Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church 

 - Memory Eternal to Thy Servant the Archimandrite Alexander Pihach- 

1st Anniversary of Blessed Repose in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on October 7th, 2017.

Officiating Clergy:

Rector Of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, Father Leonard Herrem, Archpriest Vasil Kolega Russian Orthodox Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Toronto, ON.

Protodeacon Jesse Isaac Saint Herman Of Alaska Orthodox Church Edmonton AB.

The ceremony, which awes the souls of Christians, takes place in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. The date for Pascha is determined anew for every year. It must be a first Sunday after the spring equinox and Jewish Passover. Therefore, most of the time it differs from the date of Catholic and Protestant Easter, which is determined using different criteria. The Holy Fire is the most renowned miracle in the world of Eastern Orthodoxy. It has taken place at the same time, in the same manner, in the same place every single year for centuries. No other miracle is known to occur so regularly and so steadily over time. No other miracle is known to occur so regularly and so steadily over time. It happens in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the holiest place on earth, where Christ was crucified, entombed, and where He finally rose from the dead."I enter the tomb and kneel in holy fear in front of the place where Christ lay after His death and where He rose again from the dead... (narrates Orthodox Patriarch Diodor - ed.). I find my way through the darkness towards the inner chamber in which I fall on my knees.

Here I say certain prayers that have been handed down to us through the centuries and, having said them, I wait. Sometimes I may wait a few minutes, but normally the miracle happens immediately after I have said the prayers. From the core of the very stone on which Jesus lay an indefinable light pours forth. It usually has a blue tint, but the colour may change and take many different hues. It cannot be described in human terms. The light rises out of the stone as mist may rise out of a lake — it almost looks as if the stone is covered by a moist cloud, but it is light. This light each year behaves differently. Sometimes it covers just the stone, while other times it gives light to the whole sepulchre, so that people who stand outside the tomb and look into it will see it filled with light. The light does not burn — I have never had my beard burnt in all the sixteen years I have been Patriarch in Jerusalem and have received the Holy Fire. The light is of a different consistency than normal fire that burns in an oil lamp... At a certain point the light rises and forms a column in which the fire is of a different nature, so that I am able to light my candles from it. When I thus have received the flame on my candles, I go out and give the fire first to the Armenian Patriarch and then to the Coptic. Hereafter I give the flame to all people present in the Church."

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While the patriarch is inside the chapel kneeling in front of the stone, there is darkness but far from silence outside. One hears a rather loud mumbling, and the atmosphere is very tense. When the Patriarch comes out with the two candles lit and shining brightly in the darkness, a roar of jubilee resounds in the Church.[2]

The Holy Light is not only distributed by the Archbishop, but operates also by itself. It is emitted from the Holy Sepulchre with a hue completely different from that of natural light. It sparkles, it flashes like lightning, it flies like a dove around the tabernacle of the Holy Sepulchre, and lights up the unlit lamps of olive oil hanging in front of it. It whirls from one side of the church to the other. It enters some of the chapels inside the church, as for instance the chapel of the Calvery (at a higher level than the Holy Sepulchre) and lights up the little lamps. It lights up also the candles of certain pilgrims. In fact there are some very pious pilgrims who, every time they attended this ceremony, noticed that their candles lit up on their own accord!

His divine light also presents some peculiarities: As soon as it appears it has a bluish hue and does not burn. At the first moments of its appearance, if it touches the face, or the mouth, or the hands, it does not burn. This is proof of its divine and supernatural origin. We must also take into consideration that the Holy Light appears only by the invocation of an Orthodox Archbishop.[1]

It was an Historic moment that The Holy Fire was brought to Holy Resurrection on Wednesday evening May 27th 2017! By Subdeacon Vasil Maskal via Edmonton Alberta ! There were visitors from Saint Vincent's Orthodox Church that were in attendance along with Father Leonard and the faithful of Holy Resurrection! A joyous event with an Akathist of Thanksgiving was celebrated and everyone received a lit candle and many attempted take it home to illuminate their homes. At the close Lorraine Grier lead us in the singing of Christ is Risen! 

St. Elijah's Romanian Orthodox Church, Lennard, MB

April 3, 2017 Prayers 7pm (Manitoba time)

April 4, 2017 Funeral Service 10am (Manitoba time)

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Services at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, Saskatoon

April 6, 2017 Funeral Prayers 6:30pm

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April 7, 2017 Divine Liturgy Funeral Service 10am (Interment following at Woodlawn Cemetary)

Written by Monk Seraphim

It is with great sadness that Archpriest Orest Olekshy the founding Father of Holy Resurrection has fallen asleep in the Lord. March 28th 2017 in Melville SK. May his memory be eternal! Funeral arrangements are forthcoming.
 

God Grant You Many Years!

Join us this week to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!

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Wednesday, December 21 6 PM Holy Unction
Friday, December 23 7 PM Royal Hours
Saturday, December 24 10 AM Divine Liturgy
Sunday, December 25 10 AM Divine Liturgy

Brad Jersak is an author and teacher based in Abbotsford, BC, where he attends Fresh Wind Christian Fellowship and serves as Reader at All Saints of North America Monastery. His heart is to share the good news that God is Love and that God’s love was shown to us perfectly in Jesus of Nazareth. Through his books and seminars, Brad teaches that anyone can learn to hear God’s voice through the simple practice of ”listening prayer.” Those who practice listening prayer find that God’s love heals wounded hearts and empowers them to heal this broken world.

Brad Jersak’s foundational book, “Can You Hear Me? Tuning in to the God who speaks” trains readers in the ways of “Listening Prayer.” This book provides biblical teaching and 33 practical exercises for tuning in to God’s voice.

Brad self-identifies as a follower of Christ. His spiritual journey includes his confession of faith and trinitarian baptism in the Baptist General Conference; followed by membership and ordination in the the Conference of Mennonites in BC. Then after planting and serving in a “small-c” charismatic church plant, he was chrismated and ordained as a Reader in the Orthodox Church (OCA).  He is comfortable ministering with Orthodox, evangelicals and charismatics across the spectrum.

Pannihida              Wednesday October 12, 6:00 PM
                                 Choir rehearsal to follow.
 
Pannihida              Friday October 14,  6:00 PM  with Fr. Alexander's body
 
Pannihida              Saturday October 15, 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM
 
Vespers                   Saturday 6:00 PM
 
Divine Liturgy       Sunday  10:00 AM
 
Pannihida                                  6:00 PM
 
Pannihida               Monday October 17, 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM
 
Funeral Service for the Burial of a Priest Monday October 17, 7:00 PM at Holy Family Cathedral 123 Nelson Road.
 
Vigil with Fr. Alexander at Holy Resurrection all night.
 
Memorial Divine Liturgy Tuesday October 18, 10:00 AM at Holy Family Cathedral 123 Nelson Road.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Please remember in your holy prayers the soul of our beloved Father Alexander Pihach who fell asleep in the Lord this morning in Toronto.
More details will follow when available.
Memory eternal+
Вечная память+

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Q: Why do we only use beeswax candles in church?

A: There are two main reasons why the church uses 100 % beeswax candles instead of those which are paraffin-based. On one level, a spiritual level, beeswax is a pure substance which burns cleanly and leaves behind the slight, sweet aroma of honey; ergo it is a pure offering. As St. Simeon of Thessalonika writes, "Beeswax, as a most pure substance, represents our pure and sincere offering; beeswax as a soft substance represents our obedience and readiness to repent of our sins of our life; beeswax gathered from fragrant flowers represents the grace of the Holy Spirit; beeswax produced from a multitude of flowers represents an offering made by all Christians; beeswax as a burning substance represents our nature being purified by divine fire; and beeswax, which the fire consumes while the light burns continually, represents the unity and strength of our mutual love and peace."

On another more practical level, because beeswax burns cleaner, it does not deposit an oily, sooty film throughout the church like paraffin candles do. Therefore beeswax, on all levels, has been the candle of choice for centuries.

Father John Memoerich Arch Angel Michael Church Cleveland Ohio USA

This Sunday parishioners of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church visited Diefenbaker Park and participated in a small pilgrimage in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

Salvation in Orthodox Christianity, as taught in the Holy Scriptures, begins with being forgiven, and then ultimately "getting to" heaven, but the process is much more than that.  It means being healed, purified, illumined and transformed by God by His Divine Energy into a similitude of God [Jas 4:9], which will bring us into union with Him. It is the process in which humans are completed or “perfected” [see Heb 10:14 among others], “divinizing” us, making us “Christ-like” or more accurately “assimilated to God”, through the Energization of His Power.  When we are in perfect harmony with God [in the Gr. “synergy”--1Cor 3:9 ‘for we are God’s synergisers’], the Holy Spirit energizes within us, transforming us, and then we too radiate this Uncreated Light.  Just as the saints radiate this Light of Christ; “All our faces were unveiled, and we beheld in a mirror the same image [Gr. “ikon”], transformed by the glory into glory, the glory of the Lord” [2 Cor 3:18].  “And having put on the new, getting renewed into full knowledge, into an image [or ‘icon’] of the One that created him” [Col3:10].  Which is why we make icons of the saints radiating this “glory of the Lord”.

Q.: Why do we repeat "Lord Have Mercy" so often in the Liturgy.

A: The mercy of God is the healing ointment for the wounded soul and heart. The Greek word for "mercy"  has the same root as the Greek word for olive oil. In a sense, we are praying, "Lord, anoint me." Anoint me the with healing oil of Your mercy. "Lord, have mercy," is the cry of every human heart that is afflicted, that is wounded and in need of comfort. "Lord, anoint me with the healing oil of Your love and compassion. Soothe my troubled soul and mind and lighten the burden of my struggles. Anoint my soul with peace and hope that are in Thee, our Lord and Creator. Anoint me with the grace of Thy Holy Spirit and strengthen my wavering heart."

(Taken from blog Eastern & Oriental : One Orthodox Faith post by Archbishop Lazar Puhalo)

The troparion of the feast which was, one might say, the “national anthem” sung on all public occasions in the Christian Empires of Byzantium and Russia, originally petitioned God to save the people, to grant victory in war and to preserve the empire “by the virtue of the Cross.” Today the troparion, and all the hymns of the day, are “spiritualized” as the “adversaries” become the spiritually wicked and sinful including the devil and his armies, and “Orthodox Christians” replace the names of ruling officials of the Empire.

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Troparion of the Elevation of the Cross

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O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance. Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians over their adversaries; and by the virtue of Thy Cross, preserve Thy habitation.

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(Troparion and information taken from OCA website)