PROSPHORA FOR TODAY IS OFFERED BY: Deborah HartzIn Memory Eternal of: Parents, Paul & Bernadette; Infants Mark & Barbara; John & Elizabeth; Philip & Hilda; Edward & Irene; Caroline & Louis; Agnes &August; Charles & Stephen; Fr. Roman Braga; Mother Theodora-Amphilopia; Sister Alexandra; newly-departed Matushka Barbara Frenchek; and all membersof the Hartz, Zwilchir, Smith, Nied & Fisher families; and for the Health of: Mother Gabriella & all the sisters of HDM; Father Roman & Matushka Rose Marie;

Elizabeth & Larry & family; Elaine; Sherri, and all friends, family and parishioners.

FOR THE REPOSE OF: Estelle & Joseph Star; Anna & John Witkowski; Michael Sr. & Margaret Rusko; Mary, Andrew, Daniel,Michael & Lottie Yakuber; Ross & Margaret Falsetti; Helen, John & Carole Andrayko; Peter & Theresa Harvilla; Betty Martell; Frances, Todd& John Smoly; Peter Glover; Irene Adams; Ethel Elizabeth & Wayne Joshua deVyver, David Horka; Michael Rusko; Anna Lichagina, Yelena& Zinaïda Korniyevskaya; Joseph Nossal; Michelle Tucker; Todd Comerford, John Manier, Jr.MEMORY Matushka Barbara Frenchek (newly departed, Thursday, March 23rd), of St. Paul’s M-B OCA Church, Dearborn Hts.ETERNAL! Ellen (Olena) Liss (newly departed, Friday, March 31st), Mother of COCC President, Olga Liss (Pokrov Ukr.Ch.,Southfld)

FOR THE HEALTH OF: Archimandrite Seraphim; Priest Daneil, Mat. Debra & Corrina Shirak; Deacon Michael, Mat. Mary Ellen &Julius Comerford; Deacon Joshua, Mat. Abigail, Emma, Clare, Rose & Anna Genig; Matushka Mary Donahue; Reader Robert Latsko, ReaderGeorge & Betty Hanoian, Rose Nossal, Mary Glover, Nancy Cupp, Vasiliki Stamoulis, Gerald Martell, Azbehat, Donald Yakuber, CarldeVyver, Jo Anne Nicholas, Joan Rusko, Daria, Joseph Nossal, Ed Manier, Pat Harbut, John Sedor, Olga Liss, Anna SmerechnakALSO FOR: Clare Genig, who celebrates her birthday on Tuesday, 18 April

Deborah Hartz, who celebrates her birthday on Friday, 21 April

� MAY GOD GRANT THEM MANY YEARS! �

SCHEDULE FOR THE COMING WEEK (NO FASTING DURING BRIGHT WEEK)

TODAY: Sun, 4/16 11am PASCHA: AGAPE VESPERS, with Reading of the Gospel in different languages; Agape fellowship

Saturday 4/22 4pm BRIGHT SATURDAY: GREAT VESPERS

Sunday 4/23 St. Thomas Sunday (2nd Sunday of Pascha)

9:15am Hours & Akathist for the Resurrection

10am DIVINE LITURGY, Followed by Coffee Hour

1pm GRAVE BLESSINGS (after Coffee Hour, about 1:00pm)

Tuesday 4/25 “Joy-Day” (“Radonitsa) (bringing the Joy of the Resurrection to the departed at their graves)

_ 11:30pm (Sat.)— NOCTURNES _ 12:00 Midnight—Procession, RESURRECTION MATINS _ & DIVINE LITURGY of St. John Chrysostom; Blessing of Baskets & Agape Meal __ 11am (Sunday)—PASCHAL VESPERS, with Gospel read in different languages _

Z HOLY PASCHA Z THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST Z

COMMEMORATED TODAY: HOLY PASCHA — THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. [Beginning of thePentecostarion]. Virgin Martyrs Agape, Irene and Chionia, in Illyria (304). Martyrs Leonidas, Chariessa, Nice (Nika, Victoria), Galina, Calista(Calisa), Nunechia, Basilissa, Theodora, and Irene, of Corinth (258). Monk Martyr Christopher of Dionysiou (Mt. Athos—1818).

APRIL 16, 2017

EPISTLE: Acts of the Apostles 1:1 - 8 (#1)GOSPEL: St. John 1:1 - 18 (#1)TONE:

St. Innocent Orthodox ChurchZ 50th Anniversary:1967-2017 Z Moscow Patriarchal Parishes Z23300 W. Chicago _ Redford, MI 48239 _ 313-538-1142 _ Fax: 313-538-8126

Church Website: www.stinnocentchurch.com _ E-Mail: frroman@firebirdvideos.comSt. Innocent Monastic Community: 9452 Hazelton, Redford, MI 48239 _ 313-535-9080

PASTOR: Rt. Rev. Mitered Archpriest ROMAN STAR _ Cell: 313-319-0590 Dean, Central States Deanery, Patriarchal Parishes

ASSISTANT PRIEST: Rev. DANEIL SHIRAK _ 313-295-3073DEACONS: Rev. Dn. Dr. Joshua GenigRev. Dn. Michael Comerford, Attached

ATTACHED: Sister IoannaCHOIR DIRECTOR: Elizabeth Star Hatfield

READER: George Hanoian

Z CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN! Z ÕÐÈÑÒÎÑ ÂÎÑÊÐÅÑÅ! ÂÎÈÑÒÈÍÓ ÂÎÑÊÐÅÑÅ! Z

CANDLES FOR LAST SUNDAY, 9 APRILYEARLY CHURCH VIGIL LAMPS:Royal Doors Lamp: In Memory of Husband, Joseph; Son, Kenneth; parents, Michael & Margaret Rusko, & John & Martha Nossal, by Rose NossalAltar Candelabra: In Memory of Parents, Nicholas and Susan Yakuber, by son, Donald Yakuber Altar Candles (2): In Memory of Irene Adams, by Goddaughter, Rose Ann EverhardtIconostasis Lamps: In Memory of departed family & friends; & Health of family & friends, by Fr. Protodeacon Daniel & Mat. Irene SudolCandles on the Solea: In Memory of Peter & Theresa Harvilla, Norman & Monica Holst, & Ricky Ellis, by Jason & Debra Truskowski Table of Oblation Lamp: In Memory of Parents, Helen & John Andrayko, Sr. & sister, Carole Andrayko, by John Andrayko, Jr.

Reliquary-Icon Lamps: Sts. Innocent, Tikhon & Herman: Health of Joseph/Sue; Robert/Diane; Pat/John; Joseph B., Jared, Jay; Rachelle/Aaron, Gabriel; Tricia, Lindsey; & In Memory of sisters, Anna, Margaret, Theresa & Irene; & brothers, John, Edwin & Michael by Rose NossalReliquary-Icon Lamps: Sts. Elizabeth & Raphael: Health of the Genig and the Just Families, by Fr. Deacon Joshua & Abigail GenigReliquary-Icon Lamps: St. Seraphim & St. Alexis: In Memory of Ross & Margaret Falsetti, by daughters, Rose Ann Everhardt & Margie Martell Reliquary-Icon Lamps: St. Nestor & St. Gerontius: In Memory of Rusko Family: Grandparents, Anna, Alexandra, Mike, Margaret, John, Mary, George, Pauline, Pete, Irene, Andrew, Anna, Grandparents Nickolas & Anna Schulik, by Rose NossalReliquary-Icon Lamps: St. Hilarion & Sts. Alexandra & Martha: In Memory of Parents, Ethel Elizabeth & Wayne Joshua; Robert David H; //

IN MEMORY OF (MEMORY ETERNAL!) //& Health of brother, Carl, by Sister IoannaJoseph & Estelle Star, by son Father Roman and familyPaul & Alexandra Yupco, Basil & Ellen Starinshak, by grandson, Father Roman and familyJohn & Anna Witkowski, by daughter, Matushka Rose Marie and familySamuel & Mary Kupec, by granddaughter, Matushka Rose Marie and family Parents, Helen & John Andrayko, and sister, Carole Andrayko, by John Andrayko + + + My husband, Michael Rusko, by Joan Rusko My husband, Joe; my sisters, Margaret & Ross Falsetti, Anna & Mike Elaschat, Theresa & Pete Harvilla, Irene, & brothers, Michael, John & Edwin Rusko; niece, Rose Mary & Dean Hough; Joe’s brothers, Raymond & Walter Nossal, & sisters, Theresa, Florence & Helen Nossal, by Rose Nossal ++ + Pete & Theresa Harvilla, by Mary Ann Harvilla & Kay Truskowski + + + Jaimie Truskowski, by daughter Kay T. Parents, Ethel Elizabeth & Wayne Joshua; David H; Nina I; Marion P; Fr. Photius; Mo. Benedicta; Archm. Roman; Mat. Barbara F; Ellen Liss, by Sr. Ioanna + + + Child Lana, Shirley, Betty, Marsha, Paul, by Becky Jurczyszyn + + + Lev Chernuchin, by Marianna Wess & family Thelma Ratcliff, Louis Pitts, Gloria Robinson, Reginald Bell, Lessie Favor, Lois Hamby, John Manier III, by Manier familyParents, Michael & Lottie Yakuber; Uncle Chet & Aunt Irene Kempski; Grandparents Yakuber & Gromacki; Uncle Dan Yakuber, by Nancy Cupp

FOR THE HEALTH OF: (MANY YEARS!)Elizabeth & Lawrence, Caitlin & Zachary, by parents & grandparents, Father Roman & Matushka Rose Marie Gregory & Tamiko Star, by parents, Father Roman & Matushka Rose MarieChildren, Grandchildren & Great-grandchildren; Monk Fr. Sdn. Tikhon (Dade); by Rose NossalFather Roman & Matushka & family; Sister Ioanna; John Andrayko; Nancy; Mary G; Jo Anne N; Grandson Joey (in the Navy Reserves) & all people in the Armed Forces; & all St. Innocent Church parishioners, by Rose Nossal + + + Family & Friends, by Mary Ann Harvilla & KayBrother, Greg & Donna; nephew, Gregory & Liz; & nephew, Alex, by Mary Ann Harvilla & Kay + + + Ed Manier, by Mary Ann Harvilla&Kay Archimandrites Nafanail, Gregory & Seraphim; Fr. Roman & Mat. Rose Marie; Fr. Lawrence & fam; Fr. Laurence & fam; Fr. Daneil & fam; Fr. Dcn. Michael & fam; Fr. Dcn. Joshua & fam; Mat. Mary D; Carl; Monk Fr. Tikhon; Sdn Andrew; Rdr Robert; Robert M; David Samuel /Sky & Avi; JoAnne/Nick; Athanasius; John A; Ed/Tiffany & fam; Kim/Mark & fam; Vasiliki; Rose; Emil; Billy/Fonda; John S; Olga Liss, by Sr Ioanna + ++ Rose Nossal, by John Andrayko + + + John Andrayko (May God watch over him), by Rose Nossal Leia, Mike, Reece & Wyatt Wilson; Bob/Joan Jurczyszyn; Toni /Richard Bussen; Pete, Krista, Jacob, Clair, Matt & Paul Stelmaszek; Damon Trestain, Levi Troyer, Briana Saylor, by Becky Jurczyszyn + + + Shirley Peponis, by brother, Nick & JoAnne Alice & Autumn, by Grandmother, Frances Roy + + + Anastasia, by mother, Frances Roy Jason, Marianna, Amilia, Liliana, Andrew, by Wess family + + + Galina & Oleg Chernuhin, by Wess family Christ is Risen! My children: Karen, Kim, Keith, David; Grandchildren: Lucas, Corey, Cali, Saraph & Steven; My niece Cheryl (MS); My cousins: Don Yakuber, June Rock & families; Wesson (job & depression); Rose Nossal & families; Mary Glover & families; John Andrayko; Ed & Tiff Manier & family; Fr. Roman, Mat. Rose Maire & family; Sister Ioanna; Fr. Daneil; Fr. Lev & Mat. Victoria; & all parishioners. Indeed He is Risen! God’s blessings to all, by Nancy Cupp

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(1) PASCHA FLOWERS & BOWS: Thank you very much to all those who donated the flowers that beautified Christ’s Tomb and are nowbeautifying our Temple for Pascha, and to all those who donated for Pascha Bows. (See Mary Ann if you didn’t donate any bows yet & wish to.)

(2) THE REDFORD INTER-FAITH RELIEF NEEDS SPRING/SUMMER CLOTHING, ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN.

(4) NEEDED: PHOTOS OF LIFE AT ST. INNOCENT, 2008 – 2014. To use in 50th Anniversary Commemorative booklet. See Elizabeth.

(3) PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP BRINGING IN YOUR EMPTY, CLEAN, POP CANS & BOTTLES, to help St. Innocent OrthodoxBoy’s Orphanage in Mexico. This is an always-active, on-going, never-ending project, even when it is not mentioned in the bulletin.

(4) “ST. INNOCENT ORTHODOX STUDY GROUP”: with Fr. Deacon Joshua; will resume on Wednesday, 4/26, 6:30 – 7:30 PM

(5) LISTEN EACH SUNDAY TO THE COCC’S DETROIT’S OWN ORTHODOX RADIO HOUR [DOOR] ON WNZK 690-AM, 4-5pmON YOUR RADIO, OR LIVE ON COMPUTER AT http://www.doorradio.org

Z CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN! Z ÕÐÈÑÒÎÑ ÂÎÑÊÐÅÑÅ! ÂÎÈÑÒÈÍÓ ÂÎÑÊÐÅÑÅ! Z

Z KHRISTOS ANESTI! ALITHOS ANESTI! Z HRISTOS A ÎNVIAT! ADEVÃRAT A ÎNVIAT! Z

FR. ROMAN’S 2017 PASCHAL MESSAGE

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

I greet you with the Great, Radiant and Joyous Feast

of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior!

CHRIST IS RISEN!

The Apostle Matthew gives an account of an angel of the Lord descending andcalling to the women:

Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus Who wascrucified. He is not here, for He is Risen, as He said. Come seethe place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciplesthat He is Risen from the dead, and indeed, He is going beforeyou into Galilee; there you will see Him (Matthew 28:5-7).

He is risen from the dead; you will see Him. A Christian’s life is his “road to Emmaus.” We — as the disciples did —follow our way in grief and uncertainty. We ask, “Where is He?” He is Risen! He is walking at our side. He is unrecognizedby us. He was not even recognized by His disciples on the road to Emmaus after His Resurrection. He tells us that HisKingdom is not of this world, and should be sought, not without, but within us.

In his Paschal message in 1999, His Holiness Patriarch Alexis II, of blessed memory, wrote:

Through the Pascha of Christ, each time, we, in a way, open up a new period in our life. The Resurrected

Christ renews us and grants us new strength, for the fulfilling of all our works, large or small.

In another Paschal message, this time in 2011, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill wrote:

The Feast of Pascha is the Feast of the Victory of Life over death, for through the Resurrection of Christ the Savior,resurrection from the dead has been granted to us all. And whatever different circumstances we may endure in ourearthly life, whatever tribulations may be our lot, whatever fears people may try to instill in us—for they possess nospiritual power to foresee the future—our perception of the world ought to be calm and joyous, for Christ is Risen!

St. John Chrysostom wrote in his “An Instruction on the Holy and Great Sunday of Pascha,” on the joy of the Resurrectionand consolation of sinners:

This is the day of rejoicing and gladness....Yesterday we were dejected, but today we are radiant. Yesterday we hadweeping and sighing, but today we have joy and gladness. Yesterday we were low in spirits, but today we arecheerful....For Christ gave Himself for the redemption of us all. He has brought us from death to life, from darknessto light, from bondage to freedom, from enmity into everlasting love....He has charged us to live in holiness andrighteousness, in love and unity, in meekness and peace, in patience and kindness.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are living in times of uncertainty, turmoil and darkness. Let us pray even more fervently, so thatthe Risen Lord may grant to the powers of the world, wisdom and strength, counsel and understanding (Job 12:13), to defendand save the sacred life of all people and living things.

May the Risen Christ, our Lord and Savior, live in our hearts, not only during these bright days of Pascha, but throughout allthe days of our lives.

Once again, I, and my family, greet you with the joyful words —

CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!

With love to all in the Risen Christ,

Father Roman

THE PASCHAL SERVICE

By Fr. Paul Lazor

Enjoy ye all the feast of faith; receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness.

(Sermon of St. John Chrysostom, read at Paschal Matins)

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the center of the Christian faith.St. Paul says that if Christ is not raised from the dead, then our preaching andfaith are in vain (1 Cor. 15:14). Indeed, without the Resurrection there would beno Christian preaching or faith. The disciples of Christ would have remained thebroken and hopeless band which the Gospel of John describes as being in hidingbehind locked doors for fear of the Jews. They went nowhere and preachednothing until they met the Risen Christ, the doors being shut (John 20: 19). Thenthey touched the wounds of the nails and the spear; they ate and drank with Him.The Resurrection became the basis of everything they said and did (Acts 2-4): ". . . for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have" (Luke 24:39).

The Resurrection reveals Jesus of Nazareth as not only the expected Messiahof Israel, but as the King and Lord of a new Jerusalem: a new heaven and a new earth.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. . . the holy city, new Jerusalem. And I heard a great voice fromthe throne saying "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shallbe his people. . . He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall therebe mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away (Rev. 21:1-4).

In His death and resurrection, Christ defeats the last enemy, death, and thereby fulfills the mandate of HisFather to subject all things under His feet (1 Cor. 15:24-26).

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor andglory and blessing (Rev. 5: 12)

THE FEAST OF FEASTS

The Christian faith is celebrated in the liturgy of the Church. True celebration is alwaysa living participation. It is not a mere attendance at services. It is communion in the powerof the event being celebrated. It is God's free gift of joy given to spiritual men as a rewardfor their self-denial. It is the fulfillment of spiritual and physical effort and preparation.The Resurrection of Christ, being the center of the Christian faith, is the basis of theChurch's liturgical life and the true model for all celebration.

This is the chosen and holy day, first of sabbaths, king and lord of days, the feast of feasts, holy day of holydays. On this day we bless Christ forevermore (Irmos 8, Paschal Canon).

PREPARATION

Twelve weeks of preparation precede the "feast of feasts." A long journey which includes five pre-lenten Sundays,six weeks of Great Lent and finally Holy Week is made. The journey moves from the self-willed exile of the prodigalson to the grace-filled entrance into the new Jerusalem, coming down as a bride beautifully adorned for her husband(Rev. 21:2) Repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and study are the means by whichthis long journey is made.

Focusing on the veneration of the Cross at its mid-point, the lenten voyage itself revealsthat the joy of the Resurrection is achieved only through the Cross. "Through the cross joyhas come into all the world," we sing in one Paschal hymn. And in the Paschal Troparion,we repeat again and again that Christ has trampled down death — by death! St. Paul writesthat the name of Jesus is exalted above every name because He first emptied Himself,taking on the lowly form of a servant and being obedient even to death on the Cross (Phil.2:5-11). The road to the celebration of the Resurrection is the self-emptying Crucifixionof Lent. Pascha is the Passover from death to life.

Yesterday I was buried with Thee, O Christ. Today I arise with Thee in Thy Resurrection.Yesterday I was crucified with Thee: Glorify me with Thee, 0 Savior, in Thy kingdom (Ode 3, Paschal Canon).

THE PROCESSION

All the texts for the divine services of the night of Pascha are contained in thisbooklet. These services commence near midnight of Holy Saturday. At theNinth Ode of the Canon of Nocturns, the initial service of the booklet, thepriest, already vested in his brightest robes, removes the Holy Shroud from thetomb and carries it to the altar table, where it remains until the leave-taking ofPascha. The faithful stand in darkness. Then, one by one, they light theircandles from the candle held by the priest and form a great procession out ofthe church. Choir, servers, priest and people, led by the bearers of the cross,banners, icons and Gospel-book, circle the church. The bells are rungincessantly and the angelic hymn of the Resurrection is chanted.

The procession comes to a stop before the principle doors of the church. Before theclosed doors the priest and the people sing the Troparion of Pascha, "Christ is risen fromthe dead. . .", many times. Even before entering the church the priest and peopleexchange the Paschal greeting: "Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!" This segment of thePaschal services is extremely important. It preserves in the experience of the Church theprimitive accounts of the Resurrection of Christ as recorded in the Gospels. The angelrolled away the stone from the tomb not to let a biologically revived but physicallyentrapped Christ walk out, but to reveal that "He is not here; for He has risen, as Hesaid" (Matt. 28:6).

In the Paschal Canon we sing:

Thou didst arise, O Christ, and yet the tomb remainedsealed, as at Thy birth the Virgin's womb remainedunharmed; and Thou has opened for us the gates ofparadise (Ode 6).

Finally, the procession of light and song in the darkness of night, and the thunderousproclamation that, indeed, Christ is risen, fulfill the words of the Evangelist John: "Thelight shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5).

The doors are opened and the faithful re-enter. The church is bathed in light and adornedwith flowers. It is the heavenly bride and the symbol of the empty tomb:

Bearing life and more fruitful than paradise, Brighter than any royal chamber:Thy tomb, O Christ, is the fountain of our Resurrection (Paschal Hours).

MATINS

Matins commences immediately. The risen Christ is glorified in thesinging of the beautiful Canon of St. John of Damascus. The Paschalgreeting is repeatedly exchanged. Near the end of Matins the Paschalverses are sung. They relate the entire narrative of the Lord's Resurrection.They conclude with the words calling us to actualize among each other theforgiveness freely given to all by God:

This is the day of Resurrection.Let us be illumined by the feast.

Let us embrace each other.Let us call "brothers" even those who hate us

And forgive all by the Resurrection. . . '

The Sermon of St. John Chrysostom is then read by the celebrant. Thesermon was originally composed as a baptismal instruction. It is retainedby the Church in the Paschal services because everything about the nightof Pascha recalls the Sacrament of Baptism: the language and generalterminology of the liturgical texts, the specific hymns, the vestment color,the use of candles and the great procession itself. Now the sermon invites us to a great re-affirmation of our baptism:to union with Christ in the receiving of Holy Communion.

If any man is devout and loves God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. . . the table is fullyladen; feast you all sumptuously. the calf is fatted, let no one go hungry away. . .

THE DIVINE LITURGY

The sermon announces the imminent beginning of the Divine Liturgy.The altar table is fully laden with the divine food: the Body and Bloodof the risen and glorified Christ. No one is to go away hungry. Theservice books are very specific in saying that only he who partakes ofthe Body and Blood of Christ eats the true Pascha. The DivineLiturgy, therefore, normally follows immediately after PaschalMatins. Foods from which the faithful have been called to abstainduring the lenten journey are blessed and eaten only after the DivineLiturgy.

THE DAY WITHOUT EVENING

Pascha is the inauguration of a new age. It reveals the mystery of the eighth day. It isour taste, in this age, of the new and unending day of the Kingdom of God. Somethingof this new and unending day is conveyed to us in the length of the Paschal services,in the repetition of the Paschal order for all the services of Bright Week, and in thespecial Paschal features retained in the services for the forty days until Ascension.Forty days are, as it were, treated as one day. Together they comprise the symbol ofthe new time in which the Church lives and toward which she ever draws the faithful,from one degree of glory to another.

O Christ, great and most holy Pascha. O Wisdom, Word and Power of God, grantthat we may more perfectly partake of Thee in the never-ending day of Thy kingdom

(Ninth Ode, Paschal Canon).

By Fr. Paul Lazor, St. Vladimir’s Seminary, NY, 1977