| With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan HILARION, Archbishop of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, on April 12, 2015, the ROCOR faithful in Pakistan joyfully participated in the Paschal Divine Liturgy. The congregation was given the chance to prepare themselves during the Holy week. The parishioners participated in the services starting from Palm Sunday; it is the most joyous feasts of the year, as we commemorate the Entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem and with full passion and true spirit the Orthodox faithful were taught well by Fr.Joseph Farooq how to follow the holy traditions of the Orthodox Church during the Passion Week. All the main services were well attended, with many parishioners receiving the sacrament of Confession and Holy Communion. This year a seminar was held on “Great Lent and Holy Traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church.” In this seminar Fr. Joseph Farooq described to the faithful that fasting is very important for Orthodox Christians, and according to the holy traditions, the Orthodox faithful observe the fast on Wednesday and Friday throughout the year. Further he mentioned that we Orthodox Christians fast before Christmas, “The Nativity fast.” The faithful were also taught that Holy Saturday is a day of strict fasting for Russian Orthodox Christians. The motive of the seminar was the spiritual preparation of the Orthodox community for Holy Pascha. Metropolitan Hilarion " s 2015 Paschal Epistle: His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion in his Paschal Epistle greeted all the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia in Pakistan on the Great Feast of the Resurrection of Christ. This Paschal Epistle strengthens the Orthodox clergy and faithful with the unique teaching of the undivided apostolic Church, and His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion encourages the believers on the great feast of the splendid Resurrection of Christ by saying, “In the midst of our sorrows and temptations, renew us all with the joy of His Life-bearing Resurrection, support faith and piety with within us, illumine us with trust in the coming, eternal celebration on the never-waning day of His Kingdom. Amen.” |
| Paschal Message by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia Paschal Message by Patriarch KIRILL of Moscow and All Russia to the Archpastors, Pastors, Deacons, Monks and Nuns and All the Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church Beloved in the Lord my brothers the archpastors, all-honourable fathers, pious monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters! It is with joy that I greet you with the ancient and yet eternally new and life-affirming victorious exclamation: CHRIST IS RISEN! This wondrous resonance of truly life-creating words contains the foundation of our faith, the gift of hope and the fount of love. Just yesterday, together with the Lord’s disciples, we grieved at the death of our beloved Saviour, while today with the whole world, both visible and invisible, we sing triumphantly: ‘For Christ has risen, the everlasting eternal joy!’ (Canon of Holy Pascha). Just yesterday it would seem that the last hope for salvation had been lost, while today we have acquired firm expectation of eternal life ‘in the never-fading Kingdom of God.’ Just yesterday the ghost of corruption prevailed over creation, casting doubt over the meaning of our earthly life, while today we proclaim to each and all the great victory of Life over death. The divinely-inspired apostle Paul spoke of the significance of the miracle that took place on that distant, and yet forever near to every Christian night; he tells us directly that this event has the greatest importance for our faith, for ‘if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain’ (1 Cor 15:14). The Lord’s Passover is the very heart and invincible power of Christianity: as St. Philaret of Moscow says, it ‘creates hope, ignites love, inspires prayer, calls down grace, illumines wisdom, destroys all calamities and even death itself, gives vitality to life, makes bliss not a dream but a reality, glory not a phantom but the eternal lightning of the eternal light illuminating all things and defeating nobody’ (Homily on the Day of Holy Pascha, 1826). |
| Radonitsa During Holy Week and Bright Week, the Church focuses all of her attention on celebrating the Paschal mystery -- the crucifixion, death and resurrection of the God-Man Jesus Christ -- so she does not hold memorial services for the dead (aside from remembering them in the proskomide of the Divine Liturgy) from Lazarus Saturday through Thomas Sunday (the second Sunday of Pascha). [Nine days after Pascha, on the Tuesday after Saint Thomas Sunday many Orthodox Christians celebrate “Joy Day,” a Paschal commemoration of the dead] During Holy Week and Bright Week, the Church focuses all of her attention on celebrating the Paschal mystery — the crucifixion, death and resurrection of the God-Man Jesus Christ — so she does not hold memorial services for the dead (aside from remembering them in the proskomide of the Divine Liturgy) from Lazarus Saturday through Thomas Sunday (the second Sunday of Pascha). On Monday of Thomas Week, the Church resumes memorial services for the dead. Among the Orthodox Christians of Belarus, the Czech Lands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and elsewhere, Tuesday of Thomas Week is observed as “Joy Day” (“Radawnitsa,” “Radonitsa” or “Radunitsa” in the various Slavic languages, names that come from the Slavic word for “joy”). Joy Day is a happy commemoration of the dead, on which we bring the joy of Pascha into the cemeteries to our dead brothers and sisters in Christ. We remember them in the Divine Liturgy and memorial service of the day. We prepare and eat “memorial wheat” (known as “kollyva,” “kolyvo,” “kutya,” “kuts’tsya” or “kut’tya” in various languages) blessed in church to remind us of Christ’s words about death: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12:24). We visit the graves with the presbyters, who offer supplications for the dead and bless them with holy water. We leave dyed eggs, symbols of the Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection, on the graves as a token of love and prayer for the dead |
| Minister Lavrov delivered a speech, which he began by saying:”The main Christian feast of the Radiant Resurrection of Christ symbolizes faith in the triumph of good and mercy, fills our hearts with joy and remind us of the importance of mutual aid, love of our neighbours and necessity of attaining truth and justice while opposing all kinds of evil.’ He continued to say: ‘The Russian Orthodox Church has always been with her flock and helped it to overcome the hardest trials.’ In his further remarks Minister Lavrov mentioned the centuries-long activity of the Russian Orthodox Church pertaining to the support of the Orthodox and other Christians in their strive for keeping their cultural and religious identity. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dwelt on the situation in Ukraine, mentioning the struggle against the Russian language and culture and attacks on the canonical Orthodox Church. He added: “I am confident that attempts to break the thousand-year-long Russian-Ukrainian spiritual ties are doomed to failure. Time will put everything in its proper place.’ Minister Lavrov also said that Russia will promote the international agenda for confidence-building among representatives of different religions, civilizations and cultures. He concluded: ‘In this we are at one with the Russian Orthodox Church – a vanguard that defends historical and spiritual heritage of Russia.’ His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia addressed those gathered and greeted them with the words of Paschal joy – Christ is Risen! and said: ‘Thanks to the traditional hospitality of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representatives of the largest religious communities, state and public leaders and Russian and foreign diplomats can meet on this festive day, when the Resurrection of Christ fills us with real joy. Being true to the Gospel, the Church calls upon humanity to leave behind all feuds and divisions and show love and compassion to all who need special care. ‘This call is especially topical at present as people began to forget tragic events of the recent past… The unscrupulous politicians are trying to influence al spheres of life, including the activities of religious communities. In this connection it is necessary to mention heavy destruction inflicted on Orthodox unity by the provoked from outside infringement of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church with the aim to destroy its integrity and terminate spiritual ties between people of historical Russia. |
| First in 2015 session of the Holy Synod takes place under chairmanship of his Holiness Patriarch Kirill Source: DECR On 5 May 2-15, the first in 2015 session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church began its work under chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia at the Patriarchal and Synodal resident in St. Daniel’s Monastery. Photo: http://mospat.ru His Holiness greeted members of the Holy Synod with a Paschal greeting ‘Christ is Risen!’ and presented the agenda. He said: ‘Our meeting takes place during Paschal days and I hope that the light of Resurrection and Paschal joy will make us wiser and stronger when we take decisions on a number of important and difficult questions.’ His Holiness informed the audience that they would consider the results of the Bishops’ Conference held on 2-3 February 2015, confirm plans and reports of the Synodal institutions, the minutes of the Synods of the Metropolitan areas in Kazakhstan and in Central Asia and of the visit to Russia of His Beatitude Patriarch John of Antioch, and summarize the results of the 23 rd International Christmas Readings. Also, members of the Synod will discuss the problems pertaining to humanitarian aid to refugees from the south-east of Ukraine. Metropolitan Hilarion will present a report on the meeting of the Inter-Orthodox Commission for Preparing the Pan-Orthodox Council, inform the Synod about the canonization of St. Paisios of Mount Athos by the Church of Constantinople, about a delegation to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain to celebrate the commemoration day of St. Panteleimon the Great Martyr and Healer, and about the establishment of a Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church. Also considered will be the activities of the Coordinating Centre for the development of theology in the Russian Orthodox Church and of the Diocesan Council for theological education, as well as the change of Trustees of the Patriarchal Prize for Literature. |
| Today, all of us—both those who have fasted and those who have disregarded the fast, both the rich and the poor, both the sober and heedless, both the sick and the healthy, both the stable and the confused—are offered this life. It is now our turn to make this joy complete by casting off the fear of death, by voluntarily dying to ourselves and living for others, by burying our passionate desires in the tomb of love, by holding back from rebuking others and by spreading our cloak over those who are falling, by rejoicing with those that rejoice and weeping with those that weep, by suffering with the sick and mourning with sinners, and by strengthening those who repent. In so doing, we will indeed enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast, receive our recompense, and enter into the joy of the Lord. Christ is Risen! + Tikhon Archbishop of Washington Metropolitan of All America and Canada Translations are available in PDF format for downloading and distribution in the following languages. We wish all of our readers a most blessed and joyous celebration of the Great and Holy Pascha, the Resurrection of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ! Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Metropolitan Tikhon’s 2019 Paschal Message Available Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada The Archpastoral Message of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon marking Great and Holy Pascha is now available. The full text appears below and also may be accessed in PDF format. Links to translations are posted below. Archpastoral Message of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon Pascha 2019 To ... Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. |
| May the radiance of Christ the Life-Giver lead our footsteps towards the Kingdom of God, so that “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Gal. 5:22-23) be disseminated in the world, moreover in the dioceses, monasteries, parishes, church institutions, and social organizations of the Russian Church Abroad, in the houses of Her clerics and God-beloved flock. May the declaration “Christ is Risen” forever evoke in even those who have left their Father’s house unexpected trepidation, and remind us all of the need for struggle for genuine life, pointing to its source – the Resurrected Lord, with Whom and in Whom we, too, will arise again. Amen. With Paschal joy in the Resurrected Christ and a request for your holy prayers, +HILARION Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad. Pascha of the Lord 2019 A.D. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Also by this author Today " s Articles Most viewed articles Functionality is temporarily unavailable. |
| Archive Delegation of pilgrims from North American Archdiocese of Antioch on a visit to St. Petersburg 20 May 2019 year 14:36 On May 19, 2019, the fourth Sunday after Pascha, Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in the St. Alexander Nevsky Laura. Among his concelebrants were the head of the Archdiocese of Antioch in North America, Archbishop Joseph of New York and Metropolitan of All North America, who came to the northern capital city with a group of pilgrims; Metropolitan Niphon of Philippople, representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; Bishop Nazary of Kronstadt, rector of the laura, and its brethren; Archpriest Sergiy Kuksevich, secretary of the diocesan administration and other clergy. The day before, the hierarchs from the Orthodox Church of Antioch concelebrated All-Night Vigil together with the head of the Metropolis of St. Petersburg at the St Nicholas Navy Church of the Epiphany. In his homily after the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Varsonofy noted, “Today we have a great joy as a large delegation of the Patriarchate of Antioch has come to our city from North America. It is led by Archbishop Joseph. I am delighted to see you in Sankt-Petersburg. Our heart is overfilled today with Paschal joy, and our brothers from the Church of Antioch have enhanced this joy by their coming. We have prayed together today and took communion during the Divine Liturgy and showed that there is nothing better and more beautiful than our brothers living together us (cf. Ps. 132:1). We pray together and feel keenly for the unity of Orthodoxy in the world, and such services as today’s help us preserve this unity. I would like to wish you pleasant impressions from visiting shrines and cultural places in Sankt-Petersburg, so that you may leave this place enriched by what you have seen’. His Eminence presented crosses and pectoral icons to Metropolitans Joseph and Niphon, pectoral crosses to the clergy of the delegation, and an icon of Ss Peter and Paul to the deacon. |
| Let us, therefore, rejoice in the Risen Lord and be strengthened to face our own struggles with courage and hope, knowing that the Lord is ever with us. As we celebrate the bright and joyous day of His Resurrection, let us exclaim with the Apostle Paul, “O death, where is thy sting? O hell, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). And let us all partake of the Banquet of Immortality, the Feast of Faith, with joy and thanksgiving. With love in the Risen Lord, +TIKHON Archbishop of Washington Metropolitan of All America and Canada Source: OCA Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Paschal Message of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada To the Venerable Pastors, God-loving Monastics and Devout Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America “We celebrate the death of death and the overthrow of hell, the beginning of another life which is eternal; and in exultation, we sing the praises of its source. He alone is blessed and most ... Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Donate Also by this author " His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon Calls for Prayer for Those Facing Hurricanes Ian and Fiona Metropolitan Tikhon of all America and Canada To the clergy, monastics, and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America, As Hurricane Ian approaches Florida and… |
| About Pages Проекты «Правмира» Raising Orthodox Children to Orthodox Adulthood The Daily Website on How to be an Orthodox Christian Today Twitter Telegram Parler RSS Donate Navigation Celebrating 100 Years with Paschal Joy Source: Anchor Priest Luke A. Veronis 17 May 2022 Photo: blogs.voanews.com What a special celebration our Saints Constantine and Helen Church Family enjoyed last weekend! After postponing our 100th Anniversary Celebration twice because of COVID, we finally concluded our centennial celebration when 190 of us gathered for a Gala celebration. We missed those who didn’t come but we truly rejoiced with all who were present. What a beautiful evening for our loving community! We honored the forebearers of our Church with a beautiful 27-minute video remembering all that our past generations did to create this community and pass on the torch of faith to the next generations. The first Greeks and Albanians came to Webster in the early 1900s and established their church in 1919. These original Southern European immigrants were treated poorly and often despised by American society, and yet they assimilated into the American life while preserving and passing on their heritage and faith. We expressed deep gratitude for them and their legacy! We celebrated who we are today – a diverse family made up of fourth and fifth generation of children from the original founders of the church as well the numerous new people and families who have joined our community – faithful from a variety of ethnic Orthodox backgrounds (Greeks, Albanians, Romanians, Russians, Lebanese, Syrians, Egyptians, Ethiopians) who found a home with us as well as the numerous converts who have either been baptized or chrismated and have become Orthodox Christians. The diversity of our Church family reflects the beautiful and special flavor of who we are. During our celebration, we didn’t want to simply remember the past or lift up the present. We also turned our eyes to the future. The blessed yet serious responsibility of carrying the torch of faith and passing it on to a new generation is now ours. We have this special privilege to discover and live out the treasure of our Orthodox Christian faith while we also proclaim it to the world around us. |
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