“Many times you pray and your mind wanders here and there, wherever it pleases, to everything that attracts it out of habit. It takes considerable force and a struggle to break the mind away from there so that it pays attention to the words of the prayer.”

Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Venerable Joseph the Hesychast

"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: I Thessalonians 2:20-3:8 & Luke 12:13-15, 22-31
Tuesday: I Thessalonians 3:9-13 & Luke 12:42-48
Wednesday: I Thessalonians 4:1-12 & Luke 12:48-59
Thursday: I Thessalonians 5:1-8 & Luke 13:1-9
Friday: I Thessalonians 5:9-13, 24-28 & Luke 13:31-35
Saturday: II Corinthians 11:1-6 & Luke 9:37-43

Понедельник: I Сол. 2:20-3:8 и от Луки 12:13-15, 22-31
Вторник: I Сол. 3:9-13 и от Луки 12:42-48
Среда: I Сол. 4:1-12 и от Луки 12:48-59
Четверг: I Сол. 5:1-8 и от Луки 13:1-9
Пятница: I Сол. 5:9-13, 24-28 и от Луки 13:31-35
Суббота: II Кор. 11:1-6 и от Луки 9:37-43

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

Please join us for a live broadcast of today's Divine Liturgy beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the following link:

ST. VLADIMIR AUDIO LIVE STREAM
VIDEO LIVE STREAM
Please remember - the stream only broadcasts live services. If you would like to listen to previously recorded and edited services please visit our sound blog:

SOUND OF THE PARISH BLOG
If you would like to view past services please visit our YouTube page:

ST. VLADIMIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Our parish Sunday publications are available now at the link below. Find our Prayer List, "Good News", and "Sunday Reading", plus other parish publications!
PARISH PUBLICATIONS

Confession and Communion are the two sacraments we most often partake of as Orthodox Christians and thus it behooves us to learn about these, how to prepare for these, and how to best take advantage of the Grace that our Lord freely gives us in these sacraments. At St. Vladimir’s we have created a special web site for this purpose with much information in this regard. Please find the web site listed below and please contact Fr. Gregory with questions!

CONFESSION AND COMMUNION AT ST. VLADIMIR'S
PRAYERS BEFORE COMMUNION - PARISH PRAYER KIT

Please join us for a live broadcast of tonight's Vigil beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the following links:

ST. VLADIMIR AUDIO LIVE STREAM
VIDEO LIVE STREAM
Please remember - the stream only broadcasts live services. If you would like to listen to previously recorded and edited services please visit our sound blog:
SOUND OF THE PARISH BLOG
If you would like to view past services please visit our YouTube page:

ST. VLADIMIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

We have a lot of young men in our parish – thank God for that! We’d like to facilitate relationships between our young Orthodox men and our experienced Orthodox men. Undoubtedly that will happen with the involvement of roasting some sort of beast, enjoying some adult beverages, and just giving folks an opportunity to get to know each other outside the Divine Services. But we need someone to help organize these activities. If you can help please contact Fr. Gregory or Fr. Colin.

It has been a few years since we had a marriage retreat at STV, and we’ve had some recent requests to hold another. And so we will! But Fr. Gregory needs help with the planning and execution of the retreat. If you can help – please contact him. And your help will make this happen!

All are welcome at St. Vladimir's! Please join us this Sunday! More information can be found at this link, and we encourage you to share this with family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers!

DIVINE SERVICES FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2022

JOIN US!

St. Anatoly of Optina said that it is better to come late and stay to the end of Liturgy than to come early and leave early. As a parish we are rather consistent at the come late part. :) But that is not what this little instruction is about. Oddly, in the last couple of months we have picked up the bad habit of leaving immediately when Holy Communion is brought forth if we are not communing, rather than staying to the very end of the Divine Liturgy, on Sundays. It is not clear where this practice came from. In the 40+ year history of our parish that has never been a problem. Until now. So let us kill this weed immediately by supporting each other to stay until the end of the Divine Liturgy. That is, until the Thanksgiving Prayers after Communion have concluded and the Royal Doors are closed.

There are only two types of people that need to listen to the Thanksgiving Prayers: those that communed should thank God for the great gift that He has given them as they listen to the prayers, and those who did not commune should ask God to help them to partake at the soonest opportunity as they listen to the prayers. All others may ignore these prayers and talk as much as they like. :)

Let us be diligent to stay until the end of the Divine Liturgy to receive the blessing of having fully participated in our community worship on Sunday morning. Yes – undoubtedly there will come a time when you have to leave early. But that should be the exception and not the rule. Let us make our rule to stay until the very end of the Divine Liturgy!

Fr. Gregory