- 1520 GREEN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123
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Facing Provocations, Thoughts, and Temptations: Taking Jesus as Our Guide", led by Monk Cosmas
March 16th, 17th, and 18th.Location: Monastery of St. John, 21770 Ponderosa Way, Manton, CA 96059
Cost: $125 per person, Couples $200
There are still some spaces left. Register today to reserve your spot!
To register, contact the Monastery of St. John at: office@monasteryofstjohn.org or by phone: 530-474-5964.
Payment options: online--visit the following website and make a $50 donation to the Monastery of St. John through PayPal. Please type "Lenten retreat" in the field provided. http://bit.ly/2nsTEMG
The balance can be paid upon arrival.
Retreat begins with Vespers at 5:00 PM on Friday and concludes with a final session from 11:30-12:30 on Sunday.
It is recommended that retreatants arrive before dark on Friday. Please see the monastery website for directions:
http://www.monasteryofstjohn. org/documents/Guest_&_Visitor_ Information.pdf
For more details about the retreat visit our website: www.monasteryofstjohn.org/ retreats/
VANCOUVER, WA [OCA]
Funeral services for Matushka Mary Perez, beloved wife of Priest Dimitri Perez, Rector of Holy Apostles Mission, Vancouver, WA, will be celebrated at the Church of the Annunciation, 13515 SE Rusk Road, Milwaukie, OR on Thursday and Friday, February 15 and 16, 2018.
Matushka Mary fell asleep in the Lord on Monday, February 12.
The Funeral Vigil will be celebrated on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The reading of the Psalms will follow and continue until 8:30 a.m. on Friday, at which time the Hours will be chanted. The Divine Liturgy will begin at 9:00 a.m., followed by a mercy meal. Interment will be at Saint John the Forerunner Greek Orthodox Monastery, Goldendale, WA on Friday afternoon.
Born Heidi Mary Perez on August 8, 1971 in Rochester, MI to Timothy and Diane Harvey, she and her family moved to Eagle River, AK, where she grew up. She graduated from high school in 1989. In 1991, she met the future Father Dimitri [Erik] Perez, whom she married on July 11, 1993, after which they moved to Santa Cruz, CA. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from UCSC in June 2000. In June 2002, the Perezes moved once again, this time to Pennsylvania, where Erik enrolled in Saint Tikhon’s Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood by His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin at Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Francisco, CA in July 2005, taking the name Dimitri, while Heidi took the name Mary for her patron saint, Mary Magdalene.
During their years in Pennsylvania, Mary pursued her Master of Arts degree in Clinical Child Psychology at Marywood University, Scranton, PA, graduating in 2005. Later that year, Matushka Mary and Father Dimitri moved to Portland, OR, where they planted Holy Apostles Mission, which they have been serving for the past 13 years.
Facing Provocations, Thoughts, and Temptations: Taking Jesus as our Guide
Retreat at the Monastery of St John March 16, 17, and 18 2018
led by Fr Cosmas
On the fourth Sunday of Great Lent we celebrate St John of the Ladder and his book, the Ladder of Divine Ascent. His book contains a wealth of counsel on the spiritual life, written for monks at the request of the abbot of another monastery. Some readers — including some of us monks — may find it so dense, though, that they have a hard time applying it to their lives. It’s almost as if St John catalogued and analyzed everything there was to say on the subject so thoroughly that we don’t know where to start in putting it to use.
Why not approach the topic of provocations, thoughts, and temptations in a more basic way? Why not draw on passages in the Gospels that show how Jesus handled these challenges? After all, the life and teaching of Jesus was as much a basic point of reference for St John of the Ladder as it is for us. Then those who want to go back to read — or re-read — the Ladder will gain a new appreciation of St John’s treatment, and all of us will have a deeper understanding of the Gospel readings we will encounter during Holy Week.
His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin, opened the West Coast Walk for Life in San Francisco on January 26 with prayer. He then led the numerous Orthodox Christians in attendance in supporting life in all forms. Thanks to Subdeacon Johann Morse for pictures.
In brief, the pan-Orthodox molieben is at 11:30 AM in the Civic Center near the corner of Grove and Polk. The Rally commences at 12:30 PM with His Eminence Archbishop Benjamin, Archbishop of the Diocese of San Francisco and the West of the Orthodox Church in America delivering the opening prayer. We are so grateful to His Eminence, and your coming out to support him is so appreciated!
Here is the link to the blog post by the Walk for Life announcing that His Eminence will be giving the Invocation and how they feel honored by this:
On Monday, December 25, 2017, His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the Nativity of Our Lord at Holy Trinity Cathedral in San Francisco. During the Divine Liturgy, Priest Peter Fermeglia was received into the communion of the Holy Orthodox Church by vesting. Father Peter began attending services at Holy Trinity Cathedral two years ago and is currently attending a one-year special course of study at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary.
Fr. Peter was born Charles Sergio and is a native of Queens, New York. The son of Sergio and Margherita Fermeglia, immigrants from Italy, Charles was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. He studied for the Diocese of Brooklyn, beginning seminary at Cathedral Preparatory Seminary in Elmhurst, then on to Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception to receive a B.A. in Philosophy. Fr. Charles was ordained to the diaconate May 1, 1988 in the seminary chapel after completing an M.Div. at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntington, Long Island. On May 28, 1988, he was ordained priest at St. James Cathedral, Brooklyn by His Excellency, Bishop Francis J. Mugavero, D.D. His ministry has included parish work, hospital chaplaincy, and music directorship. The search for beauty, truth, and authentic Christianity has led him to embrace Orthodoxy.
Link to photographs (courtesy of Matushka Sophia Sokolov): https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1799331786744829.1073741864.120603821284309&type=1&l=4eedfe8b81
Monastery of Saint John and the OCA Diaconal Vocations Program present:
The Revelation of St. John: An Icon of Liturgy
Join Fr. George Gray as he helps us unlock some of the doors of the mystical and fascinating biblical icon of the Liturgy — the Book of Revelation. Despite the fact that the Book of Revelation is never appointed as a Reading at any of our Divine Services, much of our liturgical language and ritual is embedded in the Johannine Apocalypse. Whether it is the worship of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness and the Temple in Jerusalem or the Christian liturgy from the first century through twenty-first century, "The Revelation to John” has many doors that await opening…
NATIVITY OF THE LORD 2017
To the Reverend Clergy and Faithful of the Diocese of the West
Dearly beloved:
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
[Jesus] assumed a body capable of death, in order that it, through belonging to the Word Who is above all, might become in dying a sufficient exchange for all, and, itself remaining incorruptible through His indwelling, might thereafter put an end to corruption for all others as well, by the grace of the resurrection. It was by surrendering to death the body which He had taken, as an offering and sacrifice free from every stain, that He forthwith abolished death for His human brethren by the offering of the equivalent. For naturally, since the Word of God was above all, when He offered His own temple and bodily instrument as a substitute for the life of all, He fulfilled in death all that was required. Naturally also, through this union of the immortal Son of God with our human nature, all men were clothed with incorruption in the promise of the resurrection.
(St. Athansius, On the Incarnation)
As we gather once more to joyously celebrate the Lord’s Incarnation — His taking upon Himself human flesh — we are left to ponder God’s infinite love for us. Were any of us given the gift of acting as God, it is abundantly clear that we would not have dealt with the Fall, Death and corruption in the wondrous manner God chose. No, we would probably choose some sort of divine infliction of “power” — some type of coming in glory, maybe with thunder and lightning, striking fear in all of creation.
Link to photographs:
The Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church in Ashland, Oregon recently announced that a very generous benefactor has offered to match any gifts toward their building fund, up to $11,600! This will bring us to our targeted goal of $150,000 toward the completion of the Design Development Phase of our building project! If you have been thinking about donating toward the new church building, now is a good time. Every dollar you give will essentially be doubled from now until New Years Day (January 1, 2018)!
If you would like to donate, you can send us a check made out to “Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church,” with “Building Fund” in the memo line. This gift is fully tax-deductible. Send the check to: Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church, PO Box 823, Ashland, OR 97520.
See more information, including online donation information here.
The Diocese of the West is the geographical district of the Orthodox Church in America consisting of the Western United States. The diocese has active parishes in Montana, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. San Francisco is home to the diocese’s cathedral, Holy Trinity, as well as the Chancery offices. The diocese is led by His Grace Vasily, Bishop of San Francisco and the West.
