WELCOME TO OUR CHURCH COMMUNITY!HOLY RESURRECTION ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL is a parish community of the Diocese of Philadelphia & Eastern Pennsylvania of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Our bishop, Archbishop MARK (Maymon), provides spiritual oversight for our community. The parish community was founded in 1892 by Fr. Alexis Toth (now a canonized saint in the Orthodox Church).
Guidelines for Funerals:
https://doepa.org/files/Policies/CDC-Guidelines/CDC-Funeral-Guidelines.pdf
UPCOMING EVENTS...WORSHIP, PRAYER and SERVICE SCHEDULESaturday- Great Vespers 4:00 p.m.
Sunday- Prayer of the Hours 8:40 am & Divine Liturgy 9:00 a.m.
Eve of Major Feast Days - Great Vespers 6:00 pm (followed by holy Confession), see DOEPA Directive
Major Feast Days - Divine Liturgy 9:00 a.m.
Rector: Fr. Gregory G. White Sr. 570-822-7725 gregory.white@stots.edu
Mitred Archpriest Vladimir Petorak: Pastor Emeritus
Protodeacon: Sergei Kapral
Choir Director, Sub-Deacon Ian Abodeely, iabodeely@gmail.com
Mr. Michael Pieck: Board of Directors President
Catechism Classes - For those who are interested in finding out more about the Holy Orthodox Church or how to go about joining, classes are offered on a continual / rotating basis. For more information contact Fr. Gregory at 570-822-7725 or email him at: gregory.white@stots.edu
Study Group & Recommended ReadingWeather permitting!
Orthodox study group currently reading: The Struggle for Virtue, Archbishop Averky, ISBN 978-0-88465-373-8, Monday nights @ 6:30 p.m. held in the hall of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral 591 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre, PA. Bring your Orthodox Study Bible! First time visitors should call ahead of time to confirm the weekly schedule.
Great Lent: Journey to Pascha: Alexander Schmemann: 9780913836040: Amazon.com: Books
Many of the following books are rated four to five stars. These books are recommended reading for those who want to know more about the Holy Orthodox Faith and Christs' Church! If you take the time to read you will find out that the Church still exists today. James 1:5, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and without reproach; and it shall be given him."
Information on Mount Athos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Athos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mXl8C4-M_4&t=15s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D8OxrSZZU8&t=361s
Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells by Matthew Gallatin, St. Valdimir's Seminary Press, ISBN 978-1-888212-28
The Truth, What Every Roman Catholic Should Know About the Orthodox Church by Clark Carlton, Regina, Salisbury, MA
The Faith, Understanding Orthodox Christianity, An Orthodox Catechism also by Clark Carlton
The Way, What Every Protestant Should Know About the Orthodox Faith also by Clark Carlton
Knowledge of God by Dr. Harry Boolas, St. Tikhon's Seminary Press ISBN 978-1-878997-83-8
Current members of the Holy Orthodox Faith, or the more advanced inquirer are encouraged to also check out the following titles. They will help with your understanding of who Jesus Christ is... What happened to the early Church? Does it still exist? What's Orthodox Salvation all about?
Matthew The Poor, Orthodox Prayer Life, The Interior Way, by Father Matta El-Meskeen, St. Valdimirs Press, ISBN 978-0-88141-250-5
The Soul's Longing An Orthodox Christian Perspective on Biblical Interpretation by Dr. Mary Ford ISBN 978-0-9905029-6-8
A must read for those that struggle with Biblical Interpretation in this day and age of Denominationalism. Read how the early Church understood the Holy Scripture and it's Tradition.
The Orthodox Study Bible by Thomas Nelson Publishing. Full of comemtary, teachings, references and study articles ISBN 978-0-7180-0359-3
Orthodox Spirituality by Metropolitan Nafpaktos Hierotheos, Birth of the Theotokos Monastery ISBN 978-960-7070-20-3
Passions and Virtues According to St. Gregory Palamas by Anestis Keselopoulos, St. Tikhon's Seminary Press, ISBN 1-878997-75-0
Acquiring the Mind of Christ by Archimandrite Serguis, St. Tikhon's Monastery Press, ISBN 978-0-995029-9-9
https://sttikhonsmonastery.org/
Glory and Honor, Orthodox Christian Resources on Marriage by Dr. David Ford, Dr. Mary Ford and Alfred Kentigern Siewers. Editors, St. Valdimirs Seminary Press, ISBN 9789-0-8841-540-1. A must read before you get married!
Angels and Demons by Dr. Harry Boosalis, ISBN 978-1-878997-83-8
Holy Traditon by Dr. Harry Boosalis, ISBN 978-0-9884574-2-3
Orthodox Spiritual Life According to Saint Silouan the Anthonite by Dr. Harry Boosalas, St. Tikhon's Seminary Press, ISBN 978-1-878997-60-9
Man the Target of God by Archimandrite Zacharias, Mount Tabor Publishing
The following series of titles expand even more on Wisdom and Spirituality inspired by the Holy Spirit by the Monastic life on Mount Athos. The three stages of Orthodox Christian Salvation; Purification, Illumination and Deification are outlined throughout these timeless resources.
Remember Thy First Love by Archimandrite Zacharias, Mount Tabor Publishing
Enlargement of the Heart by Archimandrite Zacharias, Mount Tabor Publishing
The Hidden Man of the Heart by Archimandrite Zacharias, Mount Tabor Publishing
Saint Silouan the Anthonite by Archimandrite Sophrony, Mount Tabor Publishing
Information on Mount Athos, also posted above!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Athos
ABOUT THE UPCOMING FEAST...Sunday of Meatfare of the Last Judgment
Today’s Gospel reading is Matthew 25:31-46, the parable of the Last Judgment. It reminds us that while trusting in Christ’s love and mercy, we must not forget His righteous judgment when He comes again in glory. If our hearts remain hardened and unrepentant, we should not expect the Lord to overlook our transgressions simply because He is a good and loving God. Although He does not desire the death of a sinner, He also expects us to turn from our wickedness and live (Ezek. 33:11). This same idea is expressed in the prayer read by the priest after the penitent has confessed his or her sins (Slavic practice).
The time for repentance and forgiveness is now, in the present life. At the Second Coming, Christ will appear as the righteous Judge, “Who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). Then the time for entreating God’s mercy and forgiveness will have passed.
As Father Alexander Schmemann reminds us in his book GREAT LENT (Ch. 1:4), sin is the absence of love, it is separation and isolation. When Christ comes to judge the world, His criterion for judgment will be love. Christian love entails seeing Christ in other people, our family, our friends, and everyone else we may encounter in our lives. We shall be judged on whether we have loved, or not loved, our neighbor. We show Christian love when we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit those who are sick or in prison. If we did such things for the least of Christ’s brethren, then we also did them for Christ (Mt.25:40). If we did not do such things for the least of the brethren, neither did we do them for Christ (Mt.25:45).
Today is the last day for eating meat and meat products until Pascha, though eggs and dairy products are permitted every day during the coming week. This limited fasting prepares us gradually for the more intense fasting of Great Lent.
Sunday of the Prodigal Son
The Sunday after the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. This parable of God’s forgiveness calls us to “come to ourselves” as did the prodigal son, to see ourselves as being “in a far country” far from the Father’s house, and to make the journey of return to God. We are given every assurance by the Master that our heavenly Father will receive us with joy and gladness. We must only “arise and go,” confessing our self-inflicted and sinful separation from that “home” where we truly belong (Luke 15:11-24).
After the Polyeleion at Matins, we first hear the lenten hymn “By the Waters of Babylon.” It will be sung for the next two Sundays before Lent begins, and it serves to reinforce the theme of exile in today
Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee Beginning of the Lenten Triodion
The Sunday after the Sunday of Zacchaeus is devoted to the Publican and the Pharisee. At Vespers the night before, the TRIODION (the liturgical book used in the services of Great Lent) begins.
Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee who scrupulously observed the requirements of religion: he prayed, fasted, and contributed money to the Temple. These are very good things, and should be imitated by anyone who loves God. We who may not fulfill these requirements as well as the Pharisee did should not feel entitled to criticize him for being faithful. His sin was in looking down on the Publican and feeling justified because of his external religious observances.
The second man was a Publican, a tax-collector who was despised by the people. He, however, displayed humility, and this humility justified him before God (Luke 18:14).
The lesson to be learned is that we possess neither the Pharisee’s religious piety, nor the Publican’s repentance, through which we can be saved. We are called to see ourselves as we really are in the light of Christ’s teaching, asking Him to be merciful to us, deliver us from sin, and to lead us on the path of salvation.
Sunday of Zacchaeus
The paschal season of the Church is preceded by the season of Great Lent, which is also preceded by its own liturgical preparation. The first sign of the approach of Great Lent comes five Sundays before its beginning. On this Sunday the Gospel reading is about Zacchaeus the tax-collector. It tells how Christ brought salvation to the sinful man, and how his life was changed simply because he “sought to see who Jesus was” (Luke 19:3). The desire and effort to see Jesus begins the entire movement through Lent towards Pascha. It is the first movement of salvation.
Our lenten journey begins with a recognition of our own sinfulness, just as Zacchaeus recognized his. He promised to make restitution by giving half of his wealth to the poor, and by paying to those he had falsely accused four times as much as they had lost. In this, he went beyond the requirements of the Law (Ex. 22:3-12).
The example of Zacchaeus teaches us that we should turn away from our sins, and atone for them. The real proof of our sorrow and repentance is not just a verbal apology, but when we correct ourselves and try to make amends for the consequences of our evil actions.
We are also assured of God’s mercy and compassion by Christ’s words to Zacchaeus, “Today salvation is come to this house” (Luke 19:9). After the Great Doxology at Sunday Matins (when the Tone of the week is Tone 1, 3, 5, 7) we sing the Dismissal Hymn of the Resurrection “Today salvation has come to the world,” which echoes the Lord’s words to Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus was short, so he climbed a tree in order to see the Lord. All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). We are also short in our spiritual stature, therefore we must climb the ladder of the virtues. In other words, we must prepare for spiritual effort and growth.
St Zacchaeus is also commemorated on April 20.
