Holy Apostles Orthodox Christian
Church E-Tidings

December 2008

  • Bishop Jonah Elected Metropolitan of OCA. (From OCA Communications Dept.) On Wednesday, November 12, 2008, His Grace, Bishop Jonah of Fort Worth was elected Archbishop of Washington and New York and Metropolitan of All America and Canada at the 15th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah was born James Paffhausen in Chicago, IL, and was baptized into the Episcopal Church. While still a child, his family later settled in La Jolla, CA, near San Diego. He was received into the Orthodox Church in 1978 at Our Lady of Kazan Moscow Patriarchal Church, San Diego, while a student at the University of California, San Diego. Later, he transferred to UC Santa Cruz, where he was instrumental in establishing an Orthodox Christian Fellowship.

After completing studies at UCSC, James attended St. Vladimir’s Seminary, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree in 1985 and a Master of Theology in Dogmatics in 1988. He went on to pursue studies towards a Ph.D. at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, but interrupted those studies to spend a year in Russia.

In Moscow, working for Russkiy Palomnik at the Publishing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, he was introduced to life in the Russian Church, in particular monastic life. Later that year, he joined Valaam Monastery, having found a spiritual father in the monastery’s Abbot, Archimandrite Pankratiy. It was Archimandrite Pankratiy’s spiritual father, the Elder Kyrill at Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, who blessed James to become a priestmonk. He was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in 1994 and in 1995 was tonsured to monastic rank at St. Tikhon’s Monastery, South Canaan, PA, having received the name Jonah.

Returning to California, Fr. Jonah served a number of missions and was later given the obedience to establish a monastery under the patronage of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco. The monastery, initially located in Point Reyes Station, CA, recently moved to Manton in Northern California, near Redding. During his time building up the monastic community, Fr. Jonah also worked to establish missions in Merced, Sonora, Chico, Eureka, Redding, Susanville, and other communities in California, as well as in Kona, HI.

In the spring of 2008, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America elevated Fr. Jonah to the rank of Archimandrite and he was given the obedience to leave the monastery and take on the responsibilities of auxiliary bishop and chancellor for the Diocese of the South.

Bishop Jonah’s episcopal election took place on September 4, 2008, at an extraordinary meeting of the Holy Synod of Bishops. Earlier in the summer, his candidacy was endorsed by the Diocese of the South’s Diocesan Council, shortly after Bishop Jonah had participated in the diocese’s annual assembly.

Bishop Jonah was consecrated Bishop of Forth Worth and Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of the South, at St. Seraphim Cathedral, Dallas, TX, on Saturday, November 1, 2008. Consecrating hierarchs included His Eminence, Archbishop Dmitri of Dallas and the South, Locum tenens of the Metropolitan See; His Grace, Bishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania; His Grace, Bishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West; and His Grace, Bishop Alejo of Mexico City and the Exarchate of Mexico.

Metropolitan Jonah will be installed by the OCA’s Holy Synod of Bishops at St. Nicholas Cathedral, Washington, DC, on December 28, 2008.

May the Lord bless His Beatitude, Jonah, newly-elected Metropolitan of All America and Canada with many years of fruitful service in His Holy Vineyard. Eis polla eti, Despota!

  • Archbishop DMITRI Awarded Order of Saint Innocent. As his first act as the new First Hierarch of the Orthodox Church in America, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah awarded His Eminence, Archbishop Dmitri the highest award that the Orthodox Church in America conveys to its most dedicated members - The Order of St. Innocent, Gold Award on November 13 at the conclusion of the first primatial Divine Liturgy of the new Metropolitan.

The Order of St Innocent has three award categories, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The Gold award is reserved for other heads of Orthodox Churches and for the most dedicated and influential members of the Church. His Beatitude in bestowing the award thanked His Eminence for his lifetime of dedicated service to the Orthodox Church in America and especially his visionary work in the establishment and leadership of the DOS over the past 30 years.

In his 85th year of life, and approaching his 40th year as a Hierarch, Archbishop Dmitri continues to serve and write. His recently published Commentary on Romans (published by SVS Press) is the latest in a series of books written by His Eminence. Currently two additional commentaries are being finalized on the Epistle of James and the Gospel of John.

Archbishop DMITRI receiving award.

  • Youth Group Visits Hartshorne Parish. The Holy Apostles High School Youth Group made a trip to Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church in Hartshorne, Oklahoma the weekend of November 8th. The group is assisting the parish to establish a web site. The group spent time photographing the church and learning about its history before enjoying a fabulous meal at the world famous Pete’s Place Italian restaurant in Krebs. They were then privileged to attend Divine Liturgy with Father Joseph the following day.

Sts. Cyril and Methodius is Oklahoma’s oldest Orthodox parish established by Carpatho Russian immigrant coal miners in the 1880’s. The historic building, rising up from the hill country near Robber’s Cave, has been left largely unaltered from its original form and possesses a wealth of history. The youth group should have a website up in the next week or two.

  • Father Ambrose and Men Visit Hartshorne Parish. A group led by Father Ambrose made a visit to Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church in Hartshorne on Thursday, November 20th. The group included Sam Matthews, Andrew Johnson, John Sames and Steven Tolbert. The group had an opportunity to visit with Father Joseph and tour the church and parish grounds. A wonderful time was had by all.
  • Youth Group Activities. During November the Junior Youth Group participated in the Festival of Trees at the Philbrook Museum. The group submitted a gingerbread house decorated as a replica of Holy Apostle’s St. Matthew chapel. The entry was auctioned to an unknown buyer for $50. The proceeds of the sale of the entry go to the Philbrook Museum. Many thanks to Tami Yates, Elaine Sames and all the kids for representing Holy Apostles in this effort. The Junior Youth are also planning to cook a Nativity Fast meal during December to share with Junior Youth families. The date of this activity is to be determined. Please see Tami Yates for more information.

  • Food and Clothing Closet. The youth of Holy Apostles continues to collect donations for the newly established St. Martin’s Closet. The youth will accept food and clothing donations for distribution to area residents in need. The closet will be organized over the next few weeks and will work with the Glenpool school system to meet the needs of the community.

  • All Parish Meeting to be Held. The annual parish meeting will be held following Diving Liturgy on Sunday, December 14th in the Community Building. The meeting will provide an opportunity for parish members to review 2008 goals and finances and examine the budget and parish aspirations for 2009.

  • Holy Apostle’s will host a St. Nicholas Party for our preschool through 4th grade children on Friday, December 5th following Vespers. There will be snacks, crafts and treats. Also, our annual Nativity Play will be performed on Sunday, December 7th, during coffee hour. Additionally, the St. Stephen’s Day party will be held Saturday, December 27th, following Vespers in the Community Building. It will be a potluck dinner with Christmas carols and lots of fun! For more information on any of these events please contact Matushka Christy.

  • New Divine Liturgy Booklet still in the Works. Work continues to update our parish Divine Liturgy booklet to match the translations used in the service. The booklet will also include the resurrection troparia and kontakia as well as the troparia hymns for major feast days. Be looking for the booklet within a few weeks.

  • Parish Council Establishes “Open Forum”. The parish council has established a meeting agenda item entitled “Open Forum.” At the end of each month’s parish council meeting members of the parish are encouraged to take the opportunity to discuss any matters of parish interest. The council hopes the Open Forum segment of the meeting will allow parishioners to share ideas for the betterment of the parish and growth of Holy Orthodoxy in Oklahoma.

  • Father Ambrose and Matushka Christy Expecting. It was announced following the Divine Liturgy on November 23rd that Father Ambrose and Matushka Christy are expecting their fifth child. (No word yet if Father Seraphim and Matushka Anna are aware of this news and are preparing a counter expansion; although we understand that Miriam (Mimi) is convinced that she is going to have a little sister!) Father Ambrose asks that we pray for his family.

  • Local Orphanage Support. As reported in the November E-Tidings, Holy Apostles will once again provide Christmas gifts to the Realations Group Home this year. In the coming weeks (November 30th and December 7th) there will be two opportunities to donate to this cause as a tray will be passed following Divine Liturgy. You may also at any time write a check to Holy Apostles with “Realations” on the memo line. Please prayerfully consider a donation for this most worthy cause.

  • Word of the Month: “PROSKOMEDIA” (Gr. Προθησις). The Proskomedia (sometimes referred to as prothesis or proskomide) is the Office of Oblation celebrated by the priest prior to the Divine Liturgy during which the bread and wine are prepared for the Holy Eucharist. The Proskomedia is a prerequisite for the Divine Liturgy. The priest conducts the Office of Oblation behind the Iconostasis at the Table of oblation or Table of Preparation (also Prothesis, or sometime Proskomide) that is located to the left of the Altar Table. Proskomedia, when translated to English, means “preparation.”

  • December Feast Days. December 6: St. Nicholas the Wonderworker; December 13: Venerable Herman of Alaska; December 25: Nativity of Christ; December 26: Synaxis of the Most-Holy Theotokos.

  • Alms Box. As Father Ambrose has mentioned following recent services, the parish keeps an “Alms Box” in the narthex of the church to financially assist those in need. As one can imagine, we do have people within our own community that can use assistance from time-to-time. Please consider cash or check donations to the alms box as your heart moves you.

  • Parish Financial Reports Available. The monthly parish financial reports are being posted on the bulletin board in the Community Building. Anyone with questions about parish finances can contact parish Treasurer Phil Dunbar or Father Ambrose.

If you would like to contribute information or photos to the Holy Apostles E-News monthly newsletter please send information to etidings@holyapostlesorthodox.org. Submissions should be received by the 20th of each month.