Welcome to The Dormition of the Mother of God Orthodox Christian Church (Saint Mary's) which is a parish of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church of the USA whose presiding Bishop is His Eminence, Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa. The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese is an Autonomous Diocese under the spiritual protection of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople of which His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the ruling Patriarch.

We are thankfully to Almighty God that you are here in God's House to Worship with us Today!

If you are new to the Orthodox Church you will find that our worship is abit different than what you maybe used to, or it maybe entirely new all together! It's okay!!! All of us were new to the Faith at one time or another, but we encourage you to participate as you feel comfortable. The Blue Book in your pew has the whole Service of what we call the Divine Liturgy in it so you can follow along.

Please, if you have any questions about what you see or hear today at the Divine Liturgy, we have a Coffee Hour in the Church Hall after service that you are invited to attend! Come and join us for fellowship to have something to eat and have all your questions answered either by Our Pastor Father Vincent or a friendly member of the Church.  

If you have been on a long or short spiritual journey looking for the True Church you have found it here in the Orthodox Church!

We pray that what you find and experience here is none other than the peace of Christ Jesus Our Risen Lord and the Kingdom of Heaven!

If you are ready or interested in becoming an Orthodox Christian please see Father Vincent at Coffee Hour or contact him at (570) 640-2517 or email him at vincedranginis@gmail.com

 The New Spring of Great Lent is upon Us!!

***Please make every effort especially during The Great Fast to come to Church early on Sunday Mornings to attend both Orthros/Matins and The Divine Liturgy!***

***Remember with your extra EFFORT in working out your Salvation in fear and trembling; by attending these Divine Services, and ALL THE SERVICES of The Holy Church, The Holy Trinity will come and make their Dwelling in your Body and Soul!***

***By simply attending The Divine Services, you will be starting upon the path to Repentance; the process of being made into a Temple of The Holy Spirit and you will begin in time, to Glow with the Divine Energies of Holy God!!! What a Great and Glorious Gift of Love from Holy God!!!***

***Please do not miss these God given opportunities! They are offered for your Salvation!!! ***

Saturday March 30th The 3rd Souls Saturday-The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom with The Reading of The Parish Diptychs and the Blessing of Koliva 9:00AM - The Venerable John, The Author of the "Climacus" & Saint Sophronius

Saturday March 30th Choir/Music Practice 4:00PM -  Topic: The 3rd Tone and parts of Vespers and Matins. Everyone is welcome to attend!!!

 Saturday March 30th Confessions 5:00PM - Confessions will also be available after Vespers

 Saturday March 30th  Great Vespers 6:00PM- The Veneration of The Holy and Life-Giving Cross of Our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ & The repose of Saint Innocent

 Sunday March 31st Orthros/Matins  8:30AM

 Sunday March 31st The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil The Great 10:00AM - The Third Sunday of The Great Fast - The Veneration of The Holy and Life-Giving Cross of Our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ & The repose of Saint Innocent

Monday April 1st  Moleben to The Holy Cross 7:00PM

Tuesday April 2nd Moleben to The Holy Cross 7:00PM

Wednesday April 3rd Adult Catechism Class 6:00PM - Topic: The last section of the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts

Wednesday April 3rd The Liturgy of The Pre-Sanctified Gifts of Saint Gregory the Dialogist 7:00PM - The Holy Martyr Elpidiphorus, Martyr Illyricus & The Confessor Nicetas

Thursday April 4th The Akathist Hymn to The Holy Theotokos 7:00PM

Friday April 5th The Liturgy of The Pre-Sanctified Gifts of Saint Gregory the Dialogist 7:00PM - The Holy Saints Theodulus & Agathopodes, Venerable Plato Studite & Venerable Theodora

Saturday April 6th The 4th Souls Saturday-The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom with The Reading of The Parish Diptychs and the Blessing of Koliva 9:00AM - The Holy Saint Eutychius, Saint Methodius of Moravia & Saint Platonida

 Saturday April 6th Choir/Music Practice 4:00PM -  Topic: The 4th Tone and parts of Vespers and Matins. Everyone is welcome to attend!!! 

Saturday April 6th Confessions 5:00PM - Confessions will also be available after Vespers

Saturday April 6th Great Vespers 6:00PM- Saint John Climacus, The Repose of Saint Tikhon, Venerable George of Mitylene & The Martyr Calliopus

Sunday April 7th Orthros/Matins  8:30AM

Sunday April 7th The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil The Great 10:00AM -The Fourth Sunday of The Great Fast - Saint John Climacus Sunday, The Repose of Saint Tikhon, Venerable George of Mitylene & The Martyr Calliopus

Wednesday April 10th Adult Catechism Class 6:00PM - Topic: The Medicine of Immortality: The Mystery of The Holy Eucharist

Wednesday April 10th The Liturgy of The Pre-Sanctified Gifts of Saint Gregory the Dialogist 7:00PM - The Holy Martyrs Terence, Africanus, Pompius & Maximus, Gregory V Patriarch of Constantinople

Thursday April 11th The Akathist Hymn to The Holy Theotokos 7:00PM

Friday April 12th The Liturgy of The Pre-Sanctified Gifts of Saint Gregory the Dialogist 7:00PM - The Holy Confessor Basil, Venerable Anthusa & Venerable Athanasia

Saturday April 13th The Full Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete 4:00PM  

Saturday April 13th Confessions -  Will be available after Vespers

 Saturday April 13th Great Vespers 6:00PM- Saint Mary of Egypt, Confessor Martin, Martyr Ardalion, & Martyrs Antony and John

 Sunday April 14th Orthros/Matins  8:30AM

 Sunday April 14th The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil The Great 10:00AM -The Fifth Sunday of The Great Fast - Saint Mary of Egypt Sunday, Confessor Martin, Martyr Ardalion, & Martyrs Antony and John

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Glory be to Jesus Christ! Glory be Forever!

 Today is the Third Sunday of the Great and Holy Fast, we have been hard at work fasting,  praying extra, and going to the Presanctified Liturgies and Lenten Services during the week for three long weeks already! Many of us myself included maybe growing weary from the physical and spiritual demands placed upon us during these last few weeks. Brothers and Sisters, it is good that we may be tired and a bit worn out, fasting and prayer is hard work both spiritual and physical, but we must remember why we are engaging in this physical and spiritual warfare. We engage in the activities of the Great Fast that we might truly be changed into true Sons and Daughters of God. We fight against the temptations that the demons throw at us and say no to sin because we desire to be in union with God now and in the Heavenly Kingdom.

   The Holy Orthodox Church in her wisdom and grace has placed before our eyes this day the Icon of Icons the great symbol of victory, the Holy Cross. This is the weapon that our Saviour used to destroy sin and death forever. This Holy Cross defeats the demons for us as we use it as a defense against their attacks. Satan and his legions of demons hate the Cross of Christ, and they tremble with fear before the Orthodox Christian who with Faith and Love makes the sign of the Cross over themselves. They run away trembling with fear because they see, know, and realize that they have been defeated by the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This entire reality is symbolized and proclaimed in and through the sign of the Cross we make on ourselves during prayer and when we are in need of God’s help. My dear people, this is the true and real power of the Cross we sign upon ourselves, therefore we should always pray this simple prayer with the greatest respect, Faith, Love, and devotion.       

   To better explain the power and life saving realities of the Holy Cross, I would like to share with you a portion of the Vespers Service that we celebrated yesterday night for this Feast of the Veneration of the Holy Cross. This is from the first stichera after the Lamp lighting psalms, or the psalm “O Lord I have Cried unto you hear me,” it tells us about the working out of our Salvation that our Saviour Jesus Christ won for us on the Cross, it reads;  Being Lifted upon the Cross, You did raise Adam with yourself and with him, our whole fallen nature, O our Lord. Wherefore, exalting your spotless Cross, we ask you, O Friend of man, for your power from above, as we cry out: O You who are Most High, save them that revere, the divine, bright, and hallowed Veneration of Your Cross with fitting honor, since you are God the All merciful.

   This Stichera speaks of our Saviour Jesus Christ being lifted up from the earth as He foretold upon the Cross, to offer His own life for the Salvation of the whole human race, to destroy death and sin forever as our eternal High Priest. It also mentions Adam being raised up with Christ, presenting for us the descent into Hades where Christ freed all the souls of the righteous bound in the grips of the devil and his demons. In raising up Adam and Eve from the pit of corruption, Jesus Christ, being the Hypostasis or the person of the human nature, raises up all of us as well from our sins not only through the Cross, but also by His Glorious Resurrection from the dead.

   Therefore, we as Orthodox Christians are called on this feast to exalt and venerate the weapon that won our Salvation, the weapon that set us free from the boundage of the enemy. For from the Cross great joy has come into all the world, for the tree of Life which is the tree of the Cross, has shown for us the way back to the paradise of the Heavenly Kingdom. Jesus Christ was incarnate of the Theotokos and became the God man in order to correct the errors made by Adam and Eve, as we have read in the Book of Genesis. Adam and Eve failed to establish themselves in illumination in order to obtain deification, and fell into sin which resulted in their expulsion from paradise.

   Jesus Christ is the New Adam by His coming in the flesh to recapitulate or refashion all of mankind in Himself. Jesus Christ conquered sin and death in His flesh, and made it possible for mankind to have the real medicine of immortality, which is his very own flesh and blood in the Mystery of the Eucharist. Therefore, all people who receive this medicine of immortality will be cured of their disease of sinfulness and passion. My favorite author and Theologian Hierotheos Vlachos wrote; “The punishments in the Old Testament, the law, the Prophets, the signs and the changes in the earth, and in the sky, could not cure man of the various illnesses and idolatry, because “a stronger medicine was needed.” This stronger medicine is the Word of God, Who became incarnate and died for man. Thus, it is only Christ that can conquer death.”

   This is the center meaning of the Feast of the Veneration of the Holy Cross, for we see in the Cross the symbol of victory that our Saviour won for us His children. In the crucifixion and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ we see this beautiful image of the suffering servant of God, as well as his complete self-emptying Love known as kenosis. It is through this self-emptying of our Saviour that the whole human race can come to deification and communion with God, but in order for this to happen we must have a synergic or cooperative grace filled relationship with our Saviour, living a Holy Orthodox Christian life. Our Saviour calls all of us to live a holy life of repentance and active participation in the sacramental life of the Church that we may come to this communion with Him in the Heavenly Kingdom.  

   We activity participate in the sufferings of Christ by take up our Cross daily and follow after the example of Our Saviour. The Fathers of the Church tell us that; “Carrying your Cross means, carrying your our anxieties and your sufferings in your own body, which itself is shaped in a way already like a cross. It means we endure whatever is troublesome, and in this very act we are following the example of Jesus Christ. Other people and the demons with try to stop us from carrying our cross, but we must defeat these temptations by being strong in our Faith and Love for God.”

   The Troparion for this Feast tells us we are saved by the Cross of Christ, and we have become God’s inheritance. We gain victory over our enemies by the power of the Cross of our Saviour and by carrying our individual crosses with faith and devotion knowing that Christ has won the ultimate victory which is our Salvation!

 Church Tile Project Up-Date

I am happy and excited to announce that our Church Floor Tile Project is moving right along as decided and planned by Our Church General Council Meeting. The color of tile has been chosen, the materials have been paid for, and the mosiac medallions for the sanctuary step are currently being made by our friend and local artist Jeff Travers, who has generously chosen to donate his art work to Our Holy Church! If anyone would like to help pay for the cost of the new flooring as a gift to the Church or as a donation in memory of a Loved One please let Father Vincent or Michael Peters know as soon as possible!! The removal of the old carpet and the installation of the new tile will begin on May 6th which is the week after bright week!

Painting Class

If anyone is interested in painting a guided religious themed painting then sign-up for this event!! There is a local artist that Doris told me about that goes from Church to Church offering this class and if I'm not mistaking she provides everything for the class from canvas, to oil paints, brushes and of course the 2 or three hour instruction for only $35 dollars. The artist's name escapes Me, but an example of her work that she offers instruction on how to paint is in the coffee room on the back table. Please see Doris or another member of the Ladies Altar Society for further details!

OCMC Alms Giving Box Update

Thank you to all who are actively heeding Our Lord's call to feed the hungry, give drink to the thristy, cloth the naked, and help to spread the Gospel to the four corners of the earth! Thank you for your continuing participation in this project to support our Orthodox Missions throughout the World. When you have finished filling your coin boxes please tape them up so they do not fall apart because of weight or so that the money does not escape. Then everyone can begin bring them to the Church when they are full and we will continue to collect them until Palm Sunday which is the 21st of April. So, all Coin Boxes should be returned to the Church by April 21st and then we will send them to OCMC the next day.

Orthodox Prison Ministry Almsgiving Basket

I spoke about this new opportunity for supporting the Prison Ministries last Sunday. There will be an Alms giving box in the back of the Church to support the Orthodox Prison Ministry for all who would like to heed the call of Our Lord to "visit" ie. "Support" those in the Prisons, please give generously from your heart! This collect will be taken up until Palm Sunday April the 21st and will then be sent to the Orthodox Prison Ministries Office the next day. Thank you in advance for your love and support for this worthy cause!

Bowling Night/Day Outing - Possible Dates 

 Put on your bowling shoes and step up to the line, it's bowling time!!! Pani and I were thinking of our next parish event that was Lenten Friendly, so we checked out Mountaineer Lanes Family Fun Center here in Bluefield!

Possible Dates for Bowling are:

Saturday April 6th after 6PM Vespers

Sunday April 7th after Divine Liturgy and Coffee Hour

Saturday April 13th after 6PM Vespers

Sunday April 14th after Divine Liturgy and Coffee Hour

Everyone Please talk about these dates, and let us know what you all prefer and the arrangements will be made at Mountaineer Lanes!!!

Saint Mary's Book Store News

 There are new item's for sale in the Book Store which include a new Book by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlahos; "Entering the Orthodox Church" which is a catechism and instruction on Baptism for adults, the price is $15.00.

Other new items include:

The "Blue" Prayer Book's printed by Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Boston Massachusetts; "A Prayer Book for Orthodox Christians," the price is $18.00.

Other Prayer Books include:

Our very own Diocesan Book entitled, "Come to Me" which is available now for $18.00.

We also have, "The Book of Hours" which was first created and printed here at Saint Mary's Orthodox Church in Elkhorn! The price for this prayer book is also, $18.00.  

The Book "Great Lent" by Fr. Alexander Schmemann is now available for $15.00!!!

It is the Purple Book on the back table in the Coffee Hall! This Book is a wonder meditation book on the 40 days of Lent, a spiritual companion that would be useful to all of us as we journey through Great Lent together.

 We also have the new Book entitled; "Lenten Spring" by Fr. Thomas Hopko which is another meditation book for the season of Great Lent, the price is also $15.00 for this Book.  

There are many new icons that are available in the Book Store as well, please visit the Book Store to check out these new items!

Please see Ginny or Sophia for assistance with Book Store purchases.