St Michael Archangel UGCC Dearborn Michigan

10/11/2026

Walking through the Divine Liturgy
For the week beginning October 11th, 2026
20th Sunday After Pentecost

The Divine Liturgy begins long before the deacon asks the celebrating priest for the blessing. For anyone participating, it begins the moment we leave our homes for church. The journey to the Kingdom that is to come begins.

For the priest and deacon, the Liturgicon, the service book containing the Divine Liturgy, directs them to be reconciled with everyone, to hold nothing against anyone, and to harbor no evil in their hearts. While the clergy are expressly instructed to do so, the laity should use this same time to reconcile with their neighbors.

In the Byzantine tradition, the prayers before the icon screen and the vesting prayers mark the beginning of the Liturgy for the clergy. They serve different but complementary purposes. Together, they prepare the priest and deacon to enter the Liturgy not merely as individuals performing a ceremony, but as those who are about to serve the Church and stand before God on behalf of the people.

Before beginning the Divine Liturgy, the priest and deacon come before the iconostasis and venerate the icons. They offer prayers before the icons of Christ and the Mother of God, asking for mercy, forgiveness, and assistance in carrying out their sacred ministry. These prayers establish the proper spiritual disposition of repentance, humility, faith, and dependence upon God's grace. The clergy do not claim to be worthy because of their own holiness; they ask Christ to receive them and enable them to serve.

After entering the altar, the deacon presents his vestments to the priest and asks his blessing, acknowledging that he does not serve on his own authority. The priest blesses his vestments and vests. The vesting prayers accompany the putting on of each liturgical vestment, transforming what might appear to be ceremonial clothing into an act of prayer. As the clergy vest, they recall Scripture and ask God for the grace necessary to fulfill their ministry.

The vestments do not make the clergy holy. Rather, the prayers remind them that their ministry requires God's grace. The vesting becomes a kind of private liturgical catechesis: This is what I am about to do, and this is the grace I need from God to do it.

The Divine Liturgy is therefore not something the clergy performs for the congregation. Together, clergy and faithful enter into the worship of heaven.

10/06/2026

Walking through the Divine Liturgy
For the week beginning October 4th, 2026
19th Sunday After Pentecost

Starting this Sunday, Deacon Leonard will start a new series for the bulletin entitled "Walking through the Divine Liturgy"

As Christians, we are a communal people. A Christian does not live alone, even in the most remote monastery or hermitage. A Christian is always in communion with God and other Christians, whether through corporal or spiritual works of mercy.

Christians are called to gather each Sunday for the Divine Liturgy. It is tempting to think of this simply as an obligation, a mandated time set aside for prayer, or a service we attend to receive Holy Communion. Yet the Liturgy is something much greater. We freely gather because the Church is the Body of Christ, and the Liturgy is the great act in which that Body gathers around its risen Lord.

Christians have always gathered on the first day of the week, the day of Christ's Resurrection. The Acts of the Apostles tells us that the first Christians devoted themselves to “the teaching of the apostles and to the communion, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.” The Divine Liturgy was not an addition to Christian life; it was at its center.

At the Divine Liturgy, we do not merely remember something that happened long ago. We participate in the mystery of Christ's death and Resurrection. The earthly Church joins its worship to the heavenly worship of the Angels and Saints. As the priest proclaims, “We offer to You, Yours of Your own,” we acknowledge that everything we possess has first been received from God.

The Fathers understood the Liturgy as an entrance into the Kingdom. St. Maximus the Confessor described the Church as an image of the heavenly reality, while St. John Chrysostom repeatedly reminded his hearers that when we gather for the Eucharist, we stand in the presence of Christ Himself.

This is why the Liturgy calls us to community. We do not come merely as individuals seeking something from God. We come as one people: the living and the departed, clergy and laity, gathered around the altar of Christ. We listen to His Word, offer ourselves with the gifts of bread and w**e, receive His Holy Body and Blood, and are sent forth to live what we have celebrated. In the Divine Liturgy, His people gather together, and He gives us a foretaste of the Kingdom that is to come.

09/19/2026

Steps Through the Byzantine Year
For the week beginning September 20th, 2026
Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross / 17th Sunday After Pentecost

September 23 is the commemoration of the conception of the Forerunner and Baptist John. This is one of only three conceptions of a person mentioned in the New Testament. The Church celebrates this because the Gospel itself presents the conception as a joyful event of God’s mercy, miracle, and wisdom in the plan of salvation. It inspires thanksgiving and glorifies both John and his righteous parents.

On Saturday, the Church commemorates the passing of the Apostle John the Theologian. He is also known as the Evangelist, and Beloved Disciple, and was the son of Zebedee the fisherman and Salome, one of the Myrrh bearers. Born in Galilee and the younger brother of the Apostle James, he was called by Jesus while mending nets by the Sea of Galilee. He and his brother immediately left everything to follow Christ, who named them “Sons of Thunder.”

He witnessed the Transfiguration, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and the agony in the Garden. At the Last Supper he reclined on the Lord’s breast. Alone among the Apostles, he stood at the foot of the Cross, where Jesus entrusted His Mother Mary to John’s care. John took the Theotokos into his home and cared for her until her Dormition.

Afterward, John went to Asia Minor and settled in Ephesus, from which he guided the churches of the region. During the persecution under Emperor Domitian, he was brought to Rome. Legend has in he was thrown into boiling oil, from which he emerged unharmed, and then exiled to the island of Patmos. There he received the visions recorded in the Book of Revelation. After Domitian’s death, he returned to Ephesus, where he wrote his Gospel—emphasizing the divinity of Christ as the eternal Word—and his three Epistles. In extreme old age he repeatedly urged the faithful, “Little children, love one another,” saying that this single commandment of the Lord is enough. John lived to about one hundred years and is the only one of the Twelve to die a natural death in Ephesus.

Honored as “the Theologian” for the profound depth of his writings on the Incarnation and divine love, Saint John remains a pillar of the Church and the Apostle of Love.

09/13/2026

Steps Through the Byzantine Year
For the week beginning September 13th, 2026
Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross / 16th Sunday After Pentecost

September 13 and 14 are closely connected in the Byzantine liturgical tradition. On September 13, we commemorate the dedication of the Church of the Resurrection of Our Lord in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. On the following day, September 14, we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-giving Cross.

The Church of the Resurrection was built in Jerusalem through the efforts of the Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother, Saint Helen. It encompasses both Golgotha, where Christ was crucified, and the Tomb from which He rose. The church was solemnly dedicated on September 13, 335, with Saint Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, presiding.

The close placement of these two commemorations in our liturgical calendar is significant. The Cross and the Resurrection cannot be separated. The Cross is not simply the instrument of Christ's suffering; it is the weapon of victory, through which Christ conquered sin and death. The empty Tomb reveals the purpose and triumph of the Cross.

On September 14, the Church celebrates the solemn Exaltation, of the Cross. According to tradition, Saint Helen discovered the True Cross in Jerusalem, and Bishop Macarius later raised it before the people so that all might see and venerate it. The feast also recalls the later recovery of the Cross after it had been carried away by the Persians.

This is why the Cross is solemnly venerated. We bow before it and proclaim: “We bow to Your Cross, O Lord, and we praise Your holy Resurrection.” The Cross and Resurrection are proclaimed together because one without the other cannot express the fullness of the Gospel.

The Troparion of the feast summarizes our prayer: “Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance. Grant victory to Your Church over evil and protect Your people by Your Cross.”
As we begin another liturgical year, these feasts remind us where our Christian life must always lead: through the Cross to the Resurrection. The Cross is not the end. In Christ, it is the path to victory, life, and salvation.

09/11/2026

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«Не дозволь, щоб зло тебе перемогло, але перемагай зло добром» (Рим. 12, 21) Дорогі брати і сестри у Христі! Є моменти в історії, які назавжди закарбовуються в нашій пам.....

09/06/2026

Steps Through the Byzantine Year
For the week beginning September 6th, 2026
15th Sunday After Pentecost

As we begin this new Church Year, three feasts occur this week. The first two pertain to one of the Twelve Great Feasts, the Nativity of the Theotokos; the second commemorates her parents, and the third is a lesser feast of our parish patron, St. Michael the Archangel.

The Bible does not give us an account of the birth of Mary. The details of her birth come to us through the ancient Christian tradition preserved in the Protoevangelium of James. According to this tradition, Mary was born to the righteous Joachim and Anna, who had remained childless into their old age. Their prayers were answered when God blessed them with a daughter. Because of this, the Church remembers Joachim and Anna on September 9 as examples of steadfast faith and patient trust in God.

The troparion of the feast reveals the deeper meaning of this event. We do not celebrate Mary’s birth merely as the birth of a remarkable woman. Rather, her Nativity is understood as the beginning of God’s preparation for the coming of Christ. The troparion proclaims: “Your Nativity, O Theotokos, has proclaimed joy to all the world.” Her birth brings joy because from her will come Christ, the Savior of the world.

This feast reminds us that God’s saving work often begins quietly and invisibly. The birth of a child to an elderly and previously childless couple appeared insignificant to the world. Yet through this child, Mary, God prepared the way for the fulfillment of His promise.

On this Sunday, September 6, we recall how the Archangel Michael appeared and saved a church dedicated to him, along with its miraculous spring. The church was located near Colossae in Phrygia. It was rescued from flooding after pagans devised a plan to divert and combine two rivers and direct their waters against the church to destroy it. The Archangel Michael appeared in great glory. He made the sign of the Cross over the rushing waters, causing them to stand still. He then struck a large rock near the church with his staff. A wide fissure opened in the rock, and the waters plunged into it and flowed underground, leaving the church unharmed.

09/04/2026

Отець і Глава УГКЦ Блаженніший Святослав видав Декрет про утворення тимчасової робочої групи з підготовки англійського перекладу Божественних Літургій святого І...

08/30/2026

Steps Through the Byzantine Year
For the week beginning August 30th, 2026
14th Sunday After Pentecost

On September 1, 2026, the Byzantine calendar transitions to the year 7535 AM (Annus Mundi—Year of the World)

The beginning of a new year has never been set in stone. While January 1 is used in the Gregorian civil calendar today, medieval Europe and other cultures have marked the beginning of the year according to religious feast days, the changing seasons, or lunar cycles. March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, was once used in medieval Europe; March 1 was used in ancient Rome; the first day of Tishri, Rosh Hashanah, marks the Jewish New Year in the autumn; and the Lunar New Year follows the lunar calendar.

For the Byzantine tradition, September 1 marks the beginning of the liturgical New Year. It is also associated with the Indiction, a term derived from the Latin word meaning “proclamation.” It originally referred to a 15-year imperial tax and administrative cycle established in the late Roman Empire.

Why do we continue to observe September 1? According to tradition, this day is associated with the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. The Gospel appointed for the day is from St. Luke, telling us that Christ entered the synagogue and read from the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor…” The Byzantine liturgical tradition therefore sees the beginning of the year not merely as a change of dates, but as an opportunity to place the whole course of human time under Christ’s lordship.

The Christian understanding of time is fundamentally different from the secular time. All time belongs to God. We begin the year by giving thanks for what has passed and asking God to bless what is to come. Another year of our earthly life is not simply another unit of chronological time; it is another portion of the life God has entrusted to us.

The Troparion for the day expresses this beautifully: “Bless the crown of the year with Your goodness, O Lord.” The Church asks God to preserve His Church, grant peace to the world, bless the earth, and guide His people. The question at the beginning of the year is therefore not simply, “What will this year bring me?” but rather, “Lord, how will I use the time You have given me?”

08/23/2026

Steps Through the Byzantine Year
For the week beginning August 23rd, 2026
13th Sunday After Pentecost

“Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” — Matthew 11:11

This coming Saturday, August 29, the Church commemorates the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, the Forerunner of Christ. After Christ and the Theotokos, St. John is among the most frequently commemorated figures in the liturgical calendar, with six principal feast days dedicated to him. These include his Conception, Nativity, Synaxis, the First and Second Finding of his Head, the Third Finding of his Head, and his Beheading. This prominence reflects his unique place in the history of salvation: he is the last and greatest of the prophets, the Forerunner who prepared the way for Christ, and the one who pointed to Him as the Lamb of God.

The Gospels of Matthew and Mark recount John's death, traditionally dated to about A.D. 32. John openly condemned Herod Antipas for taking Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod imprisoned John but feared him and recognized him as a righteous man. At Herod's birthday banquet, Herodias's daughter, Salome, danced before the guests. Pleased, Herod rashly promised to grant her whatever she requested. At her mother's urging, she asked for the head of John the Baptist. Bound by his oath and concerned about the opinion of his guests, Herod ordered John's ex*****on. John's disciples took his body and buried it at Sebaste.

The Church commemorates John's death on August 29, even though it occurred shortly before Passover. According to Church tradition, this date was associated with the consecration of a church built over John's tomb at Sebaste.
The Beheading is a strict fast day, regardless of the day of the week. Our fasting expresses sorrow over John's violent death and recalls his own austere life of repentance, prayer, and preparation for the coming of Christ. In some Slavic traditions, additional customs developed: avoiding food served on flat plates, knives, round foods, or red foods, as well as dancing and singing, recalling the circumstances surrounding John's death.

John's life and death remind us that fidelity to God's truth can carry a cost. Like the Forerunner, we are called to prepare the way for Christ—not only with our words, but by repentance, faith, and a life ordered according to the Gospel.