April 2024
For the whole month of April we will be immersed in The Great Fast , and The Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year. It is stricter than all the others to help us Orthodox Christians prepare for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha or as it is mostly known as The Resurrection of Christ. The Great Fast prepares us to not only commemorate the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus, but to relive it, and to participate in His journey to the Cross. We have to understand that as Orthodox Christians we are to live our life with Christ at the center, that we are to fulfill His Holy will in all that we do. We have been given examples of the need to attain a higher level of holiness, we heard of Zacchaeus who climbed the tree to see Christ, the four friends who carried the paralytic up on the roof so he could be healed by Christ, all to be in Christ’s presence, and on the 4th Sunday we will commemorate St John of the Ladder, who in his book Ladder of Divine Ascent describes the steps we need to take to ascend to holiness, to climb the spiritual ladder, to climb the spiritual tree all to be closer to Christ. We live in the days of unbelief and a time that evil is considered good and good is considered evil. It can be a very confusing time, but the Great Fast is here to help us not be confused, to guide us into holiness, to help us climb to new spiritual heights of holiness . As we fast from foods and things of this world we should take the time to pray, to forgive, to repent and confess, and to give alms, so that we can seek that which is beneficial to our soul. We should read Holy Scripture and the church Fathers, but most importantly we should learn to apply the spiritual goodness into our lives and live it. Everything centers around this Feast of Feasts,the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. When we begin Holy Week we are journeying with our Lord to the Cross, we should be dedicating and committing our life to Him, to be His good and faithful servant. The prayers, fasting and almsgiving that we should do during the fast should intensify our faith so that we become those true servants of Christ. Not giving in to sin is also the main rule for the servant of Christ, as we battle with the evil spirits of this world. But Christ, as our King and Leader in this battle, has given us everything that we need to do battle, and He is always there when we call upon Him. So let us use the fast to give us the strength and wisdom that we need to withstand the fiery darts of the evil one, and come to Holy Week with a pure heart and glorify our God who overcame death with His glorious resurrection. May the peace of the Lord be with us all.
Fr. Mikel
Holy Week and Pascha 2024 - Schedule of Services
May 3 Great and Holy Friday
Royal Hours, 8: am.
Vespers and Burial Service, 4:00 pm.
Lamentations at the Tomb of Christ, 6:00 pm.
May 4 Great and Holy Saturday
Hours, 8:40 am.
Vesperal Divine Liturgy, 9:00 am.
May 5 Great and Holy Pascha – The Resurrection of Christ – The Feast of Feasts
Nocturnes, 11:30 pm
Paschal Matins and Divine Liturgy of Pascha, 12:00 am
followed by Blessing of Baskets
Paschal Vespers, 1:00 pm followed by Festal Potluck Luncheon and Egg Hunt for the Children
Regular Services
Saturday: Vespers, 5:00 pm
Sunday: Divine Liturgy, 9:00 am
Address
1614 E. Monte Vista Rd.
Phoenix, Az 85006
Phone / Email
Fr. Mikel: 907-444-8545
Church: 602-253-9515
Directions To Saints Peter & Paul
This Week...
April 27, 2024
Bible Study/Class will be back to Weds on May 15th.
There are many services during Holy Week, I encourage everyone to attend as many as they can. If you are unable to attend please read the Gospel lessons for each day; Mon Matt. 21:18-43, Matt 24:3-35, Tues Matt. 22:15-23:39, Matt. 24:36-26:2, Weds Jn. 12:17-50, Matt. 26:6-16.
Fry’s has a reward program in which you can make St Peter and Paul the recipient of the rewards. You can access the program through the app, go to rewards then enroll and choose St P&P.
On May 5th, Pascha Vespers will be at 1pm and there will be a potluck afterwards, everyone is invited to attend. If you wish to bring a dish, please see Pat Starkey to coordinate what you will bring.
There will be a cleaning Saturday on May 11th beginning at 8am. Please mark this on your calendars and plan on attending, with all the services of Holy Week and Pascha the church gets dirty and is in need of a deep cleaning.
On May 16th at St George Antiochian Church there will be an evening of Byzantine Chant at 6:30 pm. Please see the attachment.
When parking please be courteous and do not block anyone in. If the church lot is full you may park on the street or across the street at Bamboo Bakery.
Please remember to tithe, this is very important. The tithe goes into the operating budget to keep the church running, and in this way we are able to bring Christ to the community.
This is the great work of a man: always to take the blame for his own sins before God, and to expect temptation to his last breath. St. Anthony the Great