Today is Holy Friday, or Good Friday as it is often called in the west. Today is the most solemn of days – the strictest fasting day in the entire year. Beginning today at 9:00 a.m. we essentially live in the parish church, going home from time to time to rest. The schedule of services for this day is:

9:00 a.m. Royal Hours for Pascha
1:00 p.m. Vespers for Holy Saturday (Brining forth of the Burial Icon of Christ for Veneration of the Faithful)
6:00 p.m. Matins for Holy Saturday (Burial Service of Christ with Lamentations and Procession)

Please join us as your personal schedule allows – please join us not less than once today. We have many services so that everyone can attend at least some of the services. Please don't miss this day – it is important. Important for all of us as we keep watch with the Myrrh Bearing Women, Joseph, and Nicodemus as our Lord is taken down from the Cross, Buried, and begins His ascent into Hell, the captives of which have already anticipated their emancipation based on the preaching of St. John the Baptist there. When we are present in the parish church for the Divine Services we are mystical present at the actual historical/theological events that we commemorate. It is good to be with Christ in His glory on Pascha, but also important to be with Him on this most sober day of the year.

Please join us on our live stream for the Divine Service of Matins for Holy Friday (the service of the 12 Passion Gospels) NOW. The live stream URL is:

http://www.stvladimiraami.org:8000/liturgy.ogg.m3u

We will stream these other services of Holy Week and Bright Week:

Friday 4/29/16 6:00 p.m. - Matins for Holy Saturday (Funeral Service of our Lord)

Saturday 4/30/16 8:00 a.m. - Vesperal Liturgy for Holy Saturday

Saturday 4/30/16 11:15 p.m. - Midnight Office for Pascha

SUNDAY 5/1/16 12:00 a.m. - Matins, Hours, Divine Liturgy for Pascha

Please join us on the live stream if you are not able to be with us in person at St. Vladimir's!

Here we provide the Synaxarion for Holy Thursday for the edification of our readers. This week we will provide the Synaxarion for each day of Holy Week for our readers so that even if one cannot attend the Divine Services one can still remain connected to the progress of this week. Please join us at St. Vladimir's as your personal schedule allows!

English:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/46063.htm

Russian:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/put/1866.htm

Please note that our annual Paschal Children's Liturgy is set for May 2. That is, on Bright Monday morning. This is important to attend to because we are urging parents to have their children excused from school on May 2 if at all possible. At least for the morning. We realize this is not as convenient as having the Liturgy on a Saturday, but because of some scheduling conflicts that cannot be resolved we have to serve on Monday this year. Thank you for your understanding and please plan to join us! Parents should sign up for their children to fill the various duties surrounding the Divine Liturgy at this link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/137Tvs8DyJyoluZ-2N0lrWu06RjLDLITO4aGzU92FSQg/edit?usp=sharing

We are seeking readers to read the Acts of the Apostles in as many languages as possible again this year. Since this tradition has grown in popularity in recent years this year we will again begin the reading of the Acts of the Apostles at 9:00 p.m. on Holy Saturday, April 30. This reading sends a very important and stark message: Christianity is the faith for all peoples. Thus, we try to read the Acts before the tomb of Christ in as many languages as we can. Last year we read in 14 languages. Let's break that record this year! Contact our Head Reader, Ken Doll, to sign up for your slot to read in the language of your choice.

Here we provide the Synaxarion for Holy Wednesday for the edification of our readers. This week we will provide the Synaxarion for each day of Holy Week for our readers so that even if one cannot attend the Divine Services one can still remain connected to the progress of this week. Please join us at St. Vladimir's as your personal schedule allows!

English:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/46062.htm

Russian:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/put/1865.htm

Please plan to come to Confession for Pascha early! All those who confess beginning on Friday, April 22 do not have to confess afterwards again in order to go to Communion on Pascha itself or for the entire Bright Week. Everyone should be planning to go to Communion on Pascha, as this is the Feast of Feasts, the most important spiritual day of the Orthodox year. Please see Fr. Gregory with questions, and PLEASE come early to Confession!

Here we provide the Synaxarion for Holy Tuesday for the edification of our readers. This week we will provide the Synaxarion for each day of Holy Week for our readers so that even if one cannot attend the Divine Services one can still remain connected to the progress of this week. Please join us at St. Vladimir's as your personal schedule allows!

English:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/46061.htm

Russian:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/put/1691.htm

Please note that Great Lent began this year on March 14. During Great Lent we abstain from meat and dairy products including fish (although fish is allowed on the Annunciation – April 7, and Palm Sunday – April 24). Let us recall that fasting is a tool given to us by God to aid us spiritually. For some it is easy to fast, for others it is difficult. However, what is most important is that we make a sincere effort to follow the fast. Why? Simply because the fast helps us to see our sins by helping us to focus spiritually. Eating “light” foods, or perhaps rather, abstaining from “heavy” foods such as meats and cheeses, allows us to be less focused on our stomachs and more focused on our souls, and of course, in this season when we undergo our journey to the Resurrection of our Lord we dearly wish to improve ourselves spiritually that we might meet the risen Christ better than we were when we began Great Lent. St. John Chrysostom writes that we abstain from meats that we might abstain from our sins. This nicely sums up the reason the Holy Church, as a loving mother, gives us the gift of fasting. Pascha is May 1 – may God grant us all a spiritually profitable Great Lent!

In order to better share the sounds of our parish (Divine Services, Lectures, Sermons, etc.) we have created a new blog entitled "Sound of the Parish". You can find the blog here:

http://soundoftheparish.blogspot.com/

Please take a moment to sign up for email updates on the right side of the browser window of the blog. That way each time we post a new sound file you will be alerted via email. Those who follow us on Twitter will also receive a notification of each posted file. Please join us on "Sound of the Parish"!