It’s not too early to start planning for this year’s Summer Camp at Saint Nicholas Ranch and Retreat Center in Dunlap, California. In fact, “earlier is better” especially because the early registration discount is presently available only until April 1, 2012. Take advantage of a reduced rate and sign up today for Summer Camp. Three one-week sessions are available for ages 8 – 17, and a special fourth session is offered exclusively for high school students:

Session 1: July 8 – 14 (All Ages)
Session 2: July 15 – 21 (All Ages)
Session 3: July 22 – 28 (All Ages)
Session 4: July 29 – August 4 (High School Only)

Visit the new Saint Nicholas Ranch website: www.stnicholasranch.org for more information and download your registration forms today! For more information, please contact the Ranch at 559-338-2103 or info@stnicholasranch.org. Early registration ends April 1, 2012 – don’t miss out!

Summer Camp is a week of fun, fellowship and faith. Campers will have the opportunity to meet other youth from throughout the Metropolis, while participating in camp activities including: campfires, theater, music, hiking, pool time, Olympics, athletics, canoeing, Orthodox Life discussion sessions, a tour of the Monastery of the Theotokos the Life-Giving Spring, and much more. The Ranch also now offers two new full-size basketball courts which can also be converted to four volleyball courts. This will be a great addition to the sports programs offered during the summer. Camp is a wonderful opportunity to make new friends and renew old friendships, and is also a time for young Orthodox Christians to learn about their faith, values and heritage in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.

We look forward to seeing you there!

This is an excellent time to gather together with other Christians for prayer, worship and reflection on important themes in the Christian life! Each Sunday in the Lenten Cycle is devoted to a particular commemoration, and each theme is a powerful symbol of our Lenten journey. These services will offer insight, instruction and inspiration every week so that Christians may make definitive progress each week during Great Lent this year.

If you are in Phoenix on any of the following dates, take advantage of these services where the church communities come together to pray.

	Sun. March 4 Triumph of Orthodoxy Sunday Preacher: Anastasia Barksdale Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church 1973 E. Maryland Ave. Phoenix, AZ
	Sun. March 11 St. Gregory Palamas Sunday Preacher: Fr. Nicholas Andruchow Assumption Greek Orthodox Church 8202 E. Cactus Rd. Scottsdale, AZ
	Sun. March 18 Veneration of the Holy Cross Sunday Preacher: Fr. Andrew Barakos St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church 4436 E. McKinley St. Phoenix, AZ
	Sun. March 25 St. John of the Ladder Sunday Preacher: Fr. Chad Hatfield, SVS Chancellor Ss. Peter & Paul Orthodox Church 1614 E. Monte Vista Rd. Phoenix, AZ
	Sun. April 1 St. Mary of Egypt Sunday Preacher: Dcn. Drew Maxwell St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church 10320 N. 84th St. Peoria, AZ

Anastasia Barksdale  2 – Fr. Nicholas  3 – Fr. Andrew, “Sacrificial Marriage” 4.  Fr. Chad Hatfield  5  Deacon Drew, “Family and Children in the Early Fathers”

The Orthodox Book Study Forum, now in its third year, was started as a way to provide supplemental adult education programs to parishes. Participants throughout the Metropolis read the same book during Great Lent and interact with one another online. The book club is centered around private forum discussions led and moderated by Konstantine Salmas (MDiv.), who is the Director of Education and Youth at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Belmont, CA. The next Lenten Book Club is scheduled for March 1 through May 1, 2012.

The book to be read is:

The Monk of Mount Athos: Staretz Silouan, 1866-1938

by Archimandrite Sophrony.

It is published by Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Press and available online through various distributors (Amazon, etc.) including Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Bookstore.

Online registration will open Monday, February 20 through a link available on the Metropolis main website (www.sanfran.goarch.org) and also through the link at www.sfseminars.net.

Mark your calendar and register on February 20, and make plans now to order the book so you have it in time for 2012 Lenten season!

Please RSVP by calling 928-777-8750. if attending.

We will be going over,

• Discerning thoughts and scrutinizing them,
• Reviewing Christian anthropology of the mind and the soul,
• Reviewing the Techniques of Watchfulness,
• Using watchfulness to avoid falling into sin,
• The practice of watchfulness in everyday life,
• praying the Jesus Prayer,
• How the Lenten Services aid and help in the practice of watchfulness.

Again, RSVP for this class today by calling Fr. John A. Peck at 928-777-8750.

The Orthodox Churches of Arizona invite you to worship with us for these services, some of the most beautiful ever celebrated by man.

In the Orthodox Christian tradition, the eucharistic Divine Liturgy is not celebrated in the Orthodox Church on lenten weekdays. In order for the faithful to sustain their lenten effort by participation in Holy Communion, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served. The service is an ancient one in the Orthodox Church. We officially hear about it in the canons of the seventh century, which obviously indicates its development at a much earlier date.

On all days of the holy fast of Lent, except on the Sabbath, the Lord’s Day, and the holy day of the Annunciation, the Liturgy of the Presanctified is to be served (Canon 52, Quinisext, 692).

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is an evening service. It is the solemn lenten Vespers with the administration of Holy Communion added to it. There is no consecration of the eucharistic gifts at the presanctified liturgy. Holy Communion is given from the eucharistic gifts sanctified on the previous Sunday at the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, unless, of course, the feast of the Annunciation should intervene; hence its name of “presanctified.”

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served on Wednesday and Friday evenings, although some churches may celebrate it only on one of these days. It comes in the evening after a day of spiritual preparation and total abstinence. The faithful who are unable to make the effort of total fasting because of weakness or work, however, normally eat a light lenten meal in the early morning.

During the psalms of Vespers, the presanctified gifts are prepared for communion. They are transferred from the altar table where they have been reserved since the Divine Liturgy, and are placed on the table of oblation. After the evening hymn, the Old Testamental scriptures of Genesis and Proverbs are read, between which the celebrant blesses the kneeling congregation with a lighted candle and the words:

“The Light of Christ illumines all,”

indicating that all wisdom is given by Christ in the Church through the scriptures and sacraments. This blessing was originally directed primarily to the catechumens—those preparing to be baptized on Easter—who attended the service only to the time of the communion of the faithful.

After the readings, the evening Psalm 141 is solemnly sung once again with the offering of incense. Then, after the litanies of intercession and those at which the catechumens were dismissed in former days, the presanctified eucharistic gifts are brought to the altar in a solemn, silent procession. The song of the entrance calls the faithful to communion.

Now the heavenly powers (i.e., the angels) do minister invisibly with us. For behold the King of Glory enters. Behold the mystical sacrifice, all fulfilled, is ushered in.

Let us with faith and love draw near that we may be partakers of everlasting life. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

After the litany and prayers, the Our Father is sung and the faithful receive Holy Communion to the chanting of the verse from Psalm 34:

“0 taste and see how good is the Lord. Alleluia.”

The post-communion hymns are sung and the faithful depart with a prayer to God who

“has brought us to these all-holy days for the cleansing of carnal passions,”

that he will bless us

“to fight the good fight, to accomplish the course of the fast, and to attain unto and to adore the holy resurrection” of Christ.

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is traditionally considered to be the work of the sixth-century pope, St. Gregory of Rome. The present service, however, is obviously the inspired liturgical creation of Christian Byzantium

Presenter: Anastasia Pamela Barksdale

Time: 1 pm – 5 pm

Sat., March 3

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral 1973 E. Maryland Ave. Phoenix, AZ

MARY, MYSTERIES, & MISSION

LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

A Day of Lenten Prayer and Reflection With

ARCHPRIEST CHAD HATFIELD

Chancellor, Saint Vladimir’s Seminary

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Ss. PETER & PAUL CHURCH 1614 E Monte Vista Road Phoenix

Lunch will be provided.  $5.00 donation requested.

RSVP by 3/21 to: frdavid@sspeterpaulaz.org

St. George Orthodox Church in Prescott, AZ is once again offering its annual Pysanky making class!

Pysanky are intricately decorated Easter Eggs, traditionally made in Ukraine. We have the great opportunity to offer a class in  Traditional Ukrainian Easter Egg making.

This Class is Open to the Public!

Bob Thommen will be here offering a hand-on, how to class for making Pysanky  (highly decorated Easter Eggs) using the traditional wax resist (batik) method.

This requires registration and a $15 fee.

(The Pysanky kit is included. If you have a kit, you must still pay the fee.)

The class will be 3-4 hours long. Fresh eggs and beeswax candles will be provided by the Church.

Deadline for Registration is Wed. March 14th. Class will be on Sat. March 31st, 2012.

This is a hard deadline for registration. March 15th is too late to register.

Sign up today!

More About Pysanky – What is Pysanky?

Pysanky are Ukrainian Easter eggs, traditionally decorated using a wax-resist (batik) method.

The word comes from the verb pysaty, “to write”, as the designs are not painted on, but written with beeswax. The art form of producing elaborately-decorated eggs is also common through Central and Eastern Europe.

Pysanky are traditionally made during the last week of Lent, Holy Week on the Orthodox calendar.

History

The art of the decorated egg or the “pysanka” dates back to pre-Christian times. No actual examples exist, as eggshells are fragile. However, folk tales reveal that people who lived in the region now known as Ukraine worshipped the sun. It warmed the earth and therefore was a source of all life. Eggs decorated with symbols of nature were chosen for sun worship ceremonies and became integral to spring rituals as benevolent talismans.

With the acceptance of Christianity in 988 AD, the decorated pysanka continued to play an important role in Ukrainian rituals. Many symbols of the old sun worship survived and were adapted to represent Easter and Christ’s Resurrection.

Eggs decorated with nature symbols became an integral part of spring rituals, serving as benevolent talismans.

In modern times, the art of the pysanka was carried abroad by Ukrainian emigrants to North and South America, where the custom took hold.

However, during the communist regime, it was banished as a religious practice, where it was nearly forgotten. Many museum collections were destroyed both by war and by Soviet cadres. Since Ukrainian Independence in 1991, there has been renewed interest in the art form.

Method

The most popular method for creating pysanky is by wax resist or batik. A specialized instrument called the “kistka” is used to write the design with hot wax.

The egg is then placed into a colored dye bath, which covers all areas of the white egg shell that have not been protected with wax. The progression of colors proceeds from the lightest to the darkest hues, so that each subsequent color covers the preceding.

After each dye bath the areas that are to remain that color are covered in wax, and then dipped into the next darker dye, with the process repeated. The final color is always the darkest, and is one that provides a background that effectively contrasts with all of the other previously utilized colors.

When the final color has been applied, the egg is carefully heated by a candle to melt the various layers of wax so that it may be easily removed. The colorful patterns and designs of the pysanky are then revealed.

The egg is then coated with layers of varnish to give it a glossy-like finish! +

2012 Teen SOYO Desert Deanery Retreat

The Church as the Center of Life

Orthodox Outreach in a Suffering World

Speaker: Paul Abernathy

Director, FOCUS Pittsburgh

A graduate of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Paul is a Sub-Deacon in the Orthodox Church and holds a Master’s of Divinity with a graduate thesis entitled “The Prayer of Broken Heart: an Orthodox Dialogue with African-American Spirituality.” He also has a Master’s of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and has previously served as the Coordinator for Community Research and Project Development at Wheeling Jesuit University. Paul has also served as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army and is a combat veteran of the Iraq War.

March 16th- 18th, 2012

At St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Phoenix, AZ

Retreat begins on Friday at 5:00pm

Registration is $35.

Please make checks payable to St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church

Please RSVP by March 1st

For registration and housing arrangements,

please contact our Youth Minister Nicole Saad, at:

602-953-1921 (church office) or Nicole@stgeorgeaz.org (email)

The services will begin at 6:30 pm.

There is no other sacred hymn which compares with this monumental work, which St Andrew wrote for his personal meditations.  Nothing else has its extensive typology and mystical explanations of the scripture, from both the Old and New Testaments.  One can almost consider this hymn to be a “survey of the Old and New Testament”. Its other distinguishing features are a spirit of mournful humility, hope in God, and complex and beautiful Trinitarian Doxologies and hymns to the Theotokos in each Ode.

A canon is an ancient liturgical hymn, with a very strict format. Typological examples of sin and repentance are brought into high relief, interspersed with the entire congregation singing

“Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!”

accompanied by prostrations. (Wear comfortable clothing)

A basic distinguishing feature of the Great Canon is its extremely broad use of images, types and subjects taken both from the Old and New Testaments. As the Canon progresses, the congregation encounters many biblical examples of sin and repentance. The Bible (and therefore, the Canon) speaks of some individuals in a positive light, and about others in a negative one—the penitents are expected to emulate the positive examples of sanctity and repentance, and to learn from and avoid the negative examples of sin, fallen nature and pride. However, one of the most notable aspects of the Canon is that it attempts to portray the Biblical images in a very personal way to every penitent: the Canon is written in such form that the faithful identify themselves with many people and events found in the Bible.

General Themes of the Great Canon -  How we should think about ourselves

Where shall I begin to lament the deeds of my wretched life? What first-fruit shall I offer, O Christ, for my present lamentation? But in Thy compassion grant me release from my falls. Mon:1.1

Desire to change – dialogue with the soul

Come, wretched soul, with your flesh, confess to the Creator of all. In the future refrain from you former brutishness, and offer to God tears of repentance. Mon:1.2

Recognizing Reality

The end is drawing near, my soul, is drawing near! But you neither care nor prepare. The time is growing short. Rise! The Judge is at the very doors. Like a dream, like a flower, the time of this life passes. Why do we bustle about in vain? Mon:4.2

How to pray – Laments and supplications to God

Thou art the Good Shepherd; seek me, Thy lamb, and neglect no me who have gone astray Mon:3.5

OT and NT examples of righteousness and unrighteousness, as examples

Do not be a pillar of salt, my soul, by turning back; but let the example of the Sodomites frighten you, and take refuge up in Zoar.(Genesis 19:26) Thu Ode 3:5