This coming Saturday we celebrate Lazarus Saturday, the day when we recount the raising from the dead one of Jesus's closest friends. The Gospel reading for the day, John 11:1-45, and the icon of this blessed day recounts this amazing miracle in word and image powerfully for us. While reading the passage and in looking at this icon, something jumped out to me in light of our current pandemic crisis I'd like to share with you. I hope it will be as encouraging to you as it was to me.

When we look at the icon of Lazarus being raised from the dead, we see that the stone has been rolled away, the tomb has been opened and Lazarus is just starting to emerge; burial clothes and all. The gospel says that 'the dead man came out, his hands and feed bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth'. This scripture combined with seeing Lazarus in the icon gives you a sense that it is a bit of an awkward situation for Lazarus. By the divine power of Jesus, Lazarus has been brought back from death. Immediately after this incredible miracle, we have a very human moment of Lazarus hobbling out of the tomb. The image of awe and wonder from a person being resurrected is mixed with that same person hopping out of the tomb in a clunky and goofy manner must have been a unique sight indeed.
 
With this in mind we return to our present reality. We are just days away from Christ's resurrection, Pascha, the most incredible event in all human history that unlocks the path of salvation to all of us. And yet we are in the midst of a horrible pandemic that requires that we not gather and that we practice unfamiliar behaviors like social distancing. The reality is we WILL experience the resurrection of Christ, and there is no way to diminish or reduce that in any way. However, this will be an awkward Pascha for all of us; we won't get to participate in the Divine Liturgy together in person, receive the Light, break the fast together, or have our traditional Pascha celebrations as a community. My dear brothers and sisters, we are like Lazarus. We have been raised by Christ's resurrection but we will celebrate this joy, figuratively speaking, a bit clumsily, as we are still bound by the bandages of this pandemic. We will celebrate Pascha but through streaming services, we will experience the overwhelming joy of death being conquered but will sing 'Christ is Risen' in our homes, and we will break the fast together but from afar. Just like Lazarus, the tightly wrapped 'bandages' of the pandemic keep us home-bound and makes celebrating the Paschal beauty awkward and different than how we normally do, but it does not diminish the reality of Christ's resurrection. Day by day the bandages of this pandemic will be removed and one day we will be able to move about freely to come to Church, return to our normal lives, and be together with one another, just as Lazarus was reunited with his family and friends who loved him so much. Until then, let us not lose sight of the mystery of the resurrection of our Lord, stay connected best we can, and keep seeking Him through the trial upon us all.

Kalo Pascha my brothers and sister!

Dn. Steve

Dear Ones,
Thank you again for your prayers and your patience during this anxious time!
This year, for the first time in our history as a parish, we will be celebrating Holy Week and Pascha in our homes rather than here at Holy Resurrection. As difficult as that will be for all of us, we need to remember that whatever our circumstances, Christ is risen from the dead and that Holy Week and Pascha will be celebrated. 

I want to remind you that in the not so distant past, Holy Week and Pascha were celebrated in Nazi concentration camps and Communist gulags. Our grandparents and great-grandparents have prayed under trees and in barracks, turning bed sheets into vestments and tin cups into chalices. They whispered memorized prayers and used their imaginations to re-create the experiences of Church they had hidden in their hearts during times of war and persecution. This year we must do what they did, bringing Holy Week and Pascha celebrations into the relative peace and safety of our homes. We have a bit of time to think ahead and prepare about how we’re going to do this.

I have provided a number of excellent resources to help you celebrate Holy Week and Pascha at home. I encourage you to look over them today and put together a plan for your family. Some of the ideas might be too ambitious or impractical, but don't let that deter you. Think about the things you normally do, like eat pancakes on Lazarus Saturday, and do them at home instead. Participate in the live-streaming of the services as if you were here.

This will take great effort on your part. However, by now, we should be use to exerting greater effort during Holy Week and Pascha. It won't be easy, but it can become the most memorable Holy Week and Pascha of our lifetime. I especially want to encourage the parents of school-aged children. I wish these resources were around when our kids were young. You can do this!

We are given an opportunity this year to bring Holy Week and Pascha into our homes – something we should do every year! May the Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus guide us, guard us, keep us and protect us during this difficult time and may nothing ever rob us of the joy that comes from knowing that death has been conquered and that Christ is Risen!

​With love in the Risen Lord Jesus,
Father Jerry

As I am writing to you Dear Ones this message, our state is basically “locked-down”, and people are mandated to stay home and shelter in place. Non-essential businesses are temporarily closed, the streets are nearly empty of cars and people; and many, if not all, events have been canceled. The theaters are shut down, March Madness is canceled, and toilet paper is in short supply. Yesterday (Monday), as I drove through downtown, it seemed like a Sunday instead. Actually, it’s been two weeks of Sundays, so it seems. Our normal rhythm of life has been majorly impacted and a new, but temporary, “normal” is emerging. We are asked to make changes and do things that perhaps we don’t agree with, for the common good. We are mandated to change our entire style of life in the midst of a situation that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Sounds a lot like Great Lent to me! When the services, hymns, canons, and prescriptions of Great Lent were originally composed, we lived in a relatively small, mainly rural community within one organically Orthodox world; the very rhythm of one’s life was shaped by the Church. Great Lent was “visible” then in the culture. During Lent, the whole society accepted a certain rhythm of life, certain rules, which kept reminding the individual members of that society of the Lenten season.

In Russia, for example, one could not forget Lent if only because of a special Lenten church bell ringing; theaters were closed; and in more ancient times, the courts suspended their activities. By themselves, all those externals were obviously unable to force people into repentance or toward a more active religious life. But they created a certain atmosphere-a kind of Lenten climate-in which personal effort was made easier. Being weak, we need external reminders, symbols, signs. We are no longer living in an Orthodox society and no Lenten “climate” can, therefore, be created on a social level. Or can it? In the Orthodox worldview, the home and the family constitute the first and most important area of the Christian life, of application of Christian principles to daily existence. It is the home and family that shapes our fundamental worldview, that orients us for daily life.

​How Lent is kept at home with our family, therefore, is of great importance. If Lent is an opportunity to recover our faith, it is also an opportunity to recover our true selves and true life. It is by abstaining from food that we rediscover its sweetness and learn again how to receive it from God with joy and thanksgiving. It is by “slowing down” and cutting back on our socializing, that we rediscover the ultimate value of human relationships. It is by taking Lent seriously by participating in the Lenten services, fasting and praying, practicing silence and stillness, giving alms, etc., that we can attain to truly keeping Lent. It might sound strange, but there seems to be a silver lining to this global pandemic we are facing-we are having the Lent we should have. May the reminder of it be blessed!

Father Jerry 

​Dear Ones,
​
As I further reflect on the terrible pandemic which overshadows the entire world and our own Nation, I have concluded that we must act in defense of our families and neighbors by temporarily restricting gathering together. We must also continue to be even more concerned for our neighbor, for others, and do our part to prevent the spread of the virus. 

Therefore, I am terminating all gatherings at least until March 31, when we will review the status of the pandemic as determined by medical and government sources.

I hope and pray that with our efforts to restrict the spread of the virus combined with those of our friends and neighbors, we may have passed the worst of this crisis by Holy Week and Pascha and thus might be able to gather safely to celebrate the joyful mysteries of Christ's Passion and Resurrection.  In the meantime, we will create a Resource page on our website to help you pray the services at home with your families.

May God protect and sustain us all.
Father Jerry

February 27, 2017
Holy and Great Lent


Your grace has shone forth, O Lord,
it has shone forth and given light to our souls.

Hymn of Vespers – Sunday of Forgiveness


To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we begin this sacred journey through Holy and Great Lent, through a time of earnest prayer and sincere reflection, we are guided by the presence of our Lord and the hymns and prayers of this season to experience the power of God’s grace.  In preparation for this time, we have witnessed His grace in the forgiveness of the publican.  We have seen the depth of His love in the father’s loving embrace of the prodigal son.  We have heard the words of our Lord concerning the Last Judgement, when He will come in His glory and welcome into the kingdom His servants who have shown mercy to those in need.
In the days and weeks that will come, our worship and prayers will have a somber and reflective tone.  We will be called to examine our lives, to purify ourselves through fasting, and to follow the way of the Cross.  We will be asked to consider the condition of our souls and affirm our need for God and His great mercy.  As we hear on the eve of Great Lent, and we will experience in this journey, our needs will be met by His abundant grace: “Your grace has shone forth, O Lord, it has shone forth and given light to our souls.  Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the season of repentance.  Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light….”

Our true repentance will be blessed with God’s forgiveness in grace.  Our return to Him in hope will be met with His compassionate embrace.  Our service in His name will lead us to our spiritual inheritance of life in His glorious presence.  At the beginning of Lent, we can affirm that our path to abundant joy and celebration will be illuminated by the light of His grace.

With this light that shines in our hearts we will also offer a witness through our observance of Lent and through our lives.  As we know and experience God’s grace, others will see His offering of forgiveness.  They will see the power of grace to transform life and bring healing and restoration.  They will find salvation in Christ as the grace of God works in and through us to show all His redeeming love.

May the blessings of God’s grace be with you during this holy season as we gather in His presence.  As His great love embraces you, may your hope and faith be strengthened for the journey to Cross and to the light and life we have in the Risen Christ.

With paternal love in Him,

†DEMETRIOS
​
Archbishop of America

 
NEW YORK – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is saddened and appalled by the latest senseless mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 people lost their lives and many more were injured.
We express our unequivocal condemnation for this terrorist attack, the worst mass shooting in American history.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. May God give rest to the souls of those who were brutally killed and may He provide comfort and courage to their families, as well as to those injured and are now facing the difficult road to recovery.
We also fervently pray to the Lord and God of mercy and peace, to strengthen and guide all efforts to eliminate from the face of the earth the plague of terrorism and the poison of hatred and violence, and to advance reconciliation and peaceful coexistence among all people.

For modern western Christians (who typically have very little exposure to Orthodox Christianity), it’s often difficult to grasp the nature of the divide between east and west. In my experience, most reflexively tend to reduce the differences in their mind to being relatively superficial or inessential. But the divide runs much deeper than most tend to realize.

One way to help westerners glimpse the nature of the divide is by shedding light on the paradigmatic battle between the heretic Barlaam and St. Gregory Palamas in the fourteenth century. Because this event took place in the post-schism east, it is especially absent from western Christian consciousness, yet it highlights some of the most significant and fundamental issues that divide east from west and—I would say, along with the Orthodox Church—truth from error.

Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos succinctly lays out the issue at the heart of the controversy:
Barlaam maintained that one could reach God through philosophy and conjecture, while St. Gregory Palamas, having experienced the actual road that leads to the knowledge of God, upheld the Orthodox view that it is only through purity that one can see God. (St. Gregory Palamas as a Hagiorite, p. 46)

Those who live purified lives—through a life of asceticism and noetic prayer, sustained and sanctified by the sacraments, in obedience to Christ through his Church—and are thereby granted to see the Uncreated Light of God (Matt. 5:8), in turn nourish the Church with the truth that has been revealed to them, and this wisdom is transmitted within the living tradition of the Orthodox Church. Contrast this approach with the scholasticism that dominates Roman Catholic theology—especially since Aquinas—and which formed the very foundations of the Reformation (e.g. Sola Scriptura), and you begin to see how deep the divide is. This divergence is manifested in the west today in the supremacy of the historical-critical method in Biblical exegesis, along with the submitting of all theological validity to the realm of discursive reason and “scientific” or quasi-scientific methods of inquiry.

Some might point to certain Roman Catholic saints, or holiness movements within Protestantism—spurred by the likes of John Wesley or Jonathan Edwards—which perhaps acknowledge the primacy of purifying the heart—of holiness—in knowing God. While I would applaud such insight from western theologians and western saints where it occurs, separated from the wellspring of the life of the Church, and with epistemological and doctrinal foundations that are still rooted in scholasticism, this truth has only ever been fleetingly and dimly glimpsed in the post-schism west. The precise method for success is handed down by those who have attained the light, and it can’t be stumbled upon in its fullness apart from that living tradition.

Met. Hierotheos also notes, writing about St. Gregory’s thought in distinction from Barlaam’s:
The witness of the saints is not intellectual and conjectural, but empirical… Because they have freed their nous from reasoning, passions and environmental conditions, the nous has been illuminated by divine Grace and guided to the vision of God. (St. Gregory Palamas as a Hagiorite, pg. 29)
With such being the conditions for seeing God—and therefore for true knowledge about God—these are the means by which all the great Orthodox Saints obtained deification.
​
Founded on principles foreign to the apostolic, patristic, living tradition of the Church, Barlaam’s approach to theology necessarily ends in agnosticism. Founded on Christ, the Apostles, and the undivided witness of the Orthodox Church, the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas provides the only way to come into direct, living contact with the “energies” of God—which are God himself.

NEW YORK – Archbishop Demetrios offered ten suggestions for each Orthodox Christian to strive for during the Lenten season, during his homily at the annual Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology Clean Monday Retreat, March 14, at the Holy Cross Chapel in Brookline, Mass. Below is an edited excerpt of these ten suggestions.


Ten Suggestions for Lent
By His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Geron of America


1. Meditate on the History of Salvation

Think of the Lenten period as a time of meditating on the history of salvation.  Think about the creation of the universe and of Adam and Eve as the beginning of human life on earth.  Think about the fall of Adam and the entrance of sin in humanity.  We see in the hymnology of the liturgical book of Lent, the Triodion, constant references to the tragedy of the fall of the first human beings.  For example, in the Oikos of the Matins on yesterday’s Cheesefare Sunday, we read: “Adam sat and cried in those days across from the delights of Paradise; beat his hands upon his face, and said: Merciful One, have mercy on me who have fallen.”

The memory of what happened through the fall of Adam and Eve continues on in us to this day.  Think of the current condition of the world with its chaotic situation, confusion, violence, poverty, injustices, oppression, sickness and death, and remember it all started way back with Adam and Eve as a consequence of their sin and fall.  But then contemplate the course of history and how the amazing, unimaginable, and unpredictable act of God Himself to become a human being radically changed everything.  So in the course of Lent remember the history of salvation: From the fall of humankind, to the promise of redemption, the Incarnation of God as the new Adam, His Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension into Heaven, and the Second Coming.  Take time to reflect on God’s divine actions through history.

2. Review the understanding of fasting

Take fasting seriously as a very important aspect of Lent.  Think of fasting not simply as an item of diet, but as something related to the fall of humankind, and at the same time as a victory through Christ.  We fast for forty days in Lent before Holy Week not merely as an exercise, an ascesis, but also because there is an important Christological significance attached to fasting.  We have forty-day fasting models from both the Old and New Testaments.  In the Old Testament, Moses fasted for forty days on Mount Sinai before receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28, Deut. 9:9, 9:18) and Prophet Elijah fasted for forty days on Mount Horeb (3 Kingdoms 19:8).  Both of these instances are connected with an encounter with God at the end of their fasting.  In the New Testament, we have the forty-day fasting in the desert by our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13).  At the end of the forty-day fasting by Christ in the desert, there are the well-known “Temptations” of Christ, the first of which is related to eating: And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he [Christ] answered, "It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matt. 4:3-4).  Is this event in the life of Christ in any way connected to the Fall of Adam?  Indeed, the Fall of Adam was caused by an eating situation, yet the victory of Christ also happened through an eating situation.  While Adam said “yes” to the temptation and ate (Genesis 3:1-6), Christ said “no” to the temptation and did not eat.  This is why the fasting of the forty-days during Lent is not simply a matter of abstention or an issue of diet, but is a major Christological and soteriological situation; the fall of humankind, and then the restoration through the victory of Christ.  So let us take fasting seriously and prepare ourselves for a blessed encounter with God.

3. Reconsider our life of prayer

Great Lent is a special time to pray.  But what is the content of our prayer?  What is our praying language?  For several people, their prayer is still on the same level of that when they were ten or fifteen years old; it has stayed undeveloped.  Why when speaking to God are we using a poor language?  What efforts are we making to improve and enhance our prayer in terms of content and expression?  Looking at the Triodion, we see many examples of different types of prayer language and content.  Try to pray and study the prayers that the Church has given us which are superb examples of conversing with God and try especially to prayerfully read the Psalms, the standard and universal book of prayer.

During Lent we find an increased number of opportunities for community prayer and worship.  The Church invites us each week to pray the services of the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, the Presanctified Liturgy, the Salutations to the Theotokos, the Great Compline, and others.  So try to pray more frequently this Lent and develop through constant praying a more refined language of prayer.

4. Be conscious of the gravity of sin

Sometimes we don’t take sin seriously.  Yet Scripture offers a very strong and unequivocal picture of the gravity of sin.  The hymnology of the Triodion is replete with occurrences of the word “sin” or variations of it.  Sin is a very serious issue.  In the Hebrew Old Testament, there are fourteen different words to describe sin, but chiefly four: sin as a matter of human weakness, sin as a distortion or perversion, sin as a rebellion (borrowed from the political realm), and sin as an error or mistake related to ignorance.

If we believe in God becoming a human being and willingly being crucified on the Cross for the sins of the world, then we must understand the seriousness of sin.  Let’s reflect on how sin has control in our lives, and how it has distorted the divine image within each of us.  Let us deal seriously with our sins with an understanding that they are part of the huge amount of sins and evil that led Christ to the Cross.  But then remember that God has given forgiveness as the perfect antidote through the very same Cross.  Forgiveness, however, is inseparably connected to repentance.

5. Make Lent a season for repentance

Along with sin, we are called to reflect upon repentance. Repentance is a very important aspect in our lives and is a dominant theme throughout the Triodion.  We should not forget that Jesus Christ our Lord began His public ministry with the words, “Μετανοεῖτε· ἤγγικε γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.”“Repent [change your mind], for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17).  The whole Sermon on the Mount is a commentary on this fundamental declaration on repentance.  The writings of St. Paul and the other New Testament writings are permeated by calls to repentance.  Repentance is not merely a shallow or superficial act, but a radical change of mind, soul, will and mentality.  It is a central issue and an essential component of the Lenten period.  God is always ready to forgive, but first we must repent.

6. Reflect on our reading the Bible

Lent is a time to reflect on our relationship with the Holy Scriptures, because the Bible is central in the texts of the Triodion.  We must always keep the biblical element at the forefront in our worship and in our life.  How close are we to the Bible?  Most people think about the Bible only at the reading of the Epistle and Gospel on Sunday at the Divine Liturgy.  It is unthinkable that we as Christians do not have the Word of God as a central guide in everything we do.  The Lenten period assists us to come closer and more frequently to the Bible and encourages us to reflect upon the Scripture.  We should try to make reading from the Holy Bible a daily practice during this Lenten season and beyond.

7. Be aware of the Christocentric focus

Of course, the greatest focus of Lent should be on Jesus Christ Himself.  Sometimes we can get caught up in fasting, in saying prayers, in going to Church, on our sins, or in all the rituals of this holy season; yet in the midst of all we do, we forget about Jesus Christ Himself.  Lent is above all else a time to draw closer to Christ!  Christ is the center of this Lenten period and should be the center of our lives.  As we go through Lent and arrive at Holy Week with the Crucifixion and Resurrection, Christ must be at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of all things.  This Lenten period is a tremendous opportunity to come closer to Christ, and to be Christocentric in all that we think, say, or do.

We remember that the fall of Adam and Eve occurred through eating in disobedience to the commandment of God (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-24), and that the restoration and victory in Christ was realized through His overcoming the temptation of eating (Matt. 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13).  But what does our incarnate God offer to us as the ultimate possibility of union with Him?  He gave us His Body and His Blood to be eaten.  He said to us, “Ὁ τρώγων μου τὴν σάρκα καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μένει, κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ.” ”He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (John 6:56).  Here is the ultimate paradox: During Lent, abstinence from food, i.e. fasting, is accompanied by partaking of the imperishable food, i.e. the Body and Blood of Christ.  Adam and Eve fell away from paradise and from their connection to God through eating, and we are restored and united to God in the highest way through the Holy Communion by eating the Body and drinking the Blood of Christ.  This is much more than being Christocentric.  This is having Christ dwelling in us in a palpable way.

8. Cultivate human relationships

The season of Lent is also an opportunity to cultivate our human relationships in more authentic ways.  Looking again at the hymnology of the Triodion, we clearly ascertain that there is an emphasis on loving and caring for each other, on moving away from evil and wrong things, on forgiving one another, and on being reconnected with our fellow human beings.  The Book of Isaiah, read in its entirety during Lent, begins with a condemnation of the people of Israel because they had abandoned God, and then continues with an admonition to the Israelites to return to God and to be fair and to establish proper relationships with their fellow human beings.  So we are called to think of any relationships that are not in the proper condition and make every effort to remedy them.  This is a very integral part of living our lives during Lent.

9. Practice almsgiving

Almsgiving is a vital aspect of the Lenten period.  On one of the multiple occasions speaking about the need to be a person who takes care of others, St. John Chrysostom said that we are all called to give alms.  He continued to say that even those who claim to be poor are not free from offering alms.  Poverty is a poor excuse not to give.  Indeed there are poor people who give the half of what they have (see Mark 12:41-44).  It could be said that almsgiving is a requirement for living our life as Christians.  Christ said, “when you give alms” (Matt. 6:3), not if you give alms.  Almsgiving is especially emphasized during this Lenten period, evidenced again by the hymnology of our Church.

10. Make this Lent a time for transformation

Ultimately, our Lenten season is a time of having a transformative experience.  We are challenged to resolve that at the end of the Lenten period, when we celebrate Pascha, we are different from what we are today.  The transformative aspect of Lent is an absolute necessity for spiritually enjoying this season.  We are in the process of transformation if we steadily become Christocentric in all things, through the grace and power of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This Lenten season provides us with a tremendous possibility to prepare spiritually, to be constantly transformed, and to be with Christ in His Passion and Resurrection.