Pascal Homily of St. John Chrysostom

Let all Pious men and all lovers of God rejoice in the splendor of this feast; let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy of their Lord; let those who have borne the burden of Lent now receive their pay, and those who have toiled since the first hour, let them now receive their due reward; let any who came after the third hour be grateful to join in the feast, and those who may have come after the sixth, let them not be afraid of being too late, for the Lord is gracious and He receives the last even as the first.  He gives rest to him who comes on the eleventh hour as well as to him who has toiled since the first: yes, He has pity on the last and He serves the first; He rewards the one and is generous to the other; he repays the deed and praises the effort.    Come you all: enter into the joy of your Lord.  You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward; you rich and you poor, dance together; you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day; you who have kept the fast and you who have not, rejoice today.  The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet.  The calf is a fatted one: let no one go away hungry.  All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the riches of his goodness.    Let no one grieve over his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed; let no one weep over his sins, for pardon has shone from the grave; let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us free: He has destroyed it by enduring it, He has despoiled Hades by going down into its kingdom, He has angered it by allowing it to taste of his flesh.    When Isaiah foresaw all this, he cried out: "O Hades, you have been angered by encountering Him in the nether world."  Hades is angered because frustrated, it is angered because it has been mocked, it is angered because it has been destroyed, it is angered because it has been reduced to naught, it is angered because it is now captive.  It seized a body, and lo! it discovered God; it seized earth, and, behold! it encountered heaven; it seized the visible, and was overcome by the invisible.     O death, where is your sting?  O Hades, where is your victory?  Christ is risen and life is freed, Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead: for Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the Leader and Reviver of those who had fallen asleep.  To Him be glory and power for ever and ever.  Amen.

Caoineadh na dtrí Muire

In remembrance of a fond Holy & Great Saturday tradition of past days @ Resurrection Smithtown ...

Thank you, Father Jack!

Twice in recent memory ...

... but not again until 2157 !!!

CNS: When Good Friday falls on the Feast of the Annunciation

RH: Good Friday and Annunciation Celebrated Together in Eastern Churches

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

We bow to Your cross, O Lord, and we glorify Your holy resurrection!

On Sunday, September 13th, 2015 we will celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation.

This date is also our traditional patronal feast day, given that it was the day on which the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (also called the Church of the Resurrection) is commemorated.

As part of our celebration tomorrow, our new Pastor, Reverend Tyler A. Strand, plans to make the solemn blessing of the four corners of the earth with the Holy Cross, an ancient tradition in churches of the Byzantine Rite and other Eastern & Oriental Christian traditions.

The text and music for the ritual blessing, taken from the propers of Matins for the feast, can be found here.

Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin mary

appropriate for the Feast (from our Chant Repertiore page)...

Para-liturgical Hymn: Joyfully, We Now Sing [English]

Cherubim Hymn (to same melody): Podoben: Spivajme Veselo [Slavonic]