Dear St. Paul Church family,
As you may have noticed, John Filippakis has returned to continue the efforts of beautifying the church Nave with iconography according to the Ancient Byzantine Tradition within Holy Orthodoxy.
Please take care when entering for the Divine Services this Sunday as the scaffolding is setup beneath the western arch in the back of the church Nave.
Naturally, parents of small children will need to be especially careful not to let the curious little ones play underneath the equipment.
What is going up?
The western arch will be dedicated to the most sweet Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. The icons being installed, by the grace of God include:
- Nativity of the Theotokos
- Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple
- Dormition of the Theotokos
- Theotokos of the Life-Giving Spring
Above the exit will be an icon of the Epitaphios (i.e. Burial Lamentations).
Why all of this?
Why do Orthodox Christians continue the ancient Tradition of beautifying the church with iconography, flowers, decorative furniture, and so forth?
His Grace Bishop +ANTHONY of the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest offers one of many practical (and powerful) answers:
“If we are receiving the most important person we know, the person we love and need the most for dinner, wouldn’t we put out our best china and utensils and table cloths and seat them at the polished dining room table? Don’t we want to give Jesus our Savior, who comes to visit us in His Church and to give us His Holy Body and Blood, the best we have, our very best? It cost Him everything He is to save us. Shouldn’t it cost us something — much less than He gave for us — to receive Him? Doesn’t love demand that?” Continue Reading…
By the grace of God, the iconography work continues to be generously donated without ever impacting our operating budget. This is a great blessing for our community.
In so long as we struggle, because nothing worthy comes without a struggle, and remain faithful to the Orthodox Christian faith revealed to the world, God will bless the community and continue to grow the parish.
May our church walls, and more importantly our lives, boldly proclaim the truth of the Holy Gospel to a world gasping for breathe.
+++
“…Now, as an Orthodox Christian with the icons front and center in the Church, it is the most natural thing in the world to look at Christ while I’m praying to Him. Eye contact with Jesus Christ keys my mind on Him as I pray, realizing that one day we will see Him face to face…” Continue Reading…
+Archpriest Peter E. Gillquist (Memory Eternal)
