Dear Friends:

Here is the schedual of services, for those interested in sharing the Holy Days at St. Elias.


Services at St. Elias
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Eparchy of Toronto & Eastern Canada.

For further information please log on to www.saintelias.com


Holy & Great Thursday:
5pm Vespers/Divine Liturgy of St. Basil [Eng./Ukr.]
8pm Twelve Passion Gospels [Eng.]

Great & Holy Friday:
10am Royal Hours [Eng./Ukr.]
6pm Vespers of Entombment [Eng./Ukr.]
9pm Jerusalem Matins-Vigil at the Grave [Eng.]

Great and Holy Saturday:
9am Jerusalem Matins [Ukr.]
4pm Vespers/Divine Liturgy of St. Basil
The Paschal Vigil Liturgy with 15 Readings

Pascha
5am Final Vigil with Removal of Shroud

Then,
beginning at 6am and ending about 10am:

Resurrection Matins/Divine Liturgy/Blessing of Easter Food.

7pm Agape Vespers and Fellowship.


Blessed Pascha to all.

defreitas

Although, I can't make it for Pascha, I certainly hope very soon to attend a Liturgy at this great Church!!!!

God bless and a Happy Pascha to the community of St ELias!!!

Dear Parishioners of St Elias,

Your site does indeed provide many useful links and I think I'm beginning to actually understand you . . .

Your excellent section on Altar Servers is, well, excellent.

Do your servers receive the blessing from the priest prior to Liturgy?

I've never seen the ripidia held over the Gospel Book like that before - where does that tradition emanate from?

I guess I'll have to come and see for myself . . .

If you'll have me . . .

I promise to behave.

Alex

XPICTOC BOCKPECE!

I heard that St. Elias did a Paskhal Procession thing at the end of Divine Liturgy! That sounds really NEAT!

And they stopped at the 4 "corners" around the Church and read various Resurrectional Gospels, with the clergy (and even those who were not serving the Liturgy joining in) fully vested!

Coolness Rules!

All this apparently before some kind of big Water fight thing, with kids (soaking each other with Water rifles and such).

Are these things pretty widespread amongst all Orthodox Churches in Communion with Rome? I had not heard about this before...

Christ is Risen!

Herb

Yeah, their site provides so much useful info that even Old Calendarist Greek Orthodox link their pages. See?

http://www.stirene.org/orthodoxviews/orthodoxviews_index.htm

+ XPICTOC BOCKPECE +

Alex -- yes, the servers receive the blessing before they vest in the stikhar. They also get a blessing at the end of the service.

Holding the ripidia over the gospel probably comes from the usage at hierarchal services. Although according to some sources this is only permitted to be used by bishops and archimandrites that have the right to vest in the centre of the church (a strange yet interesting rubric), I have seen it at some "Metropolia" parishes as common parochial practice.

Herbigny, yes, what you say is all true. The procession, called a Khrestni Khod (or Protsesini Pokhid in Ukrainian -- Metropolitan HILARION (Ohienko)) is prescribed for every day of Bright Week and also can be done on Patronal Feasts Days or other major feasts.

Chtec, the link you posted did not work on my computer, but if you could send it to the webmaster of St. Elias -- Hieromonk Richard -- he would surely be interested and humoured.

Daniil

Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti!

Dear Alex, we hold the ripidia over the priest not only when he reads the Gospel, but for other solemn occasions, such as at the Great Entrance when he elevates the chalice and diskos. We also use them for processions and other solemn occasions. Our altar boys also receive a blessing before they vest and receive one before they unvest. They didn't any of that before this subdeacon came along.

The Saint Elias page info is truly an excellent primer for altar servers. Another more detailed guide of servers instructions with diagrams and definitions is "The Subdeacon's Manual" by Kirill Sokolov. This is the "summa" of instructions for serving when the Bishop is present. Another very good basic server's guide is the ROCOR's "The Divine Liturgy: A General Guide for Altar Servers" which used to be distributed by Pantokrator Press.

Subdeacon Randy saith: "Our altar boys also receive a blessing before they vest and receive one before they unvest. They didn't any of that before this subdeacon came along."

Thus say I: if you are talking about our Temple, it is a moot point, since we did not have servers before you mystically appeared, and came with your entorage.

AK

XPICTOC BOCKPECE

1. Why do the Servers ask for a blessing at the end of Liturgy? I can understand getting a blessing at the beginning, as a blessing/authorization to serve; or getting a blessing before any specific service, like the Reader getting one before doing the Apostle Reading. But after?

2. From what I heard, that Water Fight thing sounds fascinating. Must make a lot of kids want to go to Church during Bright Week!!! Is it prescribed in the Typik?

3. Daniil, if I may be so bold to ask a supplementary question: Why is there a Procession? The Great Friday one's recall the Funeral Procession with Christ's Body. The Paskhal Matins one recalls the Journey of the Holy Myrrhbearing Women. What's this one all about?

Christ is Risen!

Herb

And Happy Bright Monday!

My Dear Alex:

For the complete answers to all your questions you will indeed have to come to St. Elias.

I would though, like to tell you about something that happened Sunday morning at Pascha services.

Sometime during the service Ilya, our Cantor, noticed that his three year old nephew Nicolai was causing a little disturbance.

He came up to the child, bent down, and started to speak to him; I noticed that the child nodded his head in agreement to Ilya's questions.

Ilya took Nicolai in his arms, carried him into the sanctuary, brought him to Father Roman at the altar, who then gave the child a blessing.

Ilya disappeared with him into the vestry and after a few moments came out with Nicolai dressed in a miniature stikarion.

The child then stood quietly by his uncle during the rest of the service.

"Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven"


defreitas

Dear Jose,

Christ is Risen!

Yes, that happened to me (or something very similar) when I was very young at St Nicholas' Church.

Fr. Stepan Chabursky was serving and indicated to me to come forward with my brother.

We didn't know it then, but this was the grandfather of both of our future brides . . .

Alex

XPUCTOC BOCKPEC!

Dear All:

A real pleasure to read that parishes are getting to the point that the rypidy are being used for the entrances and during the gospel readings during the Divine Liturgy. Just another example of how far we've come.

As far as the "altar boys" receiving blessings, I think this is sort of cool.

Here's a question, though. Should we consider instituting a Candlebearer's ordination as well as Reader, Cantor and Subdeacon? On one hand, it would be nice to have our altar boys have this special blessing.

On the other hand, does a ten year old have the mental capacity to understand that he is being "ordained" into an important position within the church? Also, how many moms who didn't know better would freak out when they found out that their sons had just taken the first step in holy orders to priesthood?

Finally, on the water fight - I think this probably harkens back to the traditional "oblyvanyj ponedilok" (or, "soaked Monday") wherein young lads in Ukraine would go after a girl they liked with a bucket of water on Bright Monday. Endearing way to ask someone out, don't you think?

Yours,

kl

Dear Krilos Leader,

BOICTUHY BOCKPEC!

The girl so dunked would probably think the boys "all wet..."

I think Cantors should be consecrated as I believe they are regarded as clergy in our Church, are they not?

I don't know about the blessing for the other roles, but altar servers sometimes have an "induction blessing" and thereafter ask for blessings before serving - and apparently after.

But the study of these liturgical rubrics fascinates me - it shows the great depth and complexity of the rich and meaningful liturgical actions of our Church!

I suppose one learns all this by study of texts and by constant participation in the services (?)

But I take it that St Elias Church is among the more advanced parishes in this regard (d'ya think? )

What if one is trained in the "usage" of St Elias, that is, in all the Byzantine "bells and whistles," but then serves in a parish where things are done differently? Can this be confusing?

Also, what about the ringing of the bell for the Creed and also for the "Dostoyno Yest" afterwards?

I thought such bell-ringing in Church was Latin?

Alex

Dear Alex:

From what I understand, there are four "lower orders" in our church:

1. Candlebearer
2. Reader
3. Cantor
4. Subdeacon

... in addition to the three higher orders of deadon, priest and bishop (lie I needed to tell you that).

I also udnerstand that each of the lower orders has it own "ordination" ceremony (albeit a breif one). I'm also pretty sure that they can be administered one after the other a la how we do the Royal Hours on Great and Holy Friday.

However, in modern practice, I think they are generally administered to those who will ultimately become deacons or priests (with, of course many notable exceptions on this borad). Just another tradition that we need to re-capture, I guess.

Can anyone confirm my understanding?

Yours,

kl

Dear KL,

Well, I certainly can't hold a candle to you!

Well done!

Do you think our Administrator is an ordained Cantor?

If one isn't, how does one become a Cantor, apart from having a great voice and knowing one's way around liturgical music?

Alex