says, “He who saws sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who saws bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9, 6). When it comes to giving to God and His work, if you must make a mistake, make it on the side of generosity, as you would if you loved one were in need and asked you for something. Make a mistake on the side of going beyond what is practical and try what is spiritual. Then if you saw bountifully, you will reap bountifully. Give abundantly and you will receive abundantly.”
“Today’s final advice of St. Paul to us is to give gladly. He says, “Let each one give… not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9, 7). Give from your heart, give cheerfully. Even a dog knows the difference between reluctant and cheerful giving. Throw him a bone and he will go away without wagging his tail. But call him kindly, pat him and then give him a bone, and he will go away with a wagging tail. In both cases it is the same act of giving a bone. But the way, the spirit of giving makes a difference.”
“Dear brothers and sisters! Let us then ask ourselves how do we give to God? Do we give proportionately? Do we give to Him lovingly, generously, gladly? Do we give Him not only our money but also our energy, our talents, our abilities, our time, our very lives? If our giving to God is proportionate, loving, generous and cheerful, then God, as St. Paul teaches us, will provide for us with His blessings. St. Paul assures us that we will be “enriched in everything… which causes thanksgiving through us to God” (2 Cor. 9, 11). If our giving is abundant, God’s giving to us will be even more abundant.”

At the end of the Liturgy Fr. Igor reminded parishioners that on October 27 the Church commemorates Venerable mother Paraskeva, a Saint very much honored in the Balkan countries, as well as in Moldova and Western Ukraine. One of our parishioners and our altar server, Elisej Flora today celebrates his home, or family Patronal feast. It is a Serbian tradition to celebrate feast of a family Patron Saint (called “Slava”). Ven. Parakeva is Elisej’s family Patron Saint. On that occasion Fr. Igor congratulated Elisej Flora and his wife Anastasia and wished them God’s blessings, intercession of Ven. Paraskeva and many happy years. The choir sung traditional Polychronion (“Mnogaya leta”).
Fr. Igor also congratulated our guest Paraskeva who celebrated her name day, and proclaimed the singing of Polychronion for her.

Following the Liturgy the Rector headed the rite of “Slava” for Elisej and Anastasia Flora. He blessed and symbolically cut the offered bread (“kolach”) pouring wine on it. Hymns in honor of St. Paraskeva were sung. Fr. Igor congratulated the Flora family again.

After all our services Rector and parishioners joined at the table for a celebration of today’s festivities. We enjoyed a warm company and delicious meals, as well as congratulated the people who celebrated their family and personal feast in honor of St. Paraskeva.
Holy Mother Paraskeva, pray for us!

On October 20, on the 17th Sunday after Pentecost we had a service in our temple. St. George’s Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov celebrated the Divine Liturgy. Following the reading from the Gospel he preached a homily:
“Today we heard the words of St. Paul recalling God’s promises to the people. The Apostle recites the words of the Lord said to Moses: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Lev. 26, 12; 2 Cor. 2, 16). These promises were given by God Himself to His chosen people of Israel. St. Paul assures that the same promises are now given to us, the New Israel, the members of the Christian Church.”
“In our times we do not like to believe the promises given to us by other people. A famous senator said to his son, “Son, there are two qualities that will get you far in government: integrity and astuteness. By integrity I mean if you ever give your word, keep it. By astuteness, I mean don’t ever be stupid enough to give your word.”
“God both gives His word and keeps it. Some famous Orthodox preacher gives us a very modern and American example: a bank check. A check is a man’s promise to pay. It depends totally upon the person who signs it, upon his integrity, his word. When you have confidence in a man, you take his check as readily as cash. Then you endorse it. But if you refuse or forget to endorse it, it becomes just a piece of paper.”
“The Scripture is full of the great promises made by God. They are backed by God’s name, God’s integrity, God’s tremendous powers. Each one of these promises is for you. They are like checks made out to you bearing God’s signature. All that is required that you have enough faith in the signer to endorse the check, and to receive what is promised.”
“It is about these promises St. Paul speaks in today’s Epistle lesson when he says, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7, 1).”
“There are many false promises being made today by politicians. Recent economic crisis and other financial problems in the country and in the world show us that false promises are made by financial institutions. And we always knew that it is not wise to trust the fantastic claims made by the advertising industry. But these false promises make us not trusting to all other promises, especially to the one miraculous claim which happens to be gloriously true. That claim is that Jesus Christ saved us.”
“If we read the Scripture, we may see how the Lord fulfills His promises. In the Old Testament God promises to send His Savior. He says that the Messiah is to come of the family of David. The genealogy written in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew lists the fulfillment of this promise. The promise was that the Messiah would be born of a Virgin Mother. He was! The promise was that He will be born in Bethlehem, in Judea. He was! The promise was that He will be betrayed and sold for the thirty pieces of silver. He was! The promise was that He will die and that His side would be pierced. It was! And, finally, the promise was that Christ will be raised from the dead. He was! Therefore, St. Paul says, “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen…” (2 Cor. 1, 20).”
“Understanding how true are the promises of God, let us also remember that for every promise there is a condition. St. Paul says that having such promises, “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7, 1). In order to see the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives, we have to strive for perfection. God promised us salvation, but the condition for us is to believe in Him. The promise of God is to forgive us, but the condition is to repent and to forsake our sin. The promise is to give us whatever we ask, but the condition is that we should abide in the Lord. Thus, the fulfillment of God’s best promises depends on conditions: abiding in Christ, living with Him, surrendering to Him. God wishes to be our Savior, but He saves us only if we participate, if we work with Him. Recalling the example of a check, let us accept and endorse the ‘check’ given to us. Our works of faith and perseverance will be rewarded by the fulfillment of God’s promises.”
After the Liturgy we had our coffee hour and enjoyed delicious refreshments and a good company.

On October 13, on the 16th Sunday after Pentecost we had a celebration at our temple. St. George’s Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. Following the Scripture readings he preached a sermon:
“In today’s Epistle lesson St. Paul makes an interesting statement. He says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6, 2). In this way the Apostle urges his listeners to act upon their salvation, to receive the grace of God and to keep it, not to receive it in vain (2 Cor. 6, 1). In other words, we have to do the important things now, not some day.”
“Many people endure the present while they are waiting for something better to occur in the future. They believe that now they are doing some small things, but later their fate will open the door to something more important and significant… Some woman said, “I am living for that blessed day when my children grow up, my husband retires and I will get a little rest”. When her husband retired and the children were married and living in their own homes, this same woman was very unhappy person. She looked back to the time when her husband was working and the house was full of children as the happiest time of her life.”
“How often we miss the joy and the happiness of the present time because we keep thinking how much better it will be tomorrow. Thus, St. Paul reminds us, “Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation” Now, not tomorrow, is the time to live, to be saved, to be made whole.”
“Our time on earth is limited. Every moment is unique and unrepeatable. Tomorrow is not ours; today is. Now is the time to do the works of mercy. Now is the time to say a prayer. Now is the time to pronounce the words of forgiveness. Now is the time to repent if we have sinned. Now – before our time runs out. Now is the most glorious period of life. God’s time is always now. “Now is the accepted time…””.
“This is why, dear brothers and sisters, we should not postpone our spiritual works, our prayers, our reception of the Sacraments, our acts of mercy and charity, our forgiveness and reconciliation with our brethren.”
“If a gambler says: “I must quit gambling. Tonight I am going to do it the last time, but tomorrow I will stop”. Such a gambler will never stop. But if he says, “I must quit gambling. I cannot speak for tomorrow, but as for today I am not gambling” Such a person will quit. If we postpone our action until tomorrow, this tomorrow may never arrive. Only ‘today’ is real.”
“There is a legend according to which Satan once called the demons to seek out a way to keep people away from God. One demon said, “Let’s tell people that there is no God”. Another said, “Let’s tell that God doesn’t care about right and wrong”. Finally, the third devil said, “Let them believe that there is God who cares about right and wrong. But let’s just keep whispering that there is no hurry”. And the demons agreed that this is the best way of eluding people. And Satan has been whispering to us, “Yes, of course, you must do all good things, but you don’t need to do them today. There is no hurry. Take your time and do it when you are ready.” In this way Satan is tempting us and keeps us from achieving most of good things we want and intend to do. This is the way the evil one is stopping us from receiving the grace, or makes us receive it in vain… Finally, when we approach the end of our lives, we realize, after it is too late, that we have achieved only a tiny portion of our potential, that we have done only a small bit of the good we intended to do.”
“How often we hear people say, “I wish I had time for church, for prayer, for the Bible”. We do have time! God gives it to us. Each morning, 24 hours are presented to us. We must never be too busy to sit at Jesus” feet, nor too preoccupied to go out and serve Him. Because there will come a time at the Judgment seat of Christ when we shall have to give an account of what we did with all our days and hours, which can never be repeated.”
After the Liturgy dismissal Fr. Igor reminded parishioners in English and in Russian language that on this day the Church commemorates two holy men who were the first bishops of the two local Churches: St. Gregory the Enlightener of Armenia and St. Michael, the first Metropolitan of Kiev. Both became the first heads of the local Christian Churches, Armenian and Russian. The history showed how things can change. The Armenian Church which once was the Church of the first Christian nation in the world history, separated from the universal Orthodoxy. But the Russian Church preserved Holy Orthodox faith. This also proves St. Paul to be right when he says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6, 2). We have to do the right thing at each moment in our life, in our history. We have to keep fidelity to the Holy Orthodox Church like those two Saints whom we honor today.

On October 6th, on the 15th Sunday after Pentecost, we had our services at St. George Church. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov celebrated the Divine Liturgy.
After the Scripture reading Fr. Igor preached a homily:
“Reading the Epistles of St. Paul we always learn about Christian life. We discover what it means to be a Christian. On the last two Sundays we were reflecting upon the notion of being a new creation in Christ, being crucified to the world and that Christ should live in us. Today’s Epistle lesson is telling us some other interesting aspects of Christian life.”
“St. Paul says that through Jesus Christ God let His light shine in the hearts of men (2 Cor. 4, 6). This is a special ability, a special gift from God. His light may shine in our hearts, Jesus can live within us, the divine grace is given to us. But, as St. Paul goes further, “we have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor. 4, 7). ‘Earthen vessels’ mean vessels of clay, clay jars. That means that we are earthly people, we have our material bodies which are subject to corruption and death. We cannot live this earthly life forever. Our bodies are like clay jars which may be easily broken. In addition, our souls are also corrupt by sin and attached to our bodies and our earthly desires. They are also vulnerable like those earthen vessels. The treasure of divine grace is held in us like in earthen vessels.”
“St. Paul tells us that entrusting such a gift to the earthen vessels is necessary. He says that “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Cor. 4, 7). We should realize our infirmity and our imperfection, to be humble. We should not become too proud and should understand that our faith and the grace are coming from God, and not from our own merits.”
“Living like those earthen vessels make our life difficult. It is even more difficult to live a true Christian life. But if we think about it, we may realize that God never permits us to be annihilated, to be totally destroyed and to be tempted more than we can endure. Therefore St. Paul says, “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…” (2 Cor. 4, 8-9). The Apostle goes further and says that “the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh”. He says that although death is working in us, life also works (2 Cor. 4, 11-12). Commenting on those words St. John Chrysostom wrote that these trials mentioned by the Apostle show both the power of God and, more, disclose His grace. Christian life is a victorious one, but not trouble free. We need to endure all kinds of trials in order to become worthy of our Lord who also underwent sufferings but became the Conqueror of death.”
“At the end, as St. Paul reminds us, “He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us” (2 Cor. 6, 14). Our earthly lives will end, our earthen vessels will be destroyed, but God will restore both our lives and our bodies at the end of time, so we can be presented at the second coming of His Son. Our trials and troubles, if we suffered them as true Christians, will not be in vain. We will be living eternal life. We will no longer have the treasure held in earthen vessels but in the vessels which will last forever.”
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us be humble and appreciate that God entrusted His treasure, His divine gifts, to be held in our earthen vessels. Let us endure and persevere in our trials, tribulations and temptations of this life. Let us keep in mind that at the end God who raised Jesus from the dead will also raise us up, so we may be given life eternal.”
At the end of the Liturgy Fr. Igor greeted our parishioner and Parish Treasurer Vera Koretz on her past Name day (September 30th) and wished her God’s blessings and intercession of her heavenly patron, Holy Martyr Vera (Faith). The choir sung “Mnogaya leta”.
After that greeting our Warden Olga Roussanow congratulated the Rector on his past Name day, commemoration of St. Igor of Chernogov (October 2nd), wishing Fr. Igor God’s help in his service to the Holy Church and St. George Parish, a spiritual joy and success. The choir sung “Mnogaya leta” to our Rector.
Following the services all joined at our delicious trapeza and could again congratulate Fr. Igor and Vera.

On September 29th, on the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross, Archpriest Igor Tarasov celebrated Divine Liturgy at St. George Church. Following the reading from the Gospel he preached a homily:
“On the Sunday after the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross we again are given a special set of readings from the Scripture. Today’s Epistle is telling us again about the meaning of being crucified with Christ. St. Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ…” (Gal. 2, 20).  It does not mean that St. Paul became physically crucified on the cross as Jesus. It means that his sinful passions and desires have been crucified. It is a crucifixion of his flesh, of the fallen and corrupt nature. It is a life in faith, not in flesh. And as St. Paul teaches, the result of such a crucifixion is that Christ lives in us.”
St. Paul utters, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2, 20). If we live by faith in Jesus Christ, it is no longer we live under the dominion of sinful passions, but under the power of Christ. The grace of God is penetrating our nature, thus Jesus Christ lives in us.
There is a story about a monk who knocked on the door of heaven seeking entrance. A voice asked, “Who are you?” The monk replied, “It is I”. The door did not open. After many years he tried again. As he knocked, the same voice asked again, “Who are you?” “It is I”, answered the monk. The door remained closed. Finally, he came back after many years. The monk became older and wiser as a Christian. When the same voice asked him, “Who are you?” the monk replied, “You in me”. And the voice said, “Come in”.
“If we ask who is a good Christian, we may have many answers. We may say that it is a person who is baptized, who believes in Jesus Christ, who goes to the church, who receives the Sacraments, and so on. This is true. However, these answers are not complete because they do not say the most important thing about a Christian: he is one in whom Christ lives. “You in me!” “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me”. Our Lord expresses this when He said to His disciples, “I am the true Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15, 5).”
“These words of Christ telling that without Him we cannot do anything, remind us that our Christian religion is not just doing the works of a certain religious law. St. Paul warns the Galatians in today’s Epistle that “a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ “(Gal. 2, 16). Our works according to the law of God cannot save us if we do it without a living faith in Christ, without Jesus living within us. On the other hand, our faith alone also cannot save us if we do not live according to that faith. The Jews thought they can be justified only by living by the law of Moses, and the Protestants tend to think that they can be saved only by confessing faith in Jesus Christ. They both are mistaken. We can be saved by faith and by the works according to our faith. If Christ lives in us, we have faith and we deal according to it.”
“People living in Christ are shining by His light. They look like a home, a palace which becomes illuminated when its master is hosting a royal family. If only a few people are home, just a small light filters through the windows. When friends come, many lamps are lit and the palace becomes beautiful. But when the royal family is visiting, the entire palace becomes illuminated. Some people may be described in that way. They have a shining personality, so seeing them you can say that they entertain a Royal Guest”
“We should say that we are no palaces, but temples of the living God. When the Royal Guest is present within, He gives us joy, peace, love and light to our lives. Especially it happens when we worthily receive this Guest in the holy Communion. For He said, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (Jn. 6, 56). But that reception has to be proper and worthy, otherwise Christ will come but will not stay. Let us try to live a Christian life, to crucify our flesh with its sinful passions and desires and to abide in Christ, so we may also be able to say, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me”!”
Following the Liturgy Rector and parishioners venerated the Precious Cross.
After the service we had our coffee hour with delicious refreshments.

On September 27th, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-giving Cross, we had a solemn celebration at our temple. Before the Hours St. George’s Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov placed the cross in the middle of the church and venerated it.
At the Divine Liturgy, after the Gospel lesson Fr. Igor preached a homily about the feast of the Cross:
“Today we heard the Gospel lesson about the sufferings of Christ on the Cross. Even though the Evangelists do not tell us all the cruel and violent details of that execution, we can imagine how terrible it was. God died in horrible pain for us, the sinners. He was left alone, rejected by His own chosen people, betrayed by His disciple, abandoned by His followers. Only a few people like His Blessed Mother, some myrrh-bearing women and His close disciple, Apostle John, remained faithful and were present under the Cross. Jesus accomplished our salvation through these holy Passions.
“If we think of those holy Passions and death on the Cross, we may see that it was terrible, but also glorious. As St. Nikolai of Serbia says, “It was the end, but at the same time it was the beginning : the suffering of the God-man and the beginning of His glory, the end of the self-deception of the Jews and the beginning of the unique thing in human history – the miracle that called the Church of Christ, which became the mother of Christian civilization on several continents inhabited by barbarians . When a person reads a description of the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ, he may have two feelings : the sense of horror from the madness and cruelty of some people and the feeling of delight from an elevated thoughts and love of Christ”.”
“That horror of the Cross, of the idea that God Himself died on the Cross, would be impossible to endure, if it did not give a delight. It is an interesting contradiction. Let us say that your brother did something bad to you. You may be offended and hate your brother. But if you look at that remembering that it is your brother, then you can endure the insult, you can stand it.”
“A certain man planted a garden of fruit trees, but the wildings, bad fruits grew . He came to prune and to take care of the trees, but the prickly branches wounded his hands and scratched his face. The gardener became angry , but in his anger he did not take an ax to uproot the trees , but suffered all , because he knew that it was his garden. So was the Son of God Who endured all the torments caused to Him by the people , always bearing in mind that mankind – this is His garden, His creation , and He is called not to cut down wild planting, but to make them noble, even at the cost of His own blood.”
“The love of Christ represented by His Cross surpasses everything. This is why when we also suffer or have any trouble time, let us recall the Cross of Christ. Let us imagine ourselves under the Cross, along with the Most Holy Mother of God, the myrrh-bearers and with St. John. Let us come to the Cross where Jesus is ready to embrace us. Let us come into His embrace.”
“Let us remember that the Cross, as we sing today, will protect the people of God, will give us an unconquerable victory over all our tribulations, pains and sufferings. Let us come to venerate the Cross today and let us extol it in our hearts, in our lives to endure with Christ and to vouchsafe to be the partakers of His glorious Resurrection.”
Following the end of the Liturgy the Rector and parishioners venerated the Cross.

On September 22, on Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross, Archpriest Igor Tarasov celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St. George Church. After the readings from the Sacred Scripture our Rector preached a sermon interpreting today’s Epistle lesson.
Fr. Igor said, “On a Sunday preceding the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross we are given a separate set of readings from the Sacred Scripture. The Church does so to make us aware of the special meaning of the Cross of Christ. Today’s Epistle lesson from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians concerns with the issue the first Christians had, the issue whether they should keep the Jewish customs and retain circumcision or not. St. Paul says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation” (Gal. 6, 15). It does not really matter whether we are circumcised or not, but we have to be the new people in Jesus Christ.
“St. Paul is teaching that it is not something external on our bodies that distinguishes us as Christians. It is something internal, spiritual. Through Christ, through Baptism, through repentance and the Holy Spirit we have become new people, a new creation. Jesus Himself said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21, 5). In Christ we are a new creation. He established the New Testament, thus the followers of that New Covenant have to be the new people, people who put off the old Adam and put on the new. “Put off… the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts… and put on the new man which was created according to God”, says St. Paul in another Epistle (Eph. 4, 22-24). Thus, we have to be a new creation.
“Unfortunately the task of becoming the new people in Christ is still very difficult. Sometimes we do not see a difference between believers and unbelievers, between Christians and non-Christians… If we look at the human history, we see that man’s external environment has changed very much, especially recently, with the great achievements in science and technology. However, human nature did not change. Some wise man said, “Man has exalted change in everything but himself”. Man can change his appearance and the way he lives, but the most important change he does not make, a change inside of his soul. Unless man changes inside, unless he is born again, all the changes in science, technology or in our environment will be of no avail.”
“A wise man of the Old Testament said, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1, 9). At that time, centuries before Christ he could not see anything new. But today we know that the only new thing under the sun is the life in Christ. We know how unstable Simon became Peter, the Rock, greatest Apostle of Christ. We know how Saul, one of the worst enemies of Christ became Paul, the Apostle of nations, the author of the Epistles we now discuss. They became totally new creation in Christ!”
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us really build our lives the way we may be seen as the new people, people distinguished from the unbelievers. Let us be that new creation. Not circumcision or other external sign should distinguish us, but the sign of the Cross. And not just a visible sign, a cross we make or a cross we wear on our chests. Let us imitate the Lord crucified in our way of life, so we may say as St. Paul said in today’s Epistle lesson, “I bear in my body the marks of Lord Jesus” (Gal. 6, 17). For Paul these were the real marks. He was suffering for Christ and could have visible marks of those sufferings. But he also had spiritual marks of the Holy Cross of Christ, because he crucified his flesh with its passions and desires (Gal. 5, 24). By Christ the world has been crucified to Paul, and Paul was crucified to the world. (Gal. 6, 14). If we also crucify our flesh, our passions and sinful desires, then we may become the new people in Christ.  If we also make the world crucified to us and become crucified to the world, we may bear the marks of Lord Jesus crucified. These marks won’t be seen, but they will be in our hearts. These marks won’t be external, but internal. They would make us the true members of the Body of Christ, where “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation” (Gal. 6, 15).

On September 21 the Church celebrates feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God. On that day we had a festal service at St. George Church. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov celebrated the Divine Liturgy. Following the reading from the Gospel Fr. Igor preached a homily.
The Rector expressed his regret that not too many parishioners came today to honor the Blessed Mother on the occasion of Her Birthday. We usually remember the birthdays of our loved ones and friends, we try to greet them and attend their birthday parties. However, sometimes we forget about our Blessed Mother’s day of birth.
Further Fr. Igor in his sermon shared the following thoughts: “Today the Church describes this feast by such a beautiful expression, “The barrenness of our nature has been loosed”. It says so because the whole human nature was spiritually barren, not able to give any good fruits. After the sin of Adam and Eve all men were deprived of spiritual fruitfulness. Only our Lord Jesus Christ could loose that barrenness and lift up the curse. In Christ our nature became fruitful again. But Jesus Christ had to be born of the Blessed Mother. Her Birth we celebrate today. This is why we sing these beautiful words about Her Nativity.”
“Now, in Christ all of us have to be spiritually fruitful, to bear a fruit of spiritual life. There is no requirement for all of us to be married and have children. But in any moment of our lives we have to be spiritually sane and active and bear spiritual fruit. We have to listen to the voice of Christ and follow Him. If we do so, then the fruits of our behavior, of our lifestyle will be appropriate.”
“Honoring the Most Holy Mother of God we should also honor Her holy parents, Joachim and Anna. They are examples to all parents, teaching us how to bring up children in piety. St. Joachim and Anna worked together with the Holy Spirit, with spiritual truth. This was the beginning of their joy. If we can do the same, it will be the beginning of our joy too. We too can free ourselves of the barrenness of our nature, if we stop thinking about our material well-being and start thinking about our spiritual well-being. Then we too will give birth to spiritual fruit like holy grandparents of God Joachim and Anna.”
“During Christmas time when we celebrate the Nativity of Christ, we say “God with us”. Today, on the birthday of the Theotokos, we may say, “Holy Mother of God is with us”. She may help us to follow Her Son and intercede for us before Him. Holy Mother is now with us. Let us rejoice!”

On September 15, on the 12th Sunday after Pentecost we had a usual celebration of the Divine Liturgy. It was served by St. George’s Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov.
After the Scripture readings Fr. Igor preached a homily explaining the Epistle reading. He said that every Sunday is a celebration of the Resurrection of Christ, a ‘little Pascha’. And today’s Epistle reading reminds us of the Resurrection of the Lord.
Fr. Igor continued saying, “During Paschal season we greet each other by the joyful words, “Christ is risen!” But how can we believe it is true; how can we admit that Christ is truly risen? St. Paul calls the witnesses. This is his method to convince the Corinthians. He refers to five appearances of Jesus after His Resurrection: to Peter, to the twelve Apostles, to over of 500 brethren, to James and all the Apostles and then to himself. St. Paul considers Christ’s appearance to him on the road to Damascus an appearance of the same kind as all other appearances of the risen Christ to His Disciples, even though it happened 6 years after these appearances. 6 years passed after Christ Resurrection and His Ascension into heaven. Yet St. Paul places his special experience of meeting Christ on the Damascus Road in the same row as the appearances of the risen Lord. He does so because for him it was a real Resurrection experience. That appearance changed the history of many nations. It transformed a fanatical persecutor into Christ’s greatest friend; it gave Christianity a great teacher; it gave the New Testament its chief author; it granted many people, especially Gentiles, their first preacher of the Gospel, their true Apostle.”
“St. Paul says, “Last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time” (1 Cor. 15, 8). Paul did not belong to the original group of Disciples. He came after them. Thus he says that he is “the least of the Apostles… not worthy to be called an Apostle” because he “persecuted the Church of God” (1 Cor. 15, 9). He called himself the chief of the sinners. Yet he admitted that Christ had chosen to reveal Himself to him. He felt it was not due to his merits, but an act of pure grace and mercy on the part of God. He writes, “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15, 10).
“The early Church decreed that no one could be called an Apostle if he had not personally seen the risen Jesus. St. Paul always insisted that he had this essential qualification to testify from personal knowledge of Jesus. He utters, “Am I not an Apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?” (1 Cor. 9, 1). How could he see Jesus Christ if he was not among the Apostles at the time when Jesus was on earth? Only by his very special, intimate and real experience of meeting the Lord on the road to Damascus. Finally, Jesus did appear to Paul, appeared last of all, as to “one born out of due time”.”
“Let us remember that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. If He came then, He comes now. Jesus comes to us now in our sense of sinfulness to forgive us, in our grief to comfort us, in our doubts to give us hope, in our fear to uphold us. He is not just a great Teacher and a beautiful example. He is the Son of God, the risen Lord, the Conqueror of death. He appears to us Christians and may appear to unbelievers to make them believers. And let us remember that when Christ does appear to the people, He does it as a pure grace. We can never deserve His attention. We are not worthy of His appearance. However, out of His love for mankind and His rich mercy He blesses us with His coming. This is a gift of God. It is priceless, but we receive it free of charge. This is important to know: the divine grace is not given for certain good deeds or merits, but freely. It is a special gift to the sinful and unworthy men. But it is able to make those sinful men holy and the unworthy crowned with dignity. It saves our souls and gives eternal life.”
“The grace of God may be bestowed any time. Some get it early, some later. This is why even a great sinner can repent and change his life. St. Paul did so. The grace may be bestowed “last of all” as happened to St. Paul.
Fr. Igor concluded his homily saying, “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, like St. Paul, let us be humble, but let us also be sure that the risen Lord may bestow His grace upon us and come to us to bless and grant us eternal salvation.”
Following the Liturgy Fr. Igor held a Memorial service (Litia) requested by Kay family for the repose of their grandmother Sophia.
After our services parishioners and the Rector enjoyed delicious meals at our coffee hour.