On July 12, on the feast of the Holy Major Apostles Peter and Paul, our Parish family had a nice celebration in our temple. The Divine Liturgy was headed by our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov. Following the Gospel lesson he preached a homily in Russian reflecting upon the lives of St. Peter and Paul, on their human differences but their common firm faith and their holy lives according to that faith. Stressing that the holy Church, being the Body of Christ, is a divine and human organism, Fr. Igor pointed out that Christ built His Church upon the Apostles and their faith, solid like a rock. Thus today’s Church is supposed to be built on our faith.

After the Liturgy dismissal the Rector congratulated parishioners on the end of the Apostolic fast and on the occasion of the celebrated holy day.

On July 10, on the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Rector of St. George Church, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy in our parish temple. After the Gospel reading he preached the following homily in English:

“Dear brothers and sisters! Today’s Gospel is taken from the Sermon on the Mount, the first occasion when Christ preached publicly to the people. Our Lord says that the light of the body is the eye. If the eye is light, so the body will be light. But if the eye is dark, so the body will be dark (Mt. 6, 22-23).  The ‘eye’ means either our attitude toward life around us, or simply it means the soul. In these words our Lord says that we should not blame our bodies for our sins. Our bodies are the servants of our souls. If our souls are corrupted, then so also will be our bodies. On the other hand, if our souls are clean, then our bodies will also be clean. It is not our bodies which control our lives, or even our minds, but our souls. And we are called to cleanse the souls. Once our souls are clean, then our minds and our bodies will also be cleaned.”
“The Lord continues by saying that we cannot serve two masters, the master of the material world and the master of the spiritual world. One must be superior to the other. Thus we cannot serve God, the master of the spiritual, and mammon, the master of the fallen world (Mt. 6, 24). The word mammon means money or wealth. This teaching is just the opposite to the ideas of today’s world. Our society is based on money, on mammon. It is based on investments, stock exchanges, currencies. Furthermore, the philosophy which guides modern governments and much of human nature is called ‘monetarism’, in other words the belief in the primacy of money in human life and human motivation. Such a philosophy causes panic and depression both among those who have no money and also among those who have a lot, for such a philosophy excludes God from the serious life considerations, it bases everything on the idolatry of paper and electronic numbers.”
“But the Lord teaches, “Do not worry about your life” (Mt. 6, 25). The birds are nourished by God, the flowers grow, and they do not worry. We are told not to devote ourselves to what might or might not happen tomorrow. Our worries won’t change anything, cannot add any cubit to our stature (Mt. 6, 27). The Gospel tells us to do our best and then leave the rest to God, to trust in God. Modern life, on the other hand, tells us to worry all the time, to be always stressed. Such worry only causes depression, for it excludes God and His loving providence. On the other hand, there is nothing inevitable in the life of those who believe in God and His providence. Even the most terrible situations can end up positively, if we let God into our lives and societies. If we include God, then we can exclude worry and depression. As the Lord teaches us, we have to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Mt. 6, 33). And then all other things that we need “shall be added” to us.”
“Today we honor Venerable Father Sampson. Although we call him among Venerable ascetic Fathers, he was also an Unmercenary Physician which is a separate kind of Saints honored by the Church tradition. He was a holy ascetic by his way of life and a physician by profession. St. Sampson was granted by God the graced gift of healing the sick. By his good and unselfish attitude towards people, combined with his exceptional kindness, he was able to work many great things. And healing the people he never asked to be paid. Once he healed Emperor Justinian himself. The Emperor wished to give St. Sampson a lot of money but the Saint refused to take wealth. He asked the Emperor to build a hospital instead. The Emperor fulfilled the Saint’s request and did build the hospital. Now we can imagine how much money St. Sampson was offered if a hospital could be built. This attitude is so different from the attitude of our modern-day doctors who strive to make as much money as they can. They charge people for their services and charge the insurance companies. Of course, it is just to be paid for your work, however, today’s Gospel tells us, “Do not worry about your life “(Mt. 6, 25). We may say that the holy men and women like St. Sampson did nor worry, but simply put the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first. These values, to put the things of the spirit first, are the values of the Saints of God. They are exactly the opposite of the values of modern society, which puts anti-Gospel and anti-spiritual values first. By following the Gospel, we challenge all the cruelty and arrogance of the modern world.”
“Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! May all the Saints, especially Venerable Father Sampson, pray to God for us that we may come to partake of their values and their lives.”

Following the dismissal of the Liturgy the Rector congratulated our young parishioner John (Ethan) Kay on the occasion of his past name day. Traditional Polychronion (Mnogaia leta!) was sung.

After the liturgical celebration the Rector and parishioners enjoyed simple but very delicious meals and a nice company at the coffee hour.

On July 3, on the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, dedicated to All the Saints of the Lands of Rus’, St. George Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy in our temple. Following the Gospel lesson he preached a homily in Russian. An English translation of that homily is as follows:

“Today’s Sunday is dedicated to all the Saints of the Lands of Rus’. It is the end of our continuous celebration of the history of salvation. During our Paschal cycle of celebrations we commemorated our Lord’s Holy Passions, His death on the cross, His glorious Resurrection from the dead. After 40 days of celebrating the joy of Christ Resurrection we came to the feast of His Ascension. And in 10 days after that we solemnly celebrated Pentecost, the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Thus, today’s feast is the result of all that has gone before it. Last Sunday the Church honored All the Saints who lived in the whole world. And today we commemorate those holy men and women who pleased God being members of our local Orthodox Church, the Church of Rus’. The purpose of all the events in Christ’s life is to make Saints, to make people holy. Today’s holy day is the feast of the identity of the Russian Church, of Her sacred personality. For a Church that does not make Saints is not a Church, it is merely an institution which abuses the word ‘Church’.”
“What is a Saint? First of all, we should understand that Saints are not born, they become them during their lives. We are all born potentially to become Saints. The only difference between the Saints and other people, is that the Saints are those who are continually picking themselves up after sinning, continually repenting until they attain holiness, while others give up.”
“We should also say that there are different kinds of Saints. For instance, there are Martyrs, holy Hierarchs, Venerable Fathers and Mothers, faithful Rulers, the Fools for Christ sake, and some others. It is so because here are different personalities of the people. Due to the divine Providence, as well as because of the different personalities and different talents of the people, as well as because of the different circumstances of people’s lives, the Saints differ by their endeavors. Especially, we know the holy Martyrs. And our Russian Church has a lot of them. The number of our Martyrs increased lately because of the fierce persecutions of the Church by the Communists in the 20th century.”
“However, in our time, in our land, as well as in our old country, it would seem that we are not called to be Martyrs, but Confessors. This is another kind of Saints. These are the people who suppose to live a Christian life, to be righteous, and to be an example for others. And at the time of persecutions they should be ready to become Martyrs. They should openly confess the Lord Jesus Christ. To that kind of holiness we are called in our times when the society becomes more and more remote from the Christian faith and Christian ideals. Our present day rulers, especially in the Western world, are very often like Julian the Apostate, they are the apostates from Christian faith. Thus we should become ready to confess Christ before them.”
“But even in our old countries, the rulers are not always adhering to the faith of Christ. For instance, some concern was recently raised because of the new law enacted in Russia. That law substantially limits missionary activity, mostly reduces it to the places of worship. This may cause many problems to any Christian person who would preach his or her faith to anyone else. Some Orthodox Christians already wrote to the Russian President asking him to veto that law. However, it is sad to note that no Orthodox Bishop in Russia said anything regarding that law directed against religious freedom. In any case, we should always remember that the Church will always prevail and endure all the tribulations and persecutions. And we, as the members of the Church have to be ready to confess our Lord before this generation.”
“We may conclude our reflection upon the Saints by saying that all of us, Orthodox Christians are called to become Saints. And we, dear brothers and sisters, are called to become the Russian Saints. In order to accomplish this we need to constantly repent our sins and to avoid staying in our sins and iniquities. We may finish this reflection by listening and fulfilling the command of the Holy Apostle Paul who is uttering to us the following words of today’s Epistle reading, “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).”

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

On Saturday July 2, on the day of commemoration of St. John, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes, His Grace Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk celebrated his name day. On that occasion he led the Divine Liturgy in St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York.

His Grace was co-served by the Dean of the Eastern States and Rector of St. George Church, Archpriest Igor Tarasov and clerics of the Cathedral. 

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, the clergy proceeded before the icon of the holy Hierarch containing a piece of St. John’s Holy Relics and performed a short prayer service. Afterwards, on behalf of the clergy of the Patriarchal Parishes, Fr. Igor congratulated Bishop John on his name day. 

Interaction between the clergy and faithful continued in the cathedral’s refectory where a luncheon was served. A toast in honor of His Grace was made and the traditional Polychronion (“Mnogaia leta!”) was sung by the clergy and faithful present.

During his trip to Europe the Rector of St. George Church, Archpriest Igor Tarasov visited Czech Republic.  On Pentecost Sunday, June 19, he co-served at the Divine Liturgy celebrated at St. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in Prague. This is the principal temple of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. The existing structure of the cathedral had its origins as a Roman Catholic church built in the 18th century. Later it was acquired by the Orthodox community.

The Divine Liturgy was headed by the senior cleric of the Cathedral, Archpriest Jaroslav Suvarsky. The service was celebrated in the Czech language, with some hymns sung in Slavonic. The church was filled with a great number of faithful, the majority of whom are the recent immigrants from Ukraine, Russia and some other countries. A lot of them received Holy Communion.

Following the Liturgy the main celebrant led the congregation in kneeling prayers of Pentecost proclaimed in the middle of the temple.

After the Liturgy Fr. Igor expressed his gratitude to Fr. Jaroslav for allowing him to pray and to serve in the Cathedral. He also visited the memorial dedicated to St. Gorazd of Prague and his assistants, as well as the Czech patriots killed in the Cathedral during the Nazi occupation. The memorial is situated at the outside Cathedral wall and has an interesting history.

In 1942, during the World War II the cathedral was the scene of the last stand of a number of Czech and Slovak patriots who had assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi General of the Police. In making their escape, the group found refuge in the crypt of the Cathedral. The Nazis found out the hiding places after a betrayal by two members of the resistance group. The Nazi troops stormed the church on 18 June 1942 and all the members of the group were killed. Reprisals came quickly. The two priests and the senior lay church officials were arrested. Bishop Gorazd (Pavlik) who was in charge of the Czech Orthodox community at that time, wishing to help his fellow believers and the Czech Church itself, took the blame for the actions in the Cathedral on himself, even writing letters to the Nazi authorities. On June 27, 1942, he was arrested and tortured. On September 4, 1942, Bishop Gorazd, the Cathedral priests and the lay officials were executed by firing squad. In 1961 they were canonized as the New Martyrs.

Concluding his visit to this famous Cathedral Fr. Igor had an opportunity to speak with some of the local clergy and parishioners.

On Sunday, June 19, 2016 the Orthodox Church celebrated Pentecost, also known as feast of the Most Holy Trinity. St. George Parish had a beautiful celebration on that day. Priest Aleksiy Paranyuk who substituted for our Rector, served the Divine Liturgy.

Pentecostal Vespers with kneeling prayers was served right after the Divine Liturgy.

Fr. Aleksiy also preached a homily about celebrated feast.

On June 9 of this year the Orthodox Church celebrated great feast of the Ascension of the Lord. St. George parish had a nice celebration on this day. Our Rector, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy.

Following the Scripture readings the Rector preached a homily. He pointed out that the Ascension of Christ teaches us humility. Although the very word ‘ascension’ means some uplifting upon the earth and upon anything inferior, our Lord ascended into heaven only after He lived on earth, endured human life, voluntarily endured His passions and death on the cross. Even after His Resurrection He did not leave the earth and His disciples but stayed for forty days, appearing to the Apostles. When He accomplished His ministry as the Savior of the world, He could allow Himself to leave. Some people act differently. If they wish to leave their native town to pursue a new life in a big city, very often they like to forget about their native place, and may even be ashamed of it. In this way they feel ‘ascended’ and lifted above their past. It is a pride which may lead them to a failure. Our Lord, on the contrary, reached His Ascension through humility. And by ascending into heaven He took our human nature to the heavenly abode of His Father. Therefore, we should also strive for our own ascension through humility and service to others, so our human nature may join our Lord Jesus.

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

On June 5, on the Sunday of the Blind Man, Rector of St. George Church, Archpriest Igor Tarasov served the Divine Liturgy in our parish temple. Following the Gospel lesson he preached a homily in Russian. An English translation of that homily is as follows:

“Today we celebrate the last Sunday of the Paschal period which is called “Sunday of the Blind Man”. To be precise, it should be called “Sunday of the Man Born Blind”, as it is called among many other Orthodox nations. For today’s Gospel lesson tells us about granting sight to a person who was born without being able to see, born even without eyes. This was the greatness of that miracle that the Savior not just granted the sight to a blind man, but created the organs for this man’s vision. However, the bodily sight granted by Christ to this man, should point us to the importance of the spiritual sight.”
“It is a great happiness to possess bodily sight. Most of the people have this gift but do not fully appreciate it. But if you imagine for a moment that we lost our vision and we won’t see anything we saw before, that we won’t see the blue sky and the green grass, won’t see the light of the sun and the faces of the people who are dear to us, then we may become grateful to have the sight. However, many of us are not able to imagine how bad is to live without spiritual sight, and it is hard for us to define what is spiritual sight. The spiritual sight is to see the things the way they are and to understand that they are created by God. The spiritual sight is an ability to believe in true God and to follow Him. And in today’s reading from the Holy Gospel we heard how the Lord granting the bodily vision to a man, gave him an ability to acquire spiritual sight.”
“The man born blind after obeying Christ and washing in the Pool of Siloam became not only having a vision, but he also understood that Jesus, who did it to him, is the Son of God and the Savior. “He said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him” (Jn. 9, 38). That tells us that he acquired spiritual vision.”
“Before the coming of the Savior almost all the people in a spiritual sense were similar to a man born blind. Everybody was born with a spiritual defect, with an original sin of Adam, and being unable to see the truth. Only some righteous men and women could achieve spiritual vision but it was not truly clear. The Jewish people, chosen by God, who formally knew and worshiped the one and true God, was very often spiritually blind. And today’s Gospel lesson gives us an opportunity to see that. The Pharisees and the scribes, instead of recognizing their Messiah in Jesus, do everything to fight Him. After seeing the miracle of granting a vision to a man born blind, instead of believing in Christ and worshiping Him, as that blind man did, they conduct the whole investigation. They interrogate the healed man, they interrogate his parents, and remain disappointed in the results of their investigation. They hypocritically ask the man to praise God because, as they say, Jesus is “a sinner” (Jn. 9, 24). But now this uneducated man teaches those learned scribes a good lesson: he says he does not know about the sins of Jesus but he does know that He opened his eyes and that God does not listen to the sinners (Jn. 9, 31).”
“Our Lord Jesus Christ enabled the whole mankind to acquire spiritual sight through the holy faith and through the following in His steps. But today also many people in this world continue to stay in spiritual darkness. First of all, this darkness shows itself when people refuse to believe in Christ. The Jews continue to stay in such darkness. They praise themselves as being the God’s chosen people, but in fact they had lost the light of the divine truth long ago. It is not surprising that they began to believe in different superstitions and occult teachings known under the name of cabbalism. What the Jews consider a great wisdom of the Cabbala is, in fact, a mixture of pagan views about the world and a search of some secret knowledge, all covered by the terms taken from the Old Testament religion. This is why the Lord criticizing the Pharisees and the scribes, whose followers are the modern Jews, called them the “blind leaders of the blind” (Mt. 15, 14). Not better in their spiritual blindness, and sometimes even worse, are the Muslims, the Buddhists and the followers of the pagan cults.”
“But the spiritual darkness is not only a refusal to believe in Christ. Such darkness also engulfs us, faithful Christians, when we commit sins. By the mercy of God sometimes we receive spiritual sight, but very often, being blinded by sin, we lose the light of the faith in Christ and we wander in our life in the darkness, thinking that we are able to see. Our intellect influenced by our flesh and concentrated on the cares of everyday life, loving only material goods, always leads us to oppose the teaching of the Lord. The heart of a spiritually blind person becomes hard and cruel. Such a person hears by his ears and sees by his eyes but does not listen to them. That person begins to oppose God, and then God leaves such a person.”
“Venerable Seraphim of Sarov said, “If man knew what it is to see God, he would agree to come to Him through any darkness”. For everyone of us the darkness is the multitude of our sins. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us beware to sin and let us repent if we do sin. And may everyone, according to his or her prayers, the Lord grant spiritual sight, that is an ability to distinguish the sins and the good things, and to acquire a vision of the holy and such a beautiful Countenance of the Savior which is shining from the most true Orthodox faith!”

Before the Holy Communion the choir prayerfully sang the Paschal hymns for the last time in this year.

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

Following the sermon the Rector congratulated the Malyshew family on the occasion of the past name day of their daughter Elena celebrated on June 3. Fr. Igor wished our youngest parishioner God’s blessings and intercession of her heavenly patron, Holy Equal to the Apostles Empress Helen. Traditional Polychronion (“Mnogaia leta!”) was sung.

Please, note that beginning with Sunday, June 5 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 29, on the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, St. George Parish family had a nice liturgical celebration. The Divine Liturgy was served by Priest Aleksiy Paranyuk who substituted our Rector.

Following the Gospel lesson Fr. Aleksiy preached a homily in English.

After the Liturgy the priest along with our parishioners enjoyed delicious meals and a nice company during the coffee hour.