St George Greek Orthodox Church

Blessed Sunday of the Triumphal Entry!
We are blessed to look forward to a full Holy Week of services. Father James will celebrate the Liturgy today and the first service of Bridegroom Matins this evening, then return on Holy Thursday through Pascha. See the full schedule here:
https://www.facebook.com/saint.george.redding/events

Blessed feast!

New catechism class: The new (ecclesiastical) year is almost upon us and we are preparing for a new catechism session. This is for everyone, whether you're merely interested in the Orthodox Church and have decided to pursue baptism.

This session will be taught in-person at Saint George, with support from Father Christopher Flesoras in Roseville as he teaches from the same curriculum. Call, text, email, or message us if you are interested in joining!

We will be using the book "Know the Faith: A Handbook for Orthodox Christians and Inquirers"

'Grandma would put a scarf over her head, kneel, pray, and weep into her headscarf and wipe her tears with the end of her scarf. She only knew “Our Father” and a couple other prayers, but do I have her prayer? Father Dimitrie Bejan and Elder Cleopa saw a peasant woman wearing leather slippers who was praying and had a large flame of fire above her head. We need to arrive at this level of prayer. Either it is fire, or it is nothing. And then we won’t have to make requests from the government to give us things. We appeal to the God of lights and to the fire of prayer. '

Fr. Ioanichie Balan: Let’s Start With Prayer I will ask you: “How much do you pray, brother?” And from that I understand why you do or do not have peace.

Χρόνια Πολλά - blessed feast of Saint Anna! An especially joyous patronal feast to our sister parish in Roseville as they celebrate the elevation of Deacon Lukas to the Holy Priesthood in a hierarchical liturgy served by His Eminence Gerasimos!

St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church, Roseville, CA Saint Anna Parish is a vibrant, youthful, and Christ-centered community of the Metropolis of San Francisco of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Today we commemorate Saint Christina the Great Martyr. Born to a powerful pagan family and named Christina for unclear reasons, this exceptionally beautiful girl was kept isolated until marriageable age. During this time, she was made to worship to idols her parents had placed in her room. Looking at the stars, she intuited that the one God who made the universe was the true God and that the lifeless idols could do nothing. Receiving assurance and instruction from an angel, she smashed the idols and incurred the wrath of her father. He intended to torture her but dropped dead. His successor tortured her terribly but she gave up her soul to God.

Her relics currently reside in Italy where despite being 1700 years old, her body remains incorruptible, a testament to this Holy Martyr's purity.

May Saint Christina pray to God for us all!

Today we celebrate Saint Marina. She was a pious youth who chose Christ as her bridegroom and refused to marry a pagan, who demanded that she offer sacrifice to an idol, which she denounced as lifeless and undeserving of the honor which belongs only to God. While in prison, the devil visited her in the form of a snake. She smashed it with a hammer, which is where we get this bangin’ icon.

Sisoës, the great among Ascetics, stood before the tomb of Alexander, Emperor of the Greeks, who at one time had shone with glory; and horrified by the inexorable passing of time and the vanity of this transient world, “Lo!” he cried aloud, “Beholding thee, O Grave, I fear the judgement of God and I weep, for the common destiny of all mankind comes to mind!... O Death, who can escape thee?”

(From the Life of St. Sisoës the Great, celebrated July 6)

God is glorious in His saints! A diverse group of about 40 pilgrims from across the North State gathered today at the Monastery of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco to celebrate his feast day. Abbot Innocent told stories of his life and we listened to an account of his glorification. Abbot Innocent also held a brief beekeeping demonstration and led us on a tour of the monastery including the candle making facility. A truly blessed day!

The monastery of Saint John in Manton is celebrating their patronal feast this Wednesday, July 2! This is a great opportunity to visit a local monastery and celebrate a local saint, a great wonderworker of our times.

There is a vigil at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1 and Divine Liturgy on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.

If you are visiting, please follow the directions found here: https://monasteryofstjohn.org/contact/

Glory to God! We welcomed six new people into the Body of Christ this afternoon: Joseph (Saint Joseph the Hesychast), Olga (Saint Olga of Alaska), George (Saint George The Great Martyr), Raphael (Raphael the Archangel), Jacob (Saint Jacob of Alaska), and Dymphna (Saint Dymphna of Ireland)

This was a beautiful service! Congratulations to the newly illumined and thank you to everyone who made this happen, especially Father Chris from St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church, Roseville, CA