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SHEPHERDMonthly newsletter of the Serbian

Orthodox Church of the AssumptionFair Oaks, California

March 2014God be with you

P A S T I R

SHEPHERDMonthly newsletter of the Serbian

Orthodox Church of the Assumption

April 2014 God be with you

P A S T I R

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SHEPHERD

A monthly publicationof the

Serbian Orthodox ChurchAssumption of the Blessed

Virgin Mary

7777 Sunset AvenueFair Oaks, Ca 95628

Very Rev. Stavrophor Dane PopovicVery Rev. William Weir

Church: 916-966-5438Fax: 916-966-5235

Priest: 916-966-6276Cell: 916-606-8808

Shepherd Staff

Editor: V. Rev. Stavrophor Dane Popovic

Written contributions are welcome;Editorial discretion reserved. Please

Submit articles and ideas to:

V. Rev. Stavrophor Dane Popovic7777 Sunset Ave

Fair Oaks, Ca 95628

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Dear Brothers and Sistersin Christ,

We greet you on the day of ourLord’s Resurrection with the words of theAngel in the tomb to the Myrrh BearingWomen: “Christ Is Risen!” It is with joyin our hearts and faces radiating joy, thatwe celebrate again the Divine Resurrectionof our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thisis the greatest of all miracles in time andthe greatest of events in all of history. TheResurrection of Christ is simultaneouslyboth a historical and a miraculous event.

As a historical event it actually hap-pened in the history of the world and hasbeen certified by humanity in the same wayas other historical events. It is both oraltradition and written history, recorded byeyewitnesses. As a miracle, it transcendstime and space as well as human compre-hension. As a miracle, it cannot be ex-plained rationally. The Church does not tryto explain the Resurrection of our Lord butloudly proclaims it in faith. Such an act ofGod is not a matter for scientific explana-tion that is subject to research and conclu-sions but an event that must be venerated infaith.

The Apostles who were eyewitnessto the Resurrection went into the worldwith a message that was not that of an in-terpreter of HOW Christ rose from the

dead, but as PREACHERS of the Resurrec-tion of the Lord. It is this personal faithand belief that gave them strength, even tothe end of their earthly lives. “We cannotkeep from telling what we have seen andheard.” (Acts 4:20)

As an actual historical event, theResurrection can be explained. As an in-comprehensible miracle, it cannot. Never-theless, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ isthe foundation of all the Church’s teachingthroughout history. The Church becomes aliving testimony to the authenticity of theResurrection. This is how the Churchcame into being and what we have heard,what we have seen and what we havetouched-the message of life. That life hasbeen shown to us and, having seen it, wecan testify to it. It is announced to theworld, the eternal life that was with the Fa-ther and to us. It is announced to all so thatthe fellowship in the Lord’s Resurrectioncan be shared. That is the fellowship weshare with the Father and His Son, Jesus.(Paraphrased from 1 John 1-3)

St. Paul describes the mystery whenhe writes: “If Christ didn’t rise, ourpreaching means nothing, and your faithmeans nothing.” (1 Corinthians 15:14) Itshould be obvious that Christ’s Resurrec-tion is inseparable from the message ofChristianity. All the teaching and preach-ing in the world would be empty if it were

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not for the life-giving Resurrection of ourLord. The Apostles did not create themessage of Christ based on clever mythsor philosophical ideas, but on undisputa-ble historical fact. St. Peter explains:“We didn’t follow any clever myths whenwe told you about the power of our LordJesus Christ and His coming. No, withour own eyes we saw His majesty”.(2Peter 1:16)

It is only the power of a resur-rected God, Jesus Christ, that could ac-complish so much through others by influ-ence and action with the secular world.The Resurrection of Christ cannot be dis-puted. The Apostles told us “This sameJesus showed Himself alive…by manyinfallible proofs;” (Acts 1:3) for forty daysand nights speaking to His Apostles, ap-pearing to them, allowing them to touchHim, eating with them, walking with themand continuing to teach them. His impactwas so great that they went out to spreadthe word of His Resurrection in the face ofdanger and adversity, abandoning every-thing and without hesitation. This is notthe inspiration or achievement of a deadman who remained in a grave, but thework of a Resurrected God. (Paraphrasedfrom St. John Chrysostom)

We proclaim Christ’s Resurrec-tion, not just for the 40 days followingPascha but every time we celebrate theDivine Liturgy. The closing prayer whichis prayed immediately before the body andblood of our Lord are taken from the altarto the table of preparation restates theevent of which we sing during the Resur-

rection services: “Shine, shine, O new Jeru-salem, the glory of the Lord has shone onyou. Rejoice, exalt now and be glad O newZion. Be radiant O pure Theotokos, in theResurrection of your Son. Wisdom, wordand power of God, grant that we may moreperfectly partake of Thee in the never-ending day of Thy kingdom”.

With this message, we joyouslyrepeat our proclamation: Christ is risen!Indeed He is risen!

Your unworthy intercessor before our Res-urrected Lord, Fr. William

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Draga Bra}o I Sestre

Pozdravljamo vas na danGospodnjeg Vaskrsenja sa istimonim recema kojim je an|eo poz-dravio ène Mironosice: “ HristosVaskrse!” Sa rado{}u u na{imsrcima I koja sija na na{im licima,jer slavimo ponovo BoànskoVaskrsenje na{eg Gospoda iSpasitelja Isusa Hrista. Ovo je na-jve}e ~udo svih vremena i najve}idoga|aj u istoriji. Hristovo Vask-rsenje je istovremeno istorijski inesvakida{nji doiga|aj.

Kao istoriski doga|aj koji sezaista dogodio u svetu i koji jepotvr|en ~ove~anstvu kao i svakidrugi istoriski doga|aj koji seprenosio re~ima sa generacije nageneraciju i upisan u istoriji uzsvedoke.

Kao ~udo koje nadma{ujesvako mesto i vreme prevazilaziljudsko svatanje i vrlo ga je te{koracionalno objasniti. Crkva ne obja{njava Vaskrsenje Hristovo aliglasno svedo~i kroz veru. Ovajdoga|aj Gospodnji nije za nau~naobja{njenja i prou~avanje inaga|anja, ve} je doga|aj koji se

po{tuje verom.Apostoli koji su bili svedoci

Vaskrsenja Hristovim su oti{li usvet sa porukom ne obja{njavajucikako je Hristos Vaskrsao iz mrtvi,nego kao propovednici VaskrsenjaGospodnjeg.. Li~na vera im je bilasnaga, sve do kraja zemaljskogìvota

Ova li~na vera i verovanjekoje im je dalo snage, do krajanjihovog ovozemaljskog ìvota. “Mi nemoèmo a da ne govorimo{ta smo videli i ~uli.”(Dela Apos-tolsks 4:20)

Kao istorijski doga|aj Vask-rsenje moè biti obja{njeno. Kaonevi|eno ~udo, nemoè se objas-niti.

Bilo kako bilo, VaskrsenjeIsusa Hrista je temelj ~itavogcrkvenog u~enja kroz istoiji. Crkvaje postala ìva potvrda istinitostiHristovog Vaskrsenja. Ovako jecrkva do{la u postojanje i {ta smo~uli, {ta smo videli i {ta smonau~ili kros poruku ìvota. Tajìvot je nama pokazan, videv{i to imi moèmo posvedo~iti. Ovo jeobjavljeno svetu, ve~ni ìvot kojibe{e u Ocu a nama se javi. Da ivi imaste zajednicu sa nama u


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Hristovom Vaskrsenju dat nama. Ana{a zajednica je sa Oce i saSinom Njegovim Isusom Hris-tom.”(1. Jov. 1-3)

Sv. Apostol Pavle obja{njavatajnu u svom pismu: “A ako Hris-tos nije vaskrsao, tada je prazna na{a propoved, prazna je I na{avera.” (1 orin. 15:14) O~igledno jeda Hristovo vaskrsenje se nemoèodvojiti od poruke Hri{}anstva.Svo u~enje I propovedanje svetubi bilo prazno bez ìvotvornogVaskrsenja na{eg Gospova. Apos-toli nisu kreirali poruku Hrisovuprema mitologiji ili filozofskij idejive} na nepobitnoj istorijskoj~injenici. Sv. Apostol Petar obja{njava: “Nismo vam, naime,mudro smi{ljenim pri~ama ob-znanili silu i dolazak Gospoda na{ega Isusa Hrista, nego na osnovutoga {to smo mi popstali o~evicinjegovog veli~anstva.”(2 Petrova1:16).

Samo snaga vaskrslog Boga,Isusa Hrista je mogla posti}i takomnogo kroz druge, primerom idelom u dana{njem svetu. Vask-rsenje Hristovo nemoè bitiosporeno. Apostoli su nam kazali “It Hristos im se pokazao ìv….samnogim nepogre{vimdokazima.” (Dela Apos. 1:3) Zavreme ~etrdeset no} i dana Hristosje govorio sa Apostolima, po-

kazivaju}i se, dozvoljavaju}i da gadodirnu, jeo je sa njima, hodao sanjima i nastavljao da ih u~i.Hjegov uticaj je bio tako veliki dasu i sami oti{li da {ire re~i Njego-vog Vaskrsenja negledaju}i naopasnost i prepreke, ostavljaju}isve iz sebe bez razmi{ljanja. Ovonije inspiracija ili postignu}emrtvog ~oveka koji je ostao ugrobu, ovo je delo VaskrslogGospoda.

Hristovo Vaskrsenje se ob-javljuje ne samo ~etrdeset danaposle Pashe nego svaki put kadase sluì sveta Liturgija. Zavr{namolitva koja se ~ita pred telom ikrvlju Isusa Hrita jo{ jednompodse}a na doga|aj o komepevamo za vreme vaskr{njegsluènja: Blistaj se , blista. NoviJerusalime, jer slava Gospodnja natebi zasija. Liku sada i veseli seSione; a Ti ~ista Bogorodice, radujse vaskrsenju Poroda tvoga. Mud-rost , re~i i mo} Gospodnja, nekanam se da I dalje primamo odNjega neprestano u nepreolaznomcarstvu”.

Sa rado{}u ponavljajmo ra-dosnu poruku: Hristos Vaskrse!Zaista Vaskrse!

Va{ nedostojni molitvenikpred vaskrslim Gospodom Fr. Bill


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The ceremony takes place in the Or-thodox Church of the Resurrection in Jeru-salem in such a way that bewilders thesoul of the Christians.

On Easter Saturday, at noon, theOrthodox Patriarch, or any other OrthodoxArchbishop, enters the Holy Sepulcher,recites special prayers and remains wait-ing. The crowd, inthe darkenedchurch, repeatscontinually with aloud voice: "Lord,havemercy." (Kyrieeleison). At a cer-tain moment theHoly Light flashesfrom the depth ofthe Holy Sepulcher in a supernatural way,and miraculously lights up the little lampof olive oil put on the edge of it. The Patri-arch, or the Archbishop, (after having readsome prayers) lights up the two clusters of33 candles he is holding, and begins to dis-tribute the Holy Light to the multitude ofpilgrims, who receive it with great emo-tion, accompanied with the peeling ofbells, acclamations, and an unbridled en-thusiasm.

The Holy Light is not only distrib-uted by the Archbishop, but operates also

by itself. It emits from the Holy

Sepulcherhaving a gleam of a new completelydifferent from that of natural light. It spar-kles, it flashes like lightning, it flies like adove around the tabernacle of the HolySepulcher, and lights up the unit lamps ofolive oil hanging in front of it.

It whirls from one side of thechurch to the other. It also lights up the

candles of certain pilgrims. Infact there are some very piouspilgrims -who every time theyattended this ceremony, no-ticed that their andles lit up ontheir own accord!

This divine light also pre-sents some peculiarities. Assoon as it appears it has a blu-ish hew and does not burn. At

the first moments of its appearance, if ittouches the face, or the mouth, or thehands, it does not burn. . We must alsotake into consideration that the Holy Lightappears only by the invocation of an Or-thodox Archbishop. Each time the hetero-dox bishops tried to obtain it, they failed.

Once the Armenians paid the Turks,who then occupied the Holy Land, in or-der to obtain permission for their Patriarchto enter the Holy Sepulcher. The OrthodoxPatriarch was standing sorrowfully -withhis flock at the exit of the church, near the


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left column, when the Holy Light split thiscolumn vertically and flashed near the Or-thodox Patriarch.

A Muslim Muezin, called Tounom,who saw the miraculous event from anadjacent mosque, abandoned immediatelythe Muslim religion and became an Ortho-dox Christian. This vent took place in 1549under Sultan Mourad IV. , when the Patri-arch of Jerusalem was Sophrony II. (Thementioned split column still exists. It goesback to the XII c. The Orthodox pilgrimsembrace it at the "place of the split" as youenter the church).

The appearance of the HolyLight is an event -which occurs every yearin front of thousands of visual -witnesses.Nobody can deny it. On the contrary, thismiracle can reinforce those -who have lackof faith.

There are some very touching re-cent cases of some Jews, •who believed inChrist after having seen the Holy Light,and -who said to their compatriots: "Whyare you still waiting for the Messiah? TheMessiah came indeed".

From Irene Econimides’ book "Differencesbetween the

Orthodox and Roman Catholicism"

Gospod naš Isus Hris-tos, odnosno njegovo čovečansko telo,umro je raspet na krstu u Velikipetak i pred veče istog dana bio jesahranjen. Treći dan po smrti, u Ve-liku nedelju, Hristos je vaskrsao. Otome govore sva četiri jevanđelja(Mat. 28, 1-10), (Mar. 16, 2-8),(Luka 24, 1-12), (Jovan 20, 1-18).Svojim vaskrsenjem Hristos je poka-zao da je on pravi Bog i da imavlast nad životom i nad smrću. UNjegovom Vaskrsenju mi vidimo našespasenje i vaskrsenje - "Ako Hristosne vaskrese, uzalud je vera naša ipropovedanje naše", kaže apostolPavle. "Pošto je kroz čoveka došlasmrt, kroz čoveka je došlo i vask-rsenje iz mrtvih. Jer, kao što uAdamu svi umiru, tako će u Hristusvi oživeti" (1. Korinćanima 15, 21-22). Hristos se nakon vaskrsenjajavljao jedanaest puta za četrdesetdana: Mironosicama, Mariji Magda-leni, dvojici učenika svojih kada supošli iz Jerusalima za Emaus, svimaučenicima i na skupu vernih gde jebilo više od 500 braće. Vaskrsenje


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Hristovo dobro je provereno od apos-tola i mnogih ljudi koji su videli vask-rsloga Hrista i to je postao najvažnijidogađaj u istoriji sveta. Njime jezavršeno delo isklupljenja i spasenjaroda ljudskoga.

Crkva ovaj događaj proslavljakao najveći praznik. Uskrs(Vaskrsenje, Pasha,Veligdan, Vazam)je stari praznik;praznuje se još odvremena apostola,ali ne svuda u istidan: negde jepraznovan zajednosa jevrejskom Pashom, negdečetrnaestog dana meseca jevrejskogNisana, a negde u nedelju poslejevrejske Pashe. Na prvom vaseljen-skom saboru odlučeno je da se svudapraznuje jednog dana, i to posleprolećne ravnodnevnice, prve nedeljeposle jevrejske Pashe i punog meseca.Uskrs je, dakle, pokretan praznik, kojise uvek vezuje samo za dan nedeljni,a može pasti u razmaku od 35 dana,od 4. aprila do 8. maja.

Uskrs je najsvečaniji praznik ugodini; on je "praznik nadpraznicima". Na taj dan skidaju se

dveri u crkvi na oltaru, čime se želipokazati da je Isus svojim vaskrsenjempobedio smrt i otvorio rajska vrata.Cela nedelja po Uskrsu naziva se"Svetla nedelja", a crkvene pesme kojese tada pevaju pune su radosti i ve-selja. Umesto uobičajenog pozdrava,narod se na Uskrs i cele Svete

nedelje pozdravlja sa "Hristosvoskrese!" i "Vaistinu vosk-rese!" Tropar Vaskrsenju glasi:"HRISTOS VASKRESEIZ MRTVIH, SMRĆUSMRT UNIŠTI I SVIMAU GROBOVIMA ŽIVOTDAROVA."

Da bi se hrišćani dostojno pripremiliza ovaj praznik, još od apostolskihvremena ustanovljen je "Veliki post" ili"Četrdesetnica", po uzoru na Isusakoji je 40 dana postio na Goriiskušenja. U narodu postoji običaj dase o Uskrsu, na Veliki petak, jaja bojecrvenom i drugim jarkim bojama i dase daruju poznanici i prijatelji. To jeu znak podsećanja na Mariju Magda-lenu koja je caru Tiberiju, objašnjava-jući mu Hristovo vaskrsenje, darovalakokošije jaje kao simbol Uskrsa.


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Monday: "Beholdthe Bridegroom comesin the midst of thenight, And blessed isthe servant whom Heshall find watching.But, also unworthy ishe whom He shall findlazy. Beware therefore

my soul, do not fall into sleep."Thus is sung the hymn which highlightsthe theme of Holy Monday evening. Theservice commemorates the Parable of theTen Virgins. Of the ten virgins, five werewise and five were foolish, and all wereawaiting the Bridegroom to enter theMarriage Feast. However, He delayedHis arrival and the five foolish virginsfell asleep after their oil lamps had goneout. When the Bridegroom arrived, theycould not welcome Him properly, andonly the five wise virgins, who were pre-pared, entered the bridal hall with theBridegroom,

Tuesday: In this, the final Nym-phios Service, the Church commemo-rates the sinful woman who anointed theLord with myrrh, only a few days beforeHis death. With true repentance for thelife she had led, the woman anointed thehead and feet of Christ with the myrrhand wiped His feet with her hair. Hertears, which mixed with, the myrrh,were more effective than words in ex-

pressing her repentance to the Lord.THE FINAL DAYS

On Holy Wednesday evening it has beentraditional for hundreds of years for theChurch to celebrate the Sacrament ofHoly Unction. The priest anoints thefaithful with holy oil for the forgivenessof sins, protection from all things that

may deter one'smind away fromthe Lord and thehealing of spiritualand physical infir-mities. This allowsthe faithful to clearthemselves of allthings and to con-centrate on the fi-nal events of

Holy Week.Thursday morning the Orthos is

sung. The service, which commemoratesthe Lord's washing of His disciples' feet,also remembers the shameful deed ofJudas Iscariot in his decision to betrayJesus. As the Liturgy begins thethought of this betrayal is combinedwith readings and hymns marking theLast Supper. As the faithful prepare topartake of Holy Communion in remem-brance of the Lord's sheering of HisBody and Blood with His disciples, ahymn uniting the betrayal and the LastSupper is sung.

"Receive me today, O Son of God,as a partaker of Your mystic feast. For Iwill not speak of Your mystery to yourenemies; I will not kiss You as Judasdid. But, as the thief I will confess You,


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Lord, remember me as You come intoYour Kingdom."

On the eve-ning of Holy Thurs-day, Jesus Christ iscrucified. There aretwelve Gospel read-ings in this service,all of which contrib-ute to the comple-tion of the tragicand dramatic pic-

ture of the Lord's final hours on earth.He is followed to His farewell conversa-tion with His disciples and the Garden ofGethsemane where He prays one lasttime to His Father in Heaven.

"My Father, if it is at all possible,take this cup of suffering away from me.Yet, not by my will, but by Thine bedone." Then Jesus wept.

The atmosphere in the Church onthis evening is one of hushed sorrow andtragedy. The words of our Lord's accusers are read; the statements of Pon-

tius Pilate; and the cries ofthe mobs demanding Hiscrucifixion.

Finally, after thefifth Gospel is read, thesymbolic procession to thehill of Golgotha, whereChrist was crucified, beginsfrom the Sanctuary door.The lights of the church aredimmed, the priest carries

the large wooden crucifix on whichChrist's body is nailed and the congrega-tion chants.

At the conclusion of the proces-sion the priest places the Crucifix in thefront of the church where the faithfulapproach and kiss Christ's feet in shameand sorrow of man's wickedness, evenagainst the Crea-tor.

On HolyFriday morningthe church com-memorates theRoyal Hours: theLord's hours of ag-ony on the crossand His death. NoDivine Liturgy isever celebrated on Holy Friday becausethe Supreme Sacrifice of our Lord mustbe honored.Friday afternoon the Lord's body is re-moved from the Cross. Usually done bytwo priests, they symbolize Joseph ofArimathea and Nicodemus who, afterremoving the Lord's body, wrapped Himup in the finest linen and buried Him inJoseph's new tomb. The priest, who alsowraps Christ's body, places it on theHoly Altar to prepare it for the tomb.

Toward the end of the service thefuneral processiontakes place withthe priest and thealtar boys. Thepriest carries theEpitaphios, arichly embroideredcloth depictingChrist preparedfor burial, whilethe altar boys


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carry their torches and fans. The proces-sion slowly approaches the tomb ofChrist, the flowercovered canopy(Kouvouklion) at the front of the church,and the priest places the Lord within it.

CHRIST IS RISENOn Holy Saturday morning, Vespers and theDivine Liturgy of St. Basil are celebrated. This

service links to-gether the hope-lessness of theburial of Christwith the Hope ofHis Glorious Res-urrection. Thepriest scatters rosepetals and bay

leaves throughout the church chanting: Arise, 0God, and judge the earth; For You shall inheritall the nations. That evening, just before thestroke of midnight, the lights in the church areturned off. The darkness represents the despairfelt by mankind over Christ's death. However,with the coming of midnight, the darkness issuddenly broken. The priest emerges from thesanctuary with a lighted candle and chantstriumphantly:

"Come receive the light from the Never-fading Light; ' - And glorify Christ Whois risen from the dead. "The light from the priest's candle is then dis-tributed to all the congregation and the churchtakes on a brilliant glow. The time of mourningand sadness is over, for Jesus Christ has con-quered death, He is the victor. He is Risen! In-deed He has!

The triumphant hymns which followtell the faithful that this is the Day of Days.This is the Great Banquet told about in the

Bridegroom services. All are invited to partici-pate in the Feast of the Lord. In the Liturgy ofSt. John Chrysostom which follows, all are invited to receive Holy Communion. All whofasted and all who did not; all who came in thefirst hour and those who came in the eleventhhour; all who are of wealthy means and all whoare of humble means; everyone is invited toshare equally in the Bridegroom feast.

THIE KISS OF AGAPEThe final day of Holy Week takes place on

Easter Sunday afternoon. Without this service,the Easter celebration is not complete. Thefaithful gather once more with lighted candles

to sing of the Lord's tri-umphant Resurrection.The Gospel reading of thisservice, which is Christ'svisit to His disciples afterHis Resurrection, is readin many languages tosymbolize that the prom-ise of eternal salvation isoffered to all people eve-

rywhere.This service has been traditionally

called the Feast of Agape (love). The faithfulgreet one another with a kiss, symbolic of for-giveness and Christian love, They realize thatthey have shared a common road with Christand through all the pain and the sorrow and thesuffering, they have emerged, like Him, trium-phant.


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Kod nas srba obi~aj jeda se za Vaskrs spremajuobojena I {arena jaja.Doma}ice se trude dapripreme jaja sa rznim{arama. Na tim kuvanimjajima ispisuju: Hristosvaskrse!, “Sre}anVaskrs” I drugo. Decanajvi{e vole ovaj praznik zbog{arenih jaja. Kucaju se jajima, I ~ijese razbije, to razbijeno predaje sepobedniku. Po~etak ovoga obi~aja,da se za Vaskrs spremaju farbanajaja, poti~e jo{ iz ranih hri{}anskihvremena. Sledbenica Isusa Hrista,Marija Magdalina do{la je, posleHristovog Vaznesenja u Rim radipropovedanja Jevan|elja. I kada jeizi{la pred cara Tiberija, pozdravilaga je re~ima: “Hristos vaskrse!” Ipruìla mu na dar ofarbano jaje.Ovakav poklon Svete Marije Magda-line obja{njava se time {to je u RimuI kod drugih naroda bio obi~ajdarivanja jaja pri nastupanju novegodine, koja je tada obi~no po~injalau prole}e. Kada su prvi hri{}anidoznali za ovaj dar Svete MarijeMagdaline, onda su I oni po~eli dase ugledaju na nju. Od tada, svuda udane Vaskrsenja Hristovog pripre-maju se uskr{nja jaja kao symbolVaskrsenja Hristovog. U mnogimmestima jaja se boje crvenom bojom,{to podse}a hri{}ane na krvHristovu. No, osim crvenom bojom

{araju se jaja Idrugim bojama,kaoùtom, zelenom,ruì~astom I raznim

{arama, prema ukusudoma}ice.

Pored navedenogpredanja, ~ini nam se daje pravi simbol uskr{njeg jajeta u slede}em:kao {to pile, bez i~ijepomo}I spolja, kada

do|e vreme, sopstvenim mo}ima raz-bija ljusku I izlazi na svetlost dana,tako I Hristos, sopstvenim snagamarazbija okove groba– smrti,vaskrsava I donosi novi ìvot svimakoji veruju u Njegovu re~ I boànskumo}.

Sa pripremom I {aranjem uskr{ih jaja vezani su razni obredi Iverovanja, koja svedo~e o njihovomva`nom zna~enju u religioznomìvotu na{eg naroda. @ene I devojke{araju jaja obi~no uo~I Vaskrsa. Ovajposao smatraju sve{tenom radnjom,pa se zato pripremaju molitvom. Dabi {aranje I bojenje ispalo bolje, voduspremaju na Veliki ~etvrtak, po{to~uju da crkveno zvono odzvoni zabogosluènje. U tu vodu dodaju Imalo osve}ene vodice, koju je sve{tenik osvetio u toku Vaskr{njegposta. U nekim krajevima, prvo jajespu{teno u vodu ~uva se do slede}egodine.


14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It all began a long time ago with a youngwoman named Mary. Mary Magdalene. Mary,who later became a Saint of the OrthodoxChurch, was a devout follower of Jesus Christ inthe days when He came to earth to save sinners.

When the time had come that Christ wasburied, Mary Magdalene went to his grave, bear-ing Myrrh, to anoint his body. But, when she ar-rived, the stone of the tomb had been cast aside,and the tomb was empty. Worried that thieveshad stolen her Lord's bodyin the middle of the night,Mary asked the first personshe saw if they had seenanyone enter or leave thetomb. Mary stood and cried.Through tear-filled eyes, shebent over, looked into thetomb and saw two angels, dressed in white, sittingwhere the body of Jesus had been. One angel wassitting where His head had been and one at thefeet.

"Woman, why are you crying?" theyasked. "They have taken my Lord away, and I donot know where they put Him," replied Mary.Then she turned around and saw a man standingthere; but she could not recognize that it was Je-sus. "Woman, why are you crying?" asked Jesus."Who is it that you are looking for?" She thoughtHe was the gardener and so she said to Him "Ifyou took my Lord away sir, please tell me whereyou have put Him and I will go get Him." ButJesus called to her "Mary!" and immediately sheknew that it was Him. "Do not hold on to me,"

Jesus told her. ' 'I have not yet gone back upto my Father. Go to my brothersand tell them that I am returning

to Him, who is my Father and theirFather, my God and their God." And

so, Mary heard first the Good News that Christhad Risen. She ran to tell his disciples, and thenwent to visit the Emperor in Rome. She greetedthe Emperor with "Christ has Risen," and gavehim a red-dyed egg. She knew it would be diffi-cult to convince the Emperor of the Glory ofChrist, and thus she used the tiny egg as her ex-ample.

Mary borrowed the ancient belief thatthe egg symbolizes new life much like the Resur-rection of her Lord. She told the Emperor that

Christ had been transformed into anew life. She dyed the egg red to sym-bolize the blood that was shed to savethe world from their old ways.

This tradition has been carried onthroughout the years. The egg repre-sents the sealed tomb of our Lord. On

Holy Thursday morning households dye the eggsred to symbolize the sacred blood of Christ thatwas shed on the cross. The eggs are then put awayuntil Saturday evening when after the Resurrec-tion service families embark in the traditional egg-cracking ceremony. Each member of the familychooses an egg that he thinks is hardest and thatwill crack everyone else's.

The eggs are then tapped against eachother, first the more pointed ends, while the twoplayers announce, "Christ is Risen!" and "IndeedHe has!" This simple act symbolizes the seal of theTomb of Christ being broken and His life beingresurrected. The person whose egg remains un-broken receives the good-luck blessing for theyear.


15…. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dear Parishioners,Easter Sunday will be on April 20, 2014 this year and we

will have our traditional egg hunt for the children. In addi-tion to regular Easter eggs, we would also like to col-

lect plastic Easter eggs filled with candy or prizes and havethem donated by parents, grandparents, or church mem-bers. If you are able to donate plastic eggs please givethem to one of the Sunday School teachers Andjelka

Gojkovic Mary Milovanovich Mike Jovovic anytime beforeEaster. Thank you.

Please bring extra package of colored eggs to share with people on Easter Day.Thank you. Fr. Dane

DRAGI PAROHIJANIVaskrs je 20-og Aprila ove godine i ponovo }e mo imati

tradicionalno sakupljanje jaja za decu.Pored Uskr{njih jaja ako `elite donesite i plasti~na jaja i

bombone.Svi mogu uzeti u~e{}a u ovome roditelji, bake, deke, i svi

parohijani. Priloge mo`ete dati bilo kojoj od u~iteljicanedeljne {kole Andjelki Gojkovic, Mari Milovanovich ili

Mike Jovovic pre Vaskr{nje Nedelje.


16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

From the light of HolyThursday we enter into the darkness of Friday,the day of Christ's Passion, Death, and Burial.The early Church called it "Pascha of theCross" for it is the beginning of the Passover orpassage, the meaning of which is graduallyrevealed to us, first, in the quiet of the GreatSabbath, and then in the joy of the Pay of Res-urrection, Easter.This is the day when the Churchinvites us to realize the reality andawful power of sin and evil in theworld. For sin and evil have notdisappeared, but on the contrary,are still predominant in our lives.

This day is also a day ofRedemption, for Christ's death isa saving death for us and for oursalvation. It is the perfect, su-preme sacrifice. Death is the natu-ral fruit of sin, yet there is no sin in Christ, al-though He died for us, only by His love for us.He accepts the punishment of the whole world,and takes upon Himself the tragedy of man'slife. In His death, the very nature of death ischanged, for, from punishment it becomes anact of love and forgiveness. His death is a sav-ing death because it destroys the very source ofdeath, which is evil. Throughout His wholepassion, it is Christ who triumphs, for evil cando nothing against Him. As Christ moves to-ward the Cross and the end, the human tragedyreaches its climax, His triumph, His victoryover evil.

This is the double mystery of Holy Fri-day, manifested in darkness and yet light.There is, during the services, a constant empha-sis on the Passion of Christ as the crime of allcrimes. But, on the other hand, the sacrifice of

love which prepares the finalvictory is also present. The beau-

tiful Vesper Hymns depict this:"When Thou, the Redeemer of all,

Hast been laid for all in the new tomb, Hades,the respector of none, saw Thee and crouchedin fear. The bars broke, gates were shattered,graves were opened, the dead arose. ThenAdam, thankfully rejoicing, cried out to Thee:Glory to Thy humiliation, 0 Merciful Master."The end of Holy Friday marks the end of thelong history of salvation and redemption, andintroduces the Blessed Sabbath, which relates

Good Friday, the commemoration ofthe Cross, with the day of His Resur-rection, Easter.

The Services in the OrthodoxChurch for Good Friday are of a sad,mournful note. They begin Fridaymorning with the "Royal Hours", ser-vices consisting of Hymns, Psalms,and Readings from the Old and NewTestaments, all related propheticallyto Christ. In the afternoon, the Ves-

pers are celebrated, during which the com-memoration of the removal of Christ's Bodyfrom the Cross is remembered. The unnailingand wrapping of the Body with a white sheetby Joseph of Arimathea takes place. The priesttakes the Holy Shroud on which is painted theBody of Christ, carries it around the Church,and places it in the tomb, which has been pre-pared in the Church. In the evening of GoodFriday, the Church celebrates the Service ofLamentation.

The whole of Good Friday is observedin prayer, fasting, self-examination, confes-sion, good works, always in humility and re-pentance so that the grace of the Cross mightdescend upon the faithful.


17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Continued on page 34

1.Кад поћеш у цркву мисли да удом Цара небеског идеш, где са страхоми радошћу треба стајати, исто онако каошто би на небу стајао пред небеокимЦарем. И црквене пеоме нас на овоупућују, које кажу: -кад у х>рамустојиш, мисли да на небу стој|ИШ.

2.Ако желиш да ти молитвакорисна буде, (опрости свако-ме који теувреди, да би и ти могао рећи: Оче наш,који си на небу, опрости нам грехенаше, као што и ми опраштамо онимакоји су нама згрешили. Знај да ако неопростиш ближњему увреде неће ни Богтеби опростити грехове твоје. (Мат. 6,16).

Кад у цркви стојиш, не осврћи сени на једну страну; не гледај како костоји и како се моли, јер ћеш каофарисеј бити осућен, пошто твоје ниједа о томе судиш, него Божје и ти самосебе пред Богом правдај. Гледај само наолтар где се најсве-тија жртва приноси икао цариник у себи понављај: Боже, бу-ди милостив мени грешеоме!

3.Чувај се као живе ватреразговора и смеха у цркви, јер тиме Богаврећаш, пошто тиме показујеш не самода не пошту-јеш цркву као најсветијеместо, 'него и друге наводиш и сметаш

им да се моле. Пажљиво слушај шта сечита и пева и тиме се наслаћуј. А акосе миоао твоја одвоји ма куд на другу

страну, старај ое да је вратиш и да јеупутиш да слуша песме и моли-твекојима се Бог слави и тада ћеш сакоришћу из цркве да изаћеш.

4.Долазећи у цркву, опомени се имртвих и мисли на твој дан кад ћеш и тиу недра матере земље отићи. И помолисе за мртве да им се Бог омилује. Ово ћене само за њих корисно бити него и засамога тебе, јер и на тај начин показујешљубав према својим ближњима.Мислећи на своју омрт, усрдније ћеш сепомолити Богу.

5.Оно што си чуо у цркви да сечита, пева или проповеда, труди се даиспуниш и размишљај: на који начин.Јер иначе ћеш бити осућен што знашшта треба да чиниш, а не чиниш! Благоонима који слушају реч Божју и држе је(Лк. 2, 28). И децу своју и домове овојеучи да тако чине, па ћеш бити од Боганаграћен.

6.Ако тако у цркву будешодлазио и тако се будеш молио, ти ћешсвој живот корисно провести и вечноћеш царство насле-дити благодаћу и'милошћу Господа Бога и Спаситељанашег Исуса Христа.

Св. Тихон Задонеки


18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A college student once said tome, "Father, I'm very proud of mychurch, and I feel good when I hearour people profess their love for theirOrthodox faith. But there are alsotimes when my heart aches, becausesome of our people do not elicit sin-cerity in their religious conviction, donot practice their faith."

"For example, Father," this con-cerned youth continued, "I'm puzzledby those who can open their hearts toGod on Sunday by attending churchfaithfully and then can close thesesame hearts to God the other six daysof the week. Also, I'm always at a lossto understand the reasoning of thosewho make annual, or at best semi-annual (Christmas and Easter) pil-grimages to church and then proudlymaintain that they are OrthodoxChristians of good standing becausethey pay their church dues."

"Father, don't you agree with me,"the student asked in conclusion, "thatsome of our people lack honesty and

sincerity, and that they thus de-feat themselves in the depths oftheir souls?"

I agreed with the young man.Though most of our people are goodand God-fearing, there are somewho lack sincerity of purpose andthus miss out on the spiritual bene-fits of their church. When the pro-fession of faith and the practice offaith are poles apart a person's relig-ion becomes shallow and meaning-less.

But a steadfast holding to,and a sincere practice of the basictruths of the Orthodox church re-wards us with a deep sense of ful-fillment in life, for we are thennever far from God who created usto His own image and likeness. Itennobles our lives with a happinesswe had not known before, with awholesome spiritual joy that cancome only from hearts expressingChrist-like qualities in day-to-dayliving. This Christian sincerity pro-vides us with a peaceful, securefeeling in life for as we read inProverbs: "Whosoever putteth histrust in the Lord shall be safe."

19 Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After the death of Moses,Joshua led the tribes of Israel intothe Promised Land. This greatleader wanted his people to be se-cure and happy in that land; hewanted them to have a sense of ful-fillment and success in life. Hetherefore admonished them to "fearthe Lord, and serve Him in sincerityand truth." Joshua emphasized thevast importance of sincerity in thereligious convictions of God's cho-sen people.

JESUS CONDEMNEDHYPOCRISY

During His lifetime on earthour Lord stressed the need for hon-est faith in God. Above all, Jesushated the religious pretensions ofsome of the people. Their hypocrisybothered Him tremendously. There-fore, to underline His displeasurewith the cutting insincerities ofsome, Jesus once said, "Not every-one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord,shall enter into the kingdom ofheaven, but he that doeth the will ofmy Father which is in heaven."

The Apostle James was alsodeeply disturbed by the insinceritiesof some of the early Christians in

Jerusalem, and he upbraided them,"Be ye doers of the Word, and nothearers only, deceiving your ownselves."

Blessed Augustine had muchthe same thought in mind when hewrote, "The hand and the tonguemust agree, the one glorifying, theother acting." In other words,Augustine was saying that it wasn'tenough for a people to say, "Lord,Lord.”

It's not enough to believe. It'snot enough to say that we love ourOrthodox faith. It's not enough to goto church on Sunday. And it's notenough to pay our church dues. Wemust also live like the followers ofChrist. We must punctuate our faithwith sincerity, for "faith withoutworks is dead."

May the Spirit of God move usto be real, sincere Orthodox Chris-tians, loyal followers of Christ, al-ways fulfilling the will of God by be-ing "doers of the Word."

Msgr. Michael Sopoliga

20Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A P R I L 2014 A P R I LSundayNedelja

MondayPonedeljak

TuesdayUtorak

WednesdaySreda

Thursdayêtvrtak

FridayPetak

SaturdaySubota

1 2 3 4 5Vespers- Ve~ernje

6:00 pmConfession—Ispovest

-

65th Sunday of Lent

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.5ta Nedeq Posta

Gospel. Mk. 10:32-45; Lk.7:36-50;Epistle: Heb. 9:11-14; Gal.3:23-29;

7ANNUNCIATION

BLAGOVASTIDivine liturgy

9:00am

8 9Presanctified Liturgy at 9 a.m

AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.Catechism Class 6:20pm

10 11

Presanctified Liturgy at 5: p.m

12Theodore’s Saturday

Todorova SubotaDivine Liturgy at 9:00am

Vespers- VEÊRNJE6:00 p.m.

PALM SUNDAY 136th Sunday of Lent

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.6ta Nedeqa Posta—CVETI

Gospel. Jn. 12:1-18.Epistle: Phil. 4:4-9;

14Presanctified

Liturgy at 9amVELIKI PONEDELJAK

Velika NedeljaHoly Week

15Great TuesdayMatins Service

6pmVELIKI UTORAK

16Great Wednesday

Service of Holy Unction6pm

VELIKA SREDA

17Great ThursdayLiturgy at 9am

Great Vigil at 6pmVELIKI CETVRTAK

18GOOD FRIDAY

VELIKI PETAKHours at 9amTaking down

from the Cross at 3pmLEMENTATION & PROCASION at 6:30pm

19GREAT SATURDAY

Divine Liturgy at 9:amResurrection Matins

At 11:45VELIKA SUBOTA

20Pascha– Vaskrs

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.VASKRS

Gospel. Jn. 1:1-17;Epistle: Acts. 1:1-8;

21Resurrected

MondayDivine Liturgy

at 9:00am

22Resurrected Tuesday

Divine Liturgyat 9:00am

23


24 25 26Vespers- Ve~ernje

at 6:00 p.m.Confession—Ispovest-

--

272nd Sunday of PaschaDivine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.2ga Nedeqa—TOMINA

Gospel. Jn. 20:19-31;Epistle: Acts 5:12-20;

28 29 30 31

Vespers- Ve~ernje6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS? - MENJATE ADRESIf you’re planning to move, please let us know before changing your address.Ako èlite da se preselite na drugu adresu obavestite nas pre nego se preselite.

Write to –Pi{ite nam naAssumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

7777 Sunset Ave. Fair Oaks, Ca. 95628

KSSMeeting

KIDS EGGHUNTING!

Following withSerbian traditional

Easter Dinner

Pascha– Vaskrs


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ALL ALTAR BOYS ARE ASKED TOSERVE WHEN ATTENDING CHURCH

Reader Schedule

Message to all readers:Please make note of the days you

are to read and make plans to cometo church

before 10:00 a.m.

April — April 6Reader: Protinica Maryann

Gospel. Mk. 10:32-45; Lk.7:36-50;Epistle: Heb. 9:11-14; Gal.3:23-29;April — April 13

Reader: Natalie FitzpatrickGospel. Jn. 12:1-18.Epistle: Phil. 4:4-9;

April — April 20Reader: Nick Brown


April — April 27Reader: Theodor Hadzi-Antich

Gospel. Jn. 20:19-31;Epistle: Acts 5:12-20;May — Maj 4

Reader: Dimitri KarnaookhGospel. Mk. 15:43-47;

Epistle: Acts. 6:1-7;

INFORMATION FOR MAYSHEPHERD

If anyone has anything they wouldlike to add to the Shepherd, the last

day to send information isApril 15th.

INFORMACIJE ZA MAJSKIAko imate ne{to da bi èleli da

date za mese~ni Pastir, zadnji danza to je 15 April. Nazovite Protu

Dana ili po{aljite po{tom.

A P R I L 2014 A P R I LSundayNedelja

MondayPonedeljak

TuesdayUtorak

WednesdaySreda

Thursdayêtvrtak

FridayPetak

SaturdaySubota

1 2 3 4 5Vespers- Ve~ernje

6:00 pmConfession—Ispovest

-

65th Sunday of Lent

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.5ta Nedeq Posta

Gospel. Mk. 10:32-45; Lk.7:36-50;Epistle: Heb. 9:11-14; Gal.3:23-29;

7ANNUNCIATION

BLAGOVASTIDivine liturgy

9:00am

8 9Presanctified Liturgy at 9 a.m


10 11

Presanctified Liturgy at 5: p.m

12Theodore’s Saturday

Todorova SubotaDivine Liturgy at 9:00am

Vespers- VEÊRNJE6:00 p.m.

PALM SUNDAY 136th Sunday of Lent

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.6ta Nedeqa Posta—CVETI

Gospel. Jn. 12:1-18.Epistle: Phil. 4:4-9;

14Presanctified

Liturgy at 9amVELIKI PONEDELJAK

Velika NedeljaHoly Week

15Great TuesdayMatins Service

6pmVELIKI UTORAK

16Great Wednesday

Service of Holy Unction6pm

VELIKA SREDA

17Great ThursdayLiturgy at 9am

Great Vigil at 6pmVELIKI CETVRTAK

18GOOD FRIDAY

VELIKI PETAKHours at 9amTaking down

from the Cross at 3pmLEMENTATION & PROCASION at 6:30pm

19GREAT SATURDAY

Divine Liturgy at 9:amResurrection Matins

At 11:45VELIKA SUBOTA

20Pascha– Vaskrs

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.VASKRS


21Resurrected

MondayDivine Liturgy

at 9:00am

22Resurrected Tuesday

Divine Liturgyat 9:00am

23


24 25 26Vespers- Ve~ernje

at 6:00 p.m.Confession—Ispovest-

--

272nd Sunday of PaschaDivine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.2ga Nedeqa—TOMINA

Gospel. Jn. 20:19-31;Epistle: Acts 5:12-20;

28 29 30 31

Vespers- Ve~ernje6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest

CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS? - MENJATE ADRESIf you’re planning to move, please let us know before changing your address.Ako èlite da se preselite na drugu adresu obavestite nas pre nego se preselite.

Write to –Pi{ite nam naAssumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

7777 Sunset Ave. Fair Oaks, Ca. 95628

22Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM 2014Stewardship is our financial response to God and His Church. Through our financial

commitment our Parish will be able to carry on its programs for all its members. Please fillyour stewardship card and mail it to the Church office. “ God has given us everything we

have. He expects from us a generous portion of our blessings for the needs of His Church.”Starateljstvo je ne{ finansiski odgovor prema Bogu i Njegovoj crkvi. Kroz na

{a nov~ano obavezivanje na{a parohija bi}e u mogu}nosti di ispuni sve njene pro-grame prema svim parohijanima. Molimo vas popunite KARTU STARATELJSTVA ipo{aljite je u crkvenu kancelariju. “Bog nam je dao sve {to imamo. On i o~ekuje odnas dobar deo od blagoslov nam dati za potrebe Njegove crkve”.

We are grateful to the following Stewards of our parish family for their pledge of support to theChurch and her ministries for 2014

THE FOLLOWING PARISHIONERSHAVE RETURNED THEIR 2014STEWARDSHIP COMIMITMENT CARDS

Radomir AntovichRadmila BogdanichIlija & Anna BradaricNicholas BrownJoe & Annette ChinnMargaret CherayAnna CipaPavo & Bosiljka CvjetkovicLjubinko & Nevenka CurchinBiserka DelicKim GlazzardLeo & Aleksandra GlebovDesa DonahueDaisy FreemanAndjelka GojkovichJohn GojkovicRobert & Zorka GojkovichHoria & Joanna Groza

Theodore & Diana Hadzi-AntichChris & Yuliya JohnsonDimitri & Luba KarnaookhEve KatichGladys KatsikisSilvia KenteraJohn & Nevenka KordicPaula KordicMilos KovacBarbara LobodovskyLila LukichBorka MalkovichBill MamikaMile MarjanovichIlinka MeglemerCarlyn MetzkaRobert MillerPeter K Milovich

Dragan & Katarina MirkovicDesa MojsichGail MraovichElsie C. MrvosVelika PejovicDraginja PetrovichProto & Protinica PopovicSavo & Bosiljka PetrovicZoran & Milena popazivanovMilanka RadosavljevicDanica Gojkovich RyderDave & Frances SokitchMilan & Betty TicaZorka TeodorovichSteve & Kathleen VickersDragan & Michael VidovichCristian & Christina ViduProto & Protinica Weir-PlefkaConnie Ziacan

THE BLESSING OF THE HOMESThe homes of thousands of Orthodox Christian have been blessed during the Epiphany seasons. Let yourhomes be blessed as they are like small churches. Prepare a candle, bowl of water, and a list of your liv-ing family members. Call Father Dane to bless your home with the sanctified water of Epiphany starting

on this day.OSVE]ENJE DOMOVA

Hiljade Pravoslavnih domova se osve}uju u vreme Bogojavljenja I posle. Osvetite svojedomove jer domovi su va{e male crkve. Pripremite sve}u, ~iniju sa vodom I spisak ìvih~lanova porodice. Nazovite Protu Dana da unese krst u va{ dom I blagoslovi sa Bogo-

javljenskom vodicom. Osve}enje domova po~inje na dan Bogojavljenja.


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Charity Fund DonationsCash Donations …………..$ 443.00Milos & Mileva Radmanovich…..$ ...200.00Mirjana Markovic …………..$ …50.00Ilija & Anna Bradaric …………..$ ….50.00Aleksandar & Zorana Petrovich ...$ ….50.00Stanley & Vesna Mojsich …..$ … 40.00Milos & Mileva Radmanovich ….$ ….30.00Anonymous …………………..$ ...30.00Marie Milovanovich …………..$ …25.00Biserka Delich …………………..$ ..20.00

In Memory of Roy RatkovichNada Kosanovich ………….. $ .100.00Velika Pejovich ………….. $ 30.00Daisy Freeman (to Endowment Fund)$ 20.00Robert & Zorka Gojkovich …..$ 20.00

In Memory of John GojkovichMartin & Jeanne Marie Gavin …..$ 300.00Robert & Zorka Gojkovich …...$ 20.00

In Memory of Christine KenteraRobert & Zorka Gojkovich ……$ 20.00Velika Pejovich …………...$ 25.00

In Memory of Zivka FilipovicRobert & Zorka Gojkovich ……$ 20.00Velika Pejovich ……………$ 20.00

In Memory of Ivanka StefanovicVelika Pejovich ………………… $ 50.00Biserka Delich ……………$ 50.00

Proto & Protinica Bunjevic…..$ 40.00Ilija & Anna Bradaric ……….$ 25.00Olga Ciganovich ………..$ 25.00Robert & Zorka Gojkovich….. $ 20.00Za Brata MiloradaZorka Theodorovic ………..$ 15.00

In loving Memory of Milorad GavricJelisaveta & Nada Gavric ……$ 200.00

Za Zdravlj moje i FamijeNada Tarantino ……….$ 40.00

Za moje ZdravljeZorka Theodorovic ……….$ 5.00

Cleaning & Repair of hall drapesCircle of Serbian Sisters ……..$ 420.00

BozicCircle of Serbian Sisters…. .$ 2,500.00David Sokitch …………… $ 300.00Frances Havens …….$ 250.00Milorad & Bona Spika …….$ 200.00Joseph & Ruth Silva …….$ 200.00Manojlo Garic Construction .$ 150.00Milorad Slavnic & Jagoda Mastilovic……………………………. .$ 150.00Tomislav & Jovanka Dardic..$ 100.00Gene Plecas ……………..$ 100.00John & Nevenka Kordic …...$ 100.00Robert Miller ……………..$ 100.00Aco & Zorana Petrovich …...$ 100.00Stanley & Vesna Mojsich…..$ 100.00Ilija & Sharon Cvetich ……..$ 100.00Milan & Betty Tica………….$ 100.00Boris & Milica Jeremic……. $ 100.00Ljubisa Ristic …………..….$ 100.00

January and FebruaryDonations

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nikola & Zorka Tica……..….$ 100.00Michael & Danica Halverson..$ 100.00Zorka Theodorovic………….$ 100.00Mirjana Markovic ……………. $ 100.00Patrick & Svetlana Hite …….$ 100.00Proto & Protinica Popovic ……. $ 100.00Margaret Chernay ………….. ...$ 100.00Adriana Radulovich …………….$ 100.00Patricia Culjak …………………….$ 100.00Silvia Kentera ……………………. $ 100.00Biserka Delich …………….$ 100.00Vladimir & Ljiljana Otasevic …….$ 100.00Milos & Mileva Radmanovich…….$ 100.00Elia & Milena Kentera……………..$ 100.00Radmila Bogdanich …………….$ 100.00Lazar & Milojka Saraba ….....$ 75.00Paula Kordic …………………….$ 50.00Velika Pejovich …………….$ 50.00Maria & Daniel Damjanovic …….$ 50.00Donald & Nada Halkovic …….$ 50.00Ilija & Anna Bradaric …………….$ 50.00Kevin & Tammy Pokrajac ……$ 50.00Chris & Yuliya Johnson ……$ 50.00Robert & Zorka Gojkovich …….$ 50.00Jovo Tica …………………….$ 50.00Dragan & Michelle Vidovich ……. $ 50.00Draginja Petrovich …………....$ 50.00Nada & Zoran Jokic …………….$ 50.00Boris & Radmila Drca …………….$ 50.00Nina Sadovnikov …………….$ 50.00William & Natalie Fitzpatrick …….$ 50.00Dosta, Vojislava & Olga Nikolic ....$ 50.00Vinka & Obren Petrovic …….$ 50.00Eve Katich …………………….$ 50.00Robert Miller …………………....$ 40.00Jovan & Ilinka & Branka Cubrilo ...$ 40.00Angelia Jovanovic ……………..$ 40.00Slavko & Milica Turjacanin …….$ 40.00Danica Gojkovich Ryder ….....$ 35.00

Borislav & Mirjana Ilic ……………$30.00Zagorka Radulovich ………..$ 25.00Paul Butenko ………………..$ 25.00Anne Cippa ………………..$ 25.00George & Patricia Saraba……..$ 25.00Daisy Freeman ………..$ 25.00Brian & Maria Popovac……….$ 25.00Anonymous ………………..$ 20.00Bozidarka Theodorovic……….$ 20.00Lila Lukic ……………….. $ 20.00Zora Crnoglavac ………..$ 20.00Radenko & Vesna Odzakovic ..$ 20.00John, Helen & Sofia Pasic ..$ 20.00Kathleen Davis ………..$ 15.00

Savin DanCircle of Serbian Sisters……...$ 500.00Stanley & Vesna Mojsich…….$ 100.00Savo & Bosiljka Petroviic……$ 100.00Aco & Zorana Petrovich …….$ 100.00Nikola & Zorka Tica ……….$ 100.00Joseph & Ruth Silva ……….$ 100.00Silvia Kentera ……………….$ 100.00Elia & Milena Kentera………. $ 100.00Anonymous ………………..$ 80.00John & Nevenka Kordic………$ 75.00Zarko & Nedeljka Petrovic…...$ 50.00Brian & Maria Popovac……….$ 50.00Biserka Delich ………………..$ 50.00Ilija & Anna Bradaric ………..$ 50.00Milan & Betty Tica ………..$ 50.00Zorka Theodorovic ……….. $ 50.00Mihail & Luba Kruska………..$ 50.00Zoran & Veliborka Cvjetkovic..$ 50.00Robert & Zorka Gojkovich……$ 50.00Milos & Mileva Radmanovich ..$ 50.00Boris & Rada Drca………….. ..$ 50.00Zlatko & Stanislavka Krainovic $ 50.00

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mirjana markovic……………...$ 30.00Jovo Tica ………………..$ 30.00Velika Pejovich ………….. $ 25.00Paula Kordic …………………..$ 25.00Petar Dmitrovic ………….. $ 20.00Anonymous …………………..$ 10.00Nicholas Theodorovic………….. $ 10.00Nathan Theodorovic ………….. $ 10.00Bogdanich …………………..$ 9.00

Quotes"Christianity is not only faith in God,

but faith in man as well, belief in the pos-sibility of the revelation of the divine inman. The idea of Divine-humanity is di-rected toward cosmic transfiguration,something almost completely alien to offi-cial Catholicism and Protestantism . . .The central idea in Orthodox Christianityis not justification, but transfigura-tion . . . " (Nicholas Ber-dyaev, d. 1948)

"Our life on earth is like the flight ofthe passing bird, like a ship leaving notrack upon the sea, a speck of dust, a va-pour, an early dew, a flower that quicklyfades . . ." (St. Gregory Nazianzen, pane-gyric on his brother St. Caesarius)

"It is a great thing, this reading of theScriptures! For it is not possible ever toexhaust the mind of the Scriptures. It isa well that has no bottom." (St. JohnChrysostom, 345-407 A.D.)

О ЉУДИМА

(Сеети Владика Николај)Људи који не могувладати својим срцем јошмање могу владатисвојим језиком.

Ми имамо право да живимо наовоме свету, али и обавезу да истотако дозволимо другима да живе.

Смешш су они људи који сепогорде због своје дружбе саземаљским кнежевима ибогаташима, те почну о себивисоко мислити.

Мало је људи полудело одсиротиње, а много, премноgо одбогатства.

Они који нису умели делити доксу имали, мораће научитипросити кад им се одузме имање.

Кажи људима увек што јенaјбоље, и ћути. Ако буdешулазио у њихове бесконачнепрепирке о томе шта је боље,увек ћеш се кајати.

Нико се од људи не рађа случајнои по слепом нагону природном,

него се сваки шаље у овај свет поразумној и благој вољи Очевој.

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Calendar of EventsWe are publishing a calendar of events

so that you and your familycan join us for these events. All are welcome

and we hope to see you at Church,as well as these events.

More details will follow.

April 20 Pasha– VaskrsJune 28 VedovdanJuly 20, Drazin danAugust 28, Church SlavaAugust 29-31, Diocesan daysSeptember 21 , Church picnicOctober 11, Serbian FestivalNovember 9, Stewardship Sunday

Your Church Board Welcomes you.


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CHARGES FOR RELIGIOUS RITES - TREBESteward Non-Steward

Wedding $50 $500Baptism Donation DonationChurch Funeral Donation $300Chapel $50 $300Parastos—Panihida $25 $100Pomen $15 $ 50Certificates $10 $ 20

Parish StatisticsWEDDING: No

BAPTISM: No

FUNERAL: February 19, Dragan Mihaljcich Memory eternal! –Vecnaja Pamjat!

March 4, Mary Smilanick, Memory eternal! - Vecnaja Pamjat!

March 24, Ilinka Cubrilo, Vecnaja Pamjat – Memory eternal!

Please help us decorate the Church andChrist’s Tomb for the Easter Holidays.

Easter is upon us! We are now beginning totake donations for flowers to decorateChrist’s Tomb and for the Church onEaster. You may wish to give a donationin memory, or for the good health, of aLoved One. Please specify that your donationis for Easter Flowers.

Thank you!


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(Сvети Владика Николај)

Људи који не могу владати својимсрцем још мање могу владатисвојим језиком.

Ми имамо право да живимо наовоме свету, али и обавезу даисто тако дозволимо другима даживе.

Смешш су они људи који сепогорде због своје дружбе саземаљским кнежевима ибогаташима, те почну о себивисоко мислити.

Мало је људи полудело одсиротиње, а много, премното одбогатства.

Они који нису умели делити док суимали, мораће научити проситикад им се одузме имање.

Кажи људима увек што јен&јбоље, и ћути. Ако булешулазио у њихове бесконачнепрепирке о томе шта је боље, увекћеш се кајати.

Нико се од људи не рађа случајнои по слепом нагону природном,него се сваки шаље у овај свет поразумној и благој вољи Очевој.

Why…?Why will the Church not perform a funeral ser-vice for someone who has committed suicide? Issuicide an unforgivable sin?

This issue is one of the most difficult and painfulwith which to deal, because it is often times very diffi-cult to understand why someone might take his or herown life. The approach of the Church when confrontedwith these tragedies is not black and white, just like thereasons people commit suicide are not black and white.When a suicide occurs, it is up to the local priest anddoctors to determine the cause and/or possible reasonsfor the suicide, so they can properly address the situa-tion.

The existing policy of the Church is that it will notbury someone as a member in good standing if he or shehas committed suicide. The reason for this is that itneeds to stress how wrong suicide is. Life is a very pre-cious gift from God, and taking your own life wouldmean that you reject this gift. God forbids us to reject it.There are however, exceptions to this policy, and this isbecause there cannot be one policy to handle all situa-tions that exist. For example, in the case of a docu-mented mental illness the Church would never denysomeone burial as a member of the Church. But on theother hand the suicides assisted by Dr. Jack Kevorkiancan never be accepted by the Church.

Your question, "Is suicide an unforgivable sin?" is agood one, because it brings up some other importantissues. First, we should remember that it is not theChurch who grants forgiveness. The only one who cangrant forgiveness is God. He knows each person's heart,and is the only one who can decide if a person is worthyof forgiveness. Consider as well, that if a person hasdied, he or she will be unable to ask God for forgive-ness.

If you are considering suicide, you should talk tosomeone you trust and respect. They can help comfortyou, and get you through the tough times. Also, many ofthe problems that you think are unsolvable, really aresolvable. Suicide is a permanent end to problems whichare most likely not permanent. Don't take a chance withyour soul, it is the only one you have.


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Parishioners hospitalized, sick at home or in nursing homes…Proto Miladin Garic Greta Ljubisavljevic Danilo PavicevichNikola Dragovic Ana Bozinovic Milli MatacicDusko Pesevic Djorge Janjic Persa Dragovic

Sandy Tobe Nada Kosanovic Milos KovacAna Mileusnich Daisy Freeman Michael SadovnikovValentina Stivens Ana Lisnich Francis SokitchMilanka Miladinocvic Mihailo Kruska Olivija Taso

Dear Brothers and Sisters, please remember these people in your daily prayers. If you know anyonewho is sick please let Father Dane know. He would like to visit them and pray for them. His telephone number is966-6276 or 606-8808.

We pray for your return to health and well-being.

When your are making a donation to our Church, please noteon the check (under the memo field) what it is for. This is becausewe have no way of knowing your intent for the donation. Other-wise, if there is no such notation, and if you are already a steward,the donation will automatically apply towards your stewardship. Ifyou are not a steward, it will be applied as a church donation.

BECOME A SHEPHERDSPONSOR FOR 2014

Please consider becoming a Shepherd Sponsor. For$ 25 you will become abronze Sponsor, for $ 50 a Silver Sponsor an for $ 100.00 a gold Sponsor.

Your name or the name of a loved one will be listed.You could advertise your business thru our SHEPHERD


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As the sun creptabove the horizon ona chilly Easter morn-ing in Korea, there

dawned upon me a realization thatthe hundreds of Greek soldiers '. andairmen were congregating at this airbase because of three little words:"Christ is risen."

The year was 1953. As corre-spondent for the 315th Air Division' itwas my assignment to live five dayswith men of the Royal Hellenic AirForce and write the story of - theirEaster observance.

Lambs which had been slowlyturning on spits over coal fires allnight were almost ready for feasting.Within a small area enclosed by a railfence, the number of Greek fightingmen at Seoul to celebrate the Resur-rection was gradually increasing. An-ticipation permeated the air. It wasnearly time for the arrival of thepriest who since midnight had beentouring Greek outposts. He was com-ing to make the pronouncement thatwould signal the start of festivities. .

Shortly before noon a stir at one endof the gaily decorated enclosure indi-cated the priest had arrived. As Iwatched, a stocky man, nattilydressed in combat fatigues and steelhelmet, stepped briskly into the cir-cle of uniformed men. Opening asmall attache case, the beardedcleric withdrew the vestments of theGreek Orthodox Church and slippedthem on over his olive drabs.

Lighted candles in hand, themen pressed close around theirpriest and listened as he spoke tothem from a leatherbound volume. Icould not understand all that wassaid, but it soon became possible forme to grasp a phrase that repeatedlypunctuated the message: "Christ isrisen! Christ is risen! Christ is risen!"

Three little words, I thought.Small in size, but mighty in portent.Without these words, Christianitywould fail. It would lose its meaning.If the Redeemer died and was buried,but did not rise victoriously from thegrave, "then we have nothing topreach and you have nothing to be


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lieve," Paul declares in 2 Corinthians15:14.

I recall now that until that dayI had shamefully overlooked the fullsignificance of Christ's resurrection. Iaccepted the fact as scriptural real-ity, but it wasn't until I witnessed thejoy these men felt over the announcement that I grasped the fullest satis-faction that comes in knowing Christis alive, that He intercedes for His re-deemed.

Because of these three words,we have the assurance that a glori-ous eternal life awaits the redeemedwho depart this world. This assur-ance is as real today as it was whenPaul wrote to the Corinthian church.It is held forth today to all men whowill accept Christ's sacrifice on thecross as being made in their behalf.

"The truth is," Paul writes in the Co-rinthian epistle, "that Christ has beenraised from death, as the guaranteethat those who sleep in death willalso be raised."

B.D. Edson

И најгори човек мора се три pута уживоту сетити Бога: Када видиправедника да страда збогњегове кривице; Када он самстрада због туђе кривице; Када мудође час смрти.

Три пута у животу моразаплакати и најтврђи грешник

Када га након гоњења од људи каодивљу звер, помилује мајчинарука;Када га болесна и осамљенапосети његов противник, доносећиму дарове и опроштај; Када му насамрти свештеник каже: Не бој се,Божија милост је већа од твојихгрехова.

Три пута човек сам себи личи наБога

Када му се роди син; Када схвати иусвоји Христа; Када се помири сасвојим страдањем за правду.

(Владика Николај Велимировић)


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Easter Sunday is the greatest feast inthe liturgical calendar of our Church. It is onthis day that we celebrate the glorious resurrec-tion of Christ from the dead. It is an event thatis the most Inspiring of any in this world.

On Good Friday Christ was crucified anddied on the Cross. Sadness and inexpressiblegrief hovered in the very atmosphere. For thefollowers of Christ it seemed to be a crushingdiabolical work.

Our Lord and Saviour, Who raised peopleto life, was dead Himself. Sorrow, like a densefog, was in the hearts of all who ministered toHim. With grief stricken hearts they took downthe body of the Lord from the Cross and theyburied it in a tomb. A great stone was placed atits entrance.

Early on the first Easter Sunday womencame to the tomb only to learn that the greatstone at the entrance, and the cause of theiranxiety, had been removed by the angel of theLord to prove to the world that there was nodeath. Then there was rejoicing. "Christ isRisen!" were the words that shook all the peo-ple of Jerusalem.

This is the joy of Easter; the Resurrectiondisplaces the crucifixion, the empty tomb theCross, the horrible words of the blood thirstymobs of Good Friday: "Crucify Him" give wayto the triumphant and glorious words of Easter:"Christ is Risen" — "Christos Voskrese"!

DEATH DEFEATED

On Easter we no longer see before us asuffering Christ but a glorious Christ. Let theflowers of spring exhale their sweetest fra-grance for this is the day of joy and happiness.Christ lives! Christ triumphs! Christ reigns!

Christ willed to die not only to make satisfac-tion for our sins to God, but also to prove byHis glorious Resurrection that He was greaterthan man. Man knows that he cannot, by hisown power, rise from the dead. Christ provedthat He truly is the Son of God. This is thegreat triumph of Christ, "smertiju smert po-prav" - trampling down death with death.

Easter proclaims to us that in the smallrocky tomb in Joseph's garden, Christ revealedHis divine power. From that grave rose theglory and praise of Christ. In the crib, Christ'sBirth; in the tomb, Christ's Resurrection. Truly,the Lord is risen and hath slain death. This iswhy we love Easter. We rejoice because Christhas won the victory.

By His glorious Resurrection Christ com-pleted the work of salvation. Man's hope wasfulfilled for as we read in the Holy Bible: "Iknow" -with the certainty of faith - "that MyRedeemer" - Christ - "liveth" i having risenfrom the dead - "and therefore on the last day Ishall rise out of the earth and see God My Sav-iour". (Job 19:25-26).

With His Resurrection, Christ placed thegolden seal on His divine teachings and con-firmed our Holy Faith, for as St. Paul tells us:"If Christ be not risen again, then is our preach-ing in vain and our faith is also in vain". (I Cor.15:14) Easter is the greatest confirmation ofour faith and hope in Christ's teachings andpromises. We should give thanks for thisblessed evidence of our Christian faith. Nowonder that we sing with great joy the wordsof David: "This is the day that the Lord hasmade, let us rejoice and be glad therein".

Rev. Mitred Melchany


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Traditional Easter Dinner,Sunday

April 20, 20014

10:00 am Divine Liturgy

Followed by Easter Banquet

Bring your family and friends!

Dobro nam do{li!

Превод са енглескос —Nije lako shvatiti neizmernu

dubinu I visinu zna~aja vaskrsenjaHristova. On je potreslo I nebu Izemlju I dubine pakla. Blje{te}asvetlost toga istorijskog doga|ajazadivljuje ljude nesravnjeno vi{enego beskrajna velicina zvezdanogprostranstva koju otkrivaju astro-nomi na{ega vremena. Za ~oveka

koji umiresve je jedno, da li je taj svetmali—samo toliko koliko ga ~ovekoveo~I obuhvataju ili ve}I da ga ne tele-skopi ne mogu sagledati. Njemu je svejedno da li }e se njegov grob postiratina dva ar{ina zmlje ili preko celevaseljene koja obuhvata milione svet-losnih godina. Ali ni jedan ~ovek nijeravnodi{an prema Hristovom vask-rsenju.


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Sv. Nikolai

Христос воскресе, драга браћо и децо!Родио се у пећини, васкрсао у слави,Господ наш преславни. Небо бешеотворено и при рођењу и при васкрсењуЊеговом. Небо Божје светло, што дугоћуташе затворено грехом Адамовим. ИАнгели разговараху са људима. Он је исишао на земљу, да отвори људима небо избратими људе и ангеле. Он, Бог наш иСпаситељ наш, заогрнут човечијим телом,као порфиром вечни Цар Славе. Он, самачистота и смиреност, родио се од пречистеи смерне Деве у пећини, а васкрсао услави, да и ми слично Њему, све штопочињемо деловати, почињемо сачистотом и смерношћу, јер то је од Богауказани пут ка вечној слави.

Живео је у радионици, а васкрсао услави, Учитељ наш премудри. Живео једуго у радионици као вредни занатлија, безвике и шума, а васкрсао у слави. Да и мибудемо вредни и грудољубиви удужностима својим, на њивама и урадионицама, кроз цео живот свој,непрестано имајући у виду њиву ирадионицу душа наших. Јер је трудољубљенеопходни услов за добијање душевногспасења и вечне славе.

Творио је превелика дела милосрђаи љубави наспрам људи, а васкрсао услави, наш нежни Чудотворац љубави. Даи ми показујемо милост наспрам суседасвојих немоћних, и то првенствено милосту мислима мислећи добро о њима, милосту молитви, молећи се Богу за њих, и

милост на делу чинећи им добро оддобра које нам је од Бога. Да будемо

слични Господу Христу у милости, као штосу деца слична родитељима својим. Јер безмилости нико се никад није прославио предБогом и ангелима Божјим светлим. Ако сенеко и прославио без милости, прославио сеплачевном славом међу мрачним демонимаи слугама њиховим.

Стајао и клечао често на молитви, аваскрсао у слави. Молио се понекад и поцеле ноћи, не за себе него за нас, децу свихвремена и свих народа, кротки наш Светацнад Свецима. Да и ми молитвомосвештавамо душе и тела, домове и њиве,поља и радионице, и сву ствар око себе. Дабудемо у молитвеној скрушености сличниЊему, који је молитвом као росом небескомзаливао своје бесмртно дело спасењаљудског. Ко се икад прослави без молитве?Ако се неко без ње и прослави, прослави сене у царству светлости, и не славом Божјом,него неком другом и другчијом славом.

Трпео клетве и поруге од људи, аваскрсао у слави. Трпео пљувања пљувача ишамарања шамарача, одрицања и издајстваод стране пријатеља; трпео од глупостиучених, од дугог језика краткоумних и одохолости наших ништавних, трпео и отрпеосве - а васкрсао у слави, дуготрпељиви исвешчедри Искупитељ наш. Да и ми имамотрпељивост (терпјеније) и да праштамоопадачима и нападачима својим.

На крст био rasпет и закован,исмејан у мукама, умртвљен и у земљупогребен, - али васкрсао у слави, свесилниСтворитељ и Бог наш, да се и ми научимопримати све горчине, које нас у животустигну или сретну, с неограниченомпокорношћу вољи Божјој, слично Њемупраобразу и прототипу нашем,свечовечанском и пречистом, свагда


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говорећи као Он: Оче мој, нека буде вољатвоја!

Да се обучемо, дакле у чистоту исмерност, у трудољубље, милосрђе,трпељивост са праштањем, и у покорноствољи Божјој. Ко се не буде обукао у овузлатоткану одећу од седам великих Његовихврлина, тај се значи није одржао обучен уХриста, какав је био при крштењу, те кадбуде стао пред Христа на Суду великом удан расплате, неће личити на Њега ни почем, ни по једном шаву ни концу, и као наги одвратан биће гурнут и одбачен. Јер свакко улази у вечни покој, у радост и славуХристову, и у живовање бесплатно са Њим,мора претходно личити на Њега. Ко пак неличи на Њега, не може бити Његов нити сЊим.

Многи наши преци, браћо, личилису на Христа. Наша прошлост балканска иправославна показује нам, да на Њега можеличити и човек судија и човек сужањ, тежаки занатлија и слуга и слушкиња и просјак.Сваки човек треба да може распознати уЊему своје право биће у пуноћи, у красотии у сили, а Он опет да може видети барнешто од Свога у свакоме. Сваки створениод Њега може личити на Њега. Све службе исва достојанства нису отворена за све људе,али сличност са Христом отворена је за све.И читави народи и племена могу личити наЊега. Ваистину, Балкански народи упрошлости личили су често и много наХриста. И кад год су у већој мери личили наЊега, бивали су велики и славни, како услободи тако и у ропству. У слободи суваши стари умели личити на Христа почистоти и смерности, по трудољубљу имилосрђу, а у ропству, опет помолитвености, трпељивости, праштању ипокорности вољи Божјој.

Тако се вера православна

прослављала и тако је она прослављалаљуде и народе на Балкану и у временимаспољашње слободе и у времена спољашњегробовања, подједнако силно и узвишено. Одте славе душа се храни, очи сладе и ушизује све до данас. Све од оних дана када јеапостол Павле, обучен у седмонитну одећуХристову, јављао Јеванђеље Христово,Радосну Вест о Христу по Атини иКоринту, по Филиби и Солуну, по својојМакедонији и Тракији, па до наших данаПравославље се прослављало ликомБалканског Христа, како у појединимсвецима тако и у великим масама народнимна овоме знаменитом полуострву. Ако једанас православним Балканцима зло, и то услободи, шта да кажемо? Ништа друго негода су се многи потомци великих предаказастидели сличности својих старих саХристом Бесмртним, па су почели ударатина себе супротне и одватне образине, премасвоме смањеном раду, према свомеослабелом виду и слуху, према свомеокраћалом досезању. Неки би од ових ихтели да се радују празнику ХристовогВаскрсења, подражавајући у томе простнарод, али не могу и не умеју да се радују.Не да им се, зато што нису плакали саХристом на путовањима понижењаЊегових. Нико се не може радоватипразнику Васкрсења ко се не радује факту(догађају) Васкрсења. А они који секрштењем уписаше у Христову војску, па сесада застидеше свога Војсковође, бићеизбрисани из Књиге живота и отерани утаму крајњу. Знате ли зашто? Зато што нећени по чем личити на Онога који за сада јошмилује а који ће онда по правди судити. Непознајем вас, рећи ће им Вечни Судија.Ничега сличног немате ни са мном. Јапознајем своје, и моји познају мене, а ви косте?


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О, нека би ваш удео, браћо, био саоним блаженима које Господ изабра иприми. А блажени су они који личише наГоспода. И бише малена огледала, у којимасе огледа Бог. Нико не може бити потпункао Он, али сви можемо личити на Њега.Треба при том знати, да није важно да миличимо на Господа Славе по сили и моћичудотворној. То је Он задржао у Својојруци, и то Он дарује коме хоће, како хоће, икада хоће. По величини силе чудотворненико се неће ни судити ни награђивати наСтрашноме Суду. Али је важно, и врловажно, да ми личимо на Господа по онихседам великих врлина: по чистоти, посмерности, по трудољубљу, по милосрђу, помолитвености, по трпљењу и праштању, ипо покорности вољи Божјој. У томе нијепостављена ни мера ни граница. Ту јеотворено непрегледно поље заподражавање, за надметање. Трку заврших,пише свети славни и свехвални апостолПавле. Сила чудотворна, моћ прорицања ивидовитости, што је од Господа, има заљуде кратку меру и блиску границу, али зарје могуће бити сувише чист и смеран,сувише трудољубив и милостив, молитвен итрпељив, великодушан и покоран вољиБожјој? Не. Никад нико од људи нијепретерао у томе. Не бојте се ни ви, да ћетепрекорачити меру у тим врлинама. Него сетрудите, попут светитеља, да будете сличниОноме који вам је створио лик човечји,трудите се све дотле докле Христовообличје не постане у вама (Гал. 4, 19). Дабудете слични Њему по чистоти, посмерности, по трудољубљу, по милосрђу, помолитвености, по трпљењу, по праштању ипо покорности вољи Божјој, да би били накрају слични Њему по васкрсењу. Да би Мубили на крају слични по вечној слави, авечна слава и вечни живот једно је исто.

Нити се може одвојити једно од другога уцарству Христовом. Да будемо, дакле,слични Њему на земљи, да би Му билислични и на небесима. Да будемо сличниЊему овде, да бисмо били распознатионамо. Еда би тако постали учасници славеЊегове вечите, и санаследници царстваЊеговог на небесима, заједно с ангелима исветитељима.

Васкрсли Господ нека би вазда биопосреди нас као што је био посредиапостола, и светлио нам примером својимна путу спасења, крепио нас љубављу БогаОца и оживљавао силом Духа свогживотворног, сада и навек. Амин.

Васкршња посланица, Охрид, 1929. г.


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An Easter Story.

There is the center cross of the . right-eous;There is the right cross of the penitent;And the left cross of the impenitent.

There were three crosses on Gol-gotha (The Skull) on the first Great andHoly Friday: the central Cross of ourLord God and Saviour Jesus Christ; andthe end crosses of the two sinners, ofDismas to the right and of Gestas to theleft. And there are three crosses in life.

All the three crosses stand forsuffering, yet each suffering differs fromone another. For one is the suffering ofthe righteous, another is the suffering ofthe penitent, and still another is the suf-fering of the impenitent.

Suffering of the righteous is theblessdness possessing the ideal Chris-tian virtues, or gained as chastisementthrough self - denial, leading into thesainthood. It is the nerve center of Or-thodox theology based upon the Beati-tudes preached by the Master in the Ser-mon on the Mount (Matt. 5:3-13 Lk.6:20-22), so eloquently described in theBook of Job and practiced by the Fa-thers of the Desert.

Suffering of the penitent is inreality his expiation for his wrong-doings, the penitence with hope for for-giveness and reconciliation with God.

For Christ said to the penitentthief. 'Truly I say to you, to-day you will be with Me in

Paradise." (Lk. 23, 43).Suffering of the impenitent is lifeless, theeternal death, of whom said the Lord:"And cast the worthless servant into theouter darkness; there men will weep andgnash their teeth." (Matt. 25, 30).Both the righteous and the penitent fullyrealize that their suffering is their spiritualremedy and they bear it with faith andhope.cheerfully for to them said the Lord:

'Take my yoke upon you, and learnfrom me; for I am gentle and lowly inheart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden islight." (Matt. 11:29-30).

But lost is the case of the impeni-tent for he knows not why he suffers. In-flicted by the deadly sins (pride, avarice,lust, envy, gluttony, anger, desperation),he is a hopeless ruin. He is painless andobdurate, and only feels hurt, insulted andcheated, and is never satisfied.

There are three ways in life to fol-low and the three crosses to cany, and manmust choose which way to follow andwhich cross to carry:

Either the cross of the righteous,Or the cross of the penitent;Or of the impenitent.

St. Nikolai


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Kada se Presvetoj Devi navr{i jedanaest godina prebivanja isluènja pri hramu Jerusalimskom, i~etrnaest godina od ro|enja—kada,dakle, stupi u 15-tu godinu nemoè vi{e ostati pri hramu, nego treba da seobru~i i stupi u brak. Nokako veliko iznena|enjeza sve sve{tenike biodgovor Presvete Deve, daje se ona posvetila Bogu ida èli ostati devojkomdo smrti ne stupaju}I nis kim u brak! Tada poPromislu i vnu{enjuBo`jem prvosve{tenikZaharija, otac Prete~ev,dogovorno sa ostalim sve{tenicima, sabra 12 bezènih ljudiiz plemena Davidova, da bi jednomeod njih uru~ili Devu Mariju na~uvanje devoja{tva njenog i staranjao njoj. I bi uru~ena starome Josifuiz Nazareta, koji joj be{e i srodnik.U domu Josifovom Presveta DevaproduÌ ìveti isto kao i u hramuSolomonovom, provode}i vreme u~itanju Sv. Pisma, u molitvama, bo-gorazmi{ljanju, postu i ru~nom radu.Gotovo nikada iz ku}e ne izlaza{e,niti se interesova{e svetskimstvarima i doga|ajima. Malo je s kimu op{te govorila, i nikad beznaro~ite potrebe. Naj~e{}e je u ku}i

op{tila sa dvema k}erima Josi-fovim. No kada se navr{I vremeprore~eno Danilom prorokom, i kadaBog blagovoli ispuniti obe}anjeSvoje izgnanom Adamu i prorocima,javi se veliki archangel Gavril uodaji Presvete Deve, I to, kako neki

sve{teni pisci pi{u, utrenutku ba{ kada je onadràla otvorenog prorokaIsajiju i razmi{ljala o nje-govom velikomproro~anstvu: gle, devojka }e za~eti i rodi}e sina! Javijoj se Gavril u svetlostiarhangelskoj i re~e joj:raduj se, blagodatna! Gospodje s tobom! I ostalo sve re-dom kako pi{e u Jevan|elju

boànstvenog Luke. Sa ovomarhangelskom blagove{}u, i sa silas-kom Duha Svetoga na Devu Pre~istu,otpo~inje spasenje ljudi i onavljanjetvari. Istoriju Novog Zaveta ot-vorio je archangel Gavrilo re~ju:Raduj se! da o znamenuje time, da NoviZavet ima da zna~I radost za ljude iza svu stvorenu tvar. Otuda IBlagovest se smatra koliko velikimtoliko i radosnim praznikom.

39Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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When the All-Holy Virgin completed thefourteenth year after her birth and was enteringher fifteenth year, after having spent elevenyears of living and serving in the Temple of Jeru-salem, the priests informed her that, accordingto the Law, she could not remain in the Templebut was required to be betrothed and enter intomarriage. What a great sur-prise to the priests was theanswer of the All-Holy Virginthat she had dedicated her lifeto God and that she desired toremain a Virgin until death,not wanting to enter into mar-riage with anyone! Then, ac-cording to Divine Providence,Zacharias, the high priest andfather of the Forerunner, underthe inspiration of God, and inagreement with the otherpriests, gathered twelve un-wed men from the Tribe of David to betroth theVirgin Mary to one of them to preserve her vir-ginity and to care for her. She was betrothed toJoseph of Nazareth who was her kinsman. In thehouse of Joseph, the All-Holy Virgin continued tolive as she did in the Temple of Solomon, occu-pying her time in the reading of Sacred Scrip-ture, in prayer, in Godly-thoughts, in fasting andin handywork. She rarely went anywhere outsidethe house nor was she interested in worldlythings and events. She spoke very little to any

one, if at all, and never without spe-cial need. More frequently she commu-

nicated with both of Joseph's daughters.

When the fullness of time had come, asprophesized by Daniel the Prophet, and whenGod was pleased to fulfill His promise to thebanished Adam and to the Prophets, the greatArchangel Gabriel appeared in the chamber ofthe All-Holy Virgin and, as some priestly writerswrote, precisely at that same moment when she

held open the book of the ProphetIsaiah and was contemplating hisgreat prophecy: "Behold, the vir-gin shall be with child, and bear ason!" (Isaiah 7:13). Gabriel ap-peared in all of his angelic bright-ness and saluted her: "Rejoice,highly favored one!

The Lord is with you" (St.Luke 1:28), and the rest in orderas it is written in the Gospel of thesaintly Luke. With this angelic an-nunciation and the descent of the

Holy Spirit upon the Virgin, the salvation of man-kind and restoration of all creation began. Thehistory of the New Testament was opened by thewords of the Archangel Gabriel: "Rejoice, highlyfavored one" This is to imply that the New Testa-ment was to signify joy to mankind and to allcreated things. It is from this that the Annuncia-tion is considered not only a great feast, but ajoyful feast as well

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