Great Feast

Vespers for the Feast of the Holy Cross

September 11, 2020 at 7:00 am

Please join us Sunday evening, June 13, at 5:00pm, as we celebrate Vespers for the Feast of the Elevation of Holy and Life-Creating Cross.

O Lord, save Your people, / and bless Your inheritance. / Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians / over their adversaries. / And by virtue of Your Cross, / preserve Your habitation. — Troparion for the Feast

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is one of the twelve Great Feasts in the Church and commemorates the finding of the Holy Cross by St. Helen, mother of St. Constantine. For more information on this feast, see this article from the Orthodox Church in America website.

Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God

September 7, 2020 at 11:14 am

Please join us this evening, Monday, September 07 at 6pm, as we celebrate the first Great Feast of the new Church year with Vespers for the Nativity of the Mother of God. All are welcome!

Your Nativity, O Virgin, / has proclaimed joy to the whole universe! / The Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, / has shone from You, O Theotokos! / By annulling the curse, / He bestowed a blessing. / By destroying death, He has granted us eternal Life.
Troparion for the Feast

As a reminder, please practice safe social distancing measures during this time as we gather. Thank you!

Feast of the Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)

April 18, 2019 at 3:00 pm

By raising Lazarus from the dead before Your passion, / You did confirm the universal Resurrection, O Christ God! / Like the children with the palms of victory, / We cry out to You, O Vanquisher of death; / Hosanna in the Highest! / Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord!
Troparion for the Feast of the Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)

Please join us on Sunday, April 21, for the Great Feast of the Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday). The blessing of palm branches will follow the Divine Liturgy. Vespers for the feast begins at 6PM on Saturday, April 20th, and the Divine Liturgy begins at 9AM on Sunday, April 21, with the Prayers of the Hours immediately preceding.

The readings from Holy Scripture are: Genesis 49:1-2, 8-12 (Vespers, 1st reading), Zephaniah 3:14-19 (Vespers, 2nd reading), Zachariah 9:9-15 Vespers, 3rd reading), Matthew 21:1-11, 15-17 (Matins Gospel), Philippians 4:4-9 Epistle, and John 12:1-18 (Gospel).

Of this day we are told:

This day together with the raising of Lazarus are signs pointing beyond themselves to the mighty deeds and events which consummate Christ’s earthly ministry. The time of fulfillment was at hand. Christ’s raising of Lazarus points to the destruction of death and the joy of resurrection which will be accessible to all through His own death and resurrection. His entrance into Jerusalem is a fulfillment of the messianic prophecies about the king who will enter his holy city to establish a final kingdom. “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass” (Zech 9:9).
Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)

Fresco in Nativity of the Theotokos Church, Bitola, Republic of MacedonIa

Feast of the Annunciation

March 22, 2019 at 6:00 am

“Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you! … Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus”.
– from the Gospel According to Saint Luke, chapter 1

Monday, March 25, is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, one of the great feasts of our Orthodox Church. Please join us on Sunday, March 24, at 6:00PM as we begin to celebrate this great day with the vigil for the feast.

The readings from Holy Scripture for this day are: Isaiah 8:13-9:7 (6th Hour), Genesis 6:9-22 (Vespers, 1st reading), Proverbs 8:1-21 (Vespers, 2nd reading), Exodus 3:1-8 (Vespers, 3rd reading), Proverbs 8:22-30 (Vespers, 4th reading), Luke 1:39-49, 56 (Matins Gospel), Hebrews 2:11-18 (Epistle), and Luke 1:24-38 (Gospel).

Of this feast we are told:

“The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the earliest Christian feasts, and was already being celebrated in the fourth century. … The Greek and Slavonic names for the Feast may be translated as “good tidings.” This, of course, refers to the Incarnation of the Son of God and the salvation He brings. The background of the Annunciation is found in the Gospel of Saint Luke (1:26-38). The troparion describes this as the “beginning of our salvation, and the revelation of the eternal mystery,” for on this day the Son of God became the Son of Man”.
The Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary