SHEPHERD SH RDsacserbchurch.org/sac/wp-content/uploads/file/OCTOBER... · 2018-07-13 · izgubimo ~itav Stari Zavet, I kad bi izgubili I Novi Zavet, na{ gubitak bi bio tragic~an,

SHEPHERDMonthly newsletter of the Serbian

Orthodox Church of the AssumptionFair Oaks, California

October 2013God be with you

P AS T I R

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SHEPHERD

A monthly publicationof the

Serbian Orthodox ChurchAssumption of the Blessed

Virgin Mary

7777 Sunset AvenueFair Oaks, Ca 95628

Very Rev. Stavrophor Dane PopovicVery Rev. William Weir

Church: 916-966-5438Fax: 916-966-5235

Priest: 916-966-6276Cell: 916-606-8808

Shepherd Staff

Editor: V. Rev. Stavrophor Dane Popovic

Written contributions are welcome;Editorial discretion reserved. Please

Submit articles and ideas to:

V. Rev. Stavrophor Dane Popovic7777 Sunset Ave

Fair Oaks, Ca 95628

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Dearly Beloved,

For God so lovedthe world that hegave his only begot-

ten Son that whoever believes in himshould not perish but have eternallife" (John 3:16).

It is about this great love of Godthat the this words speaks. In fact, John3:16 has been called "the Gospel in minia-ture". If we were to lose the entire Old Tes-tament; even if we were to lose the NewTestament, our loss would be tragic, but wewould still have the heart of the Gospel ifwe had this one verse. For in the few wordsof this verse, we have the whole messageof Christianity: "For God so loved theworld, that he gave his only begotten Son,that whoever believes in him should notperish, but have everlasting life."

The Fathers of the Church verywisely selected the words of Gospel lessonto be read every year on the Sunday beforethe Feast of the Elevation of the Cross be-cause these words capture the real meaningof the cross: "For God so loved the worldthat he gave his only begotten Son thatwhoever believes in him should not perishbut have eternal life."

To better understand this verse, we

shall divide it into three great parts: thegreat FACT, the great ACT, and the greatCOMPACT.

The first part, the great FACT, isGod's love: "For God so loved the world."We are made aware immediately that Godis love. Everything He does is motivated bylove. It was love that made God fashionman in His own image, and place him in aparadise of bewitching beauty. It was lovethat moved God to put the Ten Command-ments into Moses hand and to send theprophets I t was love that prompted God tosend His Son into the world to make real toman the love of the Father, to reflect Hiscompassion for the sick and those burdenedwith sin. It was love that led Him to thecross. It was love that made Him pray forHis crucifiers: "Father, forgive them forthey know not what they do." It was lovethat made Him pause in the agony of Hisdeath to remember a repentant sinner whocried, "Lord, remember me when you comeinto your kingdom." It was love that madeHim rise from the tomb and declare: "I amthe resurrection and the life; he who be-lieves in me though he were dead, yet shallhe live.” All of this great love of God iscaught up and summarized in this onebeautiful verse: For God so loved the worldthat he gave his only begotten Son thatwhoever believes in him should not perishbut have eternal life" (John 3:16).

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The great ACT of God's love is "that hegave his only begotten Son.”A popular monk in the Middle Ages an-nounced that in the Cathedral that eveninghe would preach a sermon on the love ofGod. The people gathered and stood insilence, waiting for the service while thesunlight streamed through the beautifulwindows. When the last bit of color hadfaded from the windows, the old monkwent up to the candelabrum, took a lightedcandle and walking to the life-size statueof Christ on the cross, he held the lightbeneath the wounds on His feet, then Hishand, then His side. Then, still without aword, he let the light shine on the thorn-crowned brow. That was his sermon. Thepeople stood in silence and wept, everyone knowing that they were at the centerof a mystery beyond their knowing, thatthey were indeed looking at the supremeexpression of the love of God—a love sodeep, so wide, so eternal, that no wondercould express it, and no mind could meas-ure it. That is the Great act of Christianity—that God's love gave to the world whatwas lost precious to Him: His only begot-ten Son.

The third aspect of John 3:16 is theGREAT COMPACT: "Whosoever believ-eth in Him should not perish, but have ev-erlasting life.” This is essence of Christi-anity: the promise of salvation and eternallife through faith in Jesus Christ our Sav-ior. This is the heart and core of our Chris-tian faith: the great compact of Christian-

ity.Because of this compact, no one

need remain fallen, we have the power torise to a new life; we need not perish. Be-cause of this compact we who believe inHim have life eternal; we have hope, andlife has eternal meaning. Thank God for thegreat COMPACTV: As Moses lifted up theserpent in the wilderness, so must the Sonof man be lifted up, that whoever believesin him may have eternal life.”

The fact of God's great love for usdemands a response on our part. St. Paul'sresponse was: “The love of Christ controlsme . . . for me to live is Christ." Our re-sponse cannot be anything less than this"

Summarizing what we have said, then, wefind three great truths in John 3:16:

First, the Great Fact: "God so lovedthe world."

Second, the Great Act: "That Hegave His only begotten Son."

Third, the great Compact: "Thatwhoever believes in Him should not perish,but have life everlasting."

Here in essence is the entire Gospelthe whole message of Christianity. To be-lieve this verse, is to find the heart of theChristian faith. It is to find the love of God.

It is to find forgiveness. salvation,peace with Gad and life eternal.

Proto Dane

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Dragi Moji,

“Jer Bogtako zavole svet da je i sina svojegajedinorodnog dao, da nijedan koji unjega veruje ne pogine, nego da imaìvot ve~ni” Jovan 3:16;

O velikoj ljubavi Bo`joj govoreove re~i. Ustvari, re~i Sv. Jovan 3:16;su ~ak prozvane “Jevan|elje umalom”. Kada bi se desilo daizgubimo ~itav Stari Zavet, I kad biizgubili I Novi Zavet, na{ gubitak bibio tragic~an, ali mi bi I dalje imali sròd Evan|elja ako imamo samo ovajjedan stih. Jer u nekoliko re~I ovogcitata, imamo ~itavu poruku Hri{}anstva: “Jer Bog tako zavole svet daje I sina svojega jedinorodnog dao, danijedan koji u njega veruje ne pogine,nego da ima ìvot ve~ni”

Sv. Oci Crkve su veoma mudroizabrali re~I Evan|elja da se ~ita svakegodine u nedelju pre praznika Vaz-dviènjeâsnog Krsta-Krstovdana, jerove re~I sadrè stvarno zna~enje krsta:“Jer Bog tako zavole svet da je I sinasvojega jedinorodnog dao, da nijedankoji u njega veruje ne pogine, negoda ima ìvot ve~ni”

Da bi bolje razumeli ove re~I, trebada ih podeliti u tri va`na dela:Velika ISTINU,Veliko DELO,I Velika GARANCIJA.

Prvi deo, velika ISTINA, jeBo`ja Ljubav: “ Jer Gospod takozavole svet.” Odmah smo saznali daje Bog ljubav. Sve {to On ~ini sve jemotivisano ljubavlju. Iz ljubavi Bog jestvorio ~oveka po obli~ju Svome, Ipostavio ga je u raju, Iz ljubavi Bogdade Deset Bozijih Zapovesti I dadeih Mojsiju u ruke I posla proroke lju-dima. Iz ljubavi posla Gospod Sinasvoga u svet da pokaè ~ovekuO~evu ljubav, da tako pokaè Svojusaose}ajnost za bolesne I one koji suoptere}eni grehom. Njegova ga ljubavdovede na krst. Iz ljubavi Gospodmolja{e za one koji ga raspinja{e:“O~e, oprosti im jer neznaju {ta ~ine.”Njegova ga ljuba natera da zastane uNjegovom smrtnom stradanju I da seseti pokajanog gre{nika na krstu kojigovora{e: “Gospode setime se u car-stvu Tvome.” Iz prevelike ljubavivaskrse iz groba I objavi: “Ja samvaskrsenje I ìvot, onaj ko veruje umene I ako je umro, ìve}e.” Sve ovevelike ljubavi Bo`je su skupljene uovu prelepu re~enicu: “Jer Bog takozavole svet da je I sina svojega jedi-norodnog dao, da nijedan koji u


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njega veruje ne pogine, nego da imaìvot ve~ni” (Jn.3:16)

Veliko DELO ljubavi Gospodnje je“Da je dao svog jedinorodnog Sina.”Jedan veoma poznat monah srednjegdoba objavio je da }e u Katedrali teve~eri govoriti besedu o ljubavi Go-spodnjoj. Ljudi su se skupili i stojaliu ti{ini, o~ekivaju}i bogosluènje dokje svetlost prolazila kroz prelepe pro-zore. Kada je i zadnji delic bojanestao sa prozora, stari monah odedo sve}naka, uze zapaljenu sve}u iode do Hristovog kipa koji be{e ustvarnoj veli~ini na krstu, drè}i sve}u ispod rana hristovih na nogama,onda Njegove ruke, pa onda njegovarebra. Onda, bez re~i obasja svetlos{}u venac od trnja. To je bila njegovapropoved. Ljudi su stajali u mrtvoj ti{ini i plakali, znaju} da su u centrutajne izvan njihovog shvatanja, daoni zaista gledaju u najve}e ispol-javanje Boìje ljubavi.– ljubavi koja jetoliko duboka, toliko {iroka, tolikove~na, da ni ~udom nemoè da seopi{e, niti razum moè da izmeri. Toje veliko DELO Hri{}anstva - taBoànska ljubav je dala svetu sta jebilo izgubljeno a drago Njemu, Nje-gov jedinorodni Sin.

Tre}i deo od Jovanovog stiha3:16 je Velika GARANCIJA: “Ko godveruje u Njega ne}e nestati, nego }eimati ìvot ìvot.” Ovo je sr` Hri{}anstva: obe}ano spasenje I ve~ni ìvotkroz veru u Isusa Hrista na{egSpasitelja. Ovo je srce i sr` Hri{}anske vere: velika Garancija

Hri{}anstvu.Zbog ove Garancije, niko ko je

pao netraba da ostane tako, mi imamosnagu da se podignemo u novi ìvot,mi ne}emo nestati. Zbog ove garan-cije, mi koji verujemo u Njega imamoìvot ve~ni; mi imamo nadu, i ìvotima ve~no zna~enje. Hval Gospodu zaveliku garanciju: “Kao {to Mojsijepodiè zmiju u pustinji, tako }e se iSin ~ove~iji podi}i, da svako ko verujeu njega ima ìvot ve~ni.”

Stvarna Bo`ja velika ljubavprema nama traì na{ odgovor. Odgo-vor Sv. Apostola Pavla bio je: ”LjubavBo`ja me kontroli{e… da bih ìveoHristos treba da ìvi u meni.” Na{ odgovor nemoè biti ni{ta manjenego ist to.

Uzev{i sve u obzir {ta smo kazali,onda nalazimo tri velike istine uJovanovim re~ima Jn.3:16;

Prvo, veliku Istinu: “ Bog tako zavolesvet.”Drugo, veliko Delo: “Da je dao SvogJedinorodnog Sina.”Tre}e, Velika Garancija: Da ko godveruje u Njega ne}e umreti, nego ima}e ìvot ve~ni.”

Ovde je u su{tini ~itavo Evaan|elje,~itava poruka Hri{}anstva. Da biverovali ovim re~ima, mora daprona|emo su{tinu Hri{}anske vere. Tojest prona}i ljubav Boìju.

Treba prona}i pra{tanje,spasenje, i mir sa Bogom i ìvot ve~ni.

Proto Dane


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This glorious saint was of Serbiandescent, and was born in the townof Epivat between Selymbria andConstantinople. St. Parasceva's par-ents were wealthy, devout Chris-tians. They also had a son, Euthym-ius, who was tonsured a monk dur-ing his parents' lifetime, and laterbecame the famous Bishop of Mady-tos. The virgin Parasceva alwaysyearned for the ascetic life for thesake of Christ. After her parents'repose, she left her home and went first toConstantinople, then to the wilderness of Jor-dan, where she lived the ascetic life until oldage. Who can express all the labors, sufferingsand demonic temptations that St. Parascevaendured in the course of her many years? Inher old age, an angel of God once appeared toher and said: ``Leave the wilderness and re-turn to your homeland; it is necessary thatyou render your body to the earth there, andyour soul to the habitation of the Lord.'' St.Parasceva obeyed, and returned to Epivat.There she lived for two years in ceaseless fast-ing and prayer, then gave up her soul to Godand took up her abode in Paradise. St. Paras-ceva entered into rest in the eleventh century.Over the course of time her relics were trans-lated to Constantinople, to Trnovo, again toConstantinople, and then to Belgrade. Her rel-ics now repose in Romania, in the town ofIasi. In Belgrade, the well of St. Petka mi-raculously heals the sick who draw near withfaith in God and love for this saint.

Ова славна светитељкабеше српскога порекла, рођенау граду Епивату (Пиват, потурски Бојадос, измеђуСилимврије и Цариграда.Родитељи св. Петке бехуимућни и побожни хришћани, иосим Петке имађаху и једногасина, Јевтимија, који се заживота родитеља замонаши, идоцније поста знаменитиепископ Мадитски. По смрти

родитеља девица Петка, вазда жељна животаподвижничког Христа ради, напусти домродитељски и оде најпре у Цариград, а потому пустињу Јорданску, где се подвизавала достарости своје. Ко би могао исказати светрудове, и патње, и искушења демонска, којапретрпе св. Петка у току многих година? Подстарост јави јој се једном ангел Божји и речејој: „остави пустињу, и врати се у твојеотечество: потребно је да тамо предаш својетело земљи, а душом да се преселишГосподу". Св. Петка послуша глас с неба,остави омиљену јој пустињу, и врати се уЕпиват. Ту она, проживе још две године,опет у непрестаном посту и молитви, и ондапредаде дух свој Богу и пресели се у рајсканасеља. Упокојила се у XI столећу. Моштињене чудотворне у току времена бехупреношене: у Цариград, у Трново, па опет уЦариград, па у Београд. Сада се налазе уРумунији, у граду Јашу. У београдском градуналази се вода (агиазма) св. Петке, којачудотворно лечи све оне болеснике, који свером у Бога и љубави према овојсветитељки к њој притичу.


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In order to answer this question,we must first understand what prayer is. Prayeris defined as the elevation of our hearts andminds to God to offer Him our adoration andlove, to thank Him for His benefits, and to askHim for favors which we need for ourselves orothers. Prayer, then, means going to our Heav-enly Father with all our troubles and cares, tell-ing Him about them, and asking Him to help us.It means letting Him know how much we loveHim. Prayer is conversation with God.

One might say: "I talk with God every day,but He doesn't seem to hear my prayers." Thetrouble is really with ourselves and not withGod. We must pray with devotion, confidence,humility, and perserverence. If we are sincereand wish to be heard by God, we will think ofwhat we say to Him. We do not honor God whenour thoughts are far from Him.

From the history of the human race, we seethe efficacy of prayer. One would have to writeponderous books to relate all the examples ofthe power of prayer. We would meet in HolyScriptures such names as Abraham, Jacob,Moses, David, and Solomon, the wisest of kings.They prayed and received help from God. It issometimes foolishly said that this is an age ofaction and that there is no need for prayer. Thisgroundless assertion is made only by peoplewho have no faith. Communion with God inprayer is, for man, the source of power whichwill enable him to accomplish impossible tasksin the daily life of toil and difficulty in any age ortime.It was because men and women looked to thehelp promised by Christ to those who humblypray, that they triumphed over all difficult cir-cumstances and seeming calamities which theyencountered.

Christ says: "Ask, and it shall be given you,seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall beopened unto you." From this passage we learnthat God is our refuge and strength, our helperin troubles which oppress us. Let us then realizethat prayer is a force, a gift which God has givenus in order to enable us to enter into His store-house of mercy and grace, if we but haveFAITH!

One of the most simple, yet mostmeaningful acts of worship in ourChurch is the making of the Sign of theCross upon ourselves. It is the first actof worship a child learns from its par-ents. The first thing we do in the morn-ing, and the last thing we do at night isto make this sacred sign over our bod-ies. The first thing we do when we cometo church and the last thing when weleave is to make this symbol. Truly theSign of the Cross is an intricate part ofa Christian's everyday life.,/

Yet one of the most neglected acts inour Church is the very making of thisSign . . . "blessing ourselves." It is a sadsight indeed to see the careless and ir-reverent manner in which many peoplemake the Sign of the Cross. This is usu-ally done out of carelessness. This is notonly the case among the young, butamong the old as well. To see some peo-ple bless themselves, one would thinkthey are "waving," or "chasing fliesaway," as some have remarked. If weare going to use this sacred sign, let usdo it reverently and rightly. « We makethe Sign of the Cross by joining togetherthe thumb, index, and middle fingers ofthe right hand. The fourth and fifth fin-gers are bent so that their tips touchthe palm of the .hand. Then with thethumb and first two fingers we touchthe forehead, saying: "In the Name ofthe Father," then we touch our breast,saying: "And of the Son," then the rightshoulder and left shoulder, "And of theHoly Spirit," and as we end at ourheart, we say: "Amen."

Obviously, the three fingers togetherstand for the Holy Trinity — Father,Son, and Holy Spirit. And the two fin-gers down represent Jesus Christ Whowas both God and Man.

Let us care enough of this act of wor-ship to make it in the proper manner.

Rev. Fr. James A. Stropko


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St. Luke the evangelist and apostle isthe author of both the third Gospel and theActs of the Apostles. Luke's writings formalmost a quarter of the New Testamentand both his Gospel and the Book ofActs are addressed to a certain Theo-philos, who was perhaps a Roman no-bleman. Perhaps a Syrian by birth,Luke hailed from the city of Antiochand was an educated man, a physicianby training. From the "we" sections ofActs (16:10-17; 20:5-15; 27:1-37;28:1-14) which form a travelogue thatdescribes his adventures with theApostle Paul, we can deduce some biographi-cal details about him. He accompanied Paulon his second missionary journey across theAegean from Troas in Asia Minor to Phillipiin Greece. On Paul's third journey, six yearslater, he returned with Paul from Phillipi toJerusalem. And he accompanied Paul on hisfinal journey from Caesarea all the way toRome. There he loyally remained with Paulthroughout his captivity.

St. Luke's Gospel is noted for the detail ofits narrative and especially for its record ofChrist's great concern for the poor and the sin-ful. Certain parables warning against the dan-gers of riches and self- righteousness, and re-vealing the great mercy of God to sinners, arefound only in his Gospel: the parables of thepublican and the pharisee, the prodigal sonand Lazarus and the rich man.

There is also a great emphasis in hisGospel on the Kingdom of God which Christhas brought to this world and which He givesto those who persevere in sufferings. Luke'sGospel also records - to an extent that none ofthe others do - Jesus' sensitivity to women andchildren.

Родом из Антиохије. У младости изучио бешедобро грчку филозофију, медецину и живопис.

У време делатности Господа Исусана земљи св. Лука дође уЈерусалим, где види Спаситељалицем у лице, чује Његовуспасоносну науку и буде сведокчудесних дела Његових.Поверовавши у Господа св. Лука биувршћен у Седамдесет апостола ипослат на проповед. Заједно саКлеопом видео васкрслог Господана путу за Емаус (Лк. 24). Посиласку Духа Светога на апостолеЛука се вратио у Антиохију, и тамо

је постао сатрудник апостола Павла, с којим јепутовао и у Рим, обраћајући у веру ХристовуЈевреје и незнабошце. Поздравља вас Лукаљекар љубазни, пише Колошанима апостолПавле (Кол. 4, 14). На молбу хришћана написаоЈеванђеље, око 60. године. По мученичкојсмрти великог апостола Павла св. Лука јепроповедао Јеванђеље по Италији, Далмацији,Македонији и другим странама. Живописаоикону Пресвете Богородице, — и то не једнунего три, а тако исто и иконе св. апостолаПетра и Павла. Отуда се св. Лука сматраоснивачем хришћанског иконописа. Подстарост посетио је Ливију и Горњи Мисир. ИзМисира се вратио у Грчку, где је настављао свеликом ревношћу проповедати и људе Христуобраћати, без обзира на своју дубоку старост.Написао св. Лука Јеванђеље и ДелаАпостолска, и обоје посвети Теофилу кнезуАхаје. Беше му 84 године, када га злобниидолопоклоници ударише на муке Христа радии обесише о једној маслини у граду Тиви(Теби) Беотијској. Мошти чудотворне овогадивнога светитеља беху пренесене у Цариграду време цара Констанција, синаКонстантиновог.


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One of the remarkable things about ourOrthodox Liturgical calendar is the fact that itcontinually takes us back, not only to theevents in the life of our Lord, but also to themonumental events of the great EcumenicalCouncils. On various Sundays of the churchyear we remember the great councils. Thesecouncils were called because the identity ofJesus Christ was at stake. In the early fourthcentury, the heretic Arius had denied the fulldivinity of the Lord. Later in the same century,the heretic Apollinaris denied the full humanityof the Lord. In the early years of the fifth cen-tury, Nestorius the Patriarch of Constantinoplerefused to accept the title of Theotokos forMary, the mother of Christ. Each of these here-sies resulted in an Ecumenical Council (Nicaeain 325, I Constantinople in 381 and Ephesus in425).

The church wants us to rememberthese councils not only because ourknowledge of the true identity of theLord was at stake, but the truth of ourvery salvation was undermined. Salva-tion in our Orthodox theology is the res-toration of man to unity with God. As St.Paul says, Christ is the "new Adam."The first Adam lost that unity with God.A new Adam was needed to restore it.Christ is our salvation and our healing.He has restored us to God.

Christ had to be fully divine; other-wise, He could not reunite us to God.Arius denied Christ's divinity. The Lordalso had to be fully human. Apollinarisdenied the full humanity of Christ. But

Jesus also had to bring about a unity be-tween the divinity of God and the human-ity of man. He did this by being one Per-son. His one personhood was subtly de-nied by the heretic Nestorius. He and hisfollowers asserted that Mary was, in ef-fect, only the mother of his humanity. Theproblem is that humanity is an abstrac-tion. Mary was not the mother of a natureor an abstraction, but the mother of a per-son. And that Person is the divine Son ofGod. Mary was and is truly Theotokos. Bydenying her that title, Nestorius was di-viding the divinity from the humanity ofChrist. If he were right, then the human-ity of man and the divinity of God were inthe same relation as they were whenAdam left Paradise. These are the truthsdefended by the great councils. These arethe truths that we must remember.

Today there are people who hold theseheresies. For example, the Jehovah's Wit-nesses do not believe that Jesus is theSecond Person of the Trinity. Like Arius,they do not believe in liis full divinity.Unitarians also do not believe in liis fulldivinity

These same heresies, however, also re-appear in our understanding of theChurch itself. They are widespread. AsOrthodox Christians, we believe thatwhen the Holy Spirit came down upon theapostolic community on the day of Pente-cost the Church became a living realityboth human and divine. The Lord Jesuspromised that the Holy Spirit would bewith the Church forever, and that the


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Spirit would lead the Church into alltruth. As Orthodox, we not only believethat the Church has both the humanand divine element, it is one! The hu-man and the divine cannot be sepa-rated.

There are many followers of JesusChrist who see the Church as a purelyhuman institution. These people believein Jesus and try to live by his teaching,but they also believe that the Churchhas no power to bring someone intounity with God through the sacramentsof Baptism and Eucharist. These areseen as only symbolic.

Other sincere people seek a purely"divine" church, beyond human limita-tions. Sadly they go from church tochurch, seeking that perfect church, butthey constantly meet people who arevery human. They then go on seeking achurch that is only divine.

But perhaps the most problematicheresy in our times is that which isrooted in Nestorianism. As Nestoriusdenied the unity of the human and thedivine in the One Person of Christ,many people see the church as divided.There is a particular human communityof believers here on earth, and somewhere there is the true spiritual churchwhich is made up of people of all de-nominations who are the true, genuineChristians. They do not see that the his-toric Orthodox Catholic Church is one,across the world and through the ages.

In separating the human from thedivine, they consider the power of theHoly Spirit somehow to be lacking inthe historic human community. At

Pentecost the whole Church receivedthe Holy Spirit. The Church itself wascharismatic. For some modern Chris-tians who approach the church from aNestori-an perspective, however, onlyindividual people are charismatic. Bydividing the divine from the human inthe community of the Church, they havemade the church only a "human institu-tion."

We should not be surprised when indi-vidual people feel called by the HolySpirit to start what is, in effect, theirown church. They buy a building, installa pulpit and start their own church.Some of these preachers attract tens ofthousands of followers. Most do not be-lieve in the reality of the sacraments.They do not believe in them because theydo not accept the words of the Creed: "Ibelieve in the One, Holy, Catholic andApostolic Church." No Orthodox priest,even though he has received the sacra-ment of Holy Orders, has the right to"open up his own shop" or to start hisown church.

If we do not remember the challengesand problems that the early Churchfaced, then there Lsa serious danger thatthese heresies will show up once again;perhaps not in quite the same form, butequally detrimental to faith.

Fr. Dan Daly, Pastor


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From time immemorial, the Church hascelebrated the Most-holy Theotokos as thepatroness and protectress of the Christianpeople, who, by her intercessoryprayers, implores God's mercy forus sinners. The help of the Most-holy Mother of God has beenclearly shown numerous times, toindividuals and to nations, inpeace and in war, in monasticdeserts and in densely populatedcities. The event that the Churchcommemorates and celebrates to-day confirms the Theotokos' con-sistent protection of Christianpeople. On October 1, 911, during the reignof Emperor Leo the Wise, there was an All-night Vigil in the Blachernae Church of theMother of God in Constantinople. Thechurch was full of people. St. Andrew theFool-for-Christ was standing in the rear ofthe church with his disciple Epiphanius. Atfour o'clock in the morning, the Most-holyTheotokos appeared above the people, hold-ing her omophorion outstretched as a pro-tective covering for the faithful. She wasclothed in gold-encrusted purple, and shonewith an ineffable radiance, surrounded byapostles, saints, martyrs and virgins. St. An-drew said to Blessed Epiphanius: “Do yousee, brother, the Queen and Lady of allpraying for the whole world?'' Epiphaniusreplied: “I see, Father, and am struck withamazement!'' The Feast of the Protectionwas instituted to commemorate this event,and to remind us that we can prayerfullyreceive the unceasing protection of the Most-holy Theotokos in any time of difficulty.

Oduvek je crkva pro-slavljala Presvetu Bogorodicu kao pokrovitel-jku I za{titnicu roda hri{}anskoga, koja svojim

hodatajstvenim molitvama umilos-tivljava BOga prema nama gre{nima.Bezbroj puta pokazala se o~iglednopomo} Presvete Bogorodice kako pok-jedinaca tako I narodima, kako umieru tako I uratu, kako u mona{kimpustinjama tako I umnogoljudinm gra-dovima.

Doga|aj koji je crkva danasspominje I praznuje edokazuje samoto postojano pokroviteljstvo Presvete

Bogorodice nad rodom hri{}anskim. 1. Okto-bra 911. god. U vreme cara Lava Mudrog(ili filosofa) bilo je sveno}no bdenije u Bo-gorodi~inoj crkvi Vlaherne u Carigradu.Naroda je bila puna crkva. U pozadini crkvestajao je Sv. Andrej Jurodivi sa svojimu~enikom Epifanijem. U ~etvrti sat no}I po-javi se Presveta Bogorodica iznad naroda sarasprostrtim omoforom na rukama, kao datom ode|om pokriva{e narod. Be{e obu~ena uzlatokrasnu porfiru I sva blista{e u neiska-zanom sjaju, okruèna apostolima, svetitel-jima, mu~enicima I devicama. Sv. Andrejvide}I to javljanje pokaza rukom Epifanijublaènom, I upita ga: “vidi{ li, brate, Caricu Igospo}u nad svim, kako se moli za sav svet?”Odgovori Epifanije: “vidim, o~e, I uàsavamse!” Zbog toga se ustanovi ovo praznovanje,da nas podseti kako na taj doga|aj tako I nastalno pokroviteljstvo Presvete Bogorodice,kad god mi to pokroviteljstvo, taj pokrov njenmolitveno i{temo u nevoljama.


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From the Minea of St. Dimitry of Rostov

The nine orders of the angels are di-vided into three hierarchies, each of which isdivided into three orders: the highest, the inter-mediate, the lower.

The first hierarch, the highest and clos-est to the Most Holy Trinity, consists of theSERAPHIM. CHERUBIM, and THRONES.

The God-loving six-winged SERA-PHIM stand closer than all before their Creatorand Maker, as the prophet Isaiah saw, saying:"And the seraphim stood around Him, eachhaving six wings" (Isaiah 6:2). They are fire-like since they stand before That One of Whomit is written: "For our God is a consumingfire." (Heb. 12:29); "His throne was a flame offire" (Dan 7:9); "the appearance of the Lordwas like a blazing fire" (Ex. 24:17). Standingbefore such glory, the seraphim are fire-like, asit said: "Who maketh his angels spirits; hisministers a flaming fire" (Ps. 103:4). They areaflame with love for God and kindle others tosuch love, as I shown by their very name, for"seraphim" in the Hebrew language means:"flaming".

After the seraphim, before the All-knowing God, Who resides in inaccessiblelight, stand the many-eyed CHERUBIM inineffable radiance. More than the other lowerorders of angels, they are always radiant withthe light of the knowledge of God, with theknowledge of the mysteries of God and thedepths of His Wisdom; being themselves

enlightened, they enlighten others. Their name"cherubim" in translation from the Hebrewlanguage, means: "great understanding" or"effusion of wisdom", because through thecherubim wisdom is sent down to others andenlightenment of the spiritual eyes is given forthe seeing of God and knowledge of God.

Thereafter stand the God-bearingTHRONES (as St. Dionysius the Areopagitecalls them) before Him Who sits on the highand exulted throne, being named "thrones"since on them, as on intellectual thrones (aswrites St Maximus the Confessor) God intel-lectually resides. They are not called "Godbearing" according to essence but according tograce and according to their office, as the fleshof Jesus Christ (as St. Basil the Great writes) iscalled "God-bearing" according to essencesince it was indivisibly united with God theWord Himself. The thrones are then called"God-bearing" not according to essence butaccording to grace, given for their service,which is mystically and incomprehensible tobear God in themselves. Residing on them inan incomprehensible manner, God makes Hisrighteous judgment, according to the word ofDavid: "Thou hast sat upon a throne, O Thouthat judgest righteousness." (Ps 9:4). Thereforethrough them the justice of God is preemi-nently manifested; they serve His justice, glori-fying it and pour out the power of justice ontothe thrones of earthly judges, helping kings andmasters to bring forth right judgment.

The middle hierarchy also consists ofthree orders of holy angels: the DOMINIONS,


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the VIRTUES, and the POWERS.

The DOMINIONS are so named be-cause, being themselves free, they dominateover the rest of the angels which follow behindthem. Having abandoned servile fear, as St.Dionysius the Aeropagite says, they voluntarilyand with joy serve God unceasingly. Also theysend down power for prudent governing andwise management to authorities on the earth setup by God. Further they teach how to controlthe senses, how to subdue in oneself dissolutedesires and passions, how to enslave the fleshto the spirit, and how to rule over one's will andbe above all temptations.

The VIRTUES, [the usual translationof the name of this order of angels as "virtues"is readily misleading if the old meaning of theword "virtue" as "power" or "force", especiallyas regards to divine beings (cf Oxford EnglishDictionary), is not remembered. Note of trans-lator.] filled with divine strength, quickly fulfillthe will of the All-High and Omnipotent Lord,strong and powerful.

They both work very great miraclesand send down the grace of miracle-working toGod's saints, who are worthy of such grace, inorder that these may work miracles, such asheal every sickness and foretell the future.

The holy virtues also help people la-boring and those overburdened by the bearingof an obedience placed on them by someone.

The POWERS are so called becausethey have power over the devil, in order to re-strain the power of the demons, to repulse thetemptations brought upon people by them, andto prevent the demons from harming anyone tothe degree that they would wish. The powers

strengthen the good ascetics in spiritual strug-gles and labors, protecting them so that theymay not be deprived of the spiritual kingdom.They help those wrestling with passions andvices to cast out evil thoughts and slanders ofthe enemy and to conquer the devil.

In the lowest hierarchy there are alsothree orders: the PRINCIPALITIES, theARCHANGELS, and the ANGELS.

The PRINCIPALITIES are namedthus because they have command over thelower angels, directing them to the fulfillmentof divine orders. The management of the uni-verse and the keeping of all the kingdoms andprincedoms, of lands and all peoples, racesand nations, is also entrusted to them sinceeach kingdom, race and people have for them-selves a special deeper and manager from theheavenly order called the principalities, for alltheir country. Further, the service of this an-gelic order (according to the explanation of St.Gregory the Dialogist) consists in teaching thepeople to requite each person in authority ac-cording to his calling. Finally, the angels ofthis order raise worthy people to various hon-orable offices and direct them so that theytake power not for the sake of their own gainand benefit, nor for the sake of love of honorand vain renown, but for the sake of honorfrom God, for the sake of spreading and aug-menting of His holy glory, and for the sake ofthe benefit of their neighbors - as serving thegeneral needs of all their subordinates.

Will Continue….


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Pitanje i OdgovorСтојећi у црквi nа молitvi, viдео

сам да некп верnици држе рукепрекрштене на грудима; nекi пак сасклопqеnим длановима, док већина, утом броју i ја, држiмо руке спуштененiz тело.

Има ли некi значај начиндржања руку nа молитвi и одређенiпропис Цркве о томе?

ODGOVOR- Човек је двојно биће, тена молитви треба да учествује и душа-ум и срце - и тело, за које постојепрописи: ,,Стојмо, смерно, стојмо 'састрахом..., Главе своје Господуприклоните и други.

Већ у Старом Завету, при моlитвиуздизане су руке, вршени поклони.клањање (грчки: проскинимата),клечало се, падало на копена (епесенепи та гоната) итд.У Новом Завету, Господ ИсусХристос клечи на молитви уГетсиманији (тхис та гоната про-сивхето). То чiне и апостоли и верни.Апостол Павле упућује како требастајати на молитви ,,подижући светеруkе,, (1 Тим 2, 1-2,8.). У старој Црквиу знак кајања због греха, падало се наколена, а тако казује и СветиВасилије Велики.

Но, као ошшти молитвеии став доданас било је и остало у Православнојцркви стајање, а седење је дозвољено

у

pојединим моментима.О држању руку верних при молитвина Истоку, постоји pисмено казивањеиз 9 века. Наиме, одговарајући написмо упућено му од Бугара - који суу цркве-ном погледу тада потпадалипод Западну Цркву - папа Никола 1(858-867. г.), вели: "Казујете да Грцитврде: који у цркии не стоји сарукама прекрштeним на грудима,има највећи грех". У свомобјашњењу, он даље вели да тоникада није била (општа) заповест. "Пошто није свуда овај начин сми-рености, негде поступају тако, негдедрукчијег, итд. Но, за нашу стварбитно је да се из овога можезакључити да се на Истоку, и пре ипосле деветог века, молило сепрекрштених руку на грудима.Колико сам могао видети, изказивања старих грчких рукописа,постоје упутства по којима, у поје-диним моментима у свакодневномбогослужењу и литургији, свеште-ници опустивши фелон (У старовреме предњи део фелона био је дужинего што је сада код нас и Грка, такода је спуштен потпуно покриваоруке), треба да стоје прекрштенихруку на грудима. У Диатаксисуцаритрадског патријарха Филотеја(1364-1376. г.) на вечерњи предпрокимен, кад на ћаконов возглас:"Премудрост", јереј благослови: Мирсвима, каже се: "И окренувши се јереј


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западу, са везаним рукама (дедеменасехон тас хирас), тј. прекрштеним нагрудима, чека завршетак прокимена.

Према томе Диатаксису, без обзирада ли је он дело патријархавасељенског (икуменику), Филотеја,како га наводи Гоар и како се обичнодржи, или дело митрополитаираклијског Филотеја, како га премарукопису манастира Пантелејмонанаводи П. Трембелас, у свакомслучају из 15 века, Гоар наводи да учину велике вечерње, из олтара завход излази ћакон са кадионицом, аиза њега јереј са спуштеним фелоном(кехаласмекон ехон то фелонион). Поуласку у олтар, на ћаконов возглас"Пазимо", јереј: Мир свима; ћакон:Премудросг, pазимо! и појципрокимен дана, и кад се заврши,ћакон излази и говори: Рецимо сви...".Нема казивања о лрекрштању рукујереја.

У Длатаксису, на крају про-скомидије, кад свештеник покрије иокади Св. Дарове, стоји: "Ондаповезавши обојица своје руке, ипоклонивши се побожно, говореовако: Благословен Бог који овакоблагоизволи, свагда...

На великом пак входу литургијеЗлатоустове, по уласку у олтар, немаpомена да јереј спушта фелон, nиукршта руке, ни обраћа се ћакону(н.д. стр. 59). Али у Варие лекпионес,Гоар вели да у старим венецијанскимгрчким текстовима, окадивши СветеДарове, по великом ходу литургије,

јереј "халасас то фелонион, ке тасхирас авту десмевсас аллилес",сагиње главу предсв.трпезом" ("опустивши фелон исвезавши руке своје једну с другом").Истим речима казују то и рукописниЕвхологаони Етничке библиотеке уАтини бр. 765 и 767 18 век.

И у нашим рукописима говори сетакоће о скрштању руку свештеникау наведеним случајевима: На вечерњипред прокимен.

По преносу Светих дарова навеликом входу Златоустове литургије:Дечанске библиотеке, бр. 119, 14 вek

У старим црквенословенскимштампашш Служебницима до којихсам могао доћи, казује се опрекрштавању руку како све-штеника, тако и ћакона, канонарха,чтеца и монаха. У Сlужебникуштампаном 1746. у Кијево-печерскојлаври, на великој вечерњи, канонархговори прокимен са стиhovima.Нема, дакле, помена о прекрштањуруку јереја. А тако редовно биће удоцнијим црквенословенскимиздањима Служебника.

У бугарском Служебнику, Софија1828. године, на вечерњи после Свјететихиј... "свештеншс се окреће народуи узглашава: Вечерњи прокимен!Појци: Прокимен дана. Читају ли сепаримије свештеniк узглашава:Премудрост! По завршетку паримија,свештеник казује сугубу јектенију".

Nastavak u Sledecem broju...Patrijah Pavle


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By Rev. William ConjelkoChrist founded the Holy Orthodox Church so that in Her and through Her men

might attain everlasting salvation; and He gave her certain properties necessary for the ful-fillment of this aim.

One of the most distinguishing marks of the Church is Her IMPERISHABILITY,for it will endure without any essential change to the end of the world. The Church will lastuntil the end of the world since Christ founded Her for all time and promised to bestowupon Her His perpetual help. The Church will never change, because it would not be theChurch of Christ if either Her constitution or Her attributes were liable to change. In HolyScripture we read of the imperishability of the Church and the perpetual help of Christ inregard to the Church:

"The gates of Hell shall not prevail against Her." (Matt. 28:20)"Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world."

(Matt. 28:20)The true Church of Christ is also INFALLIBLE, which means that She cannot err in

defining and explaining revealed truth. The Church cannot err, because God Himselfguards Her from error and thus preserves Her in truth. St Paul speaks of the Church as the"pillar and ground of truth." (1 Tim. 1:15) If the Church could err, She would be overcomeby the spirit of falsehood and Christ's promise would be meaningless. The infallibility ofthe teaching office of the Church is clearly mentioned in Holy Scripture. "Go ye andteach all nations . . ." (Matt 28:18-20) By this command Christ promised that He would bewith the Apostles to the end of the world.

The Orthodox Church is infallible in teaching because She is under the constantwatch of the Holy Spirit who preserves Her from all error in matters of faith and morals.

The Orthodox Church is ONE because She is one spiritual body with one Head,Jesus Christ and is governed by one Spirit of God.

The Church is HOLY because it is sanctified by Jesus Christ through His passion,through His doctrine, through His prayers and through the Sacraments. (Eph. 5:25-27)

We refer to the Orthodox Church as CATHOLIC, because She is not limited to anyplace, time or people, but contains true believers of all places, times and peoples.

The Orthodox Church has the right to call Herself APOSTOLIC, for from the Apos-tles themselves She has received Her teachings without change and has continued, withouta break, the succession of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of consecratedhands.

Let us pray that a better knowledge of the attributes of our Orthodox CatholicChurch will enable us to better understand Her and Love Her.

19 Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM 2013Stewardship is our financial response to God and His Church. Through our financial

commitment our Parish will be able to carry on its programs for all its members. Please fillyour stewardship card and mail it to the Church office. “ God has given us everything we

have. He expects from us a generous portion of our blessings for the needs of His Church.”Starateljstvo je ne{ finansiski odgovor prema Bogu i Njegovoj crkvi. Kroz na

{a nov~ano obavezivanje na{a parohija bi}e u mogu}nosti di ispuni sve njene pro-grame prema svim parohijanima. Molimo vas popunite KARTU STARATELJSTVA ipo{aljite je u crkvenu kancelariju. “Bog nam je dao sve {to imamo. On i o~ekuje odnas dobar deo od blagoslova nam dati za potrebe Njegove crkve”.We are grateful to the following Stewards of our parish family for their pledge of support

to the Church and her ministries .

Final numbers of Stewards for 2013Lori Jovovich-AjaxRadomir AntovichBogdanka BobocaicDon and Carmen BowenIlija & Anna BradaricNicholas BrownAnnette & Joe ChinnMargaret ChernayLjubinko & Nevenka ChurchinAnna CippaDrago & Andja CvjetkovicPava & Bosiljka CvjetkovicPava Djordjevic Biserka DelicDaisy FreemanLeo & Aleksandra GlebovAndjelka GojkovicJohn GojkovichRobert & Zorka GojkovichHoria GrozaChris & Yuliya JohnsonAngelia & Dragutin JovanovicMichael & Trina JovovichDimitri & Luba Karnaookh

Gladys KatsikisSilvia KenteraJohn & Nevenka KordicPaula KordicSteve & Gail KosachMilos KovacBarbara LobodovskyBorka MalkovichBill & Martha MamikaIlinka MeglemreMirjana MarkovicCarolyn MetzkaRobert MillerAna MileusnicSavka MileusnicMiroslav & Marie Milovano-vichPetar K. MilovicDragan i Katarina MirkovicDesanka MojsicStanko & Vesna MojsichBetty MoomeyGail Mraovic

Elsie MrvosVelika PejovicDraginja PetrovicZoran & Milena PopazivanovProto & Protinica PopovicMilos & Mileva RadmanovicMilanka RadosavljevichTodor & Milena RajakDanica Gojkovich RyderDave Garo & Farnces SokitchIvanka StefanovichZlatko & Kim TheodorovicJovo TicaMilan & Betty TicaNikola & Zorka TicaSteve & KathleenVickersDragan & Michael VidovichHelen VukasovichProto & Protinica WeirConnie Ziacan

20Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

O K T O B E R 2013 O K T O B A RSundayNedelja

MondayPonedeljak

TuesdayUtorak

WednesdaySreda

Thursdayêtvrtak

FridayPetak

SaturdaySubota

1 2

AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.Catechism Class 6:20pm

3 4 5Memorial Saturday

ZADUSNICELiturgy at 9:00am

Vespers- Ve~ernje

615th Sunday after PentecostDivine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.15-ta Nedeq Po DuhovimaGospel. Matt. 22:35-46;

Epistle: 2.Cor 4:6-15;

7 8 9

No AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.No Catechism Class 6:20pm

10 11 12

Vespers- Ve~ernje6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest


Epistle: 2.Cor. 6:1-10;

14Protection

of Holy TheotokosPOKROVICA

Liturgy at 9am

15 16


17 18 19St. ThomasTOMINDAN

Liturgy at 9amVespers- Ve~ernje

6:00 p.m.

2017th Sunday after PentecostDivine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.17-ta Nedeq po DuhovimaGospel. Matt. 15:21-28;Epistle: 2.Cor. 6:16-7:1;

21 22 23


24 25 26Vespers- Ve~ernjeat 6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest---

PARASKEVA 2718th Sunday after Pentecost

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.18-ta Nedeqa po Duhovima

Gospel. Lk.5:1-11; Jn.17:1-13; Matt. 25:1-31;Epistle:2.Cor.9:6-11; Heb.13:9:16; Gal.3:23-29;

28 29 30AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.

Catechism Class 6:20pm

31St. Peter of Cetinje

Petar CetinjskiSt. Luke-Sv. Luka

Liturgy at 9am

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CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS? - MENJATE ADRESIf you’re planning to move, please let us know before changing your address.Ako èlite da se preselite na drugu adresu obavestite nas pre nego se preselite.

Write to –Pi{ite nam naAssumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

7777 Sunset Ave. Fair Oaks, Ca. 95628

KSSMeeting


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ALL ALTAR BOYS ARE ASKED TOSERVE WHEN ATTENDING CHURCH

Reader Schedule

Message to all readers:Please make note of the days you are

to read and make plans to come tochurch before 10:00 a.m.

Octoberber — Oktobar 6Reader: Protinica Maryann

Gospel. Matt. 22:35-46;Epistle: 2.Cor 4:6-15;

Octoberber — Oktobar 13Reader: Natalie Fitzpatrick

Gospel. Matt. 25:14-30;Epistle: 2.Cor. 6:1-10;

Octoberber — Oktobar 20Reader: Nick BrownGospel. Matt. 15:21-28;Epistle: 2.Cor. 6:16-7:1;

Octoberber — Oktobar 27Reader: Rade Radulovich


November — Novembar 1Reader: Dimitri Karnaookh

Gospel. Lk.6:31-36;Epistle: 2 Cor. 11:31-12:9;

INFORMATION FOR NOVEMBERSHEPHERD

If anyone has anything they would like toadd to the Shepherd, the last day tosend information is October 15th.

INFORMACIJE ZA NOVEMBARSKIAko imate ne{to da bi èleli da dateza mese~ni Pastir, zadnji dan za to je15 OKTOBAR. Nazovite Protu Dana

ili po{aljite po{tom.

O K T O B E R 2013 O K T O B A RSundayNedelja

MondayPonedeljak

TuesdayUtorak

WednesdaySreda

Thursdayêtvrtak

FridayPetak

SaturdaySubota

1 2


3 4 5Memorial Saturday

ZADUSNICELiturgy at 9:00am

Vespers- Ve~ernje


Epistle: 2.Cor 4:6-15;

7 8 9


10 11 12

Vespers- Ve~ernje6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest


Epistle: 2.Cor. 6:1-10;

14Protection

of Holy TheotokosPOKROVICA

Liturgy at 9am

15 16


17 18 19St. ThomasTOMINDAN

Liturgy at 9amVespers- Ve~ernje

6:00 p.m.

2017th Sunday after PentecostDivine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.17-ta Nedeq po DuhovimaGospel. Matt. 15:21-28;Epistle: 2.Cor. 6:16-7:1;

21 22 23


24 25 26Vespers- Ve~ernjeat 6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest---

PARASKEVA 2718th Sunday after Pentecost

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.18-ta Nedeqa po Duhovima


28 29 30AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.

Catechism Class 6:20pm

31St. Peter of Cetinje

Petar CetinjskiSt. Luke-Sv. Luka

Liturgy at 9am

SERBIAN FESTIVAL -SRPSKI FESTIVAL

OCTOBER 12, 2013

22Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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By Fr. Laurence BarrigerOne of the questions that is frequently

posed by many sincere Orthodox Christiansconcerns the practice of praying for the de-parted especially the practice of celebratingthe Divine Liturgy for the departed. This tra-ditional practice, perhaps because of exposureto Protestant fundamentalism or simply therationalist Western philosophy that dominatesour culture, is often openly disparaged by thefaithful or subtly discouraged by clergy whofeel that it is a "Western practice" somehowrelated to praying people out of purgatory.

The "traditional answers" concerningprayer for the departed do not seem to satisfythese people. Among these are the views that"God who sees all, including the prayers thatwill be offered after the death of the person,takes them into account while the person isalive" and, "we pray for the departed becauseour love for them does not end at death butcontinues to affect them in the sight of God."Of course, there are many numerous quotesfrom the Church Fathers concerning both ofthese thoughts, such as this beautiful passagefrom St. Cyril of Jerusalem:"For I know that many are saying this: "If asoul departs from this world with sins, whatdoes it profit it to be remembered in theprayer?" Well, if the king were to banish cer-tain persons who had offended him, and thoseintervening for them were to plait a crownand offer it to him on behalf of the ones whowere being punished, would he not grant aremission of their penalties? In the same waywe too offer prayers to Him for those who

have fallen asleep, though they be sin-ners. We do not plait a crown, butoffer up Christ who has been sacri-

ficed for our sins; and thereby we propitiate thebenevolent God for them,as well as for ourselves." —Catechetical Lectures5:10.

However, to truly understand the reasonwhy the Church prays for the departed, we mustunderstand what we are asking for when we pray.

The most common theme of prayers for thedeparted focuses on the word "rest". Thus in theKondak for the Departed we pray: "With thesouls of the righteous brought to perfection, grantrest, O Saviour to the soul of Your servant, keep-ing him for the blessed life that comes fromYou."

In order to understand these prayers it isnecessary to understand the meaning of the word"rest". The author of the Letter to the Hebrewsspeaks about rest. He comments on the eleventhverse of Psalm 95, "They shall never enter intomy rest": For if Joshua had given them rest Godwould not speak later of another day. So then,there remains a Sabbath rest for the people ofGod; for whoever enters God's rest ceases fromhis labors as God did from His. Let us thereforestrive to enter into that rest, that no one fall bythe same sort of disobedience." -Hebrews 4:8-11.St. John Chrysostom, in his sixth homily on theLetter to the Hebrews, distinguishes three usesof the word "rest" in the Bible. The first is usedto describe the rest of God on the seventh day ofcreation; the second, to speak of the land of Pal-estine into which the Hebrew peopled entered asa "rest" from the wandering in the desert, and thethird use of the word is to speak of the futureKingdom of Heaven, the "rest" which is to comefor those who are believers. All of these arereally interconnected. The "rest" of God on theseventh day was not simply that God stoppedworking but rather that He was glorified in His as


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yet unfallen creation. The "rest" of the He-brews on entering the land of Canaan was atype, a sign, of the "rest" of the people of God,not simply an end to labor but their glorifica-tion. The "rest" to come in the Kingdom ofHeaven, is not simply that the faithful nolonger work or suffer but that they share in theglory that belongs to God, becoming "partakersof divine nature" (II Peter 1:4).

This is the rest which we ask the Lord togrant to the departed; not merely the cessationof the effects of the Fall of Man, suffering, sinand death, but their restoration to the glory thatbelonged to humanity before the Fall. This res-toration is being accomplished through the Pas-sion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christand will reach its fulfillment in His SecondComing, with the resurrection of the dead.When we pray "grant rest, O Lord, to Your servant" we are asking for that fulfillment, for thereturn of the Lord Jesus Christ Who comes tojudge the world in righteousness. We are ask-ing that by His appearance, the tragedy andseparation of death be destroyed through theresurrection. The rest that we seek for the de-parted is that they not be forgotten (eternalmemory) but be glorified with Christ in HisComing Kingdom... "where there is no pain,sorrow or sighing, but life ever-lasting."

Prayer for the departed is deeply joinedwith the prayer for the Second Coming ofChrist. If we no longer pray for the departed itis because we have become "comfortable" withdeath, seeing it not as something "unnatural"but as "natural and perfectly acceptable" as thepractitioners of Euthanasia and Abortion tell usit is.

But the Church, through the Scripture,teaches us that death is "unnatural" - "Shall thedead arise and praise You?" asks the Psalmist(Psalm 88:10). Death is the result of the Fall ofhumanity. Christ enters the world to redeem

humanity from this "unnatural state" of deathand restore it through the resurrection to itsnatural state of ever-lasting life.

The Funeral LiturgyThis brings us to some comments on the fu-

neral service itself. The early Church knew ofno funeral service except the Divine Liturgy.For instance, the Apocryphal Martyrdom of St.Matthew reflects the practice of the time when itwas written. It relates that upon the repose ofthe Apostle the local Bishop Plato and hischurch celebrated the Divine Liturgy: And sothey offered the gift of the holy offering forMatthew.

There are many quotes in the Church Fathersreferring to the practice of offering the Eucharistfor the departed, even on the anniversaries oftheir death.

The current funeral service is nothing morethan a "vigil" for the funeral liturgy, expressinggrief at the death of a member of the Church,much as, in the same way, the services of GoodFriday express grief over the death of Christ. Infact the services of Holy Week served as themodel for the funeral practice of the Church.The Paschal Eucharist remembers the Death,Resurrection, and Second Coming of Christ.The celebrant prays at the Liturgy of St. JohnChrysostom,"...remembering the Cross, theTomb, the Resurrection on the Third Day, theSecond and Glorious Coming again, we offer toYou, Yours of Your Own..." The Risen Christreveals Himself in the Eucharist - the sign ofHis Second Coming.

When we celebrate the Eucharist for the de-parted we anticipate through the Eucharist,through the presence of the Risen Christ, beingre-united with the departed in the "rest" of theKingdom of Heaven through the reception ofthe Lord's Body and Blood. As St. Paul writes inI Corinthians 15:57; Continue next page...

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Thanks be to God who gives us the victorythrough ourLord Jesus Christ.Just as it would be unthinkable to have Good Fri-day without the Paschal Liturgy the celebrationof the Eucharist, whenever it is possible andpractical, should be the normal culmination of afuneral.In the first century work called The Teaching ofthe Twelve Apostles there is a Eucharistic prayergiven that reflects very much the above:Remember, Lord, Your Church, to deliver it fromall evil and perfect it in Your love, and bring ittogether from the four winds, now sanctified intoYour Kingdom which You have prepared for it.When we pray for the departed we are echoingthe ancient prayer "Marantha - Our LordCome" (I Cor. 16:22), asking the Lord to remem-ber the departed, whose lives are now hiddenwith Christ as St. Paul says (Col. 3:3), and togrant them "rest" with Him in the age to come.

Reflection from a parishioner...

As I sat down to complete my commit-ment card for the new year, I thought about themany ministries that the Church focuses on.Whether it is Church School, blessing the breadand wheat for slava, sending care packages toSerbia or cooking in the kitchen for a Diocesanevent - these are all very important and require agreat amount of planning, hard work and execu-tion. Stewardship allows for the consistent sup-port of these ministries and will help the parishplan throughout the year.

When focusing on fundraising, this re-sults in an inconsistent flow of resources thatmakes planning much more difficult. Please con-sider providing your Time, Talents and Treasureson a consistent basis. We would never think ofChurch School classes being offered only afterEaster or the celebration of slavas during justMay and January but with fundraising as the fo-cus, this is what we actually plan for.

Контемплирање једног парохијанина.....

Када сам сео да попуним Старатељску картуза следећу годину , размисљао сам о мнгоимстварима које Црква чини . Било да је Црквенашкола , Благосиљање хлеба и жита за Славу,слање помиоћи у Србију или кување у кухињиу Цркви- све ово је веома важно и захтевамного планирања и рада. Старатељствопомаже Цркви да све ово обавља током целегодине са много мање напора. Када требанешто да се уради и када морамо да сеослањамо на помоћ која није стална , тешко јеочекивати добре резултате.Молимо вас да размислите о донирању вашегВремена , Талената и Новца на константнојоснови тј. редовно.

o " Great news!" the psychiatrist says tohis patient! "You're cured!" "Cured!"shouts the patient. "I need to be JuliusCaesar. Now I'm nobody!"

o The reason women don't play football isthat 11 of them would never wear thesame outfit in public.

o One friend complained to another. "Allmy husband and I do anymore is fight.I've been so upset, I've lost 20 pounds."If it's that bad, why don;'t you justleave him?" asked the second friend."I'd like to lose another 15 pounds first." replied the first friend.

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ON THE LIGHTER SIDEA stark-naked woman jumps into a taxi and gives the cabbie an address. The cabbie

just looks at her making no attempt to drive. "What are you staring at?" the womanasks. "Haven't you seen a naked woman before?" "I'm wondering where you're keepingthe money to pay me?"

o " What's the difference between an optimist and a pessimist" a woman asked her hus-band. He thought for a minute before responding. "An optimist is the guy who createdthe airplane. A pessimist is the guy who created the parachute.

o "Why doesn't your mother like me?" a woman asks her boyfriend. "Don't take itpersonally," he answers her. "She's never liked anyone I've dated. I once dated someoneexactly like her, and that didn't work out at all." "What happened?" she asked. "My fa-ther couldn't stand her" he replied.

o Two men were discussing how much they knew about religion, each boasting heknew morethan the other. Finally, to prove his superiority, one said, "I bet you can't say theLord's ; Prayer." Well, I'll take that bet," the other man said. "Now I lay me down tosleep" ~-

o A man had just finished listening to the audio book "Man Of The House" while driv-ing home from work. Encouraged by what he had heard, when he arrived home, hestormed into the house and walked directly up to his wife. Pointing his finger in herface, he said, "From now on I want you to know that I am the man of the house and myword is law" "You are to prepare a gourmet meal for me tonight, and when I am fin-ished eating, I expect a sumptuous desert afterward." "Then after dinner you are goingto draw my bathso I can relax." "When I am finished with my bath, guess who is going to dress me andcomb my hair?" "The funeral director is my guess," said his wife.

o A little boy got lost and found himself in the women's locker room. When he wasspotted, the room burst into shrieks with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover.The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, "What's the matter-haven't theyever seen a little boy before?"

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Calendar of EventsWe are publishing a calendar of events

so that you and your familycan join us for these events. All are welcome

and we hope to see you at Church,as well as these events.

More details will follow.

October 12, Serbian FestivalNovember 10, Stewardship SundayNovember 16, Slavic FestivalNovember 24, KSS SlavaNovember 28, Christmas Lent BeginsDecember 22, Children's DayDecember 29, Mothers’ DayJanuary 5, Fathers’ Day

Your Church Board Welcomes you.


27. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CHARGES FOR RELIGIOUS RITES - TREBESteward Non-Steward

Wedding $50 $500Baptism Donation DonationChurch Funeral Donation $300Chapel $50 $300Parastos—Panihida $25 $100Pomen $15 $ 50Certificates $10 $ 20

Parish StatisticsWEDDING: September 29, Sandor Gal and Gabriela Gibson from Orangevale,Ca

BAPTISM: No

FUNERAL: September 25, Rafael Gosovich, Memory eternal! –Vecnaja Pamjat!September 27, Christine Kentera, Memory eternal! –Vecnaja Pamjat!

PARASTOS: September 23 for Martha MamikaSeptember 23 for Zivka Filipovic

Memory eternal! –Vecnaja Pamjat!

BECOME A SHEPHERDSPONSOR FOR 2013

Please consider becoming a Shepherd Sponsor. For $ 25 you will become a bronze Spon-sor, for $ 50 a Silver Sponsor and for $ 100.00 a gold Sponsor. Your name or the name of

a loved one will be listed.You could advertise your business thru our SHEPHERD

SHEPHERD SPONSOR for2013

GOLD SPONSORSHIPFor good health of his family

ByGene Pleces

SHEPHERD SPONSOR for2013

SILVER SPONSORSHIPFor good Health of their family

byMilivoje & Cveta Radovanovic


28. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Would you have been a disciple two thousandyears ago?.

Don't answer too quickly.

If you are like many of the Orthodox in thiscountry, you have already attended an Easterservice. Some of you are strictly Easter Chris-tians and this is the only time of the year youattend a church service. You may have paradedin Church in your Easter finery to be. noticed.

You have heard the message of Hope;you have been assured of the redemption ofyour sins and of life everlasting.

The mystique of the Church in its mostawesome day may have transformed you. Inthis mood, you may be willing to answer:"Yes, I would have been a disciple two thou-sand years ago!"

Let's place ourselves on the scene inJerusalem. It has been a most electrifyingweek. The carpenter from Galilee, who entered the city in glory a week ago, was arrested, tried^ and crucified for being what wasconsidered a revolutionary. His follow-ers, noteven, a scant dozen now, made themselves,scarce- they may have even feared far theirlives.

Even that big bluff one, the rock, Peter, whom everyone knew followed the carpenter, denied ever knowing him- not once, nottwice, but three times.

So you would buck the temper of thecrowd and the times, and say you are a disciple? ;

That would take a lot of moral fortitude, but there is even more demanded of youto qualify.

You were expected, you recall, togive up all your possessions, and go into theworld with one staff and one cloak, to makeout as best you could, in order to teach.

To teach what? T o teach a doctrineso foreign it could get you into all kinds oftrouble, like being storied to death.Among other things, you'd have to teach thatif you get in a beef with somebody, "agreewith thine adversary quickly, , « . lest the ad-versary deliver thee to the judge, and thou becast into prison. . . . . . thou shaltby no means come out thence, till thou hastpaid the uttermost farthing, "Then finish up with the precept: "Ye haveheard that it hath been said, an eye for an. eye,and a tooth for a .tooth... . . . . . but Itell you, resist not evil; but. rather, whosoever shall smite thee, on the right cheek,taanoa to- him the other also. And if any manwill sue: thee at law, and take away thy coat,left him have thy cloak also, " And no appealto any higher court, either.,

Being a disciple twenty centuries agowas obviously meant, for the. esoteric fewwho were called. Being a Christian throughoutthe ages has not been easy, although few afterthe fourth century were thrown to the lions .

Being a Christian today, especially inAmerica, would not seem on the face of it, tobe too difficult. The obstacle is not the world,not the crowd, not the times. The obstacletoday is our own self- our egotism, our preju-dices, our concern with ourselves, I'm not go-ing to tick off the entire Sermon on the


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Parishioners hospitalized, sick at home or in nursing homes…Proto Miladin Garic Greta Ljubisavljevic Alexandra FitzpatrickNikola Dragovic Ana Bozinovic Milli MatacicDusko Pesevic Djorge Janjic Persa Dragovic

Sandy Tobe Michael Melnikov Nada KosanovicMilos Kovac Ana Mileusnich Daisy FreemanMichael Sadownikov Oleg & Irina Butin Ana LisnichFrancis Sokitch Milanka Miladinocvic Mihailo KruskaOlivija Taso Danilo PavicevichDear Brothers and Sisters, please remember these people in your daily prayers. If you know anyone who is sickplease let Father Dane know. He would like to visit them and pray for them. His telephone number is 966-6276

or 606-8808.We pray for your return to health and well-being.

When your are making a donation to our Church,please note on the check (under the memo field) what itis for. This is because we have no way of knowing yourintent for the donation. Otherwise, if there is no suchnotation, and if you are already a steward, the donationwill automatically apply towards your stewardship. Ifyou are not a steward, it will be applied as a church do-nation.

Mount, from which I cadged a few examplesabove; but I should like to suggest that being aChristian in its true and literal sense is to be alittle Christ,.

Maybe you would have been a disciplethen- I have no illusion that I would have been,had I lived two thousand years ago-but thatdoesn't mean we can't try in.this day and age,does it?

Let's start our true conversion with justa few precepts; maybe one like, "Love yourenemies, bless them that curse you, do good tothem that hate you, and pray for them that des-pitefully use you, and persecute you..."

Can you? It's a big order.

How about, "Judge not, that ye be not judged........ why beholdest thou the motethat is in thy brother's eye, but consider not thebeam that is in thine own eye? "

Master these, and you are on your way.Everything else will fall into place, you disciple, you......


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Шта са онима који су се родили и умрли унеправославним земљама, који објективнонису имали прилику да чују за Православље?

Пре свега треба приметити да сам начин накоји је питање постављено подразумева даБога у нашем свету нема. У најбољемслучају Бог се појављује након наше смрти,у загробном свету, а овде, на земљи, миживимо сами за себе и зато управо однаших дела зависи да ли ће човек, којиживи у неправославној земљи, добитимогућност да ступи у Православну Цркву.Ето, наши мисионари ће успети да стигнудо Нове Каледоније и - тамо ће се појавитиЦрква. Ако не успеју, на пример, збогбродолома, скупих путничких карата илипросто лењости мисионара - Цркве тамонеће бити. То јест, све одређују наша дела,случај, и ако ми по свом несавршенству инемоћи нисмо у стању да донесемо Благувест до неке земље, Богу остаје само данемоћно тугује због тога и да тражимогућност да спасава несрећне становникеНове Каледоније након смрти.

Само при оваквом размишљању је могућепостављање гореуказаног питања. Међутим,овакав поглед нема ништа заједничко саПравославном вером у Бога Сведржитеља иПромислитеља Који "промишља о земљи... иуправља свом васељеном" (види Јов. 34:17).Зар се Бог, Који се брине чак о томе дапошаље гавранима храну или да украсикринове бојом (види Лк. 12:24,27), нећепобринути да спаси човека који је "толикопретежнији од птица"? (Лк. 12:24)

Знамо да је "Господ добар" (Пс. 135:3), даОн "хоће да се сви људи спасу и да дођу упознање истине" (1 Тим. 2:4). Он све може,зато је о Себи и рекао: "Ја сам БогСвемогући" (1 Мојс. 17:1; 35:11). Он зна све(Јер. 15:15; Јест. 4:17), Њему је откривено ионо што се догађа у уму и срцима људи: "јерсва срца испитује Господ и сваку помисаозна" (1 Дневн. 28:9), "Он зна тајне усрцу" (Пс. 44:21). Зато Писмо и назива Бога"Познавалац срдаца свију" (Дела ап. 1:24,15:8).

Али ако је Бог управо такав онда нијемогуће да Он не би привео Себи, уПравославну Цркву коју је створио, човекакоји Га искрено тражи и чије срце јеоткривено за истину и љубав према Богу.

Ако пак ово оспоримо и почнемо датврдимо да Бог оставља без пажње рукеистинољубаца које су подигнуте премаЊему, да Он баца у море греха и лажи душељуди који би постали искрено православниако би до њих дошао православни мисионари говорио им о Христу - онда се постављапитање: зашто Бог тако поступа? Зашто нијепослао мисионара том човеку?Одговарајући на ово питање, суочавамо сеса "трилемом":

Ако Бог зна да у неком неправославномнароду постоји човек чије срце је откривенои спремно да Га прими, и Он хоће да гаспаси али не може - тада Бог није свемогућ.

Ако Бог може да спаси таквог човека, ижели да га спаси, али не зна чему сеприклања човеково срце и није у стању давиди ко је од људи откривен за истину -тада Бог није свезнајући.


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Ако Бог зна да постоји човек који јеоткривен за истину и који жуди за њом, иОн може да га спаси али неће - тада Бог нијесвеблаг.

Свако од ових мишљења доводи до истогоног богохулства о коме говори светиИгњатије.

Међутим, постоји и четврто решење, јединопри коме нема богохулства. Ово решење сепојављује када одбацимо фантазију, за којуне знамо на чему је заснована, да тобож уиноверном народу живе људи који љубеистину и који су спремни да приме Бога усрце, али Бог из неког разлога или не зна,или не може, или не жели да их спаси, већдолазимо до питања: а шта ако је разлог удругоме? Шта ако Бог зна, може и хоће, алипросто у том народу у конкретном тренуткуњегове историје "нема онога који тражиБога. Сви застранише" (Рим. 3:11-12). ЗатоБог и не шаље мисионаре јер добро зна:њихов труд ће у том тренутку бити безуспеха.

У књизи Дела Апостолских пише: "А кадпрођоше Фригију и Галатијску земљу,забрани им Дух Свети говорити ријеч уАзији. Дошавши до Мизије покушаваху даиду у Витинију, али им Дух недопусти" (Дела ап. 16:6-7). Како? Истог тогапостола Павла који је написао да Бог "хоћеда се сви људи спасу и да дођу у познањеистине" (1 Тим. 2:4), Сам Бог не пушта дапроповеда у тим земљама.

Зашто?

Зар Бог не би хтео да се спасу људи који утом тренутку живе у Азији и Витинији?

Разуме се да би хтео. Међутим, Бог којивиди срца људска и мисли њихове, знао једа нико од њих у том тренутку не тражиистину и неће примити апостолскупроповед.

Шта би се догодило када би апостолидошли у таква места, објавили Јеванђеље исви становници до једног одбацили тупроповед? Сам Христос говори о томе: "И укоји год град уђете и не приме вас,изишавши на тргове његове, реците: И прахшто нам је прионуо од града вашега за ногенаше отресамо вам. Али ово знајте да вамсе приближило Царство Божије! Кажемвам да ће Содому бити лакше у Дан онајнеголи граду томе." (Лк. 10:10-12)

Праведно је што ће казна за грешнике којису чули проповед о Христу и одбацили јебити много тежа, него за грешнике који сугрешили и робовали греху, не знајући заСпаситеља. Међутим, Господ Који је "благ ипрема незахвалнима и злима" (Лк. 6:35)жели да што мање буде таквих градова. ИОн не шаље тамо апостоле, понекад их чаки задржава да би и тим људима, који су усвом срцу изабрали грех, а не Бога, оставиоолакшавајућу околност за њихову кривицу.То остављање у незнању постаје за њихизраз милосрђа Божијег, јер "онај слуга којије знао вољу господара својега и нијеприправио нити учинио по вољи његовој,биће много бијен; А који није знао, па јеучинио што заслужује батине, биће малобијен" (Лк. 12:47-48). Кроз то видимо љубавБожију, видимо да се Бог брине чак и ољудима који су у срцу свом изабрали таму.

Nastavice se…..ЂАКОН ГЕОРГИЈЕ МАКСИМОВ


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Without it there can be no real peace ofsoul and mind. Like a cancer cell, it leftto fester, it will soon reproduce in itsown way and dominate our lives, leavingno room for Christian peace, for joy orlove. We thereby fall victims to our ownspiritual shortsightedness, superficialityand limitations.

What happens when somebody, con-sciously or inadvertently, hurts our pre-cious and important feelings? We areoffended, and we may not make itknown at the time. Some of us are sim-ply incapable of rapid-fire backtalk,that sort of comeuppance good Christian breeding prevents; but we cringeinside and are truly wounded and wecannot forget the offense. It takes quickhold within us and ignites like a spark ondry straw.

Does it help to pray about it? Itmost certainly could, if we would onlyhave a change of heart! But we want ourHeavenly Father to take vengeance onthe person who hurt us. We are notreally looking for healing for the offenderas well as ourselves. When our HeavenlyFather does not offer us a sign of visibleretribution, we become doubly and tri-ply injured and offended. We may ac-knowledge the admonition of our Lordas being realistic:

Blessed are the merciful, for they shallobtain mercy (Matthew 5:7).

But we conveniently exclude our-

By Bishop Nicholas

Forgive us our trespasses as weforgive those who trespass against us....For if you forgive men when they sinagainst you, your Heavenly Father willalso forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will notforgive your sins. Matthew 6:12-15.We are reminded from the Scripture'sfirst pages that we are created in God'simage; and nothing is more divine thanour ability to forgive one another what-ever feelings or sentiments we possess. Infact, it requires that special gift andstrength from our Heavenly Father thatwe call grace, because without it we willbe in danger of reacting in a savage way,hunting out a means to wreak vengeanceupon those whom we feel have done in-jury to us, thereby giving proof to thosewho believe it to be merely a delusionthat human beings are in someway godly.Our actions betray us in a way that con-tradicts what God has revealed to usabout ourselves. We offer proof to believ-ers and non-believers alike that contra-dicts the love God has for us.

Besides that, forgiving is a necessaryelement in the healing of our inner selves.


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selves from its binding and influentialeffect. Still, we seek revenge, or as wecall it, justice, and not the mercy of theLord. Both we and the alleged offenderneed the mercy of the Lord, but we failto acknowledge this eternal truth.

Also, like cancer, the emotion ofanger, compounded by the frustrationthat leads us to alienation, changesform. It grows out of all proportion tothe original affront, focusing on the onewe perceive as the enemy, making thatperson the target of everything that hastroubled us ever since. He or she be-comes a symbol of all that is cruel, insen-sitive and wrong in the world. Worse, wefail to notice the development within usof hatred proliferating so rapidly, it eas-ily and quickly overwhelms us. Sepa-rated from our Heavenly Father becausewe think He won't help by participatingin our evil plot, and from the Divine SonWho readily explains why He cannot bethe instrument of our vengeance, we areleft alone in the dark dismal pit of self-righteous indignation, nourishing our-selves on that flame of anger that at thesame time consumes our true, God-giftednature. Indeed, we almost enjoy the suf-fering we have inflicted on ourselveseven though we blame others for it!The only true, salutary, Christian solu-tion is forgiveness. First, however, mustcome a total and complete conversion ofattitude in Christ we believers describeas repentance. It means a radical change

of outlook, a complete about-face, a totalturn-around, from our egocentric insis-tence on being the policemen of the worldaddressing every little fault and injury toour pride, and facing instead the HolyOne on the life-saving Cross Who set Hisholy countenance upward and above theevil surrounding Him, above those whotormented Him in His agony, asking HisFather in heaven to show mercy on them,for they could not possibly, in fact, un-derstand what they were doing.As St. John Chrysostom reminds us,When we call Christ the Good Shepherd, wemust remember that He is the shepherd ofsheep and not wolves. If we ourselves turninto wolves to attack those who occasionallyconfront us, at least be realistic and honestand aware that we remove ourselves fromChrist's sheepfold and beyond His lovingcare .

I really have a dental plan: Ichew on the other side.


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About a year ago, Associated Pressreported that Princeton Survey ResearchAssociates conducted a poll by telephone,asking people to rank how important,comparatively, each of six issues was tothem. This is how they answered.

- 40% said faith in God was the mostimportant thing in their lives

-29% said good health was most important-21% chose a happy marriage-- 5% responded that an enjoyable job was

most important-2% said a job that pays well was of

paramount importance-2% said the respect of others is what

matters most -—1% responded "none of the above"

Now - isn't that good news? Why,it's great news! Faith in A God is the mostimportant thing in the lives of Americans! aThink of the wonderful effect this will haveon the economy -o architects and contrac-tors will be hiring for the big building 2boom in churches. Our seminary will haveto expand, hiring more faculty (but gettinga lot more in the way of tuition, too!)And certainly every company can expect a"moral dividend" as u workers put their,faith into action no more trying to "take the8i company" for all they can get will meanlower costs and higher P productivityacross the board.

Andgood health

— why, that's the next most impor-tant thing Y in Americans' lives! I

guess its time to sell all our tobacco and s,alcohol and junk food stocks. And I knowwe all look forward to u a big decrease inhealth insurance premiums and doctor bills,A happy marriage is third most important.Well, that's y encouraging, too. Good mar-riages tend to be self-supporting, so thatwill mean fewer tax dollars for welfare andpublic assistance programs. And I'm surethe police will be glad to know J that theywon't be handling so many domestic dis-putes any-c more.The Actual FactsSo — what's wrong with this picture? Well,if faith in God is t supposedly the "mostimportant" thing to us Americans, then a Iquick look at our checkbooks should bearthis out. But in a sur-) vey done a fewyears ago, the Gallup organization foundthat » families with yearly incomes be-tween $50,000 and $75,000 gave ^ only1.5% to charity, religious or otherwise. An-other study by , the Lilly Foundationlooked at giving to churches between1968 , and 1985, a seventeen-year pe-riod. While disposable income increased by103% during those seventeen years, theaverage contribution to churches rose only2%. And meanwhile, the leisure industry— what we spend to entertain ourselves —soaks^ up 12% — one eighth] — of theaverage American's income.Is faith in God really "most important?If it is, our schedules and daily calendars


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should show it. Last November, a groupcalled American Demographics reportedthat Americans now have more free timethan in 1965, about forty hours per week.Naturally, television eats up the biggestshare, with an average of fifteen hours ofTV viewing per week per person. Visitingfriends and talking takes up another four tofive hours. Religion? An hour a week forwomen, even less for men.

A Bit of ConfusionSo, faith in God is "most important," eventhough we don't spend much time ormoney on it. Well, if it is most important,then certainly it should make a differencein the area we supposedly don't care allthat much about — our jobs. Is this thecase?The Princeton Religion Research Centerhas measured the impact of religion on day-to-day work habits. It compared"churched" Americans (those who considerthemselves members j of an establishedchurch) with "unchurched" Americans on awide range of behaviors, such as takingsupplies home (stealing), overstatingqualifications on a resume (lying), callingin sick when not really sick (lying, andstealing), and overstating tax deductions(lying, stealing, and cheating). They found,and I quote, "little difference in the ethicalviews and behavior of the churched and theunchurched." What differences they didfind, they said, "are not significant or are ofmarginal significance."Now, I have to confess to a bit of confusionhere. If faith in God makes no difference inhow we spend our money; if it makes no

difference in how we spend our time; if itmakes no difference in our ethics andmoral behavior "on the job" — then justhow "important" can it really be?Investing Our LivesBut I must admit, though, that if someonecalled me on the telephone with those sixchoices, I would have responded with jthe 40% who said that faith in God is themost important thing I in life.In acts 11:26, we read that in Antioch thedisciples of Christ I were called"Christians" for the very first time, andpeople havebeen calling themselves "Christian" eversince. But we need to ' realize one thing,something very important: Christ demandsthat if we're going to call ourselves"Christians," if we're goingto call ourselves "children of God," thenwe have to give Godmore than just a nod, more than just apassing glance, as : : we invest our lives ineverything but our faith. H So let's de-cide, here and now, that our faith in Godwon't bejust lip service. God doesn't need thatfrom us. If we're going to 9 call ourselvesChristians, then let's be Christians — andlet's letit show in how we spend our time, ourmoney, our actions. Let'slet it show in how we spend our lives.

—Very Rev. David B. Sedor


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Fair Oaks, CAHow is it possible that each Slava

celebration is totally different from everyother one? There is much hard work andanxiety that all will be in readiness bymany of us – from the ones who clean the

Church and groundsto the ones who pre-pare the food to theClergy who come topray with us. Then,God, in His infinitewisdom and love forus, reaches down tous and grants us anabundance of excite-ment and joy on theday of the Slava.

And all is right with the world and with us.Thus, we now fondly remember

Slava 2013. There was much to be thank-ful for this year. The celebration actually

began on Satur-day eveningAugust 24th withVespers. AsVladika Maximentered theChurch, the sunwas brightly

shining behind him as though it was urginghim to come into the cool of the

evening to lead us in prayer. Whatwas especially wonderful was that

he was greeted by young people in theirteens, twentiesand thirties –they had beeninvited tomeet and visitwith Vladikaat the conclu-sion of theservice. After

Vespers many of these young peoplestayed for Confession while those who hadalready been to Confession proceeded tothe parish home of Proto Dane andProtinica Milica Popovic. Protinica Milicahad prepared a sumptuous Lenten repastfor the group. Approximately 20 youngpeople were joined by visiting clergy fromBeale Air Force Base and St. Herman’sMonastery in Platina for the evening meal.

While the clergy sat in the livingroom and visited, Vladika Maxim sat sur-rounded by the young people and theyshared an evening of exploring ideas.Some items were philosophical – like thediscussion of what ‘now’ means in rela-tionship to the Church. Some items weresocietal – like what is the outlook for Or-thodox Christians on the problems beingfaced by Syrian and Coptic Orthodox inEgypt. As the early evening progressed tothe late evening hours, one thing was cer-tain – our future is secure in the hands and


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hearts ofthose whoare nowcoming ofage in ourcommu-nity.

Sunday morning all was in readi-ness for a glorious day of celebration.While flowers were being presented toVladika Maxim outside the Church, insidethe Church a new child was beginning herlife in Christ by being churched. As theGodparents and Isa moved to the center ofthe Church, Vladika was immediately ontheir heels and Ebba’s Baptism began. Formany of us, this was the first time we hadwitnessed a Baptism by a Bishop per-formed during Divine Liturgy. How won-derful to have a Baptism during the ChurchSlava celebration! How wonderful to haveRob and Zorka Gojkovich representing usas Kumovi for the Church Slava celebra-tion! As FUTURE of our Church life.

Thus, God blessedus mightily on ourSlava Day.

At the con-clusion of the mostbeautiful DivineLiturgy, our Cul-tural Center wasfilled with laughterand happiness aswe shared in awonderful mealprepared by loving

hands. Vladika Maxim bestowed Gramatasupon three of our members. Now we hon-

ored those whohave servedour communityfor the PAST.MiroslavMilovanovich,Elsie Mrvos

and Borka (Vera) Malkovich were recog-nized for dedicated service to our Church.As we Thank God for their willingness toserve for many years,we also pray thatGod will Grant ThemMany More Years ofHealth and all goodthings.

And so, weended our day underthe prayerful eye ofour Beloved VladikaMaxim. All hadprayed together, wel-comed a new Chris-tian into the fold,broken bread together, rejoiced in acknowl-edging worthy stewards and were happy tobe together. We had had a Slava such aswe had never seen before.

God and His BlessedMother hadgiven us atrue celebra-tion for 2013.


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CHURCH SLAVACELEBRATION

2013

39Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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If a person is truly honest before God, then the Ten Commandments will revealhow sinful he really is, "for by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20). Letus now consider some of the Ten Commandments (found in Exodus chapter 20). Wewill only consider six of them. Test yourself by checking either TRUE or FALSE:____ TRUE____ FALSERead the First Commandment (found in Exodus 20:3).

I have always put the Lord first and I have always given the Lord first place in mylife. I have never let anything or anyone else take the place that God should have inmy life.____ TRUE____ FALSERead the Third Commandment (found in Exodus 20:7).

I have never taken the Lord’s Name in vain or used God’s Name in a careless orthoughtless way. I have always treated God’s Name with utmost reverence and re-spect.____ TRUE____ FALSERead the Fifth Commandment (found in Exodus 20:12).

I have always honored my parents and have given them the highest respect. I havenever disobeyed my parents and when I was younger I never needed or deserved aspanking.____ TRUE____ FALSERead the Eighth Commandment (found in Exodus 20:15).

I have never stolen anything from anyone. I have never taken anything that did notbelong to me. I have always respected the property and possessions of others.____ TRUE____ FALSE

40Serbian O

rthodox Church of the A

ssumption

7777 Sunset Avenue

Fair Oaks, C

alifornia 95628

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ShepherdY

ear $24:00M

onthly $ 2:00

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SHEPHERD SH RDsacserbchurch.org/sac/wp-content/uploads/file/OCTOBER... · 2018-07-13 · izgubimo ~itav Stari Zavet, I kad bi izgubili I Novi Zavet, na{ gubitak bi bio tragic~an,