Welcome, and thank you for visiting St. Mary Orthodox Church online. We hope that our website highlights the wide variety of worship, fellowship, ministery and education opportunities available. Please feel free to read more about our church on this site, or come join with us in prayer. We would love to greet you and share with you our love for Jesus Christ and for you, our neighbor.
files/Bulletin-June-7th.pdf (7646kb)
files/On-Social-Media.pdf (246kb)
The Ideal Saint
In the Orthodox Church, the ideal saint is a "living icon of Christ" who has achieved Theosis (deification or union with God). Rather than focusing on a checklist of perfect moral actions, the ideal saint is characterized by deep, transforming humility, active love for all, constant repentance, and the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. While saints have vastly different backgrounds — ranging from emperors and theologians to repentant thieves and martyrs — they all share specific core qualities: They see Christ in every person, striving to love their "enemies" and praying for the whole world; They recognize their own brokenness and total dependence on God’s grace, viewing themselves as the "chief of sinners" even as they grow in holiness; A life rooted in constant, unceasing prayer and inner quietness, which allows them to discern God’s will; They openly acknowledge and battle personal temptations and spiritual warfare with patience, courage, and perseverance. The Orthodox Church does not claim that saints were flawless or sinless, but rather that they were relentless in their repentance and pursuit of Christ. This coming Sunday - June 7th - is "All Saints Sunday" (next Sunday, June 14th, we commemorate All Saints of North America and All Saints of Antioch), in which the Church commemorates all saints (holy ones) from the beginning of time to the present, asking them for their God-pleasing intercessions for us.
NOTES...
- Attached to this week's email is The Weekly Bulletin and Metropolitan Saba's teaching. Please take a few minutes to read through both.
- As a reminder, Online Arabic Bible Study has been moved to Tuesday evenings beginning at 7:30 PM. The topic of study is 'The Old Testament Patriarchs.' If you are interested in participating, please speak with Safwat Fahmy.
- Please join us in prayer at Saint Mary's this weekend:
Saturday, June 6th
- Confessions from 6:00 to 6:30 PM; Great Vespers Service at 6:30 PM.
Sunday, June 7th: All Saints Sunday
- Confessions from 8:30 to 8:50 AM.
- Matins at 8:50 AM; Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM.
**There will be no Wednesday Vespers Service (June 10th); or Saturday Great Vespers Service (June 13th).
"The acquisition of holiness is not the exclusive business of monks, as certain people think. People with families are also called to holiness, as are those in all kinds of professions, who live in the world, since the commandment about perfection and holiness is given not only to monks, but to all people." + Hieromartyr Onuphry Gagaluk
With love in Christ,
Fr. Peter
