St.Vladimir Orthodox Church
3163 Purcell's Cove Road, Halifax, NS
Words of Welcome
You may have heard that the Orthodox Church is strange, that it is foreign; you may think it caters to people who speak languages you don’t and won’t understand. You may even fear the Orthodox Church, after all it is Eastern. You’ve probably heard that it’s for Russians or Greeks or Ukrainians or Arabs. Would you believe it if I told you that St. Vladimir Orthodox Church has more English language speaking parishioners than any other language; it was started as an English Mission? And that you would feel right at home in St. Vladimir Orthodox Church? Did you know that St. Vladimir, our Patron Saint, the Prince of Kiev was instrumental in the conversion of that part of the world to Orthodoxy, more than a thousand years ago? Did you know that the Orthodox Church has been teaching about Jesus Christ for more than 2,000 years, and that it has not altered those incredible teachings? Frequently we get asked, “Do you believe in the Bible?” Our answer has to be, “Of course we do, Orthodox Christians wrote the New Testament!” Orthodox Christians wrote the Gospels, the Epistles, the Acts of the Apostles and the great Revelation. The Orthodox Church (Orthodox meaning right believing) is the ancient and the modern Christian Church, which stretched and still stretches as far as St. Peter and St. Paul, and the other Disciples and Apostles, led by the Holy Spirit, travelled, and far beyond.
The Orthodox Church may be more than 2000 years old, but we live now, by holding on to Traditional Christian teachings. We live in and are part of the 21st Century. Glory to God!
It would be an adventure to visit St Vladimir Prince of Kiev church, and you would be welcome. We don’t criticize, we don’t judge and there are lots of children.
Saturday evening at 6pm we serve Vespers, which takes about an hour. Sunday 10am we serve Liturgy, which takes about two hours on a regular Sunday. The coffee time that follows lasts as long as people stay and chat, and eat, and drink tea and coffee. Our people love being in each others’ company so they don’t hurry away.
How do we learn about the Church? By being part of the community, so we wait to welcome you.
In Christ,
Father David
Rector
Weekly News
December 1, 2023
Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Saturday December 2 Vespers 6:00pm
Sunday December 3 Hours 9:30am
Divine Liturgy 10:00am
Tone 1
The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple
Sunday December 3 Vespers 6:00pm
Monday December 4 Liturgy 10:00am
You may have noticed that we are now in the Christmas Fasting Season. Many of us will ask what that means. I found a good explanation in an item from the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Edmonton. I print it with edits here:
Regarding Nativity Lent: During this time, the general rule is that from November 28 and up until the Feast of the Nativity, no meat, meat-products, dairy, dairy-products, or egg and egg-products are eaten. Children under 7, lactating and pregnant women are exempt. For those very ill or very aged, the fast can be lessened. If you have any questions or concerns, please ask Father David or Father Alexander.
Fish and fish products, wine and oil are allowed on weekends and certain week days. Shellfish (shrimp, scallops, lobster, crab, oysters, mussels, squid, clams, abalone, etc.) is always allowed. The last five days of Christmas Lent gets stricter - no fish allowed, even on a weekend. The day before Nativity, the Eve of the Feast - there is a custom of eating nothing until the First Star appears in the early evening.
Beginning with the day of the Feast of the Nativity, an 11-day fast-free period until the Eve of Theophany, which is a strict fast day. The Feast of Theophany, the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. January 19 is always a fast-free day no matter what day of the week it falls on.
(This article started with St. Vladimir Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Edmonton, I think. I also noticed it printed on an Australian website. The edits are mine so I take full responsibility for the errors.)
Catechumens will meet following coffee this Sunday, anyone can attend these sessions.
December 10th Liturgy at the Mission of St. Seraphim on Cape Breton.
Following Vespers on Saturday evening, we will have a short Prayer Service for Father Maximos, Father Peter, and Presbytera Joy.
The cleanup session last Saturday was lovely. There were lots of things tackled and cleaned. The carpets, the step up to the iconostas were all cleaned. Tiles were replaced on the roof and a lot was done in the altar area. There was food, coffee and muffins. That is Taran and Jarod on the roof, they're fixing where the water comes in.
Lots of love in Christ,
-- Father David
Service Times
Saturday: 6:00pm Vespers
Sunday: 9:30am Hours, 10:00am Divine Liturgy, followed by coffee hour
See special service times, feasts, and parish events in our online Calendar.
Our parish uses the Old Style Julian calendar.
Capital Campaign
St.Vladimir‘s has begun the journey towards owning a permanent temple. Join Us!
You can Interac E-Transfer your donations now to halifaxorthodox (at) gmail (dot) com.
PayPal:
Mission of St Seraphim of Sarov in Cape Breton
https://www.facebook.com/groups/821379829450585
The next service at the Cape Breton Mission will be on Sunday October 29, 2023, 10:30am. The service will be held at 87 Big Baddeck Road Extension, Baddeck, NS B0E 1B0.
For further ionformation, contact: stseraphimofsarovmission (at) gmail (dot) com