Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco Orthodox Church

09/13/2026

Our new catechist started his first series today with an excellent turnout. Glory to God!

09/13/2026

Let thy kingdom come! Let thy will be done on earth!

Thy kingdom come! Thy will be done on earth!

09/12/2026

There are only 3 weeks left until Oktoberfest!

We are pre-selling tickets each Sunday after liturgy until October 4th, so come find our table outside the quonset hut!

09/09/2026

𝐎𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐱 𝐈𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲!

The Inquirer and Catechism class is an ongoing 30–40 minute class held throughout the year on Sundays after coffee hour. It covers the basics of Orthodox Christianity and is intended for anyone who would like to develop a broader understanding of the faith, regardless of prior experience or familiarity with Orthodoxy.

We will examine key teachings of Orthodoxy, the structure and meaning of our services, prayer in church and at home, and the history and traditions of the Church. We will also discuss the liturgical calendar, major feast days, and other aspects of Orthodox Christian life and practice.

The class does not assume any previous study or familiarity with Orthodox terminology. The goal is to provide a broad foundation for understanding the faith, worship, and life of the Orthodox Church.

https://saintjohnorthodoxchurch.org/2026/09/orthodox-inquirer-and-catechumen-class-begins-this-sunday/

08/20/2026

“If someone has repented once of a sin, and again does the same sin, this is a sign that he has not been cleansed of the causes of the sin. From them, as from a root, the shoots spring forth again” (St. Basil the Great).

The sins we confess are like fruit growing on a tree. They tell us what kind of root they are from – That tree produces apples, this one produces peaches. When we confess and turn from our sins, the Lord truly forgives, and the fruit of offenses is cleansed away: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Then, when we see fruit appearing again – acts of sin and transgression – we 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 offer repentance to the Lord, so that we can return to walking clean and free. As often as this fruit reappears, we throw it away.

In the mean time, we have been given tools to begin to uproot the passions that are the cause of our sins. These are choices that have not changed in thousands of years:

“A wandering mind is made stable by reading, vigil and prayer. Flaming lust is extinguished by hunger, labor and solitude. Stirrings of anger are calmed by psalmody, generous giving and mercifulness. All this has its effect when used at its proper time and in due measure. Everything untimely or without proper measure is short-lived; and short-lived things are more harmful than useful” (Abba Evagrius the Solitary).

Photo: This banana tree in Fr Silouan's yard was completely cut down days ago. Now it is growing back, because its roots are still strong.

08/19/2026

S’prazdnikom! Many Years! Blessed Feast!

08/18/2026

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord on Mount Tabor, the priest blesses grapes. The blessing of grapes as well as other fruits and vegetables on this day is a beautiful sign of the final transfiguration of all things in Christ. It signifies the ultimate flowering and fruitfulness of all creation in the paradise of God’s unending Kingdom of Life where all will be transformed by the glory of the Lord. This is an ancient Christian custom. During the first week of August, farmers gathered the early fruits of their summer harvest (grapes, figs etc.) and presented them in the Church to be blessed and to give them freely to the congregation.

These fruits are called the “Beginnings”. In a text from the 7th century (“The Laws of the Kingdom” by emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitos) this custom is described vividly: “The Emperor of Constantinople gathers the Beginnings in Chalcedon, where there are many vines, and then he waits for the Patriarch of Constantinople to come on the the Feast of Transfiguration, to bless the fruits and to personally hand out the grapes to the people.” This is still the custom in many places in Greece where grapes are grown.

Mother Ephrosynia of the Lesna Convent writes:
“As grapes do not ripen at the same time everywhere, the Church adapted this tradition in various ways. In some places in the Holy Land, for instance, grapes are blessed on the feast of the prophet Elijah. In Russia, where grapes were not always readily available, apples were more commonly blessed, and Transfiguration is known as “Yablochny Spas“, “the Apple Feast of the Saviour”. In northern Russia, where even apples weren’t ripe by August 6/19, it was traditional to bless peas. Nowadays, when you can buy any sort of fruit or vegetable year round, we’ve lost the sense of getting a blessing to partake of the first fruits. But we can still try to keep to the spirit of this tradition. In our monastery we bless all sorts of fruit on Transfiguration, but we abstain only from grapes, taking care not to eat grapes of the new harvest until the feast, in keeping with the ancient monastic practise.”

The blessing of grapes as well as other fruits and vegetables on this day is a beautiful sign of the final transfiguration of all things in Christ.

08/18/2026

Vigil tonight at 6:30; Divine Liturgy tomorrow morning at 9:00.

The Transfiguration of Christ is one of the central events recorded in the Gospels. Immediately after the Lord was recognized by his apostles as “the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” he told them that “he must go up to Jerusalem and suffer many things … and be killed and on the third day be raised” (Mt 16). The announcement of Christ’s approaching passion and death was met with indignation by the disciples. Then the Lord took Peter, James, and John up to Mount Tabor and revealed himself to them:

“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as snow and behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead” (Matthew 16:28-17:9).

Peter later described this awesome experience:

“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:16-18).

In the Transfiguration, the apostles see the glory of the Kingdom of God present in majesty in the person of Christ. They see that “in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,” that “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 1:19, 2:9). They see this before the crucifixion, so that in the resurrection they might know who it is who has suffered for them, and what it is that this one, who is God, has prepared for those who love him. This is what the Church celebrates in the feast of the Transfiguration.

“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

08/17/2026

What's the first thing you do upon waking up?

Check your conscience - or your email? Greet the Lord and his Mother and your guardian angel - or answer your messages?

During this brief fasting season, may we at the very least light a candle in the morning before we light up a gadget.

08/15/2026

From the sayings of the Desert Fathers:

An old man was asked, “How can a fervent brother avoid being troubled when he sees others returning to the world?”

He replied, “Watch the dogs that chase rabbits. When one of them sees a rabbit, he pursues it until he catches it, paying attention to nothing else. The other dogs see him running and follow for a while, but soon they turn back. Only the dog that has actually seen the rabbit keeps pursuing it until he catches it. He is not distracted by the dogs that turn back, nor by cliffs, rocks, or undergrowth along the way.

“So it is with the one who seeks Christ as his Master. Keeping his eyes always on the Cross, he is not troubled by the stumbling blocks he encounters, but continues on until he reaches the Crucified One.”

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You know Who called you to Himself. You've tasted and seen that the Lord is good.

Be that dog that pursues the rabbit till he catches it.

“I want to know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, and be conformed to his death; so that, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it, or am already perfected; but I press on, to get hold of what Christ Jesus got hold of me for. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8-14).