Slava Celebration at St. George Parish in San Diego, California
13. May 2017 - 11:04
With Paschal joy and Slava elation, the clergy and parishioners of St. George parish with their friends and guests, gathered for the central service of the Holy Orthodox Church - the Divine Liturgy, on Sunday, May 7th.
It was truly a day of sanctification, that is, participation in the holiness of God. It must be said here that holiness or sainthood is a gift (charisma) given by God to man, through the Holy Spirit. His Grace, Bishop Maxim, entered the church with the singing of ‘The Angel Cried’. The Matins and Hierarchical Divine Liturgy were served with responses sung by St. George parish choir. Divine Liturgy began with the triumphant singing of “Christ is risen”, the joyful proclamation of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Opening of the Relics of Our Father Among the Saints Mardarije First Serbian Bishop of America and Canada
11. May 2017 - 15:36
With the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Longin of New Gracanica and Midwestern America, the relics of St. Mardarije, which have laid in the Church of St. Sava Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois, since his internment in December 1935, were uncovered. The opening revealed St. Mardarije’s holy relics to be incorrupt.
On Thursday, May 4, 2017, His Grace Bishop Longin served Divine Liturgy at St. Sava Monastery with Sindjel Serafim (Milojkovic), Priest Nikolaj Kostur and Hierodeacon Nektarije (Tesanovic), in preparation for uncovering the relics. Following the Divine Liturgy, Bishop Longin and the other clergy served a Moleban with the Akathist written to St. Mardarije. Upon completion, the crew organized to remove the tombstone and flooring in order to exhume the relics arrived, under the guidance of Mr. Dusan Djordjevic of Sveta Gora Funeral Home in Chicago. After removal of the stone, it was revealed that the casket of St. Mardarije was in a cement vault. This caused the opening to be delayed one additional day in order to organize a team to open the vault.
The Burning of Relics of Saint Sava
10. May 2017 - 14:45
Sava was the Archbishop of the Serbs. The body of St. Sava was buried in Mileshevo Monastery. During the time of the Turkish tyranny, the Serbian people gathered around the relics of their saint to seek comfort and healing.
Fearing that an insurrection might arise from that place against the Turks, Sinan Pasha of Belgrade ordered that the relics of St. Sava be translated to Belgrade and there to be burned on Vracar, April 27, 1594 A.D. With the burning of the relics of this saint, the rabid Pasha did not burn the saint who remained alive before the Throne of God in the heavens and in the hearts of his people on earth.
Slava Celebration in North Canton
6. May 2017 - 20:02
On Sunday, April 30th, His Grace Bishop Irinej made his first Archpastoral visit to his flock in North Canton, Ohio.
The community gathered well in advance of the Divine Liturgy, prepared to welcome their hierarch as he entered the church. His Grace was first greeted by children from the parish who presented him with flowers, after which a procession of altar servers led him into the nave as the choir magnificently sang “The Angel Cried”.
Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George
6. May 2017 - 19:57
The Holy Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer, was a native of Cappadocia (a district in Asia Minor), and he grew up in a deeply believing Christian family.
His father was martyred for Christ when George was still a child. His mother, owning lands in Palestine, moved there with her son and raised him in strict piety. When he became a man, St George entered into the service of the Roman army. He was handsome, brave and valiant in battle, and he came to the notice of the emperor Diocletian (284-305) and joined the imperial guard with the rank of comites, or military commander.
Fundraising Banquet in Support of St. Vladimir's Seminary
6. May 2017 - 19:05
With the blessing of His Grace Bishop Irinej, on April 30th, 2017, the St. George North Canton community hosted a series of events in support of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, beginning first with an alumni gathering in their Event Center lounge sponsored by St. George Slava kumovi Ken and Jeanine Kozak.
Surrounded by elegant decorations, priests came from parishes in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to enjoy fellowship and share stories from their days at seminary. The lounge opened for a general reception one-hour later with other clergy and laity joining the St. Vladimir’s alums for pre-banquet fellowship and hospitality offered by the parish kumovi.
