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St. Mary's Celebrates
the Feast of The Elevation of the Life-Giving Cross with a Vesperal Divine Liturgy Thursday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m. The Feast of the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross commemorates the finding of the True Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by Saint Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. In the twentieth year of his reign (326), the Emperor Constantine sent his mother Saint Helen to Jerusalem to venerate the holy places and to find the site of the Holy Sepulchre and of the Cross. Relying upon the oral tradition of the faithful, Saint Helen found the precious Cross together with the crosses of the two thieves crucified with our Lord. However, Helen had no way of determining which was the Cross of Christ. With the healing of a dying woman who touched one of the crosses, Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem identified the True Cross of Christ. Saint Helen and her court venerated the Precious and Life-Giving Cross along with many others who came to see this great instrument of Redemption. The Patriarch mounted the ambo (pulpit) and lifted the Cross with both hands so that all of the people gathered could see it. The crowed responded with "Lord have mercy". This became the occasion of the institution in all of the Churches of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross, not only in memory of the event of the finding of the Cross, but also to celebrate how an instrument of shame was used to overcome death and bring salvation and eternal life. The Feast is an opportunity outside of the observances of Holy Week to celebrate the full significance of the victory of the Cross over the powers of the world, and the triumph of the wisdom of God through the Cross over the wisdom of this world. This Feast also gives the Church an opportunity to relish the full glory of the Cross as a source of light, hope and victory for Christ's people. It is also a time to celebrate the universality of the work of redemption accomplished through the Cross: the entire universe is seen through the light of the Cross, the new Tree of Life which provides nourishment for those who have been redeemed in Christ. During the Divine Liturgy, the Cross is carried in a procession. It is held up high in a tray of flowers and/or the herb basil. At the end of the service, the blessed flowers and basil are distributed to the people. This is done because according to tradition, Saint Constantine and his mother Saint Helen, had their servants dig in the spot on Golgotha, where Jesus was put into the tomb. Saint Helen picked the spot because she smelled sweet basil which was growing there. "Before thy Cross, we bow down in worship O Lord,
and thy Holy Resurrection, we glorify." The public is invited to join us on Thursday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m. for the Divine Liturgy celebrating the Feast of the Transfiguration. St. Mary's is located on State Road 5 @ C.R. 615 S, Topeka (7 miles south of US 20, 7 miles north of US 6). St. Mary's is a parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. For more information call the church business office at (574) 534-8410.
St. Mary's Endorses Ministry of Compassion Pregnancy Centers
Perhaps the most significant event in the history of the cosmos, even greater than its creation, was the incarnation of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The entrance of the immortal God incarnate into time and space and history to save us from sin and death culminated the greatest "unplanned pregnancy" of all time. And the actions of His mother, the most holy virgin Mary, the Theotokos (literally the God bearer), instruct us to this day. Her faithful submission to the will of God (Luke 1:26-38) and her valor in so doing (Deut. 22:13-21) demonstrate for us the heights of virtue - how it is to be most truly human. In His name and in her honor, St. Mary's endorses the ministry of Compassion Pregnancy Centers (CPC) of Northeast Indiana in serving the needs of women with crisis pregnancies and their unborn children, the "least of these" our brethren (Matt. 25:40). Compassion Pregnancy Centers of Northeast Indiana
909 West Maumee Street, Suite A Angola, IN 46703 (260) 668-7773 - Angola Office (260) 463-8377 - Howe Office
FR. PETER GILLQUIST TAPES AVAILABLE
Author, editor, publisher, former Campus Crusade for Christ Director and current Director of the Department of Missions and Evangelism for the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, Father Peter Gillquist presented three inspiring talks at St. Mary's Orthodox Church on November 7 & 8, 2003. Audio tapes are available. Please Click HERE to learn more.
FREDERICA MATHEWES-GREEN TAPES AVAILABLE
Author, National Public Radio commentator, and Christianity Today contributor Frederica Mathewes-Green spoke to attentive audiences at St. Mary's Orthodox Church on November 8 & 9, 2002. Audio tapes are available. Please Click HERE to learn more.
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