 The Cross for Veneration | The Cross for Veneration |
The Third Sunday of Lent
The Veneration of the Holy Cross
Feb 22 / Mar 7, 2010
Rejoice! life-giving Cross, the fair Paradise of the Church, Tree of incorruption that brings us the enjoyment of eternal glory: through thee the hosts of demons have been driven back; and the hierarchies of angels rejoice with one accord, as the congregations of the faithful keep the feast. Thou art an invincible weapon, an unbroken stronghold; thou art the victory of kings and the glory of priests. Grant us now to draw near to the Passion of Christ and to His Resurrection.
(From Lord, I have cried, of Great Vespers)
Pilate set up three crosses in the place of the skull, two for the thieves and one for the Giver of life. Seeing Him, hell cried to those below: 'O my ministers and powers! Who is this that has fixed a nail in my heart? A wooden spear has pierced me suddenly, and I am torn apart. Inwardly I suffer; anguish has seized my belly and my senses. My spirit trembles, and I am constrained to cast out Adam and his posterity. A tree brought them to my realm, but now the Tree of the Cross brings them back again to Paradise.
(The Oikos of Matins)
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 Fr. Gregoire Legoute | Fr. Gregoire Legoute |
Priest Gregoire Legoute
of the ROCOR Haiti Mission
to speak in Washington, DC
Friday-Sunday, Mar 5-7, 2010
Newly ordained Priest Matthew Williams (until very recently, Deacon of our parish) will be flying from St. Louis to Washington, D.C. this weekend to attend fund-raising activities at both St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral and St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Cathedral. Fr. Gregoire Legoute and his wife Rose will be giving eyewitness accounts of the hardships Orthodox Christians in Haiti are facing as a result of the violent earthquake that devastated their poor Caribbean nation. Again and again we encourage our parishioners and other visitors to our website to give generously to the ROCOR Fund for Assistance, which is striving to assist not only our mission In Haiti, but our parishes in Chile that just been struck by another major earthquake.
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 Met. Hilarion presenting Priest Matthew | Met. Hilarion presenting Priest Matthew |
Deacon Matthew Williams was ordained to the Priesthoodon Saturday of St. Theodore the RecruitFeb 7 / 20, 2010Fr. Dc. Matthew Williams was ordained to the priesthood by Metropolitan Hilarion on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Synodal Cathedral of the Mother of the Sign in Manhattan, NY. The Metropolitan desires that Fr. Matthew serve as one of the chief coordinators of assistance to our suffering members of our ROCOR missions in Haiti. He will also be assigned to St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Endicott, New York, in the United States. We, the priest and parishioners of St. John Chrysostom, are deeply saddened at the prospect that Fr. Matthew and his beloved family will be moving away from our parish permanently (although not immediately). However, we rejoice that he is moving closer to accomplishing his heartfelt desire—to serve the Church at a deeper level, and to put into action his love for the people of Haiti, with God as his Helper. May God grant him and his family many years!
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 The Relic of the Head of St. John Chrysostom
at the Synod Cathedral of the Mother of God of the Sign, New York City
Tuesday, Jan 27 / Feb 9, The Feast of the Translation of the Relics of St. John Chrysostom
Fr. Christopher Stade and Rdr. Constantine Stade served at this Liturgy, representing our parish—the only parish in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia whose patron saint is St. John Chrysostom. During the Liturgy Fr. Christopher was elevated to the rank of Archpriest. May God grant him, and all our parishioners whom he represented, many years!
(In the photo, the relic is in the gold box to the right of Metropolitan Hilarion, who is seen venerating the icon of St. John Chrysostom)
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Please help our suffering
brothers and sisters in Christ!
THE ROCOR MISSION IN HAITI HAS SURVIVED THE EARTHQUAKE,
ALTHOUGH MANY BUILDINGS ARE DESTROYED.
Fr. Dc. Matthew Williams, Deacon of our parish, has returned from a one week emergency visit to Haiti. He reports that most of the clerics and faithful of the Russian Church Abroad parishes in Port-au-Prince have survived the earthquake.… (continue reading). |
| Welcome to our parish!
We are a part of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, and the only parish of ROCOR dedicated to St. John Chrysostom. The parish was established in 1983 by Fr. Constantine Pazalos (later tonsured as Hieromonk Kallistos) and a small group of Americans. We moved to our present location in 1985. In the past fifteen years we have also become a spiritual home for the growing number of Russians in the St. Louis area. We are a harmonious family of Americans and Russians—those who have recently discovered Orthodoxy, as well as those born into the Faith. We welcome all who desire to discover, experience, and live the Orthodox Faith, which is above all earthly boundaries and nationalities... continue reading
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Early Friday morning, December 18, 2009, Archimandrite Joasaph (McLellan) died peacefully in a Boston hospital. Fr. Joasaph was Head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, and had been mentioned by the Synod as a candidate to be come a bishop. An article with photos and schedule of services may be viewed online here. The 40th day of the repose of Fr. Joasaph, as well as of Archbishop Job, the OCA bishop of Chicago, who died on the same day, will fall on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010
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 Bishop Peter of Cleveland | Bishop Peter of Cleveland |
|  Cross for new church | Cross for new church |
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The Parish Feast Day of St. John Chrysostom
Thursday, Nov. 26 (n.s.), 2009
On Wednesday evening and Thursday morning (Thanksgiving Day), we celebrated the Feast Day of our Patron Saint, John Chrysostom. Unfortunately, His Grace Bishop Peter, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America, was unable to attend, due to illness. Serving with us were: Archpriest Martin Swanson, Rector of St. Basil the Great Orthodox Church in St. Louis, Priest Joseph Strzelecki, Rector of Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in St. Louis, and Priest Thomas Kulp, Rector of St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Blue River, Wisconsin. Also attending were Abbess Sergia and Mother Alexandra, of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary Monastery in Marshfield, Missouri. Over 100 people were present. With spiritual beauty and fervor, the choir sang ancient Znamenny hymns as well as more modern compositions. At Vespers, the choir divided into two parts to sing antiphonally—the men in the right kliros and the women in the left kliros. At the end of Lord, I have cried, they met together in a semi-circle in the center of the church for the concluding stichera, and the beautiful vesperal hymn, O Joyous Light. After Liturgy the next morning, Deacon Matthew Williams and the priests led the Procession with the Cross around the outside of the church, blessing it on all four sides with holy water. At the end, everyone sat down in the church hall for a delicious and plentiful festal dinner prepared by the entire sisterhood. Heartfelt thanks are due to all who participated, especially those labored to prepare the food, clean and decorate the church itself and the church property, and participated in the Divine services. The Cross erected in the adjacent field—representing our desire to build a new and permanent church—will be blessed by Bishop Peter as soon as he is able to return to us. Glory to God for all things!
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 The Icon of the Mother of God,
The Softener of Evil HeartsOn Oct 13 and 14, 2009, at the Cathedral of the Protection of the Mother of God, Des Plaines, Illinois, a myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God, brought from Russia, was present at the Vigil service and Liturgy. The name of this icon is The Softener of Evil Hearts. Those who pray with faith and humility before this Icon find that their own hearts are softened from anger and bitterness, as well as the hearts of others for whom they pray. Read the following prayer and troparion before a copy of the Icon, if you have one, or pray directly to the Mother of God, and you will receive heavenly consolation:
O much-suffering Mother of God, who art higher than all the daughters of the earth in thy purity, and in the multitude of suffering which thou didst bear on earth: accept our sighs of suffering, and keep us under the protection of thy mercy, for we know no other refuge and fervent protection than thee. But as one having boldness before Him Who was born of thee, help and save us by thy prayers, that we may without hindrance attain the Kingdom of Heaven, where with the saints we may sing praises to the One God in Trinity, always, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.The Troparion, Tone 5 Soften our evil hearts, O Theotokos, and quench the attacks of those who hate us and loose all the rigidity of our soul. For looking on thy holy image we are filled with compunction by thy suffering and loving-kindness for us, and we kiss thy wounds; we are filled with horror for the darts with which we wound thee. Let us not, O Mother of Compassion, because of the cruelty of our hearts, perish from the cruelty of heart of those near us, for thou art in truth the Softener of Evil Hearts.
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I am father, saith Christ, I am brother, I am bridegroom,
I am dwelling place, I am food, I am raiment, I am root, I am foundation . . .
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Men's quartet sings in English at Holy Virgin Protection CathedralDes Plaines, Illinois, March 31 & April 1, 2009 An impromptu quartet of American singers sang at the matins and and presanctified liturgy which concluded the 2009 Lenten Diocesan Assembly. Among them were two young men of our parish: Rdr Nathaniel Brown and Rdr Constantine Stade. Also participating were Rdr Dimitry Kulp and Serge Kaminski.
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Upcoming Services & Events
Wednesday, 25 February / 10 March
6:00 Presanctified Liturgy
| Friday, 27 February / 12 March
6:00 Presanctified Liturgy
| Saturday, 28 February / 13 March
Commemoration of the Departed
8:40 Hours
9:00 Liturgy & Pannykhida
6:00 Vigil
| Sunday, 1 / 14 March
St. John of the Ladder
9:40 Hours
10:00 Liturgy
Trapeza Team 4
7:00 Vespers
| Monday, 2 / 15 March
Cleaning Team 5
7:00 Choir Practice
| Wednesday, 4 / 17 March
7:00 Matins
10:30 Presanctified Liturgy
6:00 Great Canon of Repentance w/ Life of St Mary of Egypt
| Friday, 6 / 19 March
6:00 Matins & Akathist
| | Monthly Calendar > |
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Sheet Music Download
We have English choral arrangements of traditional Russian chant available as free downloads, including selections from Vespers, Matins, and Liturgy for upcoming Sundays and feasts. Music Downloads...
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Русская Версия
