Patriarchal Paschal Encyclical 2020

The Serbian Orthodox Church to her spiritual children at Pascha, 2020 

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By the Grace of God

Orthodox Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, with all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church to all the clergy, monastics, and all the sons and daughters of our Holy Church: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, with the joyous Paschal greeting:

Christ is Risen!

This is the day of Resurrection; let us be illumined by the feast!
Let us embrace each other joyously! Let us say even to those
who hate us: Let us forgive all by the Resurrection;
and so let us cry: Christ is risen from the dead,
trampling down death by death,
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!
[The Stichera of Pascha from Matins]

Here we are, dear brothers and sisters and dear spiritual children, in the festivity and joy of the great Feast Day: Pascha. Today is the Feast Day of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us rejoice and celebrate! Pascha is our greatest feast day, the feast of the victory of Life over death, God over Satan, Man, in Christ Jesus, over sin. Christ is risen from the dead! Let us say it to all and make glad all and everyone, even those who hate Him, the Resurrected God Man, and us, His inheritance here on earth, and those who do not believe and still doubt that He is the Redeemer and Savior of the world.

Palm Sunday (The Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem)

On the Sunday before the Feast of Great and Holy Pascha and at the beginning of Holy Week, the Orthodox Church celebrates one of its most joyous feasts of the year. Palm Sunday is the commemoration of the Entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem following His glorious miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. Having anticipated His arrival and having heard of the miracle, the people went out to meet the Lord and welcomed Him with displays of honor and shouts of praise. On this day, we receive and worship Christ in this same manner, acknowledging Him as our King and Lord. 

St Sava, Archbishop of Serbia

The son of Stefan Nemanja, the great Serbian national leader, he was born in 1169. As a young man he yearned for the spiritual life, which led him to flee to the Holy Mountain, where he became a monk and with rare zeal followed all the ascetic practices. Nemanja followed his son"s example and himself went to the Holy Mountain, where he lived and ended his days as the monk Simeon. Sava obtained the independence of the Serbian Church from the Emperor and the Patriarch, and became its first archbishop. He, together, with his father, built the monastery of Hilandar and after that many other monasteries, churches and schools throughout the land of Serbia. He travelled to the Holy Land on two occasions, on pilgrimage to the holy places there. He made peace among his brothers, who were in conflict over their rights, and also between the Serbs and their neighbours. In creating the Serbian Church, he created the Serbian state and Serbian culture along with it. He brought peace to all the Balkan peoples, working for the good of all, for which he was venerated and loved by all on the Balkan peninsular. He gave a Christian soul to the people of Serbia, which survived the fall of the Serbian state. He died in Trnovo in the reign of King Asen, being taken ill after the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Theophany in 1236. King Vladislav took his body to Milegeva, whence Sinan Pasha removed it, burning it at Vracar in Belgrade on April 27th, 1595.

извор: www.crkvenikalendar.com

Saint Nicholas the Miracle-Worker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia

This saint, famed throughout the entire world today, was the only son of his eminent and wealthy parents, Theophanes and Nona, citizens of Patara in Lycia. They dedicated to God the only son He gave them. St Nicholas was instructed in the spiritual life by his uncle Nicholas, Bishop of Patara (see below), and became a monk at 'New Sion', a monastery founded by his uncle.

Homily on the day of Archangel Michael

svetiarhangelmihailoOur Creator has made us in such a way that we are composed of both the earthly and the heavenly. Because our body is made from dust it is like unto dust, but because our soul was breathed into us by God's lips, we have our origin in the heavens. There are things seen, such as the many and various bodies; there are also things unseen, such as the Angels, simple spirits, not made from any kind of matter. We possess the qualities of creatures both material and immaterial, and I can say that although the Creator has given us the greater ascetic struggle because of these nearly opposite natures, we are nevertheless obligated to preserve a precise balance between them, so that by observing what is natural to the body we do not violate the demands of the soul; and by protecting the soul's privilege, we do not neglect the needs of the body. 

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St.Sava church adress:
89 Lancaster Road
London
W11 1QQ
Telephone: 020 7727 8367
E-mail: crkva@spclondon.org.uk

 

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