Here we provide the Synaxarion for Holy Tuesday for the edification of our readers. This week we will provide the Synaxarion for each day of Holy Week for our readers so that even if one cannot attend the Divine Services one can still remain connected to the progress of this week. Please join us at St. Vladimir's as your personal schedule allows!

English:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/46061.htm

Russian:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/put/1691.htm

Please note that Great Lent began this year on March 14. During Great Lent we abstain from meat and dairy products including fish (although fish is allowed on the Annunciation – April 7, and Palm Sunday – April 24). Let us recall that fasting is a tool given to us by God to aid us spiritually. For some it is easy to fast, for others it is difficult. However, what is most important is that we make a sincere effort to follow the fast. Why? Simply because the fast helps us to see our sins by helping us to focus spiritually. Eating “light” foods, or perhaps rather, abstaining from “heavy” foods such as meats and cheeses, allows us to be less focused on our stomachs and more focused on our souls, and of course, in this season when we undergo our journey to the Resurrection of our Lord we dearly wish to improve ourselves spiritually that we might meet the risen Christ better than we were when we began Great Lent. St. John Chrysostom writes that we abstain from meats that we might abstain from our sins. This nicely sums up the reason the Holy Church, as a loving mother, gives us the gift of fasting. Pascha is May 1 – may God grant us all a spiritually profitable Great Lent!

In order to better share the sounds of our parish (Divine Services, Lectures, Sermons, etc.) we have created a new blog entitled "Sound of the Parish". You can find the blog here:

http://soundoftheparish.blogspot.com/

Please take a moment to sign up for email updates on the right side of the browser window of the blog. That way each time we post a new sound file you will be alerted via email. Those who follow us on Twitter will also receive a notification of each posted file. Please join us on "Sound of the Parish"!

Here we provide the Synaxarion for Holy Monday for the edification of our readers. This week we will provide the Synaxarion for each day of Holy Week for our readers so that even if one cannot attend the Divine Services one can still remain connected to the progress of this week. Please join us at St. Vladimir's as your personal schedule allows!

English:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/46004.htm

Russian:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/put/1690.htm

The schedule of services for Holy Week and Bright Week at St. Vladimir's is now available at the link below. We will have Divine Services each evening and morning of Holy Week and many days of Bright Week. Please make your plans now to attend these beautiful and meaningful services, which happen only once per year.

PLEASE NOTE: There are two services that traditionally have not been as well attended as they really should be and we would like to make a real effort this year to do better in that regard. Those services are:

1. Matins for Holy Friday (12 Passion Gospels): Thursday, April 28 at 6:00 p.m. The choir works SO HARD to prepare for this service, and the hymnography is SO BEAUTIFUL. DO NOT MISS this service!

2. Paschal Vespers and Matins on the day of Pascha itself: Sunday, May 1 at 2:00 p.m. Celebrate Pascha again by attending this service. The hymnography of Pascha is so beautiful and meaningful - how can just standing and participating all night be enough? That is rhetorical - it CANNOT be enough! :) Join us on Pascha afternoon for more and prepare for Bright Monday Divine Liturgy by participating in Paschal Vespers & Matins on Pascha itself!

Holy Week and Bright Week Schedule:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/paschaschedule16.pdf

"This is the cause of all evils: the ignorance of the Scriptures. We go into battle without arms, and how ought we to come off safe?" -St. John Chrysostom, Homily IX on Colossians.

In order to help increase the general knowledge of scripture in our parish family we present here for your edification the scripture readings for the coming week. At least one Gospel Reading and one Epistle reading are assigned for each day of the year (although during Great Lent the readings are from the Old Testament). Hearing or reading only those readings appointed for Sunday merely scratches the surface of the great spiritual wealth that the scriptures provide us. Some of the readings are easily understandable – others are less so. As Orthodox Christians we do not make private interpretation of scripture, but rather consult the fathers of the Church for their explanations to aid us in our understanding. Those wishing to have access to such explanations are asked to contact Fr. Gregory or inquire in the kiosk for further reading in this regard. Bibles may also be acquired in the kiosk.

Monday: Isaiah 48:17-49:4, Genesis 27:1-41, Proverbs 19:16-25
Tuesday: Isaiah 49:6-10, Genesis 31:3-16, Proverbs 21:3-21
Wednesday: Isaiah 58:1-11, Genesis 43:26-31; 45:1-16, Proverbs 21:23-22:4
Thursday: Isaiah 65:8-16, Genesis 16:1-7, Proverbs 23:15-24:5
Friday: Isaiah 66:10-24, Genesis 49:33-50:26, Proverbs 31:8-32
Saturday: Hebrews 12:28-13:8 & John 11:1-45

Please find below several very nice articles on how to read the scripture from an Orthodox point of view.

By St. Justin (Popovich):

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/bible_how.aspx

By Bishop Kalistos (Ware):

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/ware_howto.aspx

This short article explains to us not just HOW to read the scriptures, but also what our goal should be in reading the scriptures. A short read and well worth it:

http://www.chrysostompress.org/reading_scripture.html

As noted in the article above we need God's help and blessing to read and understand the scriptures correctly. What better way to entreat God's help in this regard than through prayer? Please find the prayer before reading the scriptures here:

http://www.chrysostompress.org/prayer_b ... pture.html

Our weekly bulletin, "Sunday Reading", has been posted at the following link:

http://www.stvladimiraami.org/SundayRea ... eading.pdf

Please find this week's issue of "The Good News" at the link below. This bulletin/handout contains the Troparia and Kontakia that will be sung by the choir at today's Divine Liturgy as well as the readings from the Epistle and Gospel readings of the day - all in both English and Russian. This little bulletin is distributed to visitors and others who may find it useful by our parish Greeters on duty today at St. Vladimir's. We cordially invite you to join us at St. Vladimir's for Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. - or any Sunday soon. You are always welcome at St. Vladimir's!

This Sunday's "The Good News":

http://stvladimiraami.org/pamphlets/goodnews.pdf

Please keep our parishioners, friends, and those who have asked us in our unworthiness to pray for them in your prayers this coming week. Our parish prayer list can be found here:

http://www.stvladimiraami.org/SundayRea ... erlist.pdf

PLEASE NOTE! We have removed those from the list that we believe no longer should be present there. If you requested that someone be included in this list please review it carefully to make sure we have not removed someone erroneously. If we have, please contact Fr. Gregory to have your loved one again added to the list.

Fr. Gregory, Matushka Elizabeth, Maria, Michael, and Natalia invite all St. Vladimir’s family and friends to their Paschal Open House on Bright Monday, May 2beginning at 6:00 p.m. at their home in Saline. Please join them as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord!