St. Anatoly of Optina said that it is better to come late and stay to the end of Liturgy than to come early and leave early. As a parish we are very good at the come late part. :) But that is not what this little instruction is about. Oddly,in the last couple of months we have picked up the bad habit of leaving immediately after Holy Communion rather than staying to the very end of the Divine Liturgy on Sundays. It is not clear where that came from. In the 40 year history of our parish that has never been a problem. Until now. So let us kill this weed immediately by supporting each other to stay until the end of the Divine Liturgy. That is, until the Thanksgiving Prayers after Communion have concluded and the Royal Doors are closed. There are only two types of people that need to listen to the Thanksgiving Prayers: those that communed should thank God for the great gift that He has given them as they listen to the prayers, and those who did not commune should ask God to help them to partake at the soonest opportunity. All others may ignore these prayers. Let us be diligent to stay until the end of the Divine Liturgy to receive the blessing of having fully participated in our community worship on Sunday morning. Yes – undoubtedly there will come a time when you have to leave early. But that should be the exception and not the rule. Let us make our rule to stay until the very end of the Divine Liturgy!

Fr. Gregory

We present here a short educational offering for both children and adults on the upcoming Sunday's principle Gospel reading so that all can better prepare for the Divine Services. Parents are asked to review the children’s portion with their children. It is very important for us to attend the Divine Services on Sundays and whenever else we are able, but in addition it is our spiritual responsibility to educate ourselves and our families in the faith. It is our hope that this mid-week offering will be an aid in this regard. Please contact Fr. Gregory with questions or suggestions.

For Adults: from the writings of Blessed Theophylact

For Youth: from the Antiochian Archdiocese (various age groups)

We just received word from Food Gatherers that we have recently donated 2000 pounds of food to their feeding program. Thank you to everyone who has made it their good habit to bring non-perishable food items to church! And if you haven’t picked up that good habit yet: please give yourself a little push and ask the Lord’s help to acquire this good habit. With our small effort and God’s Grace all things are possible! Now Food Gatherers needs most: canned soups, canned meats (tuna, chicken, etc.), dry pasta, and rice. Need to buy those things for your family? Thrown one more can or box into your shopping cart and invest, as St. John Chrysostom says, in the stomachs of those in need, for the dividends are treasure in Heaven!

An information sheet, a sign up, and a volunteer sign up are all available at the web site of the Ann Arbor Orthodox Classical Academy - our parish school!

LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP

Please plan to join us for the feast of St. Jonah of Hankow on Tuesday, October 19 at 6:00 p.m. for Evening Services and on Wednesday, October 20 at 8:00 a.m. for Divine Liturgy.

Following the Liturgy on Wednesday we will have our Pre-K catechism. More information and a sign up sheet can be found here:

WEDNESDAY CATECHISM
And also our first Mother’s Group meeting of the year! PLEASE JOIN US FOR BOTH THESE ACTIVITIES!

In addition to the usual Tuesday/Wednesday cycle we will also have services for the Synaxis of the Optina Elders (All English Cycle) on Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m.

If you cannot come to the Evening Services or Liturgy please try to join us on one of our live streams:

Find STV Live Streams
As of August 20, 2021 we recommend (but do not mandate) masking for indoor activities.

Learn More: St. Jonah of Hankow – English

Learn More: St. Jonah of Hankow – Russian

Learn More: Synaxis of the Optina Elders – English

Learn More: Synaxis of the Optina Elders – Russian

“It is not right to correct a brother at the moment when he is doing something wrong, or at any other time for the sake of getting back our own.”

+ Venerable Dorotheos of Gaza

"This is the cause of all evils: the ignorance of the Scriptures. We go into battle without arms, and how ought we to come off safe?" -St. John Chrysostom, Homily IX on Colossians.

In order to help increase the general knowledge of scripture in our parish family we present here for your edification the scripture readings for the coming week. At least one Gospel Reading and one Epistle reading are assigned for each day of the year (although during Great Lent the readings are from the Old Testament). Hearing or reading only those readings appointed for Sunday merely scratches the surface of the great spiritual wealth that the scriptures provide us. Some of the readings are easily understandable – others are less so. As Orthodox Christians we do not make private interpretation of scripture, but rather consult the fathers of the Church for their explanations to aid us in our understanding. Those wishing to have access to such explanations are asked to contact Fr. Gregory or inquire in the kiosk for further reading in this regard. Bibles may also be acquired in the kiosk.

Monday: Ephesians 4:25-32 & Luke 6:24-30
Tuesday: Ephesians 5:20-26 & Luke 6:37-45
Wednesday: Ephesians 5:25-33 & Luke 6:25-7:1
Thursday: Ephesians 5:33-6:9 & Luke 7:17-30
Friday: Ephesians 6:18-24 & Luke 7:31-35
Saturday: I Corinthians 15:39-45 & Luke 5:27-32

Please find below several very nice articles on how to read the scripture from an Orthodox point of view.

By St. Justin (Popovich):

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/bible_how.aspx

By Bishop Kalistos (Ware):

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/ware_howto.aspx

Our weekly bulletin, "Sunday Reading", has been posted at the following link:

THIS WEEK'S "SUNDAY READING"

Please join us for a live broadcast of today's Divine Liturgy beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the following link:

ST. VLADIMIR AUDIO LIVE STREAM
VIDEO LIVE STREAM
Please remember - the stream only broadcasts live services. If you would like to listen to previously recorded and edited services please visit our sound blog:
SOUND OF THE PARISH BLOG
If you would like to view past services please visit our YouTube page:

ST. VLADIMIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Please find this week's issue of "The Good News" at the link below. This bulletin/handout contains the Troparia and Kontakia that will be sung by the choir at today's Divine Liturgy as well as the readings from the Epistle and Gospel readings of the day - all in both English and Russian. This little bulletin is distributed to visitors and others who may find it useful by our parish Greeters on duty today at St. Vladimir's. We cordially invite you to join us at St. Vladimir's for Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. - or any Sunday soon. You are always welcome at St. Vladimir's!

This Sunday's "The Good News":

http://stvladimiraami.org/pamphlets/goodnews.pdf