Photo galleries of the numerous Sunday of Orthodoxy celebrations slated to be held on the first Sunday of Great Lent, March 1, 2015, will again be featured on the web site of the Orthodox Church in America.
Photos of regional, deanery and parish celebrations should be sent toinfo@oca.org . Photos should be sent in high resolution, at least 600 pixels in width or larger. No more than three [3] photos from any given celebration should be sent. Please do not send links to on-line galleries, Vimeo postings, etc. Only photos sent as attachments will be posted.
Include the name and location of the host parish, the celebration sponsor [deanery, diocese, clergy association, etc.], the name of the hierarch or main celebrant, and the name of the guest preacher within the body of the e-mail to which the photos are attached. Brief captions, especially for parish celebrations, are acceptable as well.
The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
Pilgrims from across North America gathered at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery, South Canaan, PA May 28-29, 2000 to celebrate the glorification of the first Orthodox Christian bishop to have been consecrated on North American soil—Saint Raphael Hawaweeny.
Today—February 27, 2015—marks the 100th Anniversary of Saint Raphael’s repose. His many missionary and pastoral journeys across North America to gather Orthodox Christian faithful of Middle Eastern background had taken their toll. He fell ill early in 1915, patiently bearing his infirmities at home. At 12:40 a.m. on February 27, he fell asleep in the Lord.
St. Raphael on pastoral visit to Beaumont, TX, circa 1914.
From his youth, Saint Raphael’s greatest joy was serving the Church. When he came to America, he found his scattered flock and called them to unity. He never neglected them, but traveled throughout America, Canada, and Mexico in search of them so that he might care for them. He kept them from straying from the faith and protected them from spiritual harm. During 20 years of faithful ministry, he nurtured them and helped them to grow. At the time of his death, the Syro-Arab Mission had 30 parishes with 25,000 faithful.
Saint Raphael also was a scholar and the author of several books. He wrote many, if not most, of the articles that appeared in The Word magazine—still published by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. While serving his own Arabic community, he reached out to Greeks and Russians, speaking to them in their own language. He became fluent in English, and encouraged its use in Church services and educational programs.
St. Tikhon [center] with Bishops Innocent of Alaska and Raphael of Brooklyn.
Saint Raphael came into contact with all sorts of people, and was a gentle father to them. He gained their love and respect by first loving them, and also through his charming personality and excellent character. He was always kind, merciful, and condescending with others, but was strict with himself. Having accomplished many good things during his earthly life, he entered the joy of eternal life where, with the holy angels and saints who went before him, he offers ceaseless prayer and praise to God.
A detailed account of Saint Raphael’s life and labors may be accessed here.
Through the prayers of our father among the saints, the holy Bishop Raphael, may we also be made worthy of the heavenly Kingdom.
On Sunday evening, March 1, 2015 — the first Sunday of Great Lent — Orthodox Christians will gather in churches around the world to commemorate the restoration of icons to their proper use in the Church on March 11, 843 AD, thereby ending the 100-plus year iconoclast controversy.
The spiritual theme of the day is first of all the victory of the True Faith. “This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith” [1 John 5:4]. Secondly, the icons of the saints bear witness that man, “created in the image and likeness of God” [Genesis 1:26], becomes holy and godlike through the purification of himself as God’s living image.
His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, together with His Eminence, Metropolitan Joseph of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America and His Grace, Bishop Michael of New York and New Jersey, will be present for the Pan-Orthodox celebration of the Vespers of Orthodoxy Sunday at Saint John the Baptist Church, 170 Lexington Ave., Passaic, NJ at 5:00 p.m.
To mark the occasion, a message has been issued by the members of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, the complete text of which follows.
Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America
Sunday of Orthodoxy 2015
Longsuffering Lord, how wonderful are your works! Who will number your love for humankind? Who, when they see your Priests and Ascetics slain for the sake of your Icon, would not reject deceivers? But you, when insulted, endured [Synodikon of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, 9th Ode].
To the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of Parish Councils, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Members of Philanthropic Organizations, the Youth and Youth Workers, and the entire Orthodox Christian Family in the United States of America:
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
At the onset of our journey to Holy Pascha, the Church designates the first Sunday of Holy and Great Lent as the Sunday of Orthodoxy. On this day we celebrate the splendor of the Orthodox Church and her salvific mission in the world, and we call to mind the holy men and women who made great sacrifices in defense of holy icons and the authentic worship of God; we venerate the great champions of Orthodoxy who kept the faith alive.
Their enduring love and commitment to Christ has made it possible for future generations to come to know God. And as we are embraced by Christ and become one with Him, our lives are transformed into living icons of our Lord and of His sacrificial love for the world. The dogmas, teachings and traditions that were defended, therefore, are not antiquated theories, philosophies, or broken rubrics. They are tangible guides and spiritual directives for how we ought to live our lives according to the Holy Gospel.
Beloved brothers and sisters, perhaps now more than ever before, it is important to declare our Orthodox Christian Faith, for the world is suffering and desperately searching for peace and reconciliation. As the world produces distorted images of the truth, we must share the beauty of the Gospel. As the world resorts to violence and hatred, we must respond with love and forgiveness. And as the world falls deeper into despair, let us ask God to grant us courage to endure and to allow us to serve as icons of hope for our neighbor.
Wishing all of you, on behalf of the Hierarchs of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, the abundant blessings of the Lord, I fervently pray that He grant to all of us the courage, the power and the wisdom to proclaim His eternal and saving Orthodox Faith to all people, both those who are far off and those who are near (Eph. 2:17).
