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Archangel Archangel Michael Orthodox Church
the
Volume 17 Issue 3 May 2016
Christ is Risen? Prove it! During the Paschal Season, we enjoy a renewed sense of spirituality and relationship with our Risen Lord. As
we continue to celebrate this all-important Resurrection Feast – the very core of our Christian Faith – we re-
member the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Church in Corinth: “…if Christ has not been raised, then our
preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain…But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first
fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrec-
tion of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.” (1st Cor. 15:14; 20-22).
Yet what about those who claim that our faith is in vain? What about those who do renounce Christ’s Resur-
rection from the dead? And what about ourselves, when that tiny voice gnaws at us and causes us to question
our belief in Jesus’ Resurrection? How do we answer? Can we prove that our Lord rose from the dead? Is there
some scientific data, some mathematical theorem or a computer program to give us this proof?
The answer of course is no. Despite 2,000 years of Christian devotion, belief must still rely on faith and vice
versa. And what is faith? It is an irrational belief in an illogical truth which goes against everything our
“world” makes known to us.
No wonder so many people today refuse to actively practice the Christian Faith. It is extremely hard to believe
in something that cannot be logically proven, especially when the whole world is trying so hard to disprove it
in the first place.
God is Love – yet the world hates. God is Truth – but the world lies. God is the Way – the world gives us alter-
nate routes. God is Light – the world pulls down a shade. For everything God gives to us, the world makes a
counter-offer. And in the face of all this, many faithful find it hard to believe. They become “Doubting
Thomases” amidst the murky darkness of sinfulness which the world promotes. Even to those who believe
firmly in Christ’s Holy Resurrection, the world attempts to distort and reduce its celebration to “chocolate rab-
bits and eggs!”
Yet maybe in all of this disbelief and lack of proof, there is a remnant of proof which continues to exist.
Maybe by the very fact that the Church has survived all these years, there is proof. Something had to keep it
going. Some belief system had to make those early Christians stand up for the faith, even though they were
persecuted and put to the sword.
Here is an incident which happened in Russia in the early 1920’s, during the height of the persecution of the
Eastern Orthodox Church.
The Communists had been slaughtering countless millions of Christian believers. Bishops, priests and lay per-
sons were being routinely rounded up and summarily executed because of their Faith. Many disappeared with-
out a trace, buried in unmarked mass graves throughout Russia. In this way the Bolsheviks hoped to destroy
(Continued on page 2)
2 The Archangel
Archangel
Archangel Michael Orthodox Church
5025 East Mill Road
Broadview Heights, OH 44147
office: 440.526.5192
www.stmichaelscleveland.org
St. Michael’s Woodside
office: 440.526.9696
V. Rev. John Memorich, Rector
home: 216.524.9795
Fr. Deacon Dennis Lucak
home: 440.230.9410
Fr. Deacon Daniel Kovalak
home: 216-524-3414
Michael Herzak
Parish Council President
home: 216.524.8910
Ted Geletka, Choir Director
home: 440.526.2767
Kathy Paulsen, Editor
home: 216.281.5217
Anna Sekerak, Managing Editor
V. Rev. John Memorich,
Spiritual Advisor
Joan Benny, Helen Gaborick
and Patricia Patrick, labeling
the
Transitions
As Many as Have Been Baptized into Christ...
Malakai Nash Tesar, son of Phil and Natalie Tesar, baptized on
April 24, 2016.
May God Grant Him Many Years!
Blessed is the Way in Which Thou Shall Walk Today, O Soul:
Mary Moriak, died April 16, 2016, buried April 22, 2016.
Memory Eternal!
the "“opiate of the people,” the Christian Faith.
Unfortunately they found that these executions and beatings had an ad-
verse effect – just as in the early centuries of the Church, amidst all of this
persecution the faith of the believers grew stronger!
What to do? Someone decided that maybe if they lacked the ability to de-
stroy the Church by destroying bodies, perhaps they could undermine the
faith of the believers by appealing to their intellect. And so, on the after-
noon of Pascha, in a certain city they erected a huge stage and forced the
entire population to attend a “religious debate” about the very existence of
God.
The Communists took no chances. They procured the most gifted and in-
tellectual debaters the New Regime had on hand and put them up against
one of the few priests that had not been arrested and dragged off to a con-
centration camp. And being that this priest was old and stupid-looking – at
least compared to all of these young and handsome members of the Com-
munist Party, no one had any cause to worry about the outcome of the day.
As the debate began, one after another of the intelligentsia got up and
spoke passionately and at great length about the absurdity of God, Christ,
and His supposed resurrection from the dead. After four hours, each
speaker had finished and now turned laughing as the old priest walked
over to the podium to offer his defense. This priest was old, wrinkled and
hunched over. He moved slowly and painfully. By his posture and move-
ments, as well as the bruises still visible upon his face, it was obvious to
all that these were traces of the harsh and brutal beatings he had incurred
for his belief in Christ and because of his priesthood.
He stood at the podium making the sign of the Cross slowly and reverently
upon himself and looking across the crowds with a love that can only be
derived from Christ Himself, he simply spoke forth three words:
“CHRIST IS RISEN!”
As a response, the entire crowd shouted back in unison “INDEED HE IS
RISEN!” The priest simply walked off of the stage and into the nearby
church to serve the Paschal Vespers with everyone following him into the
church as a shepherd leads his flock.
I hope that this story restores your hope and belief in our Risen Lord and
that it offers positive proof to the reality of our Faith! Christ is Risen!
Very Rev. Fr. John Memorich
May 2016 3
FRIDAY NIGHT BOOK CLUB If you are a book reader, and would like to share your love of books, please plan on joining us in the New
Year. Our meetings tend to be at church on or around the third Friday of every other month at 7 pm. Some-
times we meet at a member’s house or we might go see a movie as a group. If you are at all interested in join-
ing our group, please contact Matushka Jani for more information or just show up on the night indicated in the
bulletin. Below is our schedule for 2016.
May 20 - Brooklyn by Colm Toibin (A motion picture to be released)
July 15 – The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander (being made into a motion picture)
Sept 16 - Room by Emma Donoghue
Nov 18 - The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Suggested Reading:
Our Souls at Night by Louise Petty The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
The Dead Key by D.M. Pulley Disclaimers by Renee Knight
In honor of Mother’s Day,
let’s see how well you know
your Women of the Bible:
1). She was created from a rib.
2). Samson loved her.
3). Her foolishness led to John the Bap-
tist’s death.
4). She was present at the Crucifixion and
the Resurrection.
5). She was the mother of Ishmael.
6). She was the mother of Solomon, who
succeeded David as king.
7). She was the favorite of Jacob’s two
wives as well as the mother of Joseph and
Benjamin.
8). She went to glean in the field, where
she met Boaz.
9). She was Ruth’s mother-in-law.
10). She was the wife of Isaac and the
mother of Jacob and Esau.
Answers below right
Answers: 1) Eve 2). Delilah 3) Salome 4) Mary
Magdalene 5) Hagar 6) Bathsheba 7) Rachel 8) Ruth
9) Naomi 10) Rebecca
St. Vladimir's Camp - Save the Dates:
General Camp Clean-up - Saturday, June 18
1st Session of Camp - ages 7-11 - June 26-July 2
FOCA Sports Week - July 3-9 2nd Session of Camp - ages 12-18 -
July 10-16
4 The Archangel
QUESTION: Why doesn’t God perform miracles like He did in olden times?
ANSWER: Throughout Scripture, God often employed miracles to punctuate or reinforce His teachings. They
served to authenticate His power, showcased His beneficence, manifested His glory and, as with the case of
Jesus Christ, revealed Him to be the Messiah. Miracles, therefore, served a specific, divine purpose. Today,
however, many people desire miracles, but only as a means to prove God’s existence. Such a supposition, al-
though, is contra-indicated by Scripture. When God performed amazing and powerful signs for the Israelites,
did they automatically believe and obey Him? No; even though they witnessed great wonders, they still con-
stantly disobeyed and rebelled against God. The same people who saw and walked through the parted the Red
Sea continually doubted God as they traversed through the desert during the years of Exodus.
Jesus, too, performed countless miracles, yet the vast majority of people did not believe in Him. Therefore, if
God performed such miracles today as He did in the past, the result would probably be the same. People would
be amazed and might believe for a short while, but a faith based solely upon miracles is shallow and hollow at
best; far from being a mature and binding faith.
Fr. John
“You don’t need a weather vane to know which way the wind blows.” Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues
Did you know that weather vanes have been used for centuries, perhaps even millennia? Many weather vanes
have the shape of a rooster mounted atop of them. The rooster (or “cock”) was an old symbol often employed
on [Western] Christian church steeples, which were high up and allowed everyone to see which direction the
wind was blowing.
The reason why the rooster was chosen to grace these weather vanes is quite interesting. The rooster became a
popular motif in that it was symbolic of St. Peter’s three-fold denial of his Master. These denials were pre-
dicted by Christ – but even then, Peter swore that he would never do anything to “deny” Christ or affect their
relationship bond that had been forged by love.
Yet as we know, Peter did deny Christ….and before the cock crowed:
“But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are saying.’ And immediately, while he was still speaking, the
cock crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he
had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bit-
terly.” (Luke 22:60-62)
Therefore, placing a rooster on top of the weather vanes remind us how easily our faith (and/or allegiance to
Christ) can be swayed – like a weather vane in the wind!
Fr. John
“The Mystery of the Man with the Jar” Although it sounds like a perfect title to a Hardy Boys novel, there is really no mystery concerning the man
with the jar from St. Mark’s gospel (14:10-42). When the disciples asked Jesus where they would eat the Pass-
over meal, our Lord sends two of them into the city to ascertain accommodations. He instructs those disciples
to look for and follow “a man, carrying a jar;” then whatever house he enters, they are to enter also and tell
the owner that the Master desires a room.
You would think that in such a large city as Jerusalem – now overflowing and teeming with pilgrims for the
feast – finding a man carrying a jar would be akin to finding a needle in a haystack. However, since fetching
water was distinctly a woman’s labor, any man carrying a jar would have actually stuck out like a sore thumb.
Therefore, the only real mystery involved in this whole matter was our Lord’s omnipotence and ability to fore-
see that which would occur.
Fr. John
May 2016 5
The More You Know: Before the crucifixion, as Jesus Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Evangelist Luke noted: “And
being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like drops of blood falling upon the
ground” (Luke 22:44).
Although this malady is considered relatively rare, what Luke – who was a well-educated physician – bears
witness to is a physiological phenomenon known as “hematohidrosis.” Around the sweat glands there are
multiple blood vessels that form a net-like mesh. Under the pressure of great stress these vessels constrict, but
as the anxiety passes, the blood vessels dilate to the point of rupture. This blood is then absorbed by the hyper-
active glands, mixes with the sweat, and is pushed to the surface – coming out as droplets of blood.
Because this affliction occurs only under the most excruciatingly stressful circumstances, Luke’s inclusion of
this fact testifies to the extremely intense spiritual agony our Lord suffered as He anticipated the Passion.
Fr. John
ICONS OF THE RESURRECTION
Contrary to wide spread belief, the iconography of the Resurrection in the Orthodox Church does not present
the very moment when Christ was raised from the dead. The scriptures did not admit any depiction of this mo-
ment, and therefore it was not (nor could it be) portrayed in early Christian art. Icons depicting the moment of
the Resurrection were created in a much later period by iconographers who were influenced by the art of the
Renaissance.
The ancient tradition of Orthodox iconography actually contains two icons of the Resurrection: the icon of the
Descent of Christ into Hades (Hell), and the icon portraying the Myrrhbearing Women at the Sepulcher.
The first icon is a “theological” witness to the Resurrection, depicting an event that was not seen and that
could not have been seen by any human being; although it is referred to in the New Testament (St. Matthew
27:52f; Acts 2:27, 31; Ephesians 4:8-10; and 1st Peter 3:9-4:6) This icon is linked with the services of Great
and Holy Saturday, which expresses the purpose and result of Christ’s descent into Hades.
The second icon is a “historical” one, based on what happened on the first day of the week as recorded in the
Holy Gospels, and is of particular importance for understanding the link between the Cross, the Tomb, and the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
6 The Archangel
Pictures include cleaning the church,
Palm Sunday Baptismal Liturgy, First
Confession Class, Holy Week and Pas-
cha. For more wonderful pictures, visit
our website. Many of the photos were
taken by photographer and former pa-
rishioner, John Mindala II.
May 2016 7
8 The Archangel
May 2016 9
10 The Archangel
HEALTH HINT 101 – MAY 2016
Pre-diabetes and Prevention of Diabetes
Pre-diabetes is a major health concern in the United States. Moderately elevated blood sugar is now recognized as a sig-
nificant health risk, usually preceding the onset of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s ability to
control and utilize its supply of sugar (glucose). Glucose, the primary fuel source for the body stems from carbohydrate
food consumption and can also be generated and regulated by the liver. When blood sugars (glucose) are not properly
regulated, blood sugar levels rise. Long term complications of high blood sugars such as heart and vascular disease, kidney
disease, and eye problems greatly affect quality of life and health care spending.
Risk factors for pre-diabetes and diabetes have been identified. Areas such as genetics and age we are unable to change:
others such as diet, body weight, and physical activity level we do have control. Risk factors for pre-diabetes and diabetes
include:
1. Over 45 years of age
2. Family history of diabetes
3. Belonging to certain racial and ethnic groups including non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanic/Latino Americans, Asian Ameri-
cans, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives
4. History of gestational diabetes
5. Women who have delivered a baby weighing 9lbs or more
6. Polycystic ovary syndrome
7. Overweight
8. Sedentary lifestyle
9. High blood pressure
10. High cholesterol
11. History of cardiovascular disease
12. Receiving antipsychotic therapy for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
Criteria for pre-diabetes:
• Fasting blood sugar between 100-125. (Blood is collected after patient has had no dietary intake for 8 hours or more).
Normal is less than 100.
• Two hour post sugar challenge between 140-199. (Blood is taken 2 hours after the person has ingested a sugar (glucose)
load of 75 grams). Normal is 140.
• Hemoglobin A1C- This test uses blood from your veins to show the average blood sugar concentrations over the previ-
ous 2-3 months. Indication of pre-diabetes is 5.7%-6.4%. A result of less than 5.7% is considered normal.
Criteria for diabetes:
• Fasting blood sugar of 126 or greater.
• Casual or random blood sugar 200 or greater accompanied by symptoms of high blood sugar: increased urination, in-
creased thirst, unexplained weight loss
• A glucose tolerance test-blood is taken 2 hours after the person has ingested a sugar(glucose) load of 75 grams with re-
sult 200 or greater.
• Hemoglobin A1C is greater than or equal to 6.5%
Long-term complications of diabetes:
• Leading cause of adult-onset blindness
• Leading cause of end-stage kidney disease
• Significant disability due to foot ulcer and lower limb amputation
•I ncreased risk for cardiovascular disease
• Increased risk for nerve disease, periodontal disease, and other health problems
To prevent progression of pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes and other health problems, lifestyle recommendations in-
clude:
•5 %-10% weight reduction and long-term maintenance
• A program of regular, moderate-intensity physical activity for 30-60 minutes daily, at least 5 days per week, or 150 min-
utes per week
• A diet that includes calorie restriction, fat restriction, increased fiber intake, and limitations in carbohydrate consumption
• Education and support with regular contact-Physician offices, insurance company case managers, organizations such as
The American Diabetes Association http://www.diabetes.org/ Kristen Dotson RN
May 2016 11
May 2016 Archangel
Business Directory
12 The Archangel
Archangel A Monthly Publication of OUTREACH
Archangel Michael Orthodox Church
5025 East Mill Road
Broadview Heights, OH 44147
the
May 2016
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