All Saints Orthodox Church, Wolf Run, OH

05/31/2026

In the Old Testament Pentecost was the feast which occurred fifty days after Passover. As the passover feast celebrated the exodus of the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt, so Pentecost celebrated God’s gift of the ten commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai.

In the new covenant of the Messiah, the passover event takes on its new meaning as the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection, the “exodus” of men from this sinful world to the Kingdom of God. And in the New Testament as well, the pentecostal feast is fulfilled and made new by the coming of the “new law,” the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ.

When the day of Pentecost had come they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed as resting upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . . (Acts 2.1–4).

The Holy Spirit that Christ had promised to his disciples came on the day of Pentecost (Jn 14.26, 15.26; Lk 24.49; Acts 1.5). The apostles received “the power from on high,” and they began to preach and bear witness to Jesus as the risen Christ, the King and the Lord. This moment has traditionally been called the birthday of the Church.

In the liturgical services of the feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit is celebrated together with the full revelation of the divine Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The fullness of the Godhead is manifested with the Spirit’s coming to man, and the Church hymns celebrate this manifestation as the final act of God’s self-disclosure and self-donation to the world of His creation. For this reason Pentecost Sunday is also called Trinity Day in the Orthodox tradition. Often on this day the icon of the Holy Trinity—particularly that of the three angelic figures who appeared to Abraham, the forefather of the Christian faith—is placed in the center of the church. This icon is used with the traditional pentecostal icon which shows the tongues of fire hovering over Mary and the Twelve Apostles, the original prototype of the Church, who are themselves sitting in unity surrounding a symbolic image of “cosmos,” the world.

On Pentecost we have the final fulfillment of the mission of Jesus Christ and the first beginning of the messianic age of the Kingdom of God mystically present in this world in the Church of the Messiah. For this reason the fiftieth day stands as the beginning of the era which is beyond the limitations of this world, fifty being that number which stands for eternal and heavenly fulfillment in Jewish and Christian mystical piety: seven times seven, plus one.

Thus, Pentecost is called an apocalyptic day, which means the day of final revelation. It is also called an eschatological day, which means the day of the final and perfect end (in Greek eschaton means the end). For when the Messiah comes and the Lord’s Day is at hand, the “last days” are inaugurated in which “God declares: . . . I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.”; This is the ancient prophecy to which the Apostle Peter refers in the first sermon of the Christian Church which was preached on the first Sunday of Pentecost (Acts 2: 1 7; Joel 2: 28–32).

Once again it must be noted that the feast of Pentecost is not simply the celebration of an event which took place centuries ago. It is the celebration of what must happen and does happen to us in the Church today. We all have died and risen with the Messiah-King, and we all have received his Most Holy Spirit. We are the “temples of the Holy Spirit.” God’s Spirit dwells in us (Rom 8; 1 Cor 2–3, 12; 2 Cor 3; Gal 5; Eph 2–3). We, by our own membership in the Church, have received “the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit” in the sacrament of chrismation. Pentecost has happened to us.

The Divine Liturgy of Pentecost recalls our baptism into Christ with the verse from Galatians again replacing the Thrice-Holy Hymn. Special verses from the psalms also replace the usual antiphonal psalms of the liturgy. The epistle and gospel readings tell of the Spirit’s coming to men. The kontakion sings of the reversal of Babel as God unites the nations into the unity of his Spirit. The troparion proclaims the gathering of the whole universe into God’s net through the work of the inspired apostles. The hymns “O Heavenly King” and “We have seen the True Light” are sung for the first time since Easter, calling the Holy Spirit to “come and abide in us,” and proclaiming that “we have received the heavenly Spirit.” The church building is decorated with flowers and the green leaves of the summer to show that God’s divine Breath comes to renew all creation as the “life-creating Spirit.” In Hebrew the word for Spirit, breath and wind is the same word, ruah.

Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit: through them Thou didst draw the world into Thy net. O Lover of Man, Glory to Thee (Troparion).

When the Most High came down and confused the tongues, he divided the nations. But when he distributed the tongues of fire, he called all to unity. Therefore, with one voice, we glorify the All-Holy Spirit! (Kontakion).

The Great Vespers of Pentecost evening features three long prayers at which the faithful kneel for the first time since Easter. The Monday after Pentecost is the feast of the Holy Spirit in the Orthodox Church, and the Sunday after Pentecost is the feast of All Saints. This is the logical liturgical sequence since the coming of the Holy Spirit is fulfilled in men by their becoming saints, and this is the very purpose of the creation and salvation of the world. “Thus says the Lord: Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I your God am holy” (Lev 11.44–45, 1 Pet 1.15–16).

Music downloads: https://www.oca.org/liturgics/music-downloads/holy-pentecost

Read sermon: https://www.oca.org/fs/sermons/pentecost-the-descent-of-the-holy-spirit

05/31/2026

05/21/2026

Jesus did not live with His disciples after His resurrection as He had before His death. Filled with the glory of His divinity, He appeared at different times and places to His people, assuring them that it was He, truly alive in His risen and glorified body.

To them He presented Himself alive after His passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the Kingdom of God (Acts 1.3).

It should be noted that the time span of forty days is used many times in the Bible and signifies a temporal period of completeness and sufficiency (Gen 7.17; Ex 16.35, 24.18; Judg 3.11; 1 Sam 17.16; 1 Kg 19.8; Jon 3.4; Mt 4.2).

On the fortieth day after His passover, Jesus ascended into heaven to be glorified on the right hand of God (Acts 1.9–11; Mk 16.19; Lk 24.51). The ascension of Christ is His final physical departure from this world after the resurrection. It is the formal completion of His mission in this world as the Messianic Saviour. It is His glorious return to the Father Who had sent Him into the world to accomplish the work that He had given him to do (Jn 17.4–5).
. . and lifting His hands He blessed them. While blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy (Lk 24.51–52).

The Church’s celebration of the ascension, as all such festal celebrations, is not merely the remembrance of an event in Christ’s life. Indeed, the ascension itself is not to be understood as though it were simply the supernatural event of a man floating up and away into the skies. The holy scripture stresses Christ’s physical departure and His glorification with God the Father, together with the great joy which His disciples had as they received the promise of the Holy Spirit Who was to come to assure the Lord’s presence with them, enabling them to be His witnesses to the ends of earth (Lk 24.48–53; Acts 1.8–11; Mt 28.20; Mk 16.16–14).

In the Church the believers in Christ celebrate these very same realities with the conviction that it is for them and for all men that Christ’s departure from this world has taken place. The Lord leaves in order to be glorified with God the Father and to glorify us with himself. He goes in order to “prepare a place” for and to take us also into the blessedness of God’s presence. He goes to open the way for all flesh into the “heavenly sanctuary . . . the Holy Place not made by hands” (see Hebrews 8–10). He goes in order send the Holy Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father to bear witness to Him and His gospel in the world, making Him powerfully present in the lives of disciples.

The liturgical hymns of the feast of the Ascension sing of all of these things. The antiphonal verses of the Divine Liturgy are taken from Psalms 47, 48, and 49. The troparion of the feast which is sung at the small entrance is also used as the post-communion hymn.

Thou hast ascended in glory O Christ our God, granting joy to Thy disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit. Through the blessing they were assured that Thou art the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world! (Troparion).

When Thou didst fulfill the dispensation for our sake, and didst unite earth to heaven, Thou didst ascend in glory, O Christ our God, not being parted from those who love Thee, but remaining with them and crying: I am with you and no one will be against you! (Kontakion).

Read sermon: https://www.oca.org/fs/sermons/sermon-on-the-ascension-of-the-lord

Music downloads: https://www.oca.org/liturgics/music-downloads/ascension-of-our-lord

05/17/2026

Christ is risen!

Today Christ opens the eyes of a man born blind, and the blessedness, the happiness, of such a miraculous event seems self-evident. Yet the Pharisees react with hostility, and the formerly-blind man’s parents react with fear. What are we to make of this?

Christ says that he is the Truth, and that the truth will set us free (Jn. 14:6, 8:23). When he opens the blind man’s eyes to see the bright world that he made, the latter is no longer subject to the lies he was told, to the misconceptions that he nurtured, when once he was blind. When Christ opens his eyes, he is no longer subject to the false narratives woven by others; he sees clearly past the distortions of those Pharisees who desire to rule and control.

This is why, throughout the ages, the tyrannical authorities of oppressive regimes have hated the Christian faith. From the centuries of the Roman Empire to the decades of the Soviet Union, the petty Pharisees of the ruling ideology have feared the power of Christ and the Christian faith to open the eyes of the blind.

This is not because Christ’s kingdom is in competition with the kingdoms of this world: Christ’s kingdom is not of this world (Jn. 18:26). But when our eyes are opened, and we behold the light of the Resurrection, and we see ourselves as sons of the light and of the day, then we know that we are living for the age to come. Knowing the promise of the Resurrection, we are able to obtain to an inner freedom that no power in this world can overcome. “The kingdom of God is within you” precisely because it is unlike an earthly kingdom; one cannot say of it “Here it is” or “There it is” (Lk. 17:21).

Christ desires to open our eyes to this reality, too; he wishes that we would no longer see ourselves merely as part of this passing world. Blinded no longer by the power of sin and passions, we are called to understand our place in his eternal kingdom, and to live unbound and unburdened by the heavy-pressing chains of the lies told to us by the world, the demons, and by our own misguided and passionate thoughts.

The formerly-blind man’s confession of faith resounds with a deep power and unsurpassed peace: “Lord, I believe.” In the face of all life’s troubles and cares, let us also find strength and consolation in these words, knowing clearly who we are in Christ and to how great a salvation he has called us.

05/06/2026

Today’s celebration is the midpoint of the fifty days between the Feasts of Pascha and Pentecost. Saint John tells us (John 7:14) that “in the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the Temple, and taught.” The Feast in question is the Feast of Tabernacles (celebrated in September), not Pentecost.

The Church has appointed John 7:14-30 to be read for the Midfeast, thereby linking Pascha and Pentecost. In Chapter 8 of Saint John’s Gospel, the Lord came to the Temple again and taught the people who came to Him. After leaving the Temple, he encounters the man born blind. We will hear about him on the Sunday of the Blind Man.

The Troparion of the Midfeast (“In the middle of the Feast, O Savior, fill my thirsting soul with the waters of godliness, as Thou didst cry to all: If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink [John 7:37]. O Christ God, Fountain of our life, glory to Thee!”) hints at the encounter of Christ and the Samaritan Woman in just a few days.

Today we perform the Lesser Blessing of Water, and the Blessing of Fields.

Troparion — Tone 8

In the middle of the Feast, O Savior, / fill my thirsting soul with the waters of godliness, as You did cry to all: / If anyone thirst let him come to me and drink! / O Christ God, Fountain of our life, glory to You!

Kontakion — Tone 4

Christ God, the Creator and Master of all / cried to all in the midst of the Feast of the law: / Come and draw the water of immortality! / We fall before You and faithfully cry: / Grant us Your bounties, for You are the Fountain of our life!

Saints commemorated today: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2026/05/06

Music downloads: https://www.oca.org/liturgics/music-downloads/may

04/27/2026

The schedule of Sunday services for April:

May 3rd - Fr. David Vernak will serve Divine Liturgy
May 24th - Dcn. Dr. John Schultz - Obednitza with Holy Communion

Services begin at 9:30.

We welcome you!

When a priest or deacon is unavailable to serve our parish, it is highly recommended attending Divine Liturgy at another local Orthodox church.

04/26/2026

Christ is Risen!

The Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women celebrates the courage of the first people to witness the empty tomb. These faithful and determined women refused to abandon Christ even when everything seemed lost. While the disciples hid in fear, these women moved forward in love, carrying myrrh and hope to the place of His burial. Their bravery shows us that faith isn’t just believing; it’s choosing to act even when the path feels uncertain.

They didn’t know how they would roll away the stone, but they went anyway — and God met them there. Their story reminds us that God works powerfully through anyone who shows up with love and trust. As young people, you’re called to that same boldness in your own life. When challenges feel heavy or the future unclear, remember the Myrrh-Bearers and take the next faithful step. Christ honors courage, even small courage, and He transforms it into joy.

As you leave the Divine Liturgy today, choose one way to live like a Myrrh-Bearer this week. Show up for someone, offer kindness, or bring hope where it’s needed. Let their fearless love inspire your own walk with the Risen Christ.

04/26/2026

Why does Christ appear first to women?

This week, find insights about the upcoming Gospel reading, where we learn about the Myrrh-Bearing Women’s love for Christ.

Who were these women, and how did they care for Jesus? Why did the resurrected Christ appear first to these women instead of His Apostles? What does this teach us about the role of women in the Church?

→ To find out, read today’s Sunday Sermon Series from the Department of Religious Education (DRE): www.goarch.org/departments/religioused/sermons/sunday

SUNDAY SERMON SERIES is an easy-to-download weekly sermon on the Sunday Gospels with insights and analyses about the readings.

Subscribe → www.religioused.goarch.org to receive these in your inbox during the week for free.

📸 Department of Religious Education (DRE)

04/12/2026

CHRIST IS RISEN!!!

Read more here: https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-church-year/easter-sunday-the-holy-pascha

Music downloads: https://www.oca.org/liturgics/music-downloads/pascha

Sermon: https://www.oca.org/fs/sermons/the-paschal-sermon