St. Raphael Orthodox ChurchSt. Raphael Orthodox Church

Pascha Greetings From Met. Jonah

admin — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:10:03 +0000

Easter greetings from Yuri Gripas on Vimeo.

Sunday of the Holy and Life Giving Cross

admin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 01:32:40 +0000

The Sunday of the Cross marks the half-way point through Great and Holy Lent. At St. Raphael’s we held a procession. On the third Sunday in Lent we venerate the Holy Life Giving Cross. We venerate the cross as we prepare our selves for the commemoration of the Crucifixion during Holy Week. The cross shows the reality through which we are saved.

And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Matthew 10:38

Here are some place you can learn more about this solemn and holy day.

The Prodigal Son: Repentance and Forgiveness

admin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:49:19 +0000

Fr. Alexander Atty

A talk on the Topic of The Podigal Son: Repentance and Forgiveness will be by Fr. Alexander Atty Dean of St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary on February 11th. Fr. Alexander was the 30 year pastor at St. Michael Orthodox Church, a parish which has grown spiritually, physically and liturgically during that time. In the afternoon Session there will be a presentation on church growth.

Alexander received his Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering from Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. After a short engineering career, he enrolled in St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY. In 1979 he graduated and was ordained to the priesthood.

In May of 1980, Fr. Alexander was assigned the pastorate of St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church in Louisville, Kentucky. During his priesthood, Fr. Alexander traveled frequently to Mount Athos where he was blessed to have an Athonite spiritual father. In addition to his pastoral duties, Fr. Alexander served as the Head Chaplain for the Jefferson County Police Department, the Louisville Metro Police Department, and was the Chaplain for the Louisville Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In 2010 he was appointed Dean of St. Tikhons’ Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, PA and tasked to educate and lead a new generation of seminarians for service in Christ’s vineyard.

Saturday, February 11

Registration & Coffee: 8:30 am

Session 1, Prodigal Son: 9:00 am

Luncheon: 12:00 noon

Session 2, Church Growth: 1:00 pm

Great Vespers: 4:00 pm

Suggested Donation: $20, including Luncheon

Feast of Theophany

angela — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:39:24 +0000

On Friday January 6 we celebrated the The Feast of Theophany. In the Feast of Theophany we celebrate the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ into the river Jordan identifying with sinful man. This feast is the shining forth of God in world from which the term Theophany comes.
We celebrated with the Great Blessings of the Waters afterwards people were free to bring home holy water. It is traditional at this time for the priest begin visiting peoples homes to bless them.

Troparion of the Feast

When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, worship of the Trinity wast made manifest; for the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, calling Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of His word. O Christ our God, Who hath appeared and enlightened the world, glory to Thee.

Nativity Catechumen

angela — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:27:59 +0000

The new catechumen, Linda, smiles in front of the church with her sponsor Georgeanne, Fr. David and Sb. Deacon Paul.

On the Feast of the Nativity when we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ we had the additional joy of welcoming Linda our new catechumen. As a catechumen Linda will study and prepare for her baptism or chrismation. The practice of the catechumenate goes back to the early days of Christianity. The catechumen ceremony involves renouncing the devil and spitting on him in the entry way of the church building. You can learn more about the catechumen process here and here.

Nativity Songs

angela — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 02:51:51 +0000

Singing of Christ's Nativity

On Sunday December 11th we held our Second Annual Christmas Concert “Rejoice all People”. It included music in English and in Slavonic (the language of much traditional Orthodox music) both carols and songs from the Orthodox liturgical tradition. The turnout was strong approximately 5o people. One guest to the parish even commented ”I gave up a football game for this! and I’m glad I did!”. Another guest remarked “The choir was remarkable!”.

We will continue to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ this week with a special molieben prayer service and Holy Supper on Christmas Eve and than the Divine Liturgy on Christmas day. Holy Supper is a traditional Christmas Eve meal full of tradition and symbolism. Everyone is invited to come and share this special time with us.

Celebrate Christ’s Nativity

angela — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:09:23 +0000

Please Join us for the Celebration of the Birth of Christ

Nativity Celebrations

Christmas Eve: Saturday, December 24th
4:00 pm- Nativity Molieben (Prayer Service)
5:00 pm- Holy Supper (in Myrrhbearers Hall) RSVP: sign-up at church or call 352-726-4777

6:30 pm- Nativity Matins

Christmas Day: Sunday, December 25th
10:00 am- Divine Liturgy of the Nativity

Tuesday, December 27th
6:30 pm-Vespers in the Villages at St. George Episcopal Church

Annual Christmas Concert “Rejoice All People”

angela — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:33:39 +0000

On Sunday December 11, 2011 at 4pm we will be having a Christmas Concert called “Rejoice All People”. It will include beautiful liturgical music and carols of joy.

Randi is Chrismated!

Georgeanne — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 22:27:16 +0000

During the Afterfeast of the Nativity of the Most-Holy Theotokos on Sunday, September 11, Randi was chrismated into the Orthodox church.

She had been studying for almost 10 months as a catechumen before becoming chrismated. Fr. David performed the chrismation with SubDeacon Paul assisting and with Judy as Randi’s sponsor.

Welcome Randi! We are so glad you are here. God grant you many years!

For more photos click here.

New Blue Church Vestments for the Most-Holy Theotokos Feastdays

Georgeanne — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 01:30:45 +0000

We have celebrated both the Dormition of the Most-Holy Theotokos in August and the Nativity of the Most-Holy Theotokos on September 8^th with new blue vestments for the church.

Fr. David blessing new vestments

These vestments were donated by the Holy Myrrhbearers women’s group. They were made by Dolores who has previously made other vestments for the church.

During Great Vespers on Saturday night, August 13^th, Fr. David blessed the new blue vestments for the church and the church was revested for the Dormition of the Most-Holy Theotokos.

New blue vestments for Dormtion of Theotokos

The church was again revested with the new blue vestments for the Nativity of the Most-Holy Theotokos on September 8^th.

Thank you to both the Holy Myrrhbearers and Dolores for helping to make the nave and altar of our church look more beautiful for these feastdays.