The Lighthouse
April 2017
“I will build you a lighthouse from
which the light of Christ can shine.”
Christ the Savior Orthodox Church, 1070 Roxbury Road, Southbury, CT 06488
Archpriest Vladimir Aleandro, Pastor · (203) 267–1330 · www.christsaviorchurch.org
Coming Home to God
The Meaning of the Lenten and Paschal Season by Fr. Thomas Hopko
From beginning to end the lenten and paschal services of this special season in the
Church’s life call us to return to God our Father. The theme of the parable of the
Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) runs through the entire season. The simple fact is that we
have ruined our lives and our world. We have polluted the air, the water and the earth
beneath our feet. The birds and the fish, the plants and the animals, grieve because of human evil. We have
abandoned communion with God and have gone off on our own, following our own ideas, enacting our own
plans. And the result? Through our reckless wasting of the gifts given us by God, we have stripped ourselves
of our original and fundamental dignity, glory, wisdom, beauty and strength: we have lost our legacy as
God’s children. And the whole cosmos suffers with us in our affliction. People feel unhappy and they don’t
know why. They feel that something is wrong, but they can’t put their finger on what. They feel uneasy,
confused, frustrated, alienated and estranged – and they can’t explain it. They have everything and yet they
want more; and when they get it, they are still empty and dissatisfied. They want fulfillment and it never
seems to come. Everything is fine and yet everything is wrong. Here in America, this is almost a national
disease. It is covered over by frantic activity and endless running around; it is buried in activities and events;
it is drowned out by television programs and football games. But when the movement stops and the dial is
turned off and everything is quiet…..then the dread sets in, the meaninglessness of it all, the boredom and the
fear. Why is this so? Because, as the Church tells us, we are really not at home. We are in exile. We are
alienated and estranged from our true country. We are not with God our Father in the land of the living. We
are spiritually sick and some of us are already dead. “Our hearts are made for God,” St. Augustine said more
than 1500 years ago, “and we will be forever restless until we rest in him.” Our lives are made for God and
we will be unsatisfied, unfulfilled and frustrated until we find our home with Him. Nothing in this fallen
world can, of itself, bring us the peace that we seek. God alone can do that because He alone is our home.
And we are His. The lenten and paschal season is given to us by the Church as the time for the conscious
return to our true home in God, the God who has – in His amazing love for us – forgiven us and embraced us
in the crucifixion of Christ Jesus our Lord and granted us the possibility of eternal life in His rising from the
dead. (adapted from Father Thomas Hopko’s book, The Lenten Spring)
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April Announcements
On Palm Sunday we will welcome Paul Williams into the fullness of the Holy Orthodox church. Paul
has been faithfully studying and living the life at Christ the Savior with his wife Kathryn and extended
family.
Coin Box Return will be on Lazarus Saturday, April 8. Adults and children may put them in the basket
provided next to the offering box. They will be brought up in procession at the Great Entrance. Your spare
change and Lenten sacrifice money will be sent to OCMC.
Graduation time will be here before we know it. This year our Scholarship Fund will honor our High
School graduate Timothy Halvorsen and our eighth grade graduate Mary Halvorsen, as well as college
students Megan Curran, Alexander Bondarev, James Brockett and Thomas Halvorsen. We would like to
increase the amount given to our students. Your donations are greatly appreciated so that we can make this
happen. Please see the Scholarship Envelope on the bulletin board and help us reach our goal. Please and
thank you in advance.
HOLY WEEK REALLY HAS BUT ONE LITURGY WHICH
BEGINS ON LAZARUS SATURDAY, April 8 AND REACHES ITS
FULLNESS WITH COMMUNION ON PASCHA. May each person
and each family live this week as intensely as possible, filled with love.
Food Baskets: The time to bless Paschal food baskets is after the midnight
Liturgy. For those who cannot attend midnight Liturgy, baskets will also be
blessed after the service on Holy Saturday afternoon.
Pascha Agape Meal: There will be a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for food and clean up. This Agape Meal is
literally a “Love Feast,” Let us be thoughtful of everyone in a loving way. Please bring your food on disposable dishes,
precut and ready to serve. PLEASE take home whatever is left. It is most frustrating at 2:00 AM to deal with food left
behind or dirty dishes. There will be no facilities available for hot food. Once again we thank the Currans for their
work of coordinating this meal. See them if you have a question.
Egg Hunt: On Pascha day, following the noon Vespers, all children are invited to come and have
a great time at the hunt. Speak to Father or if you know of any guest children.
Bright Monday: The Monday after Pascha, April 17, like the whole week following Pascha Bright Week - is an overflow of the Paschal joy. We will have Liturgy that morning and
procession, reading the Gospel outside. Everyone is invited to our traditional Paschal meal at the
Aleandro Home. Plan to celebrate Bright Monday not just as the "day after Easter,” but the
second day of the celebration. This is a good day to take off from work and school.
Its five o ‘clock where is everybody? You might ask that question if you don’t remember that beginning on
Bright Saturday, April 22, Saturday Vespers of the Resurrection reverts to the summer schedule of 6:00 PM.
Saturday Vespers are given to us as a preparation for Liturgy on Sunday. It is not a substitute for Sunday but
an essential part of preparation for those who are going to receive Holy Communion.
There will be an Indoor and Outdoor Spring Clean-up on Friday April 7. It is an Orthodox tradition that
before Pascha everything in the house and church is made as clean and bright as possible. I am sorry that we
can’t help you with your house. Each family will have to be responsible for their own house. We all should
take responsibility for the Lords’ House. When we leave it up to Somebody or Anybody, then more than
likely Nobody will do it. If you can’t come during the day, perhaps after work or school, perhaps another
time might be possible. See Father for details.
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There are two envelopes in this bulletin. One is the opportunity to give a gift to your parish in this time
of Pascha. This is above and beyond your tithe. The other is a way to remember those who you love with a
flower donation. The names on these envelopes will be remembered during the proskomedia, preparation
of the Divine Liturgy for the forty days of Pascha.
Are you “Good enough”? On Thursday, April 6 all men are invited for an evening of Fellowship as Paul
Williams will lead us in considering the chapter “Good Enough” from Dcn. Steven Muse’ Book, Becoming
Bread.
“The Conversation”: We were most privileged to have chaplain Beryl Knudsen help
us think about the conversation we all need to address concerning our wishes and plans
for our passage from this world. Two excellent documents are available on line for
Orthodox Christians to give this gift to their loved ones. Go to OCA.org, click on
About OCA, scroll down to Documents, then to Tools:
A Gift for my Loved Ones
This package contains everything necessary to know should one become disabled or
incapacitated and unable to make decisions on one’s own. It includes a Health Care Power of Attorney
and Advance Directive for Health Care—Living Will.
Another Gift for my Loved Ones
This package contains everything necessary to know to arrange a funeral and burial—an Advance
Directive for Funeral Care.
Talk to Father, this preparation can be the greatest gift you can leave to your family.
You are not too late. March was ONE Stewards month but you can still be a part of the good work and
ministry in our Diocese. Remember the money to the Diocese of New England is only used for the work
of the Diocese: Scholarships, Youth Rally, Missions and all of the outreach of the Diocese.
The dates for the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of New England Youth Rally 2017 have
been set for Monday, August 7, 2017, through midday on Saturday, August 12, 2017. As for the
many past years, the Youth Rally will take place at the Saint Methodios Faith and Heritage Center,
Contoocook, New Hampshire. Youth Rally is a residential camping program for Orthodox Christian
young people. You will be eligible to attend Youth Rally as a youth participant if, at the time of Rally,
you will have completed 5th grade and have not yet celebrated your 18th birthday. The firm registration
deadline is July 3. Also, we are actively seeking interested Orthodox Christian adults to serve as
Youth Rally Staff. For further information about Youth Rally, please contact Fr. John Hopko, Youth
Rally Director.
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Saturday, April 1
4:30 PM Memorial, 5th Anniversary of Deacon John Zarras
5:00 PM Vespers, Confessions
Fifth Sunday of great Lent: St. Mary of Egypt, April 2
4:00 PM Unction Three Saints, Ansonia
Wednesday April 5, 5:00 PM Confessions (last scheduled
confessions in Lent) 6:30 PM Last Presanctified Liturgy, Parish
Bring and Share
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Great and Holy Week, 2017
Lazarus Saturday, April 8
9:00 AM Liturgy, children singers, Breakfast
5:00 PM
Vigil with Blessing of Palms and Pussywillows
The Entrance of The Lord into Jerusalem: Palm Sunday, April 9
9:15 AM Chrismation of Paul Williams
9:30 AM Divine Liturgy
4:00 PM Deanery Bridegroom Matins
All Saints Hartford
Great and Holy Monday, April 10
7:00 PM Bridegroom Matins
Great and Holy Tuesday, April 11
7:00 PM Bridegroom Matins
Great and Holy Wednesday, April 12
7:00 PM Matins for Holy Thursday
Sacrament of Holy Unction
Washing of feet
Great and Holy Thursday, April 13
3:00 PM Divine Liturgy of The Last Supper
7:00 PM Matins for Great and Holy Friday
Reading of the Twelve Passion Gospels
Great and Holy Friday, April 14
12:00 Noon - 3:00 PM Quiet time before the Tomb
3:00 PM Vespers of The Lord’s Entombment
7:00 PM Matins for Great and Holy Saturday
Lamentations and Procession with Epitaphion
Great and Holy Saturday, April 15
11:00 AM Vespers and Liturgy on the Tomb
The Great and Holy Sabbath
PASCHA: THE FEAST OF FEASTS
11:30 PM
Nocturn, (Midnight) Procession,
Matins and Divine Liturgy,
Agape meal, Blessing of Food Baskets
12:00 Noon Paschal Vespers (April 16),
Egg Hunt for Children
Bright Monday, April 17
9:30 AM
Divine Liturgy and Procession, Open House at the
Aleandro’s
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The following article and introduction are given to us by our Seminarian Intern, Chris Stoops.
On Sunday April 16, we celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour on His glorious Pashca. As
we prepare for this we reflect on all that Jesus Christ has done for us. We also reflect on everything in
our own lives in the light of Pascha. As we approach Pascha this year we reflect on what we are doing to
seek out the true purpose in our lives through Jesus Christ. The reflection below by Fr. George Morelli
looks at how some different faith traditions, including the Orthodox Church, views the idea of “purpose”
in our lives.
Being True to Our Purpose
Chaplain's Corner
Short essays written for the La Jolla Veteran's Hospital newsletter in La Jolla, California
"Have a purpose in life, and having it, throw into your work such strength of mind and muscle as God has
given you," wrote1 Scottish essayist, historian, teacher and writer Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881). This
highlights the importance of keeping focus on the goal to be attained. Canadian educator and writer
Laurence J. Peter (1919-1990), author of The Peter Principle (1968), put it this way: "If you don't know
where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else."2 As the Book of Leviticus
encourages us, we can have God at our side in our journey of life. "I will walk among you, and will
be your God, and you shall be my people." (Leviticus 26:12).
The Buddhist tradition, while eschewing a personal God, nevertheless holds to the view of individual and
group responsibility, so much so that one Buddhist scholar wrote: "Thus we are capable of changing
ourselves, even to the extent of changing the world.... If we start toward the direction performing
wholesome acts from this very moment, then our future will be full of brightness."3
Purpose in life is more complex in Hindu teaching. It involves four features: dharma (paying debts
(thanks) for being born, cared for by parents and teachers, respect for guests and other living things;
artha, (prosperity) guided by dharma; kama (desire) as is appropriate in terms of dharma and artha, and
moksha (enlightenment) self realization, that is to say, liberation and attaining a sense of being one with
God and the universe.4
The Hebrew sense of the purpose of life stems from Genesis." And he said: Let us make man to our
image and likeness: and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the
beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth." (Gn 1: 26).
Rabbinical scholars have seen this as meaning that mankind "was to elevate and refine the whole of
nature, including the beasts and animals, to the service of true humanity."5
A good Christian summary of man's purpose in life is given in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
"God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make
him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to
man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength."6 That God is to be our
guide toward pursuing our purpose in life is poetically expressed thus by the Eastern Church
spiritual father, St. Symeon the New Theologian, "So who would draw nearer to Him? .... He gives
Himself to me ... And I am filled with His love and beauty (Hymn 16)...That is where paradise is...
(Hymn 19)"7
Fr. George Morelli serves as Assistant Pastor of St. George's Antiochian Orthodox
Church, San Diego, California. He is a professional in the areas of Clinical
Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy. His podcast, “Healing: Orthodox
Spirituality and Psychology”, can be found at Ancient Faith Radio. He has also
written extensively at www.orthodoxytoday.org.
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Adapted from “What you should know about Holy Week in the Orthodox Church,”
(South Deerfield, MA: Channing L. Bete Co, 1986)
In the week before Easter, we relive Christ’s suffering and death. During Holy Week,
we follow the footsteps of Christ who passed from death to life. This journey takes us to
the reality of sin and death. But Christ conquered sin and death, and His triumph is ours
as well. By uniting ourselves with Christ, we discover that death no longer has power
over us. The events of Holy Week are the most moving of the year. To receive fully
from them, open your hearts to Christ and participate in each day’s services.
Lazarus Saturday introduces us to Holy Week and Christ’s journey to the Cross. On
this day, death is revealed as the enemy that Christ came to conquer, and that Christ is
truly the giver of life! We celebrate the raising of Lazarus from the dead, and we
celebrate the divine love that brought Lazarus back to life — the same love that Christ
offers to each one of us today!
Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. As He entered the city
on a donkey, the people met Jesus with palm branches crying “Hosanna! Blessed is He
who comes in the name of the Lord!” Jesus comes as King — as the triumphant but
humble Messiah prophesied by Zechariah. We receive palm branches on this day to
show that we too accept Jesus as King, and that we are willing to follow Him to the
Cross.
The services of Holy Monday help us understand Christ’s passage from death to life, and how each of us
can also become free of sin and death. At Bridegroom Matins, we commemorate Christ the Bridegroom
and sing hymns which warn us to be prepared for Christ’s coming. We behold Christ as the Bridegroom of
the Church, bearing marks of suffering, yet preparing a marriage feast for us in God’s Kingdom.
The services of Holy Tuesday urge us to be spiritually prepared to receive Christ. We should take this time
to reflect on the Parable of the Ten Virgins, remembering to light our lives with faith and good works and be
ready to receive Christ.
The services of Holy Wednesday ask us to repent of our sins and to forgive others. We remember in
particular the example of the sinful woman who anointed Christ in anticipation of His death. The Sacrament
of Holy Oil is also celebrated this day in some churches, as we confess our sins and seek to be reconciled
with God. The priest anoints us with holy oil that we may be healed physically and spiritually.
On Holy Thursday we celebrate the Last Supper Jesus ate with his disciples. The services on this day recall
the washing of the disciples’ feet, the betrayal by Judas, the Last Supper itself, and Christ’s vigil in the
Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest. Jesus set an example of humility and love for the earliest members
of the church, and He offered Himself as the true and life-giving food for all of us.
Holy Friday is a day of mourning, fasting and prayer on which we commemorate the Passion of Jesus
Christ. On this day, Our Lord went to the cross and died to take away our sins. The power of death and the
reality of evil rule the world on this dreadful day. Yet, Jesus Christ’s death marks the beginning of His —
and our — victory over death’s power. A solemn Holy Friday matins service is held on Holy Thursday
evening. It consists of the Twelve Gospel Readings, which relate the Holy Passion. After the fifth Gospel,
the crucifix is adorned and carried in procession. We relive Christ’s coming to Golgotha to offer Himself for
the world’s sins.
Vespers on Friday afternoon mark the beginning of Holy Saturday. At this service, we commemorate the
burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea. A shroud depicting Christ’s body is carried in solemn procession
and placed in a flowered bier that represents Christ’s tomb. In the evening of Friday, we sing the Matins of
Holy Saturday, which include the Hymns of Lamentation. We lament Jesus’ undeserved death for our
salvation, and with both joy and sorrow we sing praises to Him who is symbolically buried, yet who we
already know is the risen Lord and Giver of Life. On Holy Saturday morning, we celebrate a vespers service
with the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil. This is the Blessed Sabbath, a day of strict fasting, but a day of hope
and waiting.
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Adapted from “What you should know about Holy Week in the Orthodox Church,” (South Deerfield, MA:
Channing L. Bete Co, 1986) - continued
Holy Pascha — Easter Sunday. Today we celebrate our Lord’s glorious Resurrection. In a darkened
church, the faithful receive the resurrection light from the priest and form a procession out of the church.
The congregation hears the good news of Christ’s triumph from the Gospel. The joyous hymn of Christ’s
Resurrection is triumphantly chanted — “Christ is Risen!” The Paschal Liturgy and Sermon of St. John
Chrysostom then invite us to take part in the Feast of the Resurrection and to receive Holy Communion.
At noon on Easter Sunday we return to celebrate Paschal Vespers, embracing and
sharing with others Christ’s gift of new life.
CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!
LET CHRIST’S GLORY ENTER YOUR LIFE
DURING HOLY WEEK AND PASCHA!
“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57
“It isn’t my fault. He made me do it.” “She can’t help it -after what’s happened to her.”
How often do we hear this—in our homes, in our courts, in our educational and medical systems. We’re
a society of victim thinkers. But victim thinking is not new. It goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.
Instead of taking responsibility and making an honest confession, Adam and Eve blamed their disobedient
action on someone else. When God asked Adam, “Have you eaten of the tree I commanded you not to eat
from?” Adam replied, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit and I did eat it. It’s her
fault, God. Come to think of it, it’s your fault too. You put this woman here.” Eve blamed the serpent.
“He deceived me, and I ate.”
God wants us to take responsibility for our decisions and actions. Why? That’s the way to hope and
healing, forgiveness and change. After all, if somebody else is responsible for my decisions and behavior,
then I can’t do anything about it. Somebody else is to blame for my unhappiness and the mess I’m in.
Hope comes when we realize we do have a choice. Yes, the abuse did happen. The injustice is real. I may
have inherited some bad genes. But it doesn’t have to ruin my life. I can give it all to God and rise above
it. I can move on to better things.
When the risen, living, Lord Jesus Christ is within
me, I have the power to rise above the negative stuff
in my life. The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is
a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2
Corinthians. 5:17)
Let’s thank God for this victory and act on it–every day.
It isn’t what’s happened to us, but the attitude we have
toward what’s happened to us, that makes the difference.
— By Helen Grace Lescheid
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Thanks be to God!
He gives us the victory
through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57
All Christians are to follow the example of Christ in His divine humility. Saint Paul teaches:
Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility
count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look
not to his own interests, but also to the interests of
others. Have this mind among yourselves, which you
have in Christ Jesus, who though He was in the form of
God, did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being
found in human form He humbled Himself and became
obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore
God has highly exalted
Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father (Phil 2.3–11). oca.org
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