Dear Friends and Parishioners,
I would like to personally wish you a blessed Holy Week and a Joyous Pascha.
Please join us for all the services this week so that you may be able to experience mystically, and in a real way, the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, through your presence, as the Gospel readings recount the events and the beautiful hymns of our church are sung.
We believe, and also know from experience, that as we immerse ourselves in the worship services of Holy Week, on Holy Thursday morning, we are mystically transported to be present at the Mystical Supper of our Lord with His disciples. Then we can receive the First Holy Eucharist of the Mystical Supper, along with His holy disciples.
On Thursday evening, as the Twelve Gospels are read recounting the last events of His earthly life, we can be mystically transported to be with Christ in the Garden of Gesthemani, as He agonizes about his suffering on the Cross, and then witness first hand the kiss of Judas and Christ’s arrest. Later, in the courtyard of Kaiaffas we can hear Peter denying Him three times, the false witnesses testifying against him, and see the High priest slapping Him in the face.
We can then accompany our Lord to the Praetorium of Pilate and stand with Him as He allows His creation to judge and condemn Him to death on the Cross for no reason.
We will be able to hear Him explain to Pilate that His Kingdom is not of this world!
We will be able to witness the spitting, the scourging, the scarlet robe, the crown of thorns, the reed in his right hand and the mocking of the Roman soldiers, which He endured for us.
We can then climb Golgotha with Him and join Simon of Cyrene help carry His Cross up to the top of the hill.
We can mystically be there when His immaculate body is nailed to the Cross and lifted up.
We can witness the mocking and reviling of the crowd as they watch Him Suffering on the Cross. We can see them giving Him vinegar and gall when He was asking for water to quench His thirst.
Please join us this Holy Thursday evening to Mystically experience those sacred moments when our Lord Jesus cries out from the Cross “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” and then proclaims “It is finished!” before He takes His Last Breath and surrenders His Spirit.
This is how we Orthodox live and experience the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ every year as we join Him in person and spend our time with Him during this time of Holy week. Please join us!
May God bless and guide you always to remain on the path toward His Kingdom, which is not of this world!
In Christ’s Love,
Fr. Panayiotis