June; 2009/Monthly Bulletin of the Orthodox V Charitable Association

EditorÛAlona Sergeeva

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Pentecost Sunday is a commemoration and celebration of the receiv-

ing of the Holy Spirit by the early church. John the Baptist prophe-
sied of the first Pentecost where Jesus would baptize with the Holy
Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11). Jesus confirmed this prophesy
with the promise of the Holy Spirit to the disciples in John 14:26. He
showed Himself to these men after His death on the cross and His
Resurrection, giving convincing proofs that He was alive. Jesus told
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Spirit, from whom they would receive power to be His witnesses to
the ends of the earth (Acts 1:3-8$IWHU-HVXVDVFHQVLRQWRKHDYHQ
the men returned to Jerusalem and joined together in prayer in an
upper room. On the Day of Pentecost, just as promised, a violent
wind filled the house and tongues of fire came to rest on each of them
and all were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were given the power
of communication which Peter used to begin the ministry for which
Jesus had prepared him. After the coming of the Holy Spirit, the disciples did not stay in the room
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know it.

Today, in many Christian churches, Pentecost Sunday is celebrated to recognize the gift of the
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John 20:19-23 may be the core of the message about our risen Savior supernaturally appearing to
the fear-laden disciples. Their fear gave way to joy when the Lord showed them His hands and
side. He assured them peace and repeated the command given in Matthew 28:19-20 VD\LQJÙDVWKH
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Spirit.

The celebration of Pentecost Sunday reminds us of the reality that we are all have the unifying
Spirit that was poured out upon the first century church in Acts 2:1-4. It is a reminder that we are
co-heirs with Christ, to suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him; that the manifes-
tation of the Spirit is given for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7); that we are all baptized by
one Spirit into one body (1 Corinthians 12:13); and that the Spirit which raised Jesus from the
dead lives inside believers (Romans 8:9-11). This gift of the Holy Spirit that was promised and
given to all believers on the first Pentecost is promised for you and your children and for all who
are far off whom the Lord our God will call (Acts 2:39).

1
  
Human  souls  rather  than  economy  should  be  led  out  of  cri-­
sis,  Patriarch  Kirill  believes    

 Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia Kirill

said it was impossible to overcome the global
World highest Easter cake crisis only by measures in financial and eco-
baked in Ukraine. nomic sphere.
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reception in the Foreign Ministry.
According to him, today most anti-FULVLVSURJUDPVDUHkHFRQRP\
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dustries.
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arch said.
The Church Primate believes that the art of diplomacy has always
been based on the ability to find an answer to concrete political
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A  giant  Easter  cake  1,9  me-­‐ VHWE\*RGl
ters  high  weighting  450  kg   World centers of power abandoned this centuries-old wisdom and
was  baked  in  the  town  of   LWUHVXOWHGLQWKHZRUOGILQDQFLDOFULVLVl3DWULDUFK.LULOOVDLG
Sinelnikovo  in  the  Dne-­‐ $FFRUGLQJWRKLPIRUWKHODVWGHFDGHVkZRUOGRUGHUZDVOHVVDQG
less guided by morals and spiritual values, considering them far
propetrovsk  Region,  
IURPUHDOLW\l
Ukraine.     The Patriarch noted that the Orthodox Church as well as other
  WUDGLWLRQDOUHOLJLRQVkKDVORQJDJRKDGWKHNQRZ-how on leading
To  make  it,  seven  cooks   KXPDQVRXOVRXWRIWKHFULVLVl
spent  170  kg  of  flour,  75  kg   )RUPRVW5XVVLDQVWKLVNQRZOHGJHkDJDLQLVSUHVHUYHGLQ2UWKRGR[
of  sugar,  60  liters  of  milk,   WUDGLWLRQlKHVWUHVVHGInterfax  
750  eggs,  25  kg  of  raisins,  
20  kg  of  margarine,  8,5  kg   Patriarch  Kirill  urges  Ukrainian  politicians  to  refuse  using  the  
of  yeast,  1,7  kg  of  salt,  0,5  of   Church  in  their  political  interests.          
vanilla  and  2  kg  of  decora-­‐ Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus-
tive  powder,  official  web-­‐ sia expressed his concern with the
site  of  the  Ukrainian  Ortho-­‐ attempts of some Ukrainian political
figures to use the Church in that
dox  Church  has  reported.     country to their political goals.
  "The situation in Ukraine is really
Representative  of  the   complicated, the major reason being
Ukraine's  Guinness  Book   that the schism there is based on political considerations and
registered  a  record  for  the   the intention of some officials to use the Church and people's
faith to their own interests not in any way related to the
world  highest  Easter  cake.   proper Christian goals," Patriarch said in an interview pub-
The  cake  is  the  world  sec-­‐ lished by Izvestia daily.
ond  for  weight.   According to him, "this is yet another proof of how carefully
  politicians should address religious matters and how it is
Today,  the  cake  is  placed  in   dangerous when somebody tries to use the Church in his or
her political aims."
St.  Nicholas  Cathedral  for   "We consider Kiev a southern capital of the Russian Ortho-
parishioner  to  taste  it.  Au-­‐ doxy. The single tradition for the total Eastern Slavic civiliza-
thors  of  the  record  Easter   tion starts here. Today, as never before, the Orthodox believ-
cake  hope  that  at  least  4   ers of Russia, Ukraine, and Belorussia realize the importance
thousand  people  will  have  a   of spiritual unity of historic Russia separated by political bor-
ders," Patriarch added. Interfax
chance  to  enjoy  it.            Interfax  

2
 Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles
Emperor Constantine and his mother Empress Helen.
S aint Helen was the mother of St Constantine the Great, and was probably born at Dre-
panum (Helenopolis) in Asia Minor . She married Constantius Chlorus, and their son Con-
stantine was born in 274. Constantine fought two great battles when he came to the throne:
one against Maxentius, a tyrant in Rome, and the other against Licinius not far from Byzan-
tium. At the battle against Maxentius, when Constantine was in great anxiety and uncer-
tainty about his chances of success, a shining cross, surrounded by stars, appeared to him
in the sky in full daylight. On the cross were written the words: 'In this sign, conquer!' The
wondering Emperor ordered that a great cross be put together, like the one that had ap-
peared, and be carried before the army. By the power of the Cross, he gained a glorious
victory over enemies greatly superior in number. Maxentius drowned himself in the Tiber.
Immediately after this, Constantine issued the famous Edict of Milan, in 313, which guaran-
teed religious tolerance for Christians and St Helen, who was a Christian, may have influ-
enced him in this decision. Conquering Byzantium, he built a beautiful capital city on the Bosphorus, which from
that time was named Constantinople. Now Stambul, Turkey After three hundred years of persecution, Christians
could finally practice their faith without fear.
The first meritorious act of Empress Helen was that she inclined her son Constantine (see above) toward the
Christian Faith at a time when other youths of noble birth were being educated in pagan ways and abhorred
Christianity. The second - acquisition of the Lord's Cross.

The emperor deeply revered the victory-bearing Sign of the Cross of the Lord, and also wanted to find the ac-
tual Cross upon which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. For this purpose he sent his own mother, to Jerusa-
lem. And In the 326, Empress Helen traveled to Jerusalem. There she was told that the Lord's Cross was buried
at a place where the pagans had erected a temple in memory of Venus. When, at her command the edifice
was destroyed and excavation begun, they found three crosses and near them a small board on which was
written: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."

In order to find out on which of the crosses the Saviour was crucified, they began in sequence to lay the
crosses on a deceased person. From two of the crosses there occurred no miracle. When the third cross was
placed upon the deceased he was resurrected, - thus they found the Cross of the Saviour.

When the people heard of the miracle, then all wanted to see the Holy Cross. Then Macarius, patriarch of Jeru-
salem and the Empress Helen stood on a hill and elevated the Cross. The people on seeing the Cross of the
Saviour, prayed with the words: "Lord have mercy."

In memory of this event the Church established the feast of the Elevation of the Lord's Cross. This feast day is
considered in the ranks of other great feast days and is celebrated on September 27th. On this day, the Cross is
triumphantly brought to the center of the Church for veneration.

:While in Palestine, the holy empress did much of benefit for the Church. She ordered that all places connected
with the earthly life of the Lord and His All-Pure Mother, should be freed of all traces of paganism, and she
commanded that churches should be built at these places.
on Golgotha the Church of the Resurrection (and tomb) of the Lord, where annually on Easter eve descends a
benevolent fire: on the Mount of Olives (where the Lord ascended into heaven); in Bethlehem (where the Lord
was born in the flesh) and in Hebron by the Mamre oak (where God revealed Himself to Abraham).

Because of their great services to the Church and their efforts in finding the Life-Creating Cross, the Emperor
Constantine and Empress Helen are called "the Equal of the Apostles."

Administrator  is  going  along  the  hotel  corridor  and  hears  a  man  singing  in  one  of  the  rooms.  He  asks  the  conci-­
erge:  
-­"What  about  our  guest  from  room  14?  Have  you  given  him  his  bill?"  
-­"Yes,  Sir."  
-­"Then  why  is  he  singing?"  
-­+HLVQRWVLQJLQJ6LU«,W¶VDUHTXLHPVXQJIRUKLP HUMOUR
3
   DAY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Today we are keeping the Feast of the Holy Spirit. What do we
know about Him? We heard wonderful words of prayer about Him
yesterday on Trinity Sunday, but let us think of Him, of the name
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(QJOLVKLQRWKHUWUDQVODWLRQV¶7KH$GYRFDWH·+HLVWKH2QH:KRLV
the Comforter indeed, the One Who consoles us for our separa-
tion from Christ, Who consoles us who are like orphans, who long
to be with Christ our God, our Saviour, and who know that as long
as we are in the flesh - and these are the words of St. Paul - we
are separated from Him. But for Him to be our Comforter, to be
our consolation, we must first be aware of the fact that we are
separated and this is the first question we must ask ourselves: are we aware of it, or do
we live in the delusion that we are in God and God in us, and that nothing more is
needed? How much more is needed!
He is also the One Who, as the Comforter, gives us strength, strength to live despite
the separation, strength to stand fast and to be the doers of the Will, the fulfillers of the
Commandments of God, the One Who can give us vigor of soul, determination, power
to act. But this, again, only if we turn to Him and say, Come! Come and abide in us!
Cleanse us! Be not only our Comforter but our strength also.
Lastly, He is the One Who gives us, already now, the joy of knowing how close we are
despite what seems to be an infinite distance between God and us, the One Who, in
unutterable groanings, speaks to God from the depths of our being; the One Who, be-
cause we are Christ's own people, His brothers and sisters in humanity - and these are
His own words - that we are the children of the Father. The joy of this, the wonder of this,
the dignity of this! Indeed also, the responsibility of this...
If we think of our world which is to such a great extent alien to God, the Spirit is already
the beginning of eternal life. His presence is a decisive fact. He beats against the rocks
like the sea, He breaks resistances. He is the joy of eternity knocking at our door, forcing
Himself into our lives, reminding us of God our Father, of Christ our Saviour and of our
greatness and dignity before God, showing us that all things are possible in the power
of Christ Who sustains us.
Let us therefore responsibly and gratefully keep this Feast. And may the Spirit of God
Who came in tongues of fire upon the Apostles, come to us also - perhaps like a fire
that sets us aglow and makes us like a Burning Bush, or touches us like the still, small
voice which the Prophet heard in the wilderness in which God was, in His quiet humility,
in His surrender to us, in His love for us. Amen. Metropolitan  Anthony  of  Sourozh  1989,  19  June    

                     4
 First  100  days  of  service  by  Patriarch  Kirill
 
On May 11, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will mark
his first 100 days of service.

To this date, which the secular world traditionally considers

the baseline to sum up the first results achieved by a public
figure, correspondents of Interfax-Religion asked some well-
known Russians to discuss how they remembered the first 100
days of Patriarch's ruling and what results of this period
showed.

According to Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy

Archdeacon Andrey Kurayev, a new Patriarch has focused on economy, and the economy of compli-
PHQWVDERYHDOO$VIDUDV,NQRZLWLVIRUELGGHQWRJUHHW3DWULDUFKVLQJLQJ´0DQ\<HDUVµPRUH
than once and toast him during any meal which he attends. Priests arriving to congratulate Patriarch
on Easter were warned in advance that they should not give expensive bunches of flowers from each
parish. In this regard, the economy of compliments means cost-cutting, that is, less emphasis is put
on outward demonstrations, even promotion, I would say, and more focus will be given to the actual
work," Fr. Andrey thinks.

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Romanova points out Patriarch's missionary efforts: "When we
listen to him preaching with his inherent rhetorical and spiritual gift, when we see him fostering the
expansion of catechesis, sermon and mission, in particular, among young people, we can feel new
trends arising. Such trends have already existed under Holy Patriarch Alexy II, whose memory we
continue to commemorate. But we believe that Patriarch Kirill will bring the work started by Alexy
II to a new and higher level. Patriarch Alexy II laid the foundation for reviving our spiritual life,
and Patriarch Kirill will have to put up the whole building."

The Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See in Russia Archbishop Antonio Mennini believes that Patriarch
Kirill "has talent for talking and listening to young people." "I view Patriarch Kirill as a true religious
leader who seeks the unity of his Church, and understands the value and importance of all its con-
stituent parts which is the most essential thing, perhaps," Mennini said.
According to a well-known political scientist and President of the Russian World Foundation
Vyacheslav Nikonov, Patriarch Kirill positions himself as "the head of the Church of a Universal
scale," and takes all possible steps to prevent schism within the Russian Orthodox Church.

A spokesman for the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia Boruh Gorin thinks that the main
distinguishing feature of Patriarch Kirill is "his knack for bridging the gap between the so called
secular and religious minds, his ability to show that there is nothing secular which can be alienated
from spirit, and nothing spiritual that can successfully compete with the so called secular vision."

Head of CIS Institute Konstantin Zatulin said that "Patriarch Kirill remains a figure of high moral
authority for many members of community - whether believers or not - and a person whose election
to the Patriarch's office was greeted with overall understanding," and "his activity as Patriarch
meets the expectations of people."

Patriarch Kirill was elected to the Patriarchal See by the Local Council with 75% of votes on Janu-
ary 27, 2009, and thus became the 16th Moscow Patriarch, the successor of Patriarch Alexy II who

5
 Schedule of Services
For June 2009
07 Sunday - Holy Pentecost - Feast day - Wostok

13 Saturday n North StaroGraveyard Service

14 Sunday - (1 after Pentecost, tone 8) - Spirit River nFeast Day nGraveyard Service
Woking -Graveyard Service

21 Sunday - (2 after Pentecost, tone 1) - 10:00 AM - Mundare

28 Sunday - (3 after Pentecost, tone 2) - 10:00 AM - Shishkovtzi

30 Tuesday o Lodge (9:30 AM) Auxillary (10:15 AM)

Orthodox feasts (prazdniki)

in June

03 June - Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine and his mother Empress   Helen.

06 June - Parental Saturday or All-Souls Day (in this day we remember about our de-
parted relatives and all departed orthodox people and pray about their souls)

07 June - Holy Pentecost. The Day of the Holy Trinity.

08 June - The Day of the Holy Spirit

15 June - St. Peter and Paul Fast begins

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Email: www.sergal07@yahoo.com. / PO Box 483 Lamont Alberta TOB 2R0
 
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 Treasurer  Fred  Pewarchuk    780-895-21-59

Or  visit  our  website²www.orthodoxfive.org  

     
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