Пут Крста Вести Цркве Свете...
TRANSCRIPT
1
A P R I L 2 0 1 7
H O L Y T R I N I T Y
S E R B I A N
O R T H O D O X
C H U R C H
1910 Serbian Drive
St. Louis, MO 63104
314-776-3262
Parish Priest
Rev. Father Ljubomir Krstic
Father’s Phone
815-543-6170
Board President–
Dragan Acamovic
Kolo President–
Ljubica Acamovic
Youth Ministry Leader-
Nemanja Pandzic
Choir President–
Risto Kekich
Sunday School Director–
Snezana Grubisic
Stewardship Committee
Chair- Kris Chkautovich
Cemetery Manager–
Ljubomir Lausevich
Church Hall Manager–
Zoran Kortuma
The News of the Holy Trini-
ty is sent out monthly.
Please contact Father Ljubo-
mir or the Church office
with any suggestions for
future articles. All ideas are
certainly welcome
www.serbianchurchstlouis.org
Пут Крста - Вести Цркве Свете Тројице
The Way of the Cross– Holy Trinity News
Pastoral Letter
by Fr. Ljubomir Krstic
We are already in the month of April and this year it means the
celebration of the greatest Holy Day of all – Resurrection of
our God Jesus Christ from the dead or Pascha. Many of us
can say that this is nothing special, it is going to be like last
year or the years before that. Same like we hear a complaint
that every Sunday Divine Liturgy is always the same, thus it is
boring. Not true! And I’m not saying this just because I’m a
priest but because I’m fellow Orthodox who is trying his best to
stay Orthodox and to prepare myself so I am worthy of the celebration. And how does one
prepare for such a great Feast day like Pascha? Again, some of us can say, “Yes we know
we need to fast, pray, take confession, blah, blah…boring! From the perspective of those
people that sounds right. You know what else is true? True, is the passage from the
Psalms: The fool says in his heart, "There is no God.” ( Ps. 14)
You may wonder, why are the people who fast, pray, confess etc. and feel boring referred
to as a "fool" in the Psalm? Maybe the "fool" is too harsh but truly we are fooled by the
values of this world. Take technology for instance, every advertisement about modern
technology claims their product is faster, bigger, and does more. The modern world knows
only way up, the way to success. Your boss is pushing for more and more. The room for
the error becomes narrower and narrower every day. Make a mistake and we become
disposable. The race for success is faster than ever. Looking from this perspective, fasting,
prayer, Divine Liturgy and celebration of Feast Days are old, obsolete and boring. Simply
put, we are pressured to move fast forgetting not just others but ourselves too.
I was once told that the road to Heaven is long, narrow, curvy but not too steep so every-
one can take it. Now, close your eyes and imagine yourself running up this road or if you
are out of shape like me walking up this road. You are by yourself and your thoughts. You
walk and you think. You think about your life, your missed opportunities, how you could’ve
done better in so many instances. Suddenly, there are few stray dogs barking at you and
you lose your peace. You pick up some rocks and throw it at the dogs and you chase them
away. You keep walking and you finally get your peace back and you get back to the
Confession (that's what Confession is – thinking about above mentioned things).
Continued on page 2
2
Continued from page 1
You get disturbed again by noise from some people around you. You lose your peace again. You argue with those people and
chase them away. The closer you get to Heaven, you become more and more disturbed and every time you are distracted it gets
harder to get peace and your thoughts together. But if we stop every time that stray dogs get in our way to chase them away we will
never obtain our goal.
Those dogs and people that get in our way of salvation are nothing but the devil and temptations. We all know to win over tempta-
tions we need some powerful weapons such as the Cross of the Christ, the Eucharist, fasting and prayer, etc. The modern world is
asking for our success; Christ is asking of our shame. He will meet us in our shame and will take it on Himself. Our shame does not
separate us from Christ but unites us with Him. This paradox is a center of our faith because God becomes what we are so we can
become what He is! In other words, our glass, as Orthodox Christians, is always half full. We are to be filled with joy and hope. But
not the joy and hope of this world but of the world to come. Something that is absolutely crazy, boring, or stupid to mankind, makes
perfect sense in Christ.
God will accept us with our shortcomings but He is also asking us to slow down, to relax, to find our peace and pace on this road to
salvation. Take a step back and you will realize that you only have one boss to worry about and that is – You! God is not our boss.
He is our Father and Brother who does everything for us and our only duty is to follow Him. And we do that by fasting every year,
praying every day, forgiving every minute. That’s how we gain Heaven piece by piece and again that is why every celebration of
Pascha, every Sunday Divine Liturgy becomes always fresh, new and exciting.
Remember, we are Christians who choose to follow Christ. We do not look to please Him by being modern, fast and successful but
we look to imitate Him by going where he has Gone. Amin.
Christ Is Risen!
Indeed He Is Risen!
A P R I L 2 0 1 7
Coffee Hour
COFFEE HOUR SPONSORS ARE NEEDED!! A big thank you to our March Coffee Hour Sponsors:
JASNA MARJANOVIC FAMILY MARY ANN GARVEY 40 DAY PARASTOS IN MEMORY OF JULIA BOLANOVICH COFFEE HOUR SPONSORS:
THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE CONTINUED TO SUPPORT OUR CHURCH BY SPONSORING SUNDAY COFFEE
HOUR….SOMETIMES SEVERAL TIMES BY THE SAME PEOPLE. PLEASE SIGN UP ON THE DATE THAT YOU
WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR. THERE IS A CALENDAR IN THE RIGHT HALLWAY LEADING TOWARDS THE
KITCHEN. HERE IS A REMINDER AS TO WHAT IS INVOLVED AS A SPONSOR: SETTING UP THE TABLE, BUY-
ING WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SERVE THEN CLEANING UP AFTER COFFEE HOUR. THIS IS ALL YOUR RE-
SPONSIBILITY AS THE SPONSOR! IF YOU ARE PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO DO THIS, HOPEFULLY A FAMILY
MEMBER OR FRIEND CAN HELP YOU. REMEMBER, THIS IS JUST A SNACK TO BE SERVED WITH COFFEE
AFTER LITURGY FOR OUR PARISHIONERS. DONUTS, CAKES FROM SAMS ARE GREAT ITEMS. ITS YOUR
CHOICE AND WHATEVER YOUR BUDGET WILL ALLOW. AS A REMINDER, PLEASE SERVE FASTING FOOD
DURING THE LENTEN SEASONS. THANKS TO ALL FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT! FOR ANY QUESTIONS
PLEASE CALL ZDRAVKO ALEKSIC AT 314.226.6570
COFFEE HOUR COMMITTEE
3
Holy Saturday: "With Fear and Trembling"
By Fr. John Beck
Miraculously, Orthodox Christianity has preserved the essence of "the faith once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). By the sheer grace of God, it has maintained the apostolic faith in the face of extraordinary pressures, from persecu-tion and martyrdom to Western secularism and pluralism. Without that grace, Orthodoxy would have disappeared be-fore the end of the first millennium. And with it would have disappeared "true belief and "true worship." Because of its God-given survival and God-inspired expansion throughout what is called "the diaspora," Orthodoxy continues to preserve, proclaim, and celebrate the truth about God and about ourselves. More than any other expression of Christian faith, it enables us to know God, to celebrate His saving work, and to participate in His very life. To bor-row the expression of St Innocent Veniaminov, Orthodoxy does nothing less than indicate to us and guide us along the Way that leads to the kingdom of heaven. That way, nevertheless, includes an aspect that is particularly difficult to preserve and cultivate in modern American society: an aspect expressed most eloquently in the Entrance Hymn of the Divine Liturgy of Holy Saturday, borrowed from the Liturgy of St James. On that day, we sing with solemn anticipation words that express awe—"fear and trem-bling"—before the ineffable mystery of the death and coming resurrection of God's eternal Son. Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and in fear and trembling stand, rendering nothing earthly-minded. For the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, comes to be slain, to give Himself as food to the faithful! In the usual celebrations of the Divine Liturgy, we exhort ourselves and one another to "lay aside all earthly cares," in order to receive "the King of all." On Holy Saturday, as we commemorate Christ's repose in the tomb and His descent into the realm of the dead, we recall the price paid for our own liberation from death and corruption. We declare that He, the preexistent divine Son of the Father, came into our world and into our life for one purpose: to die, that through His death we might have life, lived in eternal communion with the Holy Trinity. There is nothing in human experience, nor even in the human imagination, that could offer greater promise and greater
joy than this central message of the Christian gospel. Yet for most of us, the most familiar and painful aspect of our len-
ten journey is likely to be our inability to relate to that message—to that extraordinary promise—in a way that actually
changes our life. Distraction, dispersion, and chaos, whether from outside or from deep within our own psyche, exercise
their demonic influence in every phase of our daily life, while we are at work, with our friends or family, or in a liturgi-
cal service. And so we live our lives on the surface, feeling little and caring little for what is in fact the one thing in this
world that really matters, the one thing that is truly needful.
Holy Saturday calls us back to what is essential. In the Entrance Hymn especially, it reminds us that our life is a battle
ground, where a constant struggle pits us against the Enemy, against the worst inclinations of our fallen nature. Appro-
priately, it calls us to engage in that struggle with fear, with trembling, and in silence.
One of the great teachers of Orthodox tradition, the fifth-century mystic, Diodochos of Photiki, captured the vital link
between inner silence and spiritual warfare with these words:
Spiritual knowledge comes through prayer, deep stillness and complete detachment. . . When the soul's incensive power
[thymikon, spiritual wrath] is aroused against the passions, we should know it is time for silence, since the hour of bat-
tle is at hand.
At the close of Holy Week, as we journey with our Lord toward His resurrection, we hear once again in the words of
the Great Saturday Hymn of Entrance an invitation to enter into that silence: silence which is essential if we are to as-
sume with real faithfulness the ascetic struggle that characterizes our entire "life in Christ."
In that silence we stand in holy awe before the King of kings and Lord of lords. For a few moments we move beyond
the superficiality of our social and cultural existence: the noise, the distraction, and the pointlessness of our daily rou-
tine. By the grace of God we discover at least a minimum of "prayer, deep stillness, and detachment." In that stillness—
in the silence granted to our mortal flesh— we contemplate the unfathomable depths of Jesus' sacrificial love, for our-
selves and for all mankind. And "with fear and trembling" we receive Him as eucharistic food, the Bread of heaven,
which nourishes us to eternal life.
A P R I L 2 0 1 7
4
A P R I L 2 0 1 7
March Church Attendance
3/5/2017—70 03/12/17—90
03/19/17—93 03/26/17—79
Avg. - 83
Parish Announcements
Thank you to Bo Prstojevich for the "sneeze guard" needed on the steam table that
Bo purchased for the church!
Thanks to Predrag Vukadinovich for smoking meat for Serbfest & Catering!!
Thanks too to Dorothy Milich for donating communion wine.
Thank you to our church for stocking the Food Pantry for Focus at
St. Michaels with meats, vegetables, soup & much more! Also to
Helen Shormas, Sharon Shormas Wade & Nicholas Wade family
for purchasing hygiene supplies for the homeless including deo-
dorant, shampoo, toothbrush/paste, razors with shaving cream,
etc. as all of these items are needed constantly.
And a big thank you to the following people for purchasing 3 sets
of vestments for our church.... Olga Krag (Golubovich), Calvin &
Chrissy Whitacre (Michal Funeral Home) in memory of Nada
Watkins, Miroslav Petrovich and Stana Jandrasevic and also a
parishioner who would like to remain anonymous! HVALA TO ALL
OF YOU!
Alex Anderson became an Eagle Scout this
March.
Congratulations Alex we are all proud of
you!
5
ДАНИ СТРАСНЕ СЕДМИЦЕ ( Задње недеље поста)
Последња седмица Васкршњег поста пре Пасхе - Васкрса, проводила се од најстаријих времена у
најстрожем посту. Апостолске установе прописују да се ове седмице употребљавају само хлеб, со и
воће, а Велики петак и Велика субота су потпуно без хране. Од давнина се назива Великом
седмицом.
Будући да се Света четрдесетница завршава у петак, пред Суботу светог и праведног Лазара,
Јерусалимска црква је ову суботу прибројавала Великој седмици. Сваки дан ове седмице, назива се у
богослужбеним књигама, светим и великим због светих и великих догађаја који су се збили тих дана.
Сваки дан има своју тему, а сви заједно се проводе у посту без уља, изузев Великог четвртка који се
сматра празничним даном, јер је овога дана установљена Света тајна Евхаристије. Богослужење ових
дана изложено је у Посном триоду. Посни триод ову седмицу назива Седмицом спасоносних
страдања.
ВЕЛИКИ ПОНЕДЕЉАК
Понедељак Страсне (Страдалне) седмице посвећен је последњим догађајима из земаљског живота
Господа Исуса Христа који су предсказани у животу страдалног Јосифа, сина старозаветног патријарха
Јакова. Попут Јосифа, кога су браћа из зависти бацила у јаму, а затим га продала да би он касније
владао Египтом, и Спаситељ је предат у руке грешника, осуђен, распет и сахрањен, а после Свога
Васкрсења влада светом.
Поред успомене на Јосифа, старозаветног страдалника, служба овога дана посвећена је и
проклетству смокве коју је Спаситељ због њене неплодности осудио да се осуши (Мт 21, 17-22; Мк
11, 19-26), а она је слика јеврејске синагоге која је Спаситеља предала на смрт.
ВЕЛИКИ УТОРАК
Уторак Страсне (Страдалне) седмице својом службом посвећеном јеванђелском казивању ο десет
девојака учи Хришћане да буду увек спремни, попут пет мудрих девојака да Христа, небеског
Женика, дочекају и сретну, не само целомудреношћу, већ и добрим делима (јелејем, који се
спомиње у одељку који се чита тог дана на Пређеосвећеној Литургији), јер за спасење није довољна
само девственост већ и дела хришћанског милосрђа
ВЕЛИКА СРЕДА
Богослужбене химне овога дана говоре ο жени грешници која је миром помазала Исуса Христа (Лк 7,
36-50). На Велику среду престаје се са служењем Пређеосвећене Литургије као и са читањем молитве
светог Јефрема Сирина коју прате велики поклони.
ВЕЛИКИ ЧЕТВРТАК
Четвртак Страсне (Страдалне) седмице, у својој служби сећа се свештеног омивања ногу Aпостола од
стране Спаситеља, Тајне вечере, односно установљења Свете тајне Евхаристије и натприродне
молитве и предаје Господа Исуса Христа у руке грешника. Оплакујући почетак Господњих
Continued page on 6
A P R I L 2 0 1 7
6
Continued from page 5
страдања, Црква се у исто време мистично радује поводом установљења Свете Евхаристије - тајне
Христовог Тела и Крви, тајне Светог Причешћа. Од изречених речи: "Ово чините у мој спомен..." (Лк
22, 19; 1 Кор 11, 24), па до данас, Света Евхаристија служи се на свим Православним престолима
докле Господ поново не дође.
У току вечере, Господ је открио издајство једног од својих ученика, а потом је са својим ученицима
отишао у Гетсимански врт, где је својом личном молитвом указао да је молитва за време невоља,
страдања и искушења највећа снага за подношење свих животних потешкоћа, па и телесне смрти.
На Литургији Великог четвртка освећује се, по потреби, Свето миро у саборним храмовима у
седиштима аутокефалних цркава, чије је варење почело на Велики понедељак. На овој Литургији
такође се освећују и припремају причасни дарови за болеснике, који се на часним трпезама чувају
преко целе године. Увече се држи велико бденије и чита се Дванаест страсних Јеванђеља, у којима
су описана страдања Господња.
ВЕЛИКИ ПЕТАК
Петак Страсне (Страдалне) седмице је дан крсног страдања Господњег. На тај дан, Црква се сећа
догађаја који су непосредно претходили Распећу; почевши од извођења Исуса Христа пред суд
Понтија Пилата, неуспелог покушаја да Га оптуже, па до гласног викања јудејског народа: "Распни
Га!"; ношења крста кроз град, на путу према Голготи; разапињања и праштања џелатима речима:
"Оче, опрости им, јер не знају шта раде"; умирања, скидања са крста, помазивања миром, повијања
Тела платном и полагања у гроб; постављања страже да чува гроб да неко не украде Тело
Господње.
Тог дана Литургија се не служи, изузев ако би Благовести пале на тај дан, а не служи се зато што се
на Литургији приноси Богу бескрвна жртва, а на тај дан је Исус Христос принео сам себе на жртву.
У богослужењима Великог петка спомиње се хватање Господа Исуса Христа, суд јеврејских
старешина и римског проконзула Понтија Пилата над Њим, крсна страдања, смрт и скидање са
крста. Сама богослужења тог дана састоје се из: јутрења - на коме се чита Дванаест страсних
(страдалних) Јеванђеља (ово јутрење се обично служи увече на Велики четвртак), царских часова и
вечерња, тј. опело Христово, са изношењем плаштанице. После вечерње, поје се мало повечерје са
каноном ο распећу Господњем, такозвани Плач Пресвете Богородице, чији је аутор Симеон Логотет
из X века. Овога дана предвиђен је најстрожи пост.
ВЕЛИКА СУБОТА
Овај дан посвећен је успомени на погреб Господа Исуса Христа и Његов силазак у Ад. Присуство
Христово у гробу је Телом, а духом је био у Аду, а у исто време је на престолу био са Оцем и Духом,
самим тим што је Он свеприсутни Бог, неодвојив од друга два лица Свете Тројице. То је она субота у
коју је Господ Исус Христос показао да је дошао крај старом веку који је био обележен светковањем
суботњег дана, и отпочео нови век у коме се светкује дан Његовог Васкрсења, дан есхате, дан који
сви Хришћани жељно очекују - Други Христов долазак.
A P R I L 2 0 1 7
7
April Kolo Korner
Dear sisters in Christ!
March was pretty uneventful for our kolo members, except for a group of sisters who have been con-
sistently helping with the fish fry's which kept them very busy. Otherwise there is not much to report.
A group of our ladies were planning on attending the spring luncheon, camp kick-off and fund raiser at
the Gracanica monastery this past weekend. Unfortunately most of us including my self were not able
to attend for various reasons . We only had one member attend and represent St Louis, Andja Ja-
kovljev. I did not have a chance to talk to her but heard through the grape vine that she had a won-
derful time!
I hope they had a very successful event and were able to raise a lot of money to be used for our chil-
dren who attend the camp every year.
Next month will be very busy for our sisters as we prepare for Pascha. There will be much to be done
so please make your self available in any way possible . I would like to have our church cleaned before
Pascha and I will need a few volunteers to accomplish this. Once we set the date all will be notified.
Big thank you to Milka and Dorothy for volunteering to make a Lenten lucheon in honor of the visiting
Bishop from Kenya this coming Sunday after divine liturgy. It is very much appreciated.
Happy to report that our sister Georgia is doing much better and had a very good report from her doc-
tor, she was very much missed and we are looking forward to seeing her soon in church and wish her
continued progress.
On a sad note we lost another kolo member this month, Stana Jandrasevic. She loved her Orthodox
faith, her church and church family but unfortunately do to her failing health for the past few years she
was not able to attend church and on many occasions she told me how much she missed being there
and how much she missed everyone. She always maintained her membership. She will be greatly
missed! Our deepest sympathy goes out to her family, relatives, kumovi and friends. May she rest in
peace !
All of our sisters unable to come to church are kept in our thoughts and prayers.
In Christ !
Ljubica Acamovic, Kolo president
A P R I L 2 0 1 7
Memory Eternal!
Give rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy servants who have fallen asleep!
+Stana Jandrasevic
+ Miroslav Petrovic
8
Caption describing
picture or graphic.
Caption
describing
picture or
graphic.
A P R I L 2 0 1 7
PUNO HVALA HOLY TRINITY’S 2017 STEWARDS
Dragan & Ljubica Acamovic
Zdravko & Sladjana Aleksic
Sonja Anderson
Predrag & Suzana Arnaut
Vojno & Ljeposava Blajojevic
Julia Bolanovich
Petar & Nada Buha
Misha & Kris Chkautovich
Nikolas Chkautovich
Gene & Beverly Denonovich
Bob Dimitrijevich
Marina Eddelmon
Miodrag & Jelica Djordjic
Roxanda Fenelon
Jim & Yvonne Foley
Snezana Grubisic
Katherine Henz
Nada Husic
Dragomir & Andja Iliskovic
Andja Jakovljev
Nicholas Jovanovic
Vojko & Veselina Jovanovic
Dejan Karan
Natalija Karich
Maria Karich
Chedomir Kekich
Danilo Kekich
Risto & Ginger Kekich
Djordje & Ro Korac
Milka Korac
Draga Krosnjar
Fr Ljubomir & Popadija Krstic
Zoran & Jadranka Kurtuma
Patsy Lalich
Ljubisa Lausevich
Zoran & Daria Lazic
David & Pat Lekich
Draginja Lekich
Milica Lekich
Steve Lekich
Joyce Levy
David & Sheri Levy
Tatjana Mandrapa Danica Mandrapa
Aleksandra Mandrapa
Nikola & Milka Marincic
Igor & Jasna Marjanovic
Michael Markovich
Miro & Ann Markovich
Dana Martin
Vinko & Branka Matic
Vanja Matkovic
Dorothy Milich
Goran & Milena Mitrovic
Violet Niesen
Dan & Maria Oranski
Aleksandra Ostojic
Frank Petkovich
+Miroslav Petrovic
Milan & Ljubica Pletikapa
Boris Prstojevich
Milan & Zeljana Rakic
Georgia Relich
Melanie Relich
Nada Relich
Dusan Rogan
Rade & Svetlana Samardzic
Helen Shormas
Ljubomir & Zora Smanja
Dan Spasovich
Ray & Judith Spasovich
Elaine Stager
Mary-Ellen Tobin
Mildred (Tootsie) Tobin
Sinisa & Danijela Tomicic
Mirjana & Slobodan Trifunovic
Sharon Shormas-Wade
Petar & Mileva Vojicic
Michael Vujnich
Dusan & Draga Vukadinovic
Predrag & Biljana Vukadinovic
Nikola & Nena Vukanic
Mirjana Zelenovich
Barbara Zogorean
9
Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church
Српска Правосалвна Црква Свете Тројице
2017 Calendar/Kалендар
A P R I L 2 0 1 7
Sunday 2
10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Света Литургија
Wednesday 5
6.00 p.m. Presanticified Liturgy - Литургија Пређеосвећених Дарова 7.00 p.m. Catechism for Adults – Веронаука за одрасле
Friday 7
10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy - Annunciation Света Литургија - Благовести
Saturday 8
10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy - Lazarus Saturday Света Литургија -Лазарева Субота 5.p.m. Vespers – Blessing of Willows Вечерње – Освећење Врбице
Sunday 9
10.00 a.m. Divine Liturgy – Palm Sunday Света Литургија- Цвети
Wednesday 12
6.00 p.m. Presanticified Liturgy - Литургија Пређеосвећених Дарова 7.00 p.m. Catechism for Adults – Веронаука за одрасле
Thursday 13
10.a.m. Divine Liturgy – Great and Holy Thursday Света Литургија- Велики Четвртак 7. p.m. Reading of the 12 Passion Gospels Читање 12 Јеванђеља
Friday 14
10.00 a.m. Reading of the Royal Hours Читање Царских Часова 7.30 p.m. Great and Holy Friday - Presentation of the Holy Shroud Велики Петак – Изношење Плаштанице
Saturday 15
8.30 a.m. Funeral of our Lord and Jesus Christ Сахрана Господа Исуса Христа 10.00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Света Литургија
Sunday 16
12.01 a.m. Paschal Matins Васкрсна Јутрења 10.00 am Resurrection of Our Lord and Jesus Christ – Pascha – Divine Liturgy Васкрсење Господа Нашег Исуса Христа – Света Литургија 12.00 Banquet – Васкрсни Ручак
Monday 17
10.00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Света Литургија
Tuesday 18
10.00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Света Литургија
Sunday 23
9:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy – Liturgy Served on Mount Hope Cemetery Света Литургија – Литургија на Гробљу
Saturday 29
4.30 p.m. Vespers Вечерње
Saturday 30
10.00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Света Литургија
10