As is our usual practice we will visit the graves of our friends and loved ones on Thomas Sunday (May 9) to greet them with the Resurrection of the Lord. We will process after the late Liturgy with our first stop to serve a Litya for the departed at the memorial rock at St. Vladimir’s. We will then go to the graves in our parish cemetery. We should arrive at Forest Hill Cemetery about 2:30 p.m. For the graves of those we cannot visit on Thomas Sunday we will visit after the Liturgy on Radonitsa (May 11). On that day we will serve Liturgy at 8:00 a.m. followed by the first Pannykhida after Pascha. If you have graves that you would like our clergy to visit during this Paschal season please contact Fr. Gregory to arrange a visit.

Each first Sunday of the month (unless Pascha falls on the first Sunday, in which case we do this on the second Sunday) we will have Parish Council members ready to help you during the parish meal. Help you by answering questions you may have about why you should support your parish. Help you by answering questions about how you can support your parish. Help you by assisting you in setting up a recurring donation to support St. Vladimir’s if you would like to do so. No one will attack you. :) But if you would like help, or you have questions, we are setting aside this time specifically for this purpose.

Learn More:
TREASURER’S CORNER

Please join us Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. and Thursday at 8:00 a.m. for the commemoration of the Holy Great Martyr George. If you cannot come to the Evening Services or Liturgy please try to join us on one of our live streams:

FIND ST. VLADIMIR LIVE STREAMS
All are welcome! The services will be inside the church, so we ask that you sign up. This allows us to understand the number of people that will attend since we have limited, physically distanced spaces inside the temple. The link to the sign up sheet can be found on our parish home page. If you have any trouble finding that please email: info@stvladimriaami.org.

LEARN MORE - ENGLISH

LEARN MORE - RUSSIAN

We present here a short educational offering for both children and adults on the upcoming Sunday's principle Gospel reading so that all can better prepare for the Divine Services. Parents are asked to review the children’s portion with their children. It is very important for us to attend the Divine Services on Sundays and whenever else we are able, but in addition it is our spiritual responsibility to educate ourselves and our families in the faith. It is our hope that this mid-week offering will be an aid in this regard. Please contact Fr. Gregory with questions or suggestions.

For Adults: from the writings of Blessed Theophylact

For Youth: from the Antiochian Archdiocese (various age groups)

Thank you to all who made our Holy Week and Pascha at St. Vladimir’s such a success this year! Last year we had just a skeleton crew present to serve the services due to the pandemic. It was so nice to have more people able to attend this year! God willing next year will be without any pandemic measures at all! Our choir worked incredibly hard to prepare for these holiest of days – please take a moment to remember our choir members in your prayers. And if you get a chance: thank a choir member for their many, many hours of preparation for the sake of our parish family! But not just the choir: the sisterhood worked liked crazy to make our holy days successful, as well as all those who serve in the altar, our brotherhood, and many, many more who worked quietly behind the scenes – hoping only for a reward from the Lord. Please remember all who exerted such herculean efforts in our parish family. The Lord knows them by name even if you don’t.

BUT HERE IS THE THING: the celebration just BEGINS at Pascha. Sometimes we think that is the end. Let’s set things straight now – Pascha is the beginning of the celebration!

This week we have services every night at 6:00 p.m. and every morning at 8:00 a.m. That is Pascha every day for a week! Of course no one can go to every service, but everyone can go to at least one or two during this special week. And should. And we can almost say “must”, for how can we celebrate the Feast of Feasts and the Day of Days for just a few hours? We can’t! We need to celebrate in earnest for Bright Week, and really continue to celebrate during these 40 days – until the Ascension of the Lord. Please join us! In person if you can, and virtually if you can’t. As St. John Chrysostom says in his homily read on Pascha night: “...the table is fully laden, delight ye all...” The Holy Church lays out the banquet of faith – but it will not force feed us. It is up to us to receive with love the free gift of God: the Paschal Divine Services which so nourish us spiritually. May God grant us all the strength to receive this gift by participating in the Divine Services this Pascha week!
FULL BRIGHT WEEK SCHEDULE HERE

Please find the Paschal Epistle of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion at the links below.

English ~ Russian

Please find the Paschal Epistle of His Holiness Patriarch Kyrill at the links below.

English ~ Russian

The chief end of our life is to live in communion with God. To this end the Son of God became incarnate, in order to return us to this divine communion, which was lost by the fall into sin. Through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we enter into communion with the Father and thus attain our purpose.

+ St. Theophan the Recluse

"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: Acts 1:12-17, 21-26 & John 1:18-28
Tuesday: Acts 2:14-21 & Luke 24:12-35
Wednesday: Acts 2:22-36 & John 1:35-51
Thursday: Acts 2:38-43 & John 3:1-15
Friday: Acts 3:1-8 & John 2:12-22
Saturday: Acts 3:11-16 & John 3:22-33

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

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

THIS WEEK'S "SUNDAY READING"