Services

The services of the Church are not laid upon us as burdens. Prayer and worship is a great privilege given to us by God Himself. We are permitted to stand in His presence and to seek after Him in prayer.

Saturday: Vespers 6:00pm
Sunday: Hours and Liturgy 10:00am

Languages of Service: English, Slavonic, occasional French and Greek

Calendar: Old Style

Patronal Feast: July 28 (July 15 old calendar)

Holy Communion

Holy Communion is open to Orthodox Christians who are properly prepared to receive by Fasting, Prayer and Confession and are present in the church by the time of the opening blessing (“Blessed is the Kingdom...”).

Please note confession will be required before Communion on the Nativity.

Confessions

By appointment with Fr Vladimir, please contact him well in advance.

Everyone should make every effort to come to confession regularly, and especially before the great festivals of the Church.

Confession is an integral part of the Christian life/worship experience. In the Orthodox tradition, it should practices regularly in conjunction with attendance at Vespers and Liturgy and reception of the sacrament. The best way to approach confession is to prepare oneself carefully before coming to the church, and be concise and clear during confession so that everything may proceed easily and smoothly. Time is somewhat limited, and there may be a fairly large number of people wanting/needing confession. Please be considerate of others in this regard.

The normal time for confession is on Saturdays before Vespers, and after Vespers if necessary. (But please make appointments in advance.) It is extremely difficult and almost impossible for your priest to hear confessions on Sunday morning before the Liturgy. Asking for confession at this time adds another burden to an already busy day. For people wo live at an extreme distance from the city, it is possible to make other arrangements — by phone or e-mail — but this should not become the norm.

Submitting Names

There is the custom of submitting names to be remembered during the Prothesis (or Proskimidia) at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy. This practice is normally reserved for the commemoration of living or departed Orthodox believers, or family members or very close friends. Think carefully of who may need special prayer at that particular time, and submit only those names. They must be submitted during the Prothesis while the priest is still in the process of preparing the diskos.

Panikhidas

Panikhidas (prayers for the departed) and other prayers of blessings are performed on Saturdays (before or after Vespers) or at other prearranged times. Requests for such services must be made at least twenty-four hours in advance. Normally a Panikhida is served for one or two very specific departed persons. The general rule is that the Panikhida is reserved only for departed Orthodox Christians, although in the case of family members or very close friends, this rule is often overlooked.

Civic Calendar with Service Schedule

Year 2013
May
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
		01 Great and Holy Wednesday Holy Anointing 7:00pm	02 Great and Holy Thursday Hours, Liturgy of the Last Supper 10:30am The 12 Passion Gospels 7:00pm	03 Great and Holy Friday Vespers (Deposition from the Cross) 2:00pm Lamentations 7:00pm	04 Great and Holy Saturday Burial Canon of Great Saturday, Matins of the Resurrection, Liturgy 11:00pm	05 Pascha Paschal potluck 3:00pm
06	07	08 Readers Vespers, Potluck Supper 6:00pm	09	10	11 Vespers 6:00pm	12 Hours, Liturgy 10:00am
13	14	15 Readers Vespers, Potluck Supper 6:00pm	16	17	18 Readers Vespers 6:00pm	19 Typica 10:00am
20	21	22 Readers Vespers, Potluck Supper 6:00pm	23	24	25 Readers Vespers 6:00pm	26 Typica 10:00am
27	28	29 Readers Vespers, Potluck Supper 6:00pm	30	31
June
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
					01 Readers Vespers 6:00pm	02 Typica 10:00am
03	04	05 Readers Vespers, Potluck Supper 6:00pm	06	07	08 Vespers 6:00pm	09 Hours, Liturgy 10:00am
10	11	12 Readers Vespers, Potluck Supper 6:00pm	13 Ascension of our Lord	14	15 Vespers 6:00pm	16 Hours, Liturgy 10:00am
17	18	19 Readers Vespers, Potluck Supper 6:00pm	20	21	22 Vespers 6:00pm	23 Pentecost Hours, Liturgy, Kneeling Vespers 10:00am
24 Spirit Day	25	26 Readers Vespers, Potluck Supper 6:00pm	27	28	29 Vespers 6:00pm	30 Hours, Liturgy 10:00am

Sundays and major feasts are in red. Fast days are shaded.