St. Herman's Orthodox Church

05/31/2026

“Again and again on bended knee, let us pray to the Lord!”

At the Vespers of Pentecost we kneel for the first time since Holy Week as the clergy read aloud beautiful prayers such as this:

Lord Jesus Christ our God, You have bestowed Your peace on humankind, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, to be with us even in this life as a perpetual inheritance to believers never to be taken away. On this day You have sent this grace upon Your disciples and Apostles in a way more manifest, giving utterance to their lips by means of fiery tongues, so that every human race, hearing in our own language received the knowledge of God, and, illumined by the light of the Spirit, emerged from error as from darkness, and in the distribution of visible tongues of fire, and by extraordinary power, were taught faith in You, and were enlightened to speak of You, as of the Father and the Holy Spirit, as one Godhead, one power, one sovereignty.
As the reflection of the Father, the perfect and immutable likeness of His essence and nature, the source of salvation and grace, open the lips of this sinner and teach me how and for what I should pray. For You know the great number of my sins, yet Your compassion will overcome their enormity. For in fear I stand before You, casting my soul's despair into the sea of Your mercy. Govern my life, as You govern all creation by the unspoken word, the power of wisdom, calm haven of the storm-tossed, and make known to me the way in which I should walk.

05/31/2026

5.31.26 Divine Liturgy - Holy Pentecost

05/31/2026

“I greet you with joy as we celebrate the great feast of Holy Pentecost. Recalling the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the new-born Church, we give thanks to God for granting the seven-fold gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, courage, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord to the Holy Apostles gathered in Jerusalem and to the fullness of the Church throughout the ages. May the same Holy Spirit renew our hearts and guide our diocesan family to an always-increasing and ever-deepening life in Christ.”

ARCHPASTORAL GREETINGS OF THE MOST REVEREND DANIEL ARCHBISHOP OF CHICAGO AND THE MIDWEST ON THE FEAST OF PENTECOST Beloved Very Reverend and Reverend Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the God-protected Diocese of Chicago and the Midwest: And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing....

05/24/2026

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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

04/26/2026

Christ is risen!

On this Third Sunday of Pascha, we continue to contemplate the world-changing reality of the empty Tomb. In particular, this Sunday calls us to contemplate our role in bringing news of this reality to our fellowman. Last Sunday, Thomas Sunday, took place in the intimate setting of the sealed upper room; we saw how a single disciple, a single heart, could be changed by direct encounter with the Risen Christ. This Sunday, however, we consider the Myrrh-bearers, and how an angel commanded them to proclaim the Resurrection to the apostles. After all that we have seen and heard, how are we called to share this light, joy, peace, and hope with others? An angel brought a message to the women, the women shared it with the apostles, the apostles shared it with others, and finally that message has reached us. How shall we continue to pass this message – this all-powerful, all-transformative word of Christ’s Resurrection? – on to those whom God has placed in our lives?

We need not get carried away. “Are all apostles?” asks St. Paul rhetorically, and the implied answer is “no.” The angel, the women, the apostles: each of these had a different role in announcing the Gospel. We don’t all have to be missionaries to distant lands or street-corner evangelists. But all of us may announce the power of the Resurrection by forgiving wrongs, living in the joy of Christ’s victory, striving to conduct ourselves in accordance with the Gospel, and repenting with hope when we fail. In this way at least we can bear a meek and quiet witness to others – and to ourselves – concerning the life-changing power of Christ’s Pascha.

04/26/2026

Hearken, ye women, to the voice of rejoicing: “Hell the tormentor is trampled underfoot; and the world is raised from corruption. Make haste and tell My friends the good tidings. I wish to make My creation, from which came sorrow, shine with joy!”
- Sunday of the Myrrhbearers Exapostilarion

Holy Myrrhbearers, Mary, Mary, Mary, Martha, Joanna, Salome, and Susanna, pray to God for us!

04/17/2026

Christ is Risen! On Bright Friday we celebrate the Life-giving Spring of the Theotokos.

Read more: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2025/04/25/32-bright-friday-the-life-giving-fountain-of-the-mother-of-god

04/13/2026

A Letter of Welcome from His Eminence, Archbishop DANIEL to the Newly-Illumined Members of the Orthodox Church in the Diocese of the Midwest Holy Pascha April 12, 2026 Beloved Sons and Daughters in the Lord, Christ is Risen! Indeed He is risen! With great joy and thanksgiving to Almighty God,…

04/12/2026

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!
The celebration continues at 4 with Paschal Vespers and Monday at 9 am for Divine Liturgy!