Newsletter June 20, 2025

Contemporary Luminous Faces: Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, Part Two

His spiritual talks, always rooted in Scripture, were widely admired. It was said of him:

“Metropolitan Anthony speaks Russian, English, French, and German in a calm and resonant voice. However, he often conveys the message of the Gospel most powerfully through his presence and example. He captures the attention of all who meet him and speaks with a profound spiritual commitment that surpasses language barriers, achieving communication where others either fail or only partially succeed.”

Read the entire article: https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/2458

For a change of pace, we will study the small book “Way of the Ascetics” by Tito Colliander. It is is available via a number of bookshops / vendors.
There is also a version online: https://stjohndc.org/sites/default/files/colliander_en.pdf

Please remember that our full calendar continues to be available at our parish web site. Here is a link:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Calendar/calendar.php

Full schedule:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Ministries/Prosphora/Docs/prosphora sched 2025 web.pdf

Full schedule:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Ministries/Altar/Docs/epistle readers for 2025.pdf

Epistle: ST. PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS 2:10-16

Brethren, glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

Gospel: MATTHEW 4:18-23

At that time, as Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left their boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

St. Olga of Alaska, Pray for Us!

Fr. Stephen Freeman

It is difficult to describe culture of saints within the life of Orthodoxy. When speaking to Christians who are strangers to such devotions, it is like trying to describe a flavor that is unlike anything else (try describing salt without using the word, “salty”). My family’s direct experience of Orthodoxy began in the early 1990’s. Among our first encounters were the Orthodox saints of North America. St. Herman of Alaska and the martyrs, St. Juvenaly and St. Peter the Aleut were of note. They underscored the fact that Orthodoxy first came to America in Alaska, when it was part of the Russian Empire. We heard stories of its peaceful and grace-filled embrace among the native peoples. There was one, however, that was quite unique in that assembly: “Mathuska Olga.”

Read the entire article: https://glory2godforallthings.com/2025/06/19/st-olga-of-alaska-pray-for-us/