On October 30, on the 19th Sunday after Pentecost, Rector of St. George Church, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy in our parish temple. After the reading from the Holy Gospel he preached the following homily in English:

“Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Today’s Gospel lesson is telling us a very famous parable about the sower who went to sow seeds (Lk. 8, 5-15). As the Lord Himself interpreted that parable, the seed is the Word of God. It is sown in the good soil of human minds and hearts and it bears fruit a hundredfold. But not all soil is able to receive the seed. And the Lord gives us a certain classification of four different kinds of soil. One of them is good while three other kinds are not. Today we will attempt not to discuss those types of soil, but to focus on the words of Jesus at the end of the parable: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Lk. 8, 8).”
“There is a story of a woman who was convinced that most people at the social gatherings don’t really listen to what is being said to them. She decided to test her theory. Engaging in small talk at a party, she said cheerfully to another person, “By the way, just before leaving my house, I shut my husband”. “Oh, really?” came the reply, “How nice for you, dear…””
“Jesus has much to say about hearing in today’s Gospel lesson when He calls those who have ears to hear. Speaking about sowing of the Word of God in today’s parable He teaches that we do not all listen attentively. Our heating is defective. There are thorns and rocks that have to be removed; hard soil that has to be plowed. Hearing demands attention. It requires shutting out the distractions of the world. In order to hear the Word of God it is also important to have an inner ear attuned to His voice. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me,” said Jesus (Jn. 10, 27).  So, the life of God within us begins only with the sound of His voice. And our faith is born from the hearing of the Word of God. Holy Apostle Paul said, “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by preaching of Christ” (Rom. 10, 17).”
“There was a meaningful custom in the early Church, a special rite of the Opening the Ears of the Catechumens (those who were preparing for Baptism). St. John Chrysostom mentions that saying, “By grace of this sign your spiritual ears will become receptive to the word of God; you will understand the mysteries about to take place, and become sensitive to the fragrance of the Spirit”. Nowadays we do not have that custom but similar ritual we still preserve in our rite of Baptism. When the priest anoints different parts of the body with holy oil, he also anoints the ears saying, “May his ears be for the hearing of faith”. It is necessary for us to keep our ears open for the hearing of faith. We also need to pray that the Lord may unstop our ears, keep them open, that we may be sensitive to the voice of God in our lives.”
“Dear brothers and sisters! We have two kinds of ears: the outer ear and the inner ear, the physical hearing and the spiritual hearing, the ear of the mind and the ear of the heart. The Rite of the Opening of the Ears was designed to open the inner ear, so we might listen to God’s word not only with the mind, but also with the heart.”
“There is an old story about someone who went to heaven and saw a lot of what looked like dried mushrooms. On closer look he discovered that they were human ears. They were the ears of people who on earth went to church, listened with pleasure to the word of God, but did nothing about they heard. The word of God never got beyond the ear. It never penetrated the mind and heart to become a life dedicated to the service of God. The result was that after death only their ears were saved; only their ears reached heaven. “He who has ears, let him hear!””
“It is sad to say that some people attend the church for years but do not really pay attention to what is being said, proclaimed or preached in there. In our parish there was an occasion when someone did not notice that we had the Lord’s prayer proclaimed, did not notice it because it was done in Georgian language!”
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, since we have ears, let us hear. Let us open our ears, especially our inner, spiritual ears to receive the word of God. Let us allow His word to grow in us and to produce a rich fruit. Let us prepare our hearts as good soil for the seed of the Word of God sown, so it can bear fruit a hundredfold!”

After the dismissal of the Liturgy the Rector preached a short sermon in Russian to stress the main points of his English homily. He also reminded parishioners that on the next day, October 31, the Church commemorates Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke. Since our secular world engages in the non-Christian celebration of Halloween and many people on that day participate in the works of darkness, the Rector encouraged faithful to answer that challenge by spending that day in reading the Gospel of St. Luke.

Since October 30 is the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions in Russia, some parishioners desired to have a Memorial service performed following the Liturgy. The Rector served the Litia to commemorate all Christians killed or persecuted under the Communist regime in former USSR.

After all our services were finished, we enjoyed delicious food and a nice company during the coffee hour.

On October 23, on the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, as well as Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council, we had a nice celebration at St. George Church. Our Parish Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. Following the Gospel lesson he preached a homily in Russian.

Reflecting on the Gospel story of the resurrection of the young man in the city of Nain the Rector said that from the men’s perspective it is a story about human grief. We encounter sorrows all the time of our life. The most terrible sorrow is our death which is inevitable. All this causes grief. But we should not live in such a negativity. How to deal with grief? A very constructive way is to let the tears flow. It is natural for us to cry. However, some cultures and teachings do not approve of that. The ancient stoic philosophers used to say, “Do not mourn. Self-control is the answer to sorrow”. Reading today’s Gospel story we may think that our Lord Jesus Christ teaches the same. He said to the widow of Nain who mourned the death of her son, “Do not weep” (Lk. 7, 13). But Jesus never condemned those who wept. On the contrary, He taught, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mt. 5, 4). And Jesus Himself wept when His friend Lazarus died (Jn. 11, 35). As to the widow of Nain, the Lord told her to stop weeping because He had already come and was about to comfort her.
St. Paul teaches us not to mourn as those who have no hope (1 Thes. 4, 13). We need Christian hope. We may weep and mourn but we should remember that our sorrow will find comfort when we will encounter Jesus. Same happened in today’s Gospel lesson: there were two processions that met. One was a funeral procession which signified despair, grief and sorrow, the helplessness and hopelessness of man. At the head of it was a dead man. Another procession signified salvation, hope, joy and eternal life. At the head of it was Christ, the Son of God. Small wonder that the people cried out, “God has visited His people” (Lk. 7, 16).
As God has visited His people resurrecting the son of a widow in Nain, so He visits us to grant us hope and comfort in our sorrow.

During the Divine Liturgy the Rector for the first time proclaimed one of the Little Ektenias in the Georgian language which will hopefully be the constant practice in our parish if we have Georgian-speaking people attending the service.

The choir beautifully performed the hymns dedicated to the Holy Fathers honored on that Sunday.

Following the dismissal of the Liturgy the Rector delivered a short sermon in English stressing the main ideas of his Russian homily.

On October 16, on the 17th Sunday after Pentecost we at St. George Church also celebrated feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God transferred to the following Sunday. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. After the readings from the Holy Gospel he preached the following homily in English:

“Dear brothers and sisters! Today, we celebrate feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God. We commemorate our Lady’s miraculous appearance in the church in Constantinople and saving of the imperial city from the attack of the enemies happened in the 8^th century. The two holy men, Andrew and Epiphanius saw the Holy Mother of God appearing in the temple and covering the city with Her veil. After that the city was spared and the enemies retreated. This was a remarkable example of the special intercession of the Blessed Virgin for the Christian people.”

“We should always remember to honor the Most Holy Mother of God and pray to Her in our needs. And we have to remember that we will receive according to our faith and devotion. We must show the zeal and piety in order to attain help.”
“Our times are no less troublesome for the Church and Christian people than the times when the celebrated event of the Protection took place. The holy city of the Church and Christian civilization is now under attack from many enemies. Especially it is attacked from the two most dangerous sides. On one side it is being attacked by today’s liberal and godless society which demands the Church to renounce her spirit and the teaching of Christ in favor of the ideals of fallen and sinful humanity. On the other side Christian civilization is being taken over by the Muslims who come to live to Christian countries and wish to influence them by their faith. It is no secret that Muslims are also involved in the most of the acts of terror.”
“Considering these two challenges we Christians face in today’s world, we should ask ourselves a question, “What is so different about us that other people would see that we are right?” Or, “What can we offer to this world, so others could follow us, instead of following the false calls of our challengers?” Today’s first Gospel lesson is giving us an answer. Our Lord says, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return” (Lk. 6, 32-35). If we follow what the Lord said we make a difference in the world.”
“In today’s world everybody is looking for an average. We hear that constantly: the average American, the average husband, the average wife, the average child. If you think of that you may learn that averages are dangerous. A man who trusted the average data tried to make across the river whose average depth was two feet. He drowned in water twelve feet deep! But we are told that average means normal. On that basis the people are told that pre-marital sex is normal while self-control, chastity and virginity are abnormal because an average young person engages in pre-marital sex. We are told that an average husband is unfaithful, so infidelity in marriage is normal while being faithful is abnormal. If an average person is doing it, no matter what it is, it becomes normal. The average thus becomes our idol whom we worship at the altar of public opinion.”
“Our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to be not average but above average. If an average person loves those who love him, we ought to do more. If an average person lends to those from whom he expects to receive back, we need to do more. If an average person loves his friends and hates his enemies, we ought to love both our friends and our enemies. Are other people, for instance the Muslim people, righteous? We Christians are called to be more righteous. Are the Muslims generous? We are called to be more generous? Are the liberals in our society understanding and tolerant? We are called to be more understanding and more tolerant. For this reason the Lord called His disciples the light of the world, the salt of the earth. The Saints were not average. They were above average.”
“Especially all these things are true about the Most Holy Mother of God. She was certainly way above the average. And this is why She is now our Protectress in heaven. And our second answer to the questions we ask should be the following. We may prove that we are different and can offer something others cannot offer to this world. We may prove it by offering our prayers to the Most Holy Mother of God, by venerating Her and by asking Her to cover the whole sinful world by the veil of Her Protection.”

Before the Communion of the faithful choir beautifully performed the singing of the hymns dedicated to the Protection of the Mother of God.

Following the Liturgy dismissal the Rector along with the altar servers performed a rite of Glorification in front of the icon of the feast singing the troparion, kontakion and magnification of the Protection.

The Rector also preached a short sermon in Russian addressing the main points of his English homily. He also called the parents bringing their children to the church to teach them to behave properly during the Divine Liturgy, especially at the most solemn moments of the service.

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

On October 9, on the 16th Sunday after Pentecost and feast of the Passing of St. John the Theologian our Parish community had a nice celebration in our temple. St. George’s Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy.

Following the Scripture readings he preached a homily in Russian. In that homily he pointed out that according to the story from the Gospel assigned for this day (Lk. 5, 1-11) the human understanding of things may be different from the God’s view. We should trust God and His perfect vision of the things. Although God is ineffable and incomprehensible He may also be very close and approachable to us. Holy Apostle and Evangelist John whom we honor today could stress this in his writings. He said, “God is love, and he who abides in love, abides in God, and God in him” (1 Jn. 4, 16). Therefore, if we abide in love, God is within us although He is so ineffable and unapproachable. In Christ all impossible things become possible and man unites with God.

The choir directed by Olga Roussanow prayerfully sang the hymns of the feast.

After the dismissal of the Liturgy the Rector and the altar servers performed a rite of Glorification singing the troparion, kontakion and magnification of St. John the Theologian. The Rector also preached a short sermon in English expressing the main thoughts of his Russian homily.

On October 2, on the Sunday after Exaltation, we had a beautiful service in our parish temple. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov. Following the Gospel lesson he delivered the following homily in English:

“Dear brothers and sisters! Today we celebrate Sunday after the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Our Lord teaches us in today’s Gospel that His every true follower has to deny himself and take up the cross (Mk. 8, 34). Thus a Christian life requires a sacrifice and an endeavor.”
“A lot of us grew up listening to stories of heroes who sacrificed themselves for their country. They were often about heroes of different wars, especially the Second World War. Sometimes, we heard about people in other countries and even some of the Church’s Saints. But whatever we heard, we may notice that all these stories teach us courage, patience, hard work and self-denial. In some cases, the hero gave his or her own life to save others.”
“Our Savior, Jesus Christ, explained how all of us can be heroes of self-sacrifice. He taught this in today’s Gospel saying that by saying that whoever wants to be like Christ must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Him. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Christ and the Gospel will save his life. And whoever is ashamed of being with Jesus (in or out of church) and ashamed of His teachings will be rejected by Christ when He returns on Judgment Day.”
“In some instances, a person sacrifices all his or her life to some noble cause and lives to fulfill it. This is seen in many men and women who dedicate themselves to the monastic life. This is also seen when a young mother decides to raise a child without any help from her relatives and renounces her own personal or professional life for this child. But self-denial may also lead to the ultimate sacrifice, not to dedicating, but to losing one’s life in the name of the Gospel. Our calendar is full of different Saints, especially the Holy Martyrs who lost their lives for Christ and for the Gospel.”
“Today we commemorate my patron Saint, Holy faithful prince Igor who lived in the XII century. Although he is not a clear example of a person who died for Christ, his tragic destiny showed how the words of today’s Gospel are true. St. Igor became the Great Prince of Kiev at the time of a cruel struggle for the Kievan throne between the two princely factions. He belonged to one of them and he was placed on the throne of Kiev by that group. But after being betrayed by his own subjects who kissed the cross to be faithful to him, after losing a battle to his enemies and after being held captive, St. Igor agreed to renounce this world and to become a monk.  He probably understood the words of Christ who said, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mk. 8, 36). The power of a prince which he lost so fast, and the throne of Kiev which was taken away from St. Igor – all this proved that there is no profit for a man to gain anything if he loses his soul. Therefore, St. Igor being tonsured a monk, decided to retire from the political struggle and to spend the rest of his life in endeavors of piety. However, the evil people from the Kievan nobility decided to kill the prince-monk. They incited the mob who attacked St. Igor in the church, during the Divine Liturgy, seized him and tried to murder. He was first rescued by his brother, but the mob chased Igor further and finally brutally killed him. As I said, although St. Igor did not die for Christ sake, he did die because of the evil which overcame human nature of his enemies. Those people did not wish to follow Christ because they did not deny their sinful nature, their evil desires and cruel passions. A Christian should understand that political, social and other preferences are not so important as our spiritual life. Nowadays people tend to be very passionate about their political preferences or social views, making others who hold different views their enemies. Hostility and enmity became a usual attitude. But we should understand that this leads us to a sinful passion. And we should avoid that attitude remembering that our political positions should not interfere with our spiritual life.”
“Remembering about the Holy Martyrs honored by the Church we should also remember that there are also persecutions and murders going on at this minute. Christians are harassed and killed all the time all over the place. This is not new, but it is a new manifestation of an old hatred of Jesus and His Church and His Gospel.”
“Dear brothers and sisters! Let us understand our true calling, a calling of a Christian. It is to deny ourselves, to deny our sinful nature, an evil nature and passions. Let us take our crosses by fulfilling our duties and being patient in our lives. Let us follow Christ who Himself is the Way to the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom to which we can come by the way of the Holy Cross.”

The choir prayerfully performed the hymns dedicated to the Holy Cross, as well as to St. Igor commemorated on that day. We were glad to welcome the guests from St. Nicholas Church in Whitestone, Thomas and Alexandra Zedlovich who joined our choir in singing during the service.

After the dismissal of the Liturgy our parish Warden, Olga Roussanow congratulated the Rector on the occasion of his name day presenting Fr. Igor with a gift. Traditional Polychronion (“Mnogaia leta!”) was proclaimed.

After being greeted on his name day the Rector also congratulated our parishioners Vera Koretz and Sophia Kay on the occasion of their past name day and proclaimed the Polychronion for them.

Our celebration continued at the trapeza table where the Rector and parishioners, along with some guests of the Parish, enjoyed delicious meals and an interesting conversation. The toasts to Fr. Igor, as well as for Vera and Sophia were raised.

On September 27 the Orthodox Church celebrates feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-giving Cross. On that holy day e had a liturgical celebration in our temple. Before the reading of the Hours St. George’s Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov placed the cross in the middle of the church and venerated it. After the Hours he began the Divine Liturgy.

Unfortunately, during the reading of the Holy Gospel one of our parishioners, Vitaliy Malyshew, felt very ill and fainted. The Rector paused the reading but very soon was able to finish it. But the service had to be interrupted to assist the ill and to call an ambulance for him. After the ambulance took Mr. Malyshew to the hospital the Rector could resume the service of the Liturgy.

Following the Liturgy dismissal the Rector performed the rite of Glorification before the Cross singing the troparion, kontakion and magnification of the Exaltation. At the end of the celebration he preached the following homily:

“Dear brothers and sisters! Our today’s celebration was interrupted by an unfortunate incident. It happened during the reading of the Holy Gospel. And such a thing happened during such an important and holy moment not for the first time. It proves to us that the evil force exists and attacks true Christians. But, dear brothers and sisters, all the evil forces can be conquered by the power of the Precious and Life-creating Cross of Christ!
“Today’s Epistle lesson proclaims that “we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” (1 Cor. 1, 23). To the ancient Greco-Roman world, the Christian claim of the cross was complete foolishness. If you are familiar with Greek mythology, you remember that Greek gods could also take on human appearance. For instance, Zeus did it to chase after women, causing more harm than help. We, Christians, believe that God assumed a human body and soul, not to find pleasure but to enter into our pain. This is the mystery and the glory of the Holy Cross.”
“God enters into the depth, the pit of human experience through Jesus’ crucifixion and death. We are not alone. We wish that the Holy Cross meant that we don’t have to suffer, but it means that God chose to suffer with us. God’s ways are not our ways.”
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, we must always exalt and lift up the Cross of Jesus Christ. We must exalt and honor that sign of our faith, the sign of our hope and the sign of God’s love. If the Greek gods played their games with humans, the God of Jesus Christ suffered with human kind. And He suffers with us. Exalting the Precious and Life-giving Cross we should realize that God is indeed with us.”

On September 25, on the Sunday before Exaltation our Parish gathered for a liturgical celebration. In addition to Sunday celebration we also observed feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God. St. George’s Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy.

After the Scripture readings the Rector preached a homily in Russian. He pointed out that in the Epistle to the Galatians assigned for this day St. Paul says that by “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ… the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6, 14). It means that St. Paul after his conversion to Christ became strange to the world, and the world became strange to him. However, in today’s Gospel lesson the Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3, 16). The world that became strange to Paul, that same world is so loved by God! How can we reconcile the words from the Epistle and the Gospel?
In order to understand that we need to read further the chapter of the Gospel passage assigned for today. Jesus says the world is going to be judged because the light came into that world but men loved darkness rather than light (Jn. 3, 19). That light is our Lord Jesus Christ. He came to the world to redeem it by His death on the cross. But not all men believed in Him; they loved darkness. From the world of such men St. Paul and all Christian champions of faith were renouncing. Such a world is full of evil and is our enemy. But, on the other hand, faithful also live in this world. And for them our Savior willed to suffer.
Fr. Igor further reflected upon the great generosity of God who offered Himself for us. This is the most generous gift. But we who wish to be the followers of Christ need to learn to be generous. Celebrating the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God we may recall that righteous Joachim and Anna were very generous. They lived only on one third of their income giving one third to the poor and one third for the Temple. And the Most Holy Mother of God was generous by offering all Her life to God, to Her Son, Jesus Christ. Her generosity continues in heaven where She keeps helping us.
In conclusion of his homily the Rector called the faithful to retreat from the sinful world but to love the world praying for it and serving the neighbor. He called to love God in return for His generous love and to show generosity to others.

Following the dismissal of the Liturgy the Rector stressed the main thoughts of his homily in a brief sermon in English.

On September 18, on the 13th Sunday after Pentecost, St. George Church had a nice celebration. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy. After the reading from the Holy Gospel he preached the following homily in English:

“Today’s Gospel lesson tells us a parable about vineyard and about its evil tenants. The story was addressed to the leaders of the Jews, to those who did not accept Jesus as their Messiah and who wished to destroy Him.”
“The meaning of this parable is quite simple. The landowner is God the Father. He planted a vineyard which is Israel, the holy nation of God, the Church of the Old Testament. The tenants are the leaders entrusted with the care of God’s people. According to the parable they did not wish to give the owner His share of grapes. God sent His servants to them. Those servants are the Prophets, sent by God in the times of the Old Testament to proclaim His will. The tenants beat and killed the servants. The Jewish leaders persecuted the Prophets and really killed some of them. Today we commemorate Holy Prophet Zachariah and righteous Elizabeth, parents of St. John the Baptist. St. Zachariah was a priest in the holy Temple and he was one of the latest Prophets before Christ. He was killed right in the Temple, between the offering table and the altar. Such was the destiny of many Prophets. Since those servants of God were mistreated and not listened, God sent His onlybegotten Son. The Jewish leaders might honor the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. But in their envy and impiety they murdered the Son as well. He was cast out of the holy city of Jerusalem and crucified, just as the landowner’s son in the parable was cast out of the vineyard and killed.”
“The biggest mistake those evil tenants made was to think that the vineyard was his own possession, not the property of the landowner. And the leaders of the Jews also began to think that Israel is their own possession, so they can rule over it without God and without His Messiah.”
“Now all of us, the true followers of Christ, became the holy nation of God. We are His Church, the Church of the New Testament. Thus it is important for us is to be the new and worthy tenants of God’s vineyard. And the lesson of this parable remains as a stern warning for us too. We may also commit the same grave mistake as those tenants of the parable. We may begin to see ourselves not as humble workers in the vineyard of the Lord but as its owners. Such a danger is closer and more real for us the clergy – bishops, priests, and deacon, who are called to work at the vineyard of the Lord. It is the danger of forgetting that the vineyard of the Church is not our property, but His, who, in the time of the harvest, will demand of us “to bear fruit.” And such an error had been committed by the Church of Rome. The popes began to see themselves the supreme authority in the Church, forgetting that the head of the Church is Jesus Christ Himself. This is why the Russian writer Dostoyevsky pictured that attitude in his “Legend about the Great Inquisitor”. In that story of the great Russian thinker, the Roman Catholic prelate tells Jesus Himself that they do not need Him, that they perfectly manage without Him and that His coming is very inconvenient for their ruling over the people of God.”
“But the same danger may await us, the Orthodox clergy. We may also think that the Church is our own property, not God’s. God gives us a warning through Prophet Isaiah: “What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it?” (Is. 5, 4). Indeed, He planted the vineyard, He called us to work and cultivate His spiritual grapes. Yet, He is the vine; we are the branches. If we remain in Him we will bear much fruit; for apart from Him we can do nothing (Jn. 15, 5).”
“Sometimes we also hear that the lay people make the same mistake when they talk of the Church as if it was their property, as it belonged to them. They do it because they or their parents played some role in the construction or decoration of the building. My dear, if the Church is yours, then it is not the Lord’s, and if it is not the Lord’s then it is not the Church!”
“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us all of us, clergy and laity, avoid the mistakes of the evil tenants. Let us avoid their ungratefulness, their hardening of the hearts. Let us instead repeat and proclaim with gratitude the last words of today’s Gospel: “This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Mt. 21, 42).”

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

The Rector congratulated our long-time parishioner Natalia Soho on the occasion of her past name day. Traditional Polychronion (“Mnogaia leta!”) was sung.

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

Please, note that beginning with Sunday, September 18 we are going to return to our winter schedule. Our Sunday services will begin at 10:00 AM.
For more information please check our monthly Service Schedule.

On September 11, on the 12th Sunday after Pentecost, feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, St. George Parish had a nice celebration. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy in our temple.

Following the Scripture lessons the Rector preached a homily in Russian. In that homily he pointed out that the Gospel readings assigned for today may leave us a little disturbed. In the first lesson from the Gospel of Matthew the Lord tells that it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven (Mt. 19, 16-26). Jesus goes on and says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. Thus, salvation is a difficult task. And in today’s second Gospel lesson we heard the story of an unjust killing of St. John the Baptist (Mk. 6, 14-30). It leaves us with an impression that good may not necessarily overcome evil. But if we examine those readings carefully, we may see that they give us some encouragement. The Lord says to the young man that if he wishes to enter into eternal life, he has to keep the Commandments. Therefore, it is enough for our salvation if we obey the God’s law, if we do not break the Commandments. If we wish to go further, we may follow the advice our Lord gives: to distribute possessions. But it is not a command. For the most people keeping the Commandments is enough to enter the Kingdom of God. Some people desire to go further. In Christianity it is called the monastic life. Monks take the vows, for instance, the vow of poverty, renouncing any material wealth. Our today’s celebrated Saint, Holy Forerunner and Baptist John also renounced all worldly things and led a life dedicated to the Lord in the desert. He was an example of such striving for perfection which cannot be imitated by many. However, no one is obligated to be a monk. Most of us do not even able to keep the Commandments. The problem is that most of the people violate them at least once in their lives. This is why we need to remember the encouraging words of Christ said in today’s Gospel: “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Mt. 19, 26). Without God’s help we cannot even keep the Commandments because of our sinful nature. Therefore, we need to acquire the God’s help to reach our salvation.

The choir prayerfully sung the hymns dedicated to the feast of the Beheading.

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