Special Services

Special Services at St. Vladimir’s

Baptism	Marriage	Funeral
Pannykhida	Moleben	Other Special Services

Baptism

If you’ve recently had a child – congratulations! Please click here.
To schedule a baptism, please contact Fr. Gregory. Baptisms are performed principally during office hours, but in an extreme situation could be scheduled for a time outside of office hours. In case of an emergency (risk of death) Fr. Gregory will come to you in the hospital. If there is no time to reach Fr. Gregory, and death is imminent, please click here and perform the service yourself (an Orthodox Christian must perform this service).
At a minimum, the Godparent of the same gender as the child must be an Orthodox Christian.
Two people who are married or who could be married in the future cannot be Godparents of the same child.
The child must have a Christian name. Please ask Fr. Gregory if you have questions in this regard.
It is traditional for the Godparents to provide a baptismal cross for the child. However, the parish will provide a simple, silver cross if the Godparents cannot. Crosses can be purchased form our parish bookstore as well.
It is necessary to have a white garment for the child to be clothed in following the baptism. Baptismal garments can be purchased form our parish bookstore , sewn at home, or a simple white dress purchased at any clothing store will suffice. Adults being baptized should contact Fr. Gregory to discuss having a baptismal garment sewn. We have a wonderful seamstress in the parish that does this at a very reasonable price. Adults must study the Orthodox Faith with Fr. Gregory before baptism. Please contact him to learn more about adult catechism.
In addition to the baptismal cross, please bring several large towels to the baptism. The parish will provide all other items needed for the baptism.
In addition to the baptismal cross it is also traditional for the Godparents to give the newly-enlightened Orthodox Christians a gift of an icon. Icons can be purchased form our parish bookstore or from many various Orthodox sources.
Following the Baptism please request from Fr. Gregory a questionnaire. When you have filled out the questionnaire please return it to Fr. Gregory. Once you have returned the questionnaire a baptismal certificate will be issued by the parish. If you forget to ask Fr. Gregory for the questionnaire you can find it here.
Baptism guests are asked to follow the parish’s dress code. Women should wear a skirt or a dress, and cover their heads (a hat or a scarf are perfectly appropriate). Men should not cover their heads in the church, and should not wear jeans, T-shirts, or other inappropriately casual attire. If you have questions in this regard please ask Fr. Gregory.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact Fr. Gregory.

All sacraments of the Church are provided to Orthodox Christians without charge. To require payment is in fact against the Church’s teachings. However, one should be aware of the following when preparing for this special service:

It is traditional as a thanksgiving to God for His mercy in allowing the sacrament to be performed to make a donation to the parish. If one is wealthy the donation should be large. If one is not wealthy the donation can be small. If one has no money to spare we ask only for prayers for the parish and its continued existence to be able to provide the saving Grace of God to those who seek it.
St. Vladimir’s Choir will gladly sing at your special service if you would like them to. However, the choir asks a donation of $150 if the service is at the parish church. If the service will be held in another location they ask a donation of $250. Choir fees go to support our choir fund, which principally supports our building fund (with a few dollars going to make copies of sheet music, etc., that the choir has need of). If you prefer to have the service chanted by a Reader there is no set fee, but it would be kind to make a small donation to the Reader for his or her time. If you choose to have the choir sing, please contact our Choir Director, Mr. Roman Vershynin - rlvershynin@gmail.com to schedule the choir’s performance ONLY AFTER having set the date of the service in question with Fr. Gregory. If you prefer that Fr. Gregory make the choir arrangements for you please request this of him.

Marriage

To schedule a marriage, please contact Fr. Gregory. Marriages are performed on Sundays and some holidays following the Divine Liturgy, or during office hours. Marriages are not performed during fasting periods, and during the week following Nativity and Pascha. Marriages are never performed at St. Vladimir’s on Saturdays. In extreme cases (impending and prolonged military deployment, for instance) please contact Fr. Gregory.
Please schedule the marriage with Fr. Gregory BEFORE scheduling the reception hall, etc.
Ideally there should be at least one groomsman and one bridesmaid who are Orthodox Christians.
Pre-marriage counseling is mandatory. Please contact Fr. Gregory to schedule counseling no less than 3 months before your marriage (6 months would be better!).
Please bring this marriage questionnaire (English / Russian) to the first counseling appointment filled out as fully as you can. We will complete the form at the first appointment. If you have been married in the past a divorce decree must be presented before a marriage will be performed at St. Vladimir's. If you were married in the Orthodox Church in the past a Church Divorce decree must also be presented.
A wedding rehearsal is mandatory. If all members of the wedding party can be present this is ideal, but the rehearsal must take place in any case. If the wedding is scheduled for a Sunday, Saturday morning is a nice time for a rehearsal. Please contact Fr. Gregory to schedule your rehearsal.
Although ideally both spouses would be Orthodox Christians, the Church allows its children to marry other Christians who profess belief in God the Holy Trinity. This includes principally Roman Catholic and some Protestant Christians. If the non-Orthodox spouse does not fall into these categories it is necessary for that person to become an Orthodox Christian. Please discuss this with Fr. Gregory at the earliest possible opportunity.
Please remind your wedding guests that clapping following the marriage is not at all traditional in the Orthodox Church.
Wedding guests are asked to follow the parish’s dress code. Women should wear a skirt or a dress, and cover their heads (a hat or a scarf are perfectly appropriate). Men should not cover their heads in the church, and should not wear jeans, T-shirts, or other inappropriately casual attire. If you have questions in this regard please ask Fr. Gregory.
It is not necessary to have a wedding program, but the parish has a very nice source for these. Please contact Fr. Gregory if you are interested.
Please provide Fr. Gregory with the wedding rings no less than one hour before the wedding. If possible please provide them before the Divine Liturgy on the day of your wedding.
It is traditional, although not necessary to have a set of wedding icons. These can be purchased form our parish bookstore , or from various Orthodox sources.
It is not uncommon for couples to need some pastoral counseling once they have been married for a time, or following the birth of their first child, etc. Please do not hesitate to contact Fr. Gregory in this regard. There is no shame in asking for help or for counseling, and all counseling is completely confidential.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact Fr. Gregory.

It is traditional as a thanksgiving to God for His mercy in allowing the sacrament to be performed to make a donation to the parish. If one is wealthy the donation should be large. If one is not wealthy the donation can be small. If one has no money to spare we ask only for prayers for the parish and its continued existence to be able to provide the saving Grace of God to those who seek it.
St. Vladimir’s Choir will gladly sing at your special service if you would like them to. However, the choir asks a donation of $150 if the service is at the parish church. If the service will be held in another location they ask a donation of $250. Choir fees go to support our choir fund, which principally supports our building fund (with a few dollars going to make copies of sheet music, etc., that the choir has need of). If you prefer to have the service chanted by a Reader there is no set fee, but it would be kind to make a small donation to the Reader for his or her time. If you choose to have the choir sing, please contact our Choir Director, Mr. Roman Vershynin - rlvershynin@gmail.com to schedule the choir’s performance ONLY AFTER having set the date of the service in question with Fr. Gregory. If you prefer that Fr. Gregory make the choir arrangements for you please request this of him specifically.

Funeral

If you have experienced a death in your family (whether locally or somewhere else) please contact Fr. Gregory immediately. Special prayers must be read over the body of the newly-reposed, and these can be read only by an Orthodox priest.
Funerals are traditionally served on the third day following repose. The day of repose counts as the first day in the Orthodox reckoning. For example, if the person in question passes away on Wednesday, the funeral would traditionally be performed on Friday. Due to families being dispersed over large distances (sometimes throughout the world) it is possible to postpone this for a short period, but not for a prolonged period. Please contact Fr. Gregory with questions.
The parish suggests that if your loved one is to be buried in the Ann Arbor area Forest Hill cemetery be utilized. This is St. Vladimir’s unofficial cemetery, and most of our parishioners are buried together there. If you plan to have your loved one buried at a monastery or some other cemetery away from Ann Arbor, the parish would be happy to help you arrange this. In the future, God-willing, the parish will have its own cemetery.
Orthodox Christians are not cremated (unless living in Japan or some other country where this is mandated by the state). Funerals cannot be served over the ashes of someone who has bee cremated.
Funeral guests are asked to follow the parish’s dress code. Women should wear a skirt or a dress, and cover their heads (a hat or a scarf are perfectly appropriate). Men should not cover their heads in the church, and should not wear jeans, T-shirts, or other inappropriately casual attire. If you have questions in this regard please ask Fr. Gregory.
In our days funeral guests often like to have the opportunity to make a donation to a charity or non-profit organization that was important to the newly-reposed. If you would like such donations to be made to the parish please alert Fr. Gregory to this.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact Fr. Gregory.

It is traditional as a thanksgiving to God for His mercy in allowing the service to be performed to make a donation to the parish. If one is wealthy the donation should be large. If one is not wealthy the donation can be small. If one has no money to spare we ask only for prayers for the parish and its continued existence to be able to provide the saving Grace of God to those who seek it.
If you would like to make a donation to the parish in remembrance of your departed loved one please contact our parish Treasurer, Eugene Poplavsky at 734-730-2683 or treasurer@stvladimiraami.org.
St. Vladimir’s Choir will gladly sing at your special service if you would like them to. However, the choir asks a donation of $150 if the service is at the parish church. If the service will be held in another location they ask a donation of $250. Choir fees go to support our choir fund, which principally supports our building fund (with a few dollars going to make copies of sheet music, etc., that the choir has need of). If you prefer to have the service chanted by a Reader there is no set fee, but it would be kind to make a small donation to the Reader for his or her time. If you choose to have the choir sing, please contact our Choir Director, Mr. Roman Vershynin - rlvershynin@gmail.com to schedule the choir’s performance ONLY AFTER having set the date of the service in question with Fr. Gregory. If you prefer that Fr. Gregory make the choir arrangements for you please request this of him specifically.

Pannykhida

If you have experienced a death in your family (whether locally or somewhere else) please contact Fr. Gregory immediately. Special prayers must be read over the body of the newly-reposed, and these can be read only by an Orthodox priest.
Pannykhidas are served on the following days following the repose of an Orthodox Christian: 3^rd (if you are unable to attend the funeral, which is usually done on the 3^rd day), 9^th, 40^th. In addition, pannykhidas should be served annually on the day of repose.
Orthodox Christians are not cremated (unless living in Japan or some other country where this is mandated by the state). If an Orthodox Christian is voluntarily cremated no pannykhida can be served until after the 40^th day.
Pannykhida guests are asked to follow the parish’s dress code. Women should wear a skirt or a dress, and cover their heads (a hat or a scarf are perfectly appropriate). Men should not cover their heads in the church, and should not wear jeans, T-shirts, or other inappropriately casual attire. If you have questions in this regard please ask Fr. Gregory.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact Fr. Gregory.

It is traditional as a thanksgiving to God for His mercy in allowing the service to be performed to make a donation to the parish. If one is wealthy the donation should be large. If one is not wealthy the donation can be small. If one has no money to spare we ask only for prayers for the parish and its continued existence to be able to provide the saving Grace of God to those who seek it.
If you would like to make a donation to the parish in remembrance of your departed loved one please contact our parish Treasurer, Eugene Poplavsky at 734-730-2683 or treasurer@stvladimiraami.org.
St. Vladimir’s Choir will gladly sing at your special service if you would like them to. However, the choir asks a donation of $150 if the service is at the parish church. If the service will be held in another location they ask a donation of $250. Choir fees go to support our choir fund, which principally supports our building fund (with a few dollars going to make copies of sheet music, etc., that the choir has need of). If you prefer to have the service chanted by a Reader there is no set fee, but it would be kind to make a small donation to the Reader for his or her time. If you choose to have the choir sing, please contact our Choir Director, Mr. Roman Vershynin - rlvershynin@gmail.com to schedule the choir’s performance ONLY AFTER having set the date of the service in question with Fr. Gregory. If you prefer that Fr. Gregory make the choir arrangements for you please request this of him specifically.

Moleben

A moleben is served when an Orthodox Christian has any special need or request, or in thanksgiving for God’s aid and mercy.
Molebens are served at St. Vladimir’s during office hours or in an emergency. Please contact Fr. Gregory to make an appointment.
Moleben guests are asked to follow the parish’s dress code. Women should wear a skirt or a dress, and cover their heads (a hat or a scarf are perfectly appropriate). Men should not cover their heads in the church, and should not wear jeans, T-shirts, or other inappropriately casual attire. If you have questions in this regard please ask Fr. Gregory.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact Fr. Gregory.

It is traditional as a thanksgiving to God for His mercy in allowing the service to be performed to make a donation to the parish. If one is wealthy the donation should be large. If one is not wealthy the donation can be small. If one has no money to spare we ask only for prayers for the parish and its continued existence to be able to provide the saving Grace of God to those who seek it.
St. Vladimir’s Choir will gladly sing at your special service if you would like them to. However, the choir asks a donation of $150 if the service is at the parish church. If the service will be held in another location they ask a donation of $250. Choir fees go to support our choir fund, which principally supports our building fund (with a few dollars going to make copies of sheet music, etc., that the choir has need of). If you prefer to have the service chanted by a Reader there is no set fee, but it would be kind to make a small donation to the Reader for his or her time. If you choose to have the choir sing, please contact our Choir Director, Mr. Roman Vershynin - rlvershynin@gmail.com to schedule the choir’s performance ONLY AFTER having set the date of the service in question with Fr. Gregory. If you prefer that Fr. Gregory make the choir arrangements for you please request this of him specifically.

Any Other Special Service

Other Special Services are served at St. Vladimir’s during office hours or in an emergency. Please contact Fr. Gregory to make an appointment.
Special Service guests are asked to follow the parish’s dress code. Women should wear a skirt or a dress, and cover their heads (a hat or a scarf are perfectly appropriate). Men should not cover their heads in the church, and should not wear jeans, T-shirts, or other inappropriately casual attire. If you have questions in this regard please ask Fr. Gregory.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact Fr. Gregory.

It is traditional as a thanksgiving to God for His mercy in allowing the service to be performed to make a donation to the parish. If one is wealthy the donation should be large. If one is not wealthy the donation can be small. If one has no money to spare we ask only for prayers for the parish and its continued existence to be able to provide the saving Grace of God to those who seek it.
St. Vladimir’s Choir will gladly sing at your special service if you would like them to. However, the choir asks a donation of $150 if the service is at the parish church. If the service will be held in another location they ask a donation of $250. Choir fees go to support our choir fund, which principally supports our building fund (with a few dollars going to make copies of sheet music, etc., that the choir has need of). If you prefer to have the service chanted by a Reader there is no set fee, but it would be kind to make a small donation to the Reader for his or her time. If you choose to have the choir sing, please contact our Choir Director, Mr. Roman Vershynin - rlvershynin@gmail.com to schedule the choir’s performance ONLY AFTER having set the date of the service in question with Fr. Gregory. If you prefer that Fr. Gregory make the choir arrangements for you please request this of him specifically.

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