Friday, December 25, 2015

JOY TO THE WORLD!

Although Holy Cross parish observes the ancient Christian calendar, the Julian Calendar, and will be celebrating the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on January 7th, I want to greet all of my readers who are celebrating the Nativity of Christ today with the words, Christ is born. Glorify Him! Merry Christmas!

Sadly, Christmas Services had to be cancelled across Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa last night because of the unexpected winter storm that struck the midlands. There is good news though. Vast numbers of Orthodox Christians all across the world will gather to celebrate the birth of Christ on January 7th.

Whether or not you have celebrated Christmas today, you are invited to worship with us.  Christmas is the Good News that God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son for our salvation. Who can get enough of Christmas joy?  I know that I cannot. It is the most wonderful time of the year!

This Sunday is the Third Sunday in Advent - Rose Sunday - at Holy Cross Orthodox Church. Christian Education is at 8:45 AM, followed by Matins at 9:15 AM, with the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist at 10:00 AM. Fellowship and refreshments follow the Liturgy.

A Solemn celebration of the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist (The Divine Liturgy or Holy Mass) for the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be celebrated on Wednesday evening, January 6th, at 6:30 PM. A Christmas party will follow in the parish hall. Everyone is always welcome!

May God grant you every grace and blessing,

Fr. Victor+

HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH
7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127
www.holycrossomaha.net
(402) 573-6558

Thursday, December 24, 2015

TONIGHT'S FESTIVAL HAS BEEN CANCELLED

A Festival of Lessons and Carols scheduled for Thursday evening, December 24, has been cancelled due to the winter storm. We are planning to reschedule the Festival and I will keep the readers of Fr. Novak's Blog informed. Stay safe and warm. May God grant you every grace and blessing. 

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

A FESTIVAL OF LESSONS AND CAROLS, Thursday, December 24, at 7:00 PM

A Festival of 
Lessons and Carols

Thursday Evening, December 24, at 7:00 PM

at

HOLY CROSS
ORTHODOX CHURCH

7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127
(402) 573-6558


“Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” - Isaiah 40:3

“When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” - Galatians 4:4-5 

A Festival of Lessons and Carols is a beautiful English tradition that was first held in the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge in December 1918, just after the end of the First World War. 

It quickly spread throughout the English speaking world and was first broadcast over the radio in 1928. Sometime in the early 1930s the BBC began broadcasting the Festival on its overseas programs. Since 1963 it has been filmed periodically for television.

We want to thank the Schola Cantorum of Holy Cross Orthodox Church under the direction of Victoria H. for their hard work in preparing for this Festival. 

Everyone is invited to stand and join in singing the Processional Hymn and the Carols. You may sit during the reading of the Lessons with the exception of the final Lesson. Please stand for the reading from the Gospel according to St. John.

Refreshments in our parish hall will follow the Festival of Lessons and Carols. The public is warmly invited to attend. Visitors are always welcome.

We wish everyone a spiritually profitable Advent, and a blessed and merry Christmas.


ORDER OF SERVICE

ORGAN PRELUDE
Victoria H., Organist

PROCESSIONAL HYMN: Once In David’s Royal City

OPENING PRAYER: Fr. Victor Novak

CAROL: O Little Town of Bethlehem

FIRST LESSON: Genesis 3:8-15, 17-19

CAROL: Break Forth, O Beauteous Heav’nly Light

SECOND LESSON: Genesis 22:15-18

CAROL: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

THIRD LESSON: Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

CAROL: Silent Night

FOURTH LESSON: Isaiah 11:1-4, 6-9

CAROL: It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

FIFTH LESSON: St. Luke 1:26-35, 38

CAROL: Sing of Mary

SIXTH LESSON: St. Luke 2:1, 3-7

CAROL: What Child Is This?

SEVENTH LESSON: St. Luke 2:8-16

CAROL: The First Nowell

EIGHTH LESSON: St. Matthew 2:1-12

CAROL: We Three Kings

OFFERING: Fr. Victor Novak

NINETH LESSON: St. John 1:1-14 (STAND)

CAROL: O Come All Ye Faithful

BLESSING: Fr. Victor Novak

Thank you for joining us for this Festival of Lessons and Carols. Everyone is invited to remain for Refreshments in our parish hall.

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!


Friday, December 18, 2015

HOLY CROSS UPDATE

Dear friends in Christ,

This Update contains a lot of important information. Please read it over carefully. Thank you!

CHURCH DECORATING
Sunday, December 20

We will be putting up a Christmas tree and decorating the church and parish hall this Sunday during fellowship and refreshment time after Services. This is always a joyful time at Holy Cross parish. A big thank you to Subdeacon Michael and Tari C. who generously provide the church with a Christmas tree and evergreen hangings each year. Everyone is invited to bring poinsettias this Sunday to decorate the church. Let us make the House of God beautiful for this Holy Season!

FESTIVAL OF LESSONS AND CAROLS
Thursday evening, December 24, at 7:00 PM

We will have an Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols on Thursday evening, December 24th, at 7:00 PM. This will be the first time that we have kept this beautiful English tradition at Holy Cross parish and I am very excited about it. Everyone loves to hear the Christmas story from the Holy Scriptures and to sing Christmas carols, so I am sure that the Festival of Lessons and Carols will become an annual favorite. 

The lessons begin in Genesis 3, the first prophecy promising a Redeemer that God gave man immediately after the fall, and continues with Messianic prophecies from the Old Testament, and then the Christmas story as told in the Gospel according to Sts. Matthew, Luke and John. The lessons or readings from Holy Scripture alternate with Christmas carols such as O Little Town of Bethlehem, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Silent Night, What Child is This?, O Come All Ye Faithful, and more, for a total of nine lessons and ten carols.

There is no sermon preached in this Festival because none is needed. The lessons and carols proclaim the Message of Christmas clearly and joyfully. If you have family or friends who wonder about the real meaning of Christmas you will want to bring them to this Festival of Lessons and Carols. They will be blessed, inspired, and will have a wonderful time.

After the Festival we will have refreshments in our parish hall. Members of our church family are asked to bring holiday refreshments to share. Visitors are our guests and do not have to bring a thing. This will be a joyful evening and everyone will leave knowing that Jesus is the reason for the Advent and Christmas seasons and will understand the true meaning of Christmas, so please be sure to invite family and friends. O Come All Ye Faithful!

PARISH FOOD BINS

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to our parish food bins and to Paul N. who delivered our most recent donation of food to the Open Door Mission. By the grace of God we were able to contribute another 374 pounds of much needed food to feed those most in need. Our food bins are now empty, but the needs are great. I would like us to be able to make one more delivery of food to the Open Door Mission before the end of the year and we have only two Sundays remaining in 2015. As we look forward to time with family and friends and to joyful dinners, let us not forget those who struggle to feed themselves and their children. Let us redouble our efforts, increase our giving of food, and refill our parish food bins so another delivery can be made before the year ends. Thank you!

YEAR END GIVING

Everyone receives gifts at Christmas time, but the One whose Birth we are celebrating is often forgotten. We are coming to the end of the year and this is a wonderful time to make a special offering to Holy Cross parish. Donations to churches are tax deductible so instead of giving your money in taxes why not make a special offering to Holy Cross parish so that we may more effectively advance the Work of Christ’s Church. Thank you!

ADULT CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Our parish librarian, Ben J., has begun a new series of Christian Ed classes on the theme of Advent and Christmas. This is his third Advent season teaching on this topic, and I look forward to it every year. Ben is a life-long Christian with a Master Degree in history. Believe me, you will learn a lot in this class and will be edified as well. Class begins on Sunday morning at 8:45 AM. I hope to see you there!

WEDNESDAY SERVICES
No Services on December 23 and 30

The Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist will not be celebrated on Wednesday, December 23, or Wednesday, December 30. The Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist will be celebrated on Wednesday, January 6th, at 6:30 PM for the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our regular Wednesday midday Mass will resume on Wednesday, January13, at 12:10 PM. 

THE WONDERWORKER

Have you read the Advent issue of The Wonderworker? The Wonderworker is the official publication of the ROCOR Western Rite Orthodox Communities. You can download it for free from the ROCOR Western Rite Facebook page, the Holy Cross Parish Facebook page, or from the ROCOR Western Rite website. I hope that you will take time to read it so you can keep up with what is happening in the ROCOR Western Rite Communities.

CHRISTMAS

Christmas isn't a birthday party, - it is a Mass. Let us keep Christ in Christmas and the Mass in Christmas. Christmas without Mass is not Christmas. We will celebrate a Solemn Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist, a Solemn Mass, for the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ - Christmas - on Wednesday evening, January 6th (Christmas Eve according to the ancient Christian Calendar), at 6:30 PM. After Mass, a celebration will follow in the parish hall. By being on the Old Calendar we are blessed to be able to celebrate Christmas without commercialism, and to focus on the reason for the season and the true meaning of Christmas. All Christians in Great Britain and the American Colonies used the Old Calendar until the year 1752. When we united with the ancient Orthodox Church we returned to the ancient Calendar of our forefathers. Please be sure to invite family and friends to our Christmas Mass on Wednesday evening, January 6th, at 6:30 PM. Joy to the World!

SUNDAY SERVICES

Christian Education is at 8:45 AM, followed by Matins (Morning Prayer) at 9:15 AM, with the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist at 10:00 AM. Fellowship and refreshments follow Services in our parish hall. The Orthodox Church welcomes you. We are a faithful, friendly and active parish, and we have a place for you. I hope to see you on Sunday!

May God grant you every grace and blessing in this Advent Season,

Father+

Fr. Victor Novak
Rector
HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH
7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127
www.holycrossomaha.net
(402) 573-6558

Saturday, December 12, 2015

ADVENT I - HOLY CROSS UPDATE

Dear friends in Christ,

Sunday, December 13, is a big day in the life of our Church. It is the Feast Day of St. Andrew the Apostle and the First Sunday in Advent. St. Andrew's Day is the beginning of the new Church Year. 

When you come to church on Sunday you will immediately notice some seasonal changes. The liturgical colour will change from the green that we have been using through the long Trinity-tide  to royal purple as we prepare for the coming of the King of Kings. 

We will be beginning a new adult Christian Education class on Sunday. Our parish librarian will be teaching on the themes of Advent and Christmas. This class begins at 8:45 AM, and you will not want to miss it! 

Matins (Morning Prayer) follows Christian Ed at 9:15 AM. With Advent season there will be a beautiful new Canticle and a new Office Hymn. The Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist follows Matins at 10:00 AM. The Advent Hymns and Propers will prepare our hearts for the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Christmas Day). Our Processional Hymn will be a great favorite at Holy Cross parish that dates back well over a thousand years: O Come, O Come Emmanuel. The Holy Eucharist is the greatest gift that Christ could give us. Jesus Himself said, Take, eat, this is My Body, and drink ye all of this, for this is My Blood. 

This Sunday marks the beginning of a new Church year. If you have not been coming regularly to church or have not been going to church at all, Advent is a time for new beginnings. If you have not been living a serious Christian life, Advent is a time for deeper conversion. If you have left the Church, Advent is a time to return home and start again. If you have been living a serious Christian life, Advent is a time for you to grow ever closer to our Lord who gave Himself for our salvation. Jesus is the reason for the Advent and Christmas seasons. Come and be blessed. The Orthodox Christian Church welcomes you!

Please remember those who are struggling to feed themselves or their family and bring a food donation for our parish food bins with you on Sunday. Thank you!

At Holy Cross parish we always seem to be behind the times. Why do we refuse to change with society? G. K. Chesterton put it very well when he said, "[True] Christianity is always out of fashion because it is always sane; and all fashions are mild insanities... The Church always seems to be behind the times, when it is really beyond the times; it is waiting till the last fad shall have seen its last summer. It keeps the key of a permanent virtue." Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and so is His Body the Church. The Orthodox Church was established by Jesus Christ Himself in AD 33. It is the Body of which He is the Head, and His Church is ever the same, proclaiming an unchanging message to an ever changing world. Do not settle for a substitute. Insist on the original. The Orthodox Church welcomes you! 

Sunday Christian Ed is at 8:45 AM, followed by Matins at 9:15, and the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist at 10:00 AM, with fellowship and refreshments after the Liturgy. We are a faithful and friendly congregation and we have a place for you. See you on Sunday!

blessings,

Father+

V. Rev. Victor Novak
Rector
HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH
7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127
www.holycrossomaha.net
(402) 573-6558

Friday, November 13, 2015

HOLY CROSS UPDATE - November 13, 2015

Dear friends in Christ,

The weather is turning colder. That means that many people will have to choose between paying for heat and buying food. The needs of the Open Door Mission greatly increase with the coming of winter. Let's do all that we can to help them to feed those most in need. If you have ever been cold and hungry or very short on money you know what it feels like. Please bring a donation of food with you on Sunday for our parish food bins. Let's fill them up so this much needed food can be taken to the Open Door Mission. Thank you!

In the Gospels, our Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly teaches the importance of feeding the hungry and visiting the prisoner. At Holy Cross parish we have long supported three area homeless shelters: the Open Door Mission, and the Francis and Siena House shelters, but we are now also in the process of launching a ministry to the incarcerated. We are working in conjunction with the national Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM). I am very excited about this new parish ministry. Please keep it in your prayers.

We often decry what is going on in our society, and rightly so as post-Christian America has embraced what has been aptly described as the culture of death. But cursing the darkness will not change anything. We must take the light of Christ to our society. How? America will only be changed when men's hearts change, and hearts can only be changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We will not change our culture, our society, our country, by going to church. We will only change them by being the Church and doing the Work of the Church. Christ calls each of us to be pullers at the oars, not mere riders in the boat. Let us each roll up our sleeves and invest our time, talent and treasure in advancing the Great Commission that Christ has given His Church.

Next week we will celebrate the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist on Monday, November 16th and on Wednesday, November 18th. 

The Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 12:10 PM, on Monday, November 16th, for ALL SOULS DAY. Holy Mass will begin at 12:10 PM and will conclude about 12:50 PM. Please plan to attend this Liturgy if at all possible. On ALL SOULS DAY we remember family and friends who have entered eternity, express our faith that they are alive and our love for them, and pray for the repose of their souls. It is an act of faith, hope and charity to pray for the dead.

The Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 12:10 PM, on Wednesday as usual. 

Everyone has the opportunity participate in the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist and to receive the Blessed Sacrament of Holy Communion three times this coming week (Sunday, Monday and Wednesday). The Holy Eucharist is the centre and summit of our spirituality as Orthodox Catholics. As St. Augustine of Hippo said, "God in His omnipotence could not give more, in His wisdom He knew not how to give more, in His riches He had not more to give, than the Holy Eucharist." Jesus says to us, "Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will refresh you." Let us go unto the altar of God. "O Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Ps. 34:8).

Mark your calendars for Thursday evening, December 24th, the Thursday after the Second Sunday in Advent. At 7:00 PM we will have a beautiful Advent Service of Lessons and Carols. This will be the first time that we have kept this wonderful English Advent tradition. The Service consists of nine Scripture lessons and nine carols. Our Schola Cantorum will lead us in the caroling, but the entire congregation will join in the singing. There will be refreshments and fellowship after the Service. Please be sure to invite family and friends. Everyone will enjoy and be blessed by this beautiful English tradition, and will hear the Good News that Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

Sunday Christian Education is at 8:45 AM, followed by Matins at 9:15 AM, with the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist at 10:00 AM. Fellowship and refreshments will follow the Liturgy. The adult Christian Education class is studying the Gospel according to St. John the Divine. 

We are an unchanging Church with an unchanging and unchangeable message to an ever changing world. Jesus Christ is the Truth Revealed and Orthodox Christianity is the Truth Lived. Holy Cross parish a faithful and friendly congregation, and we have a place for you. The Orthodox Church welcomes you. I hope to see you on Sunday!

blessings,

Father+

V. Rev. Victor Novak
Rector
HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH
7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127
www.holycrossomaha.net
(402) 573-6558

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

FALL HAYRACK RIDE, BONFIRE AND POTLUCK - Saturday, October 24, at 6:00 PM

Our annual Fall Hayrack Ride, Bonfire and Potluck will be held on Saturday, October 24th at 6:00 PM, at Santa’s Woods, 3764 State Highway 133, Blair, Nebraska 68008.  Santa’s Woods is located between Omaha and Blair, on Blair High Road (State Highway 133), and they have a large sign by the Highway so you cannot miss it.

This event is not a parish fundraiser.  We are simply charging what Santa’s Woods charges the church.  Adults are $9.00 and children 5 to 12 are $6.00, with children under 5 free.  Participants are asked to bring a main dish, or a side dish and a drink or dessert for the potluck.  

Please arrive no later than 5:45 PM as the hayrack ride begins at 6:00 PM sharp.  Santa’s Woods is a working farm and the Hayrack Ride will take us through recently harvested fields. When we return to our private site we will find a roaring fire. There will picnic tables for our use, with electrical outlets for coffee pots and crock pots. 

The public is invited to attend, and please sure to invite your family and friends. We have been enjoying this annual event for years and everyone always has a great time. For more information email me at: venovak@hughes.net or call the church at: (402) 573-6558. The Christian life is the good life at Holy Cross Orthodox Church. Everyone is always welcome!

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

REPORT ON THE 2015 ROCOR WESTERN RITE CLERGY CONFERENCE

My wife and I attended the 2015 Western Rite Clergy Conference of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) last week. The Conference opened on Monday, September 28, and concluded on Thursday, October 1, at the Mount Alvernia Retreat Center in Wappinger Falls, New York. It was the largest Western Rite Clergy Conference held thus far. There was tremendous enthusiasm and energy, as well as complete unity as everyone there agreed in Faith and morals, and on the mission of the Church.

In addition to ROCOR Western Rite clergy, we had some Antiochian Western Rite clergy in attendance, as well as visiting clergy — mostly Anglican - who have an interest in Western Orthodoxy. I was surprised by how many Benedictine monks there were in attendance from various Western Rite Orthodox monastic communities, including the abbot of one monastery and the prior of another. I was excited to learn that one of the monasteries consists of 600 acres in the mountains of rural Colorado.

Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch (primate) of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and Ruling Bishop of the Western Rite Communities was with us for the entire Conference. Metropolitan Jonah, who is well known to Anglicans for his talks at the 2009 and 2012 provincial synods of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) was scheduled to be with us, but had to cancel at the last minute because of a family medical situation.

The Conference opened on Monday afternoon with welcoming addresses from Metropolitan Hilarion and from the Dean of the Western Rite Communities, Fr. Mark Rowe. Fr. Mark is a former Anglican Canon and has served the Western Rite tirelessly as Dean. He seems to be almost constantly on the road visiting clergy and churches, and attending Western Rite ordinations — of which there are many. He is learned, personable, pastoral, committed to the growth of the Western Rite and the restoration of the Western Church, and has proven to be an effective organizer, consensus builder and leader.

After the opening addresses we gathered in the chapel for Vespers. After Vespers we had dinner together in the refectory. Dinner was followed by Compline (the Night Office). After Compline, confessions were heard. Four priests were assigned to hear confessions and were stationed in the four corners of the chapel. Having been shriven, we were ready for the Conference to really begin on Tuesday morning. After Compline there was a social hour in the refectory with wine and various cheeses. It was all very English, with port wine and gourmet cheese and crackers. The social hour — really hours as it went on as long as people wished to remain — was so popular that one was held on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings as well.

Having always experienced non-Orthodox synods and conferences held in hotels with plush rooms, soft beds, and the intrusion of the world through television, clock radios and wifi, this Conference was refreshing. The rooms — really cells — were small and quite Spartan: two twin beds, hard, thin mattresses, and no television, radio or wifi. Each room did have a private bathroom though, and that was appreciated.

Morning began very early with Matins scheduled to be prayed in our rooms, followed by Holy Mass in the chapel at 6:15 AM. On Tuesday morning all of the Orthodox clergy concelebrated a Solemn Votive Mass of the Holy Ghost in red vestments. The Mass was sung and the Propers chanted according to the ancient Gregorian chant tones.

After Mass we had breakfast in the refectory and then got to work. This was not at all like a convention. The emphasis was on the spiritual, and on learning. Beginning Tuesday morning, daily Matins was scheduled to be prayed in our rooms, followed by Holy Mass in the chapel at 6:15 AM. Sext was prayed in the chapel at noon, with Vespers at 4:15 PM, and Compline at 7:00 PM. All of the Offices were chanted, and all of the Masses were solemn celebrations in the presence of a greater prelate at the throne.

Over the course of the four days we had many helpful presentations. At 9:00 AM on Tuesday morning, Fr. David Straut, an Eastern Rite priest spoke to us about jail ministry in a presentation called, Orthodox Ministry to the Incarcerated. After a break, Fr. Christophe Lepourte spoke to us about his counseling ministry. With an education in counseling and decades of experience in individual, marriage and family counseling, Fr. Christophe is a resource that priests can use when it is time to refer people to a professional counselor. Although he is based in Virginia, Fr. Christophe’s ministry can help people nationwide through Skype.

The next presentation was by Fr. Ephraim Willmarth, an administrator at Holy Trinity Seminary. Holy Trinity Seminary is a residential seminary, but it also offers distance learning programs in Liturgical Music, and Theological Studies. These distance learning programs are excellent for late vocations, for those already involved in ministry and for active laypeople who want to deepen their understanding of the Faith and become more effective in advancing the Work of the Church. The Certificate in Theological Studies consists of sixteen classes taken over a period of two years. There is online access through Populi, and costs are very modest at around $150.00 per class.

The presentation by Holy Trinity Seminary was followed by one from a student at St. Tikhon Seminary. He is a former Anglican layman who was involved in six Anglican (ACNA) church-plants before entering the Orthodox Church and enrolling at St. Tikhon’s. He heads up an important ministry called Elijah’s Mantle that passes on used vestments and church supplies — both Eastern and Western Rite - free of charge to needy clergy, new church-plants and struggling missions. We also learned that there is growing interest in the Western Rite at St. Tikhon Seminary, and that six to eight students have requested monthly Western Rite services at the seminary. Arrangements have been made for a nearby ROCOR Western Rite priest to celebrate Vespers and then Holy Mass the next morning according to the Western Rite on a monthly basis.

On Tuesday afternoon a private ROCOR Western Rite Clergy meeting was held with Metropolitan Hilarion and Dean Mark Rowe. There was no voting. Everything was done by consensus, and consensus was easy to achieve because we all believed the same thing and were on the same page. It was decided that in odd years we will have a national Western Rite Clergy Conference at Mount Alvernia Retreat Center in Wappinger Falls, New York, with the next national Conference scheduled for 2017. The Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate holds their national meeting every two years in even years. By alternating the ROCOR and Antiochian national Clergy Conferences more Antiochian Western Rite clergy will be able to attend ROCOR Conferences and more ROCOR Western Rite clergy will be able to attend Antiochian Conferences.

In even years, beginning next year in 2016, there will be four regional ROCOR Western Rite Clergy Conferences: East, South, Midwest and West. We were asked by Metropolitan Hilarion through his Dean, Fr. Mark Rowe, to host the 2016 Midwest Regional Clergy Conference at Holy Cross parish in Omaha, and I immediately and enthusiastically agreed. Metropolitan Hilarion told me that, God willing, he will be there, so we will be blessed to have his Eminence at Holy Cross parish again in 2016. 

During the private ROCOR Western Rite Clergy meeting, non-Orthodox clergymen and other attenders participated in an Open Meeting with Seekers of Western Rite Orthodoxy.

After the Western Rite clergy meeting I delivered my presentation titled, Step By Step Church Planting. Everyone attending received a copy of the book, A Guide to Western Rite Orthodox Church Planting, a copy of our Liturgy booklet, four of our self-published tracts, and a brochure on Website design and development.

On Wednesday we had Holy Mass at 6:15 AM as usual, along with Sext, Vespers and Compline at their appropriate times. The first presentation began at 9:00 AM. It was on Iconography and focused on ancient Western Iconography in the Celtic and Romanesque traditions. The speaker was Fr. Silouan, a skilled Iconographer and a Hieromonk at Holy Cross Monastery Setauket, New York. The presentation was both enlightening and helpful. We have a wonderful Western Iconographic tradition that was lost with the coming of the Renaissance and needs to be recovered and restored.

The next presentation was by Fr. Benedict Simpson, and was called Engaging Today’s Youth With an Ancient Faith. Fr. Benedict is an engaging and informative speaker. After lunch Deacon Nicholas Griswold spoke on The Historic Diaconate. This excellent presentation was on what is sometimes called the permanent diaconate and covered the life and ministry of deacons.

On Thursday morning at 6:15 AM, Dom James, Abbot of Christminister Benedictine Monastery, celebrated a Requiem Mass for the deceased Western Rite clergy. It was such a blessing to be at the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist for three consecutive days and to receive Holy Communion daily!

There were two more presentations on Thursday. Hieromonk Ezekiel, a Western Rite Orthodox priest-monk — that is what Hieromonk means — gave a very helpful and moving talk titled, An Orthodox Approach to Death and Dying. This presentation was invaluable.

The final presentation, called Planning For Successful Mission Growth, was delivered by Fr. Anthony Bryant, a Western rite priest and the rector of St. Katherine’s Orthodox Church in South Carolina.  

Holy Trinity Seminary Bookstore had a large book table set up and I came home with sixteen books. Thankfully, for every two purchased the buyer received one free. At our  rectory books are like friends, and Matushka and I have already begun visiting with them.

One of the highlights of the Conference was the time we had to socialize with one another. I saw old friends, met people that I have corresponded with or talked to by telephone, met many co-laborers in our Lord’s vineyard, and made new friends. 

We were able to spend a lot of time with Fr. Joseph Gleason, rector of Christ the King parish in Omaha, Illinois. Fr. Joseph was the founder, editor and publisher of the only orthodox Anglican theological journal in North America: The North American Anglican, and I was a writer for it. His parish entered the Western Rite of the Antiochian Orthodox Church about a year before Holy Cross was received into Orthodoxy. It was great to be able to spend time with him. Another priest that I really enjoined spending time with was Fr. Kentigern of Hanceville, Alabama. Fr. Kentigern is a tentmaker and supports his family by farming just as Matushka and I used to. 

Fr. Joseph Mai and I had become friends over the telephone, and it was wonderful to finally meet him in person. Fr. Joseph is Vietnamese and he pastors a large Vietnamese parish in San Diego that came into the Orthodox Church from the Anglican Church in America (ACA). Fr. Joseph gave me a copy of their Liturgy booklet. It has the Liturgy of St. Tikhon in Vietnamese on one side and English on the other. His parish, Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, conducts its Services in Vietnamese. The Orthodox Church is Catholic (Universal), and although we belong to the Russian Orthodox Church we have both Eastern and Western Rites, the Roman, English and French (Gallican) Uses of the Western Rite, and Services are held in North America in English, French, Spanish, Vietnamese and Church Slavonic.  

A high point of the Conference for me was to meet up with an old Anglican confrere that I had not seen in at least fifteen years. He and his assistant pastor and their congregation are all being received into the Western Rite of the Orthodox Church. We were also able to spend time with another Anglican priest and his wife who are beginning the process of being received. Father and I had corresponded by email, but it was great to meet him in person, and it was a blessing to hear him announce that they had taken the first step at the Conference.

The Clergy wives also had two outings together. Cheri enjoyed her time with the ladies very much. During their time together they made plans to stay in close touch between Conferences through the Internet.

It is sometimes charged by skeptics that the Western Rite is only there to transition Western converts to the Eastern Rite, but there is no basis for such a charge. In fact, there was one parish represented at the Conference that actually made the change from being Eastern Rite to Western Rite.

The Western Rite Clergy Conference was a time of spiritual refreshment and renewal, and Cheri and I were really sad to see it end. We are looking forward to the Midwest Regional Western Rite Clergy Conference at Holy Cross parish in the summer of 2016. The Conference will be open to ROCOR and Antiochian Orthodox Western Rite clergy and their wives, as well as to other clergy who are interested in Western Orthodoxy and who would like to come and experience it.

The Orthodox Church is growing rapidly in numbers in America and throughout the world with some 300 million members worldwide. The percentage of growth of Orthodox Christianity in America was higher than any other major classification of Christianity mentioned by the Encyclopedia Britannica in 1995. According to a formal study by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in North and Central America in 2010, membership in the Orthodox Church in the United States grew in the 75 years between 1936 and 2010 by 131%. For a shorter window of time, during the decade of 2000 to 2010, the total number of Orthodox communities in the United States grew by 15%. The 2008 US Religious Landscape Survey showed that 23% of all Orthodox Christians in America today are converts. 

In recent years Anglicans made up the second largest group of converts to Orthodoxy, and today they are the largest group. About one out of four Orthodox Christians in America are converts, along with 30% of all clergy and 41% of all seminarians. In the city where I pastor there are nine Orthodox priests and six parishes. Of the nine priests, six are converts, and five of the six are former Anglicans. Of the six parishes, two are Western Rite and both have full time rectors. 

The Orthodox Church is experiencing explosive growth all around the world. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Orthodox Church has opened more than 26,000 churches; that is more than three churches a day, each and every day, for a quarter of a century, and there is no slowdown in sight. In addition, since 1991, the Russian Orthodox Church has established more than 800 new monastic communities. 

The Russian Orthodox Church has gone from a marginalized and persecuted body of believers with only around 7,000 open churches in 1988, when it celebrated the Millennium of the Baptism of Russia, to a resurgent Church with more than 160,000,000 members world-wide in 2007, of whom 55,000,000 are outside of Russia. All this in about a quarter of a century. This is a miracle, and can only be the work of God.

This spiritual revival and resurgence of the Orthodox Church is not limited to the Church in Russia either. It is a world-wide movement of the Holy Spirit. There is good news to report from every continent on earth, including the frozen Antarctic where the first Orthodox church was opened in 2004.

The Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt has jurisdiction over the continent of Africa, and marvelous things are happening there. In the last eighty years the membership of the Patriarchate of Alexandria has grown ten-fold. The Orthodox Church is also growing rapidly in Asia and in South and Central America.

There are now around 2,000 Orthodox parishes in the United States, plus hundreds more in Canada. Monasticism has always been considered a good way to gauge the health of the Church, and monasticism is thriving and growing in North America. There now are around eighty monastic communities in the United States with others in Canada.

As Western Rite Orthodox congregations and monastic communities we have preserved the fulness of our Western cultural, liturgical and spiritual heritage and patrimony in full sacramental communion and visible unity with the 300 million-member Orthodox Church. This is the fulfillment of the Vision Glorious of the Oxford Movement and an answer to our Lord’s High Priestly Prayer for unity among His disciples. For more information about Holy Cross parish or Western Rite Orthodoxy please email me at: venovak@hughes.net or call the church office at: (402) 573-6558. The Orthodox Church welcomes you!

blessings,

Fr. Victor+

Saturday, October 3, 2015

HOLY CROSS UPDATE

Cheri and I returned home safely from the ROCOR Western Rite Conference last night. I wish you could have been there. It was wonderful. The Holy Spirit is at work and the Western Church is being rebuilt at a rapid rate. There was so much enthusiasm and energy. Everything was positive throughout the entire week. This was bigger and better than any clergy conference or diocesan synod I have ever attended, and Metropolitan Hilarion was there for the entire time. I have much to report tomorrow at the Liturgy. The future is bright indeed.

I also have some exciting news for Holy Cross parish. God is good! 

I hope that you will plan to be at church tomorrow, October 4, so you can hear all about it.  Cheri and I are looking forward to being at church, and to seeing you there.

Christian Education is at 8:45 AM, followed by Matins at 9:15 AM, and the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist at 10:00 AM. Fellowship and refreshments will follow the Liturgy. We are a faithful and friendly parish, and we have a place for you! See you soon.

blessings,

Father+  

Fr. Victor Novak
Rector
HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH
7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127
www.holycrossomaha.net
(402) 573-6558

Thursday, September 17, 2015

SUMMER CHURCH PICNIC - Sunday, September 20

This Sunday, September 20, is our annual Summer Church Picnic at Halleck Park in Papillion. The picnic follows the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist at church. The park is only a short drive from the church.

Halleck Park is a beautiful 70 acre park that offers many opportunities for fun, including a stocked fishing lake. We have reserved the large covered pavilion at the park that we use every year. You can’t miss it!

Here is a link to the Halleck Park Website that will give you more information on the park as well as directions:

http://www.papillion.org/parks_halleck.cfm

We have reserved the covered pavilion from Sunday morning until 2:00 PM, but you can remain at the park as long as you like. This Sunday only we are moving up Services by half an hour because of the picnic. Matins will begin at 9:00 AM, followed by the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist at 9:30 AM.

The forecast for Sunday is for beautiful weather: partly sunny and pleasant with a high of 75 degrees. We will be grilling hotdogs and hamburgers. Members of our Holy Cross church-family are asked to bring two side dishes, or a side dish and a desert. Visitors are our guests and do not have to bring a thing. The event is free, so please be sure to invite family and friends.

Matins is at 9:00 AM, followed by the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist at 9:30 AM, with our annual Summer Church Picnic at Halleck Park immediately after the Liturgy. The Picnic is free, and there will be plenty of good food and fun for everyone, so be sure to invite family and friends. We are a faithful and friendly congregation, and we have a place for you. For more information email me at venovak@hughes.net or call (402) 573-6558. See you on Sunday!

HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH
7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127

Thursday, August 27, 2015

AN UNFORGETTABLE EPISCOPAL VISIT

"I want to thank you once again for your kind hospitality and for the opportunity to serve and pray with you and your community. It was a wonderful and unforgettable experience for me" - Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral)


Metropolitan Hilarion's visit to Holy Cross parish this past weekend was a joyous and grace filled event. On Sunday, August 23rd, the church was full, with an overflow into the parish hall. After arriving back in New York on Monday afternoon, His Eminence wrote to me saying, "I want to thank you once again for your kind hospitality and for the opportunity to serve and pray with you and your community. It was a wonderful and unforgettable experience for me." It was a wonderful and unforgettable experience for us as well.

Metropolitan Hilarion was scheduled to arrive in Omaha at 10:00 PM on Friday, August 21st, but his takeoff in New York was delayed for 53 minutes. He had eaten on the plane so we checked him into his hotel around midnight. 

I picked Metropolitan Hilarion up at his hotel on Saturday morning, took him to the church and showed him around. We had ladies from our parish sisterhood there who were decorating the parish hall for the Reception that evening and the catered Luncheon on Sunday. They were putting white cloth tablecloths on the tables with candles and other decorations. The parish hall looked very elegant.

After a late lunch, I took his Eminence back to his hotel room for some rest before Vespers, but he didn’t rest. Instead, he studied our Western Rite Pontifical. Metropolitan Hilarion has a real gift for liturgy. He wanted to fulfill all of what a Greater Prelate says and does when assisting pontifically at the throne, and he did it at Vespers, Matins and Holy Mass flawlessly. He seemed to really love the Liturgy of St. Tikhon. After the Solemn Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist he came to me and said how beautiful he thought it was. 

By the time I picked His Eminence up for Vespers late on Saturday afternoon the sky was filled with dark clouds and it was beginning to rain. I had been receiving worried phone calls from parishioners who told me that Omaha was under a severe thunderstorm warning and a tornado watch. I shared with Metropolitan Hilarion my concern that the weather might affect attendance, but he simply reminded me that where two or three gather together Jesus is in their midst. Despite the weather we had thirty-two for Vespers. Fr. Stephen Walinski joined us for Vespers and remained for the Reception, and was seated at the Metropolitan’s table. Some of the faithful left immediately after Vespers because of the weather, but most remained for the Reception. Saturday was a commemoration of St. Herman of Alaska (the translation of his relics), and since we have relics of St. Herman in our church Metropolitan Hilarion preached at Vespers on the life and work of St. Herman.

Early Sunday morning Fathers Lev and Maximos from St. John the Wonderworker parish in Des Moines, Iowa, and two ordinands joined us. By 9:30 AM the church was nearly full, and soon after it was completely full with an overflow into the parish hall. Metropolitan Hilarion was greeted at the door with bread and salt. He then kissed a crucifix, aspersed himself with holy water and then aspersed the clergy and the faithful according to the ancient Rite of Receiving a Bishop at the Door. We then processed to the sanctuary for Solemn Matins. At both Vespers on Saturday evening and Matins on Sunday morning the Ordinary and the Psalms and Canticles were all chanted according to Gregorian chant tones. During Matins one man from Holy Cross and one from St. John the Wonderworker were clothed in the cassock, tonsured and ordained Reader.

After Matins we vested for the Solemn Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist. The long procession of our Schola Cantorum, two visiting priests, three ordinands, the ministers serving at the altar, the Celebrant, and the Metropolitan wound through the church while the Processional Hymn, St. Patrick’s Breastplate (I Bind Unto Myself Today) was sung. It was a missa coram episcopo, and Metropolitan Hilarion served beautifully. You would have thought he was a Western Rite bishop!

As usual, all of the minor propers of the Mass: the Introit, Gradual and Alleluia, Offertory verse and Communion verse were chanted to Gregorian chant tones. The music for the Ordinary was Merbecke. After the Collect of the day one Reader from Holy Cross and two from St. John of San Francisco were ordained to the Subdiaconate.

The Homilist at the Mass was Metropolitan Hilarion who spoke on the Gospel reading for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity - The Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee.

At Communion-time Metropolitan Hilarion administered the Body of Christ to the faithful  while I assisted with the chalice. In the Western Rite Holy Communion is received kneeling at the altar rail, with the Body of Christ received on the tongue, and the Blood of Christ from the chalice. Non-communicants may kneel at the altar rail with their arms crossed (X) as a sign that they would like a blessing. 

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Hilarion gave the Pontifical Blessing, and the long procession returned to the sacristy to the singing of the Recessional Hymn, Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones. Following the prayers after Communion chanted by our Cantor, everyone went to the parish hall for a catered Luncheon in honor of Metropolitan Hilarion and the newly ordained Readers and Subdeacons.

The parish hall was filled with people. I met visitors from Omaha and Blair, Nebraska, Sioux City, Iowa, and as far away as Kansas City, Missouri. Matt Willkom, the News Director of KVSS Radio (the regional Roman Catholic radio station), and a good friend of our parish was there with his family as well. Everyone had a wonderful time.

Both Metropolitan Hilarion and I made after dinner addresses. I was the preliminary speaker and he was the featured speaker. I spoke about the amazing growth of the Orthodox Church in the United States today where 23% of all Orthodox Christians are converts, as are 30% of the clergy and 41% of the seminarians. This is the fruit of a move of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Cross Orthodox Church is a former Anglican parish. In recent years Anglicans made up the second largest group of converts to the Orthodox Church, but today they are the largest group. The restoration of the Western Rite is another sign of this movement of the Holy Spirit. Today there are Western Rite congregations and monasteries in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and on the Continent of Europe. Western Rite Orthodoxy is thriving and growing, and the Orthodox Church as a whole is experiencing explosive growth all around the world.

Metropolitan Hilarion spoke about his commitment to the Western Rite and its growth. He said that as a youth in Canada he used to listen to the Anglican liturgy on the radio and always found it very dignified. He also said that among the first Orthodox periodicals that he began reading as a youth was Msgr. Alexander Turner’s magazine Orthodoxy. Alexander Turner’s Society of St. Basil had been made up of Orthodox-minded Old Catholic congregations who wanted to be received into the Orthodox Church while continuing to use the Western Rite. The Society was eventually received into the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese and formed the nucleus of their Western Rite Vicariate, with Archpriest Alexander Turner as the first Vicar General. Metropolitan Hilarion had once told me that he has been a supporter of the concept of Western Rite Orthodoxy since he was a youth in Canada. 

After his address, Metropolitan Hilarion presented Holy Cross parish with a hand-written (hand painted) icon of St. John the Baptist for use in our church. Holy Cross Orthodox Church then presented the Metropolitan with a gift.

It was a wonderful and grace-filled weekend and I was sorry to see it end. The Metropolitan’s visit was undoubtedly the most important event in the life of our parish thus far, and I am sure it will have lasting good effects. Metropolitan Hilarion wrote, “It was a wonderful and unforgettable experience for me." We feel the same way. 

Thursday, August 20, 2015

METROPOLITAN HILARION OF ROCOR TO VISIT HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 22 AND SUNDAY, AUGUST 23

HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH

is pleased to announce that 

HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN HILARION,
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
and Ruling Bishop of the Western Rite Communities,

will Visit

HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH
7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127

on

SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, AND SUNDAY AUGUST 23, 2015

SATURDAY, AUGUST 22

6:00 PM,  Solemn Vespers in the Presence of a Greater Prelate, followed by a reception for His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 23

9:30 AM, Rite of Receiving a Bishop at the Door, followed by Solemn Matins in the Presence of a Greater Prelate and the Tonsure of Readers. 

10:00 AM, Solemn Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist with His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion assisting pontifically (Missa coram episcopo), and the ordination of Subdeacons, with Metropolitan Hilarion preaching.

A catered Luncheon will follow the Liturgy in honor of Metropolitan Hilarion and the newly ordained, and will include an address by His Eminence. 

There will be visiting clergy and laity, and five ordinations from area churches. The public is invited to attend all of the events. 

For more information call the church at: (402) 573-6558 or e-mail Father Victor at: venovak@hughes.net

Holy Cross Orthodox Church Welcomes You!

Thursday, August 6, 2015

METROPOLITAN HILARION TO VISIT HOLY CROSS PARISH ON AUGUST 22, AND AUGUST 23

Dear friends in Christ,

His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and Ruling Bishop of the Western Rite Communities will be visiting Holy Cross parish on Saturday evening, August 22nd, and Sunday morning, August 23rd. Metropolitan Hilarion ranks just below Patriarch Kirill, and has world-wide responsibilities. 

It is almost unheard of for such a high ranking bishop to visit a parish our size, and he is doing us a great honour. By coming all the way to Nebraska to be with us he is demonstrating his commitment to the Western Rite and to its growth.

Metropolitan Hilarion was born and raised in rural Canada to Ukrainian-immigrant parents. He told me that he has been a supporter of the concept of Western Rite Orthodoxy since he was a youth in Canada. 

You will want to mark your calendar, invite your family and friends, and plan to be at Holy Cross on Saturday evening, August 22nd, and Sunday morning, August 23rd. There will be a reception for the Metropolitan on Saturday evening after Vespers, and a catered luncheon after Services on Sunday.

There will be visiting clergy and laity, and five ordinations from two area Orthodox parishes. This will be the biggest event in the life of Holy Cross parish thus far.


SCHEDULE OF EVENTS


SATURDAY, AUGUST 22


6:00 PM Solemn Vespers in the Presence of a Greater Prelate, followed by a reception for His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion in the parish hall.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 23


9:30 AM Rite of Receiving a Bishop at the Door, followed by Matins in the Presence of a Greater Prelate and the tonsure of Readers.

10:00 AM Solemn Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist with His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion assisting pontifically (Missa coram episcopo), and the ordination of Subdeacons, with Metropolitan Hilarion preaching.

A catered luncheon will follow the Liturgy in honour of Metropolitan Hilarion and the newly ordained Readers and Subdeacons, and will include an address by His Eminence. 

The public is invited to attend all of the events and everyone is always welcome! 

For more information e-mail Fr. Victor at venovak@hughes.net or call the church at (402) 573-6558.

I hope that you will join us for these important Services. You will be blessed. The Orthodox Church welcomes you!

May God grant you every grace and blessing, 

Fr. Victor+

V. Rev. Victor Novak 
Rector 
HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH
7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127
www.holycrossomaha.net
(402) 573-6558


Tuesday, July 21, 2015

THE HOLY EUCHARIST - Christ's Great Gift to His Church

O taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8)


WHAT DOES THE WORD “EUCHARIST” MEAN?

The word Eucharist comes from the Greek and means Thanksgiving. The Lord’s Supper is called the Holy Eucharist because when Christ instituted it He gave thanks, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’" (1 Cor. 11:23-25). 

THE PLACE OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST IN CHRISTIAN WORSHIP

The Holy Eucharist is the principal act of Christian worship as it is the one Service instituted by Christ Himself. Other religions have prayer, readings, hymns and sermons, but only Christians celebrate the Eucharist. 

Following the example of the Apostles and early Christians, the Church has assembled on the Lord’s Day (Sunday) week by week for nearly 2,000 years to celebrate the Holy Eucharist. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread [the Eucharist], and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). 

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

In the Sacrament of Holy Communion the Body and Blood of Christ are received. At the Last Supper the Lord Jesus Christ said, “This is my body” and “This is my blood.” He did not say, “This represents my body” or “This is a symbol of my blood.”

Jesus said, “‘I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.’ The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever’" (John 6:48-58).

Just like today, many of the disciples who heard these words would not accept them. “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’" (John 6:60). Yet Jesus did not take His words back, or explain that they were only meant to be taken “symbolically.” And just like today, “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66). 

The Apostles and early Christians understood that Christ meant his words to be taken literally. The Sacrament of Holy Communion does not merely represent the Body and Blood of Christ, but actually presents the Body and Blood of Christ. The true Body and Blood of Christ is received in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. 

The Apostle Paul wrote, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (I Cor. 10:16). 

Because Christ is really present in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, St. Paul goes on to warn, “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body” (I Cor. 11:27-29).

The early Church believed in the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and so did all Christians everywhere for some 1,500 years until the Protestant Reformation in Western Europe in the 16th century. 

St. Ignatius, an early Church Father, lived from AD 30 to 107. He was Bishop of Antioch, and was martyred for his faith. He was a disciple of the Apostle John. While awaiting martyrdom he wrote a number of epistles (letters) to various churches. To the Church in Ephesus he wrote, “obey the bishop and presbytery with an undivided mind, breaking one and the same bread, which is the medicine of immortality, and the antidote to prevent us from dying, but that we should live forever in Jesus Christ” (Epistle to the Ephesians, c. AD 105).

In his Epistle to the Romans, (c. AD 105), St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote, “I desire the bread of God, the heavenly bread, the bread of life, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became afterwards the seed of David and Abraham; and I desire the drink of God, namely His blood, which is incorruptible love and eternal life.”

St. Justin Martyr (AD 100-165) wrote, “And this food is called among us the Eucharist... For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh” (First Apology).

St. Cyril was an early Bishop of Jerusalem, the Mother Church of Christendom. Around the year AD 350 he delivered introductory lectures to his classes of catechumens. Regarding the Eucharist he said, “The bread and wine of the Eucharist, before the invocation of the holy and adorable Trinity, were simple bread and wine; but, after the invocation, the bread becomes the body of Christ and the wine becomes the blood of Christ” (Mystagogical Lecture 1.7).

St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) said, “I am mindful of my promise. For I promised you, who have now been baptized, a sermon in which I would explain the Sacrament of the Lord’s Table, which you now look upon and of which you last night were made participants. You ought to know what you have received, what you are going to receive, and what you ought to receive daily. That bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Body of Christ. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word God, is the Blood of Christ. Through that bread and wine the Lord Christ willed to commend his Body and Blood, which He poured out for us unto the forgiveness of sins” (Sermons).

WHO CAN CELEBRATE THE HOLY EUCHARIST?

In his Epistle to the Smyrnaeans (c. AD 105), St. Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of the Apostle John, wrote, “See that ye follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery [the priests] as ye would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [celebrated] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he entrusted it [a priest].”

The Orthodox Church is the historic Church which Christ Himself established. We have a verifiable and unbroken history going back nearly 2,000 years, and our bishops, priests and deacons are in  historic succession to the Apostles. Our Faith does not change. We still believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of Holy Communion and our bishops and priests still celebrate the Holy Eucharist every Lord’s Day.  We are an unchanging Church with an unchanging Message for an ever changing world. Insist on the original and do not settle for substitutes.

At Holy Cross Orthodox Church we celebrate the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist every Sunday at 10:00 AM. Come and see. The Orthodox Church welcomes you!


HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH
7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127
www.holycrossomaha.net
(402) 573-6558