St.Vladimir Orthodox Church

Services

The services of the Church are not laid upon us as burdens. Prayer and worship is a great privilege given to us by God Himself. We are permitted to stand in His presence and to seek after Him in prayer.

Saturday: Vespers 6:00pm
Sunday: Hours and Liturgy 10:00am

Languages of Service: English, Slavonic, occasional French and Greek

Calendar: Old Style

Patronal Feast: July 28 (July 15 old calendar)

Holy Communion

Holy Communion is open to Orthodox Christians who are properly prepared to receive by Fasting, Prayer and Confession and are present in the church by the time of the opening blessing (“Blessed is the Kingdom...”).

Confessions

By appointment with Fr Vladimir, please contact him well in advance.

Everyone should make every effort to come to confession regularly, and especially before the great festivals of the Church.

Confession is an integral part of the Christian life/worship experience. In the Orthodox tradition, it should practices regularly in conjunction with attendance at Vespers and Liturgy and reception of the sacrament. The best way to approach confession is to prepare oneself carefully before coming to the church, and be concise and clear during confession so that everything may proceed easily and smoothly. Time is somewhat limited, and there may be a fairly large number of people wanting/needing confession. Please be considerate of others in this regard.

The normal time for confession is on Saturdays before Vespers, and after Vespers if necessary. (But please make appointments in advance, no later than Friday afternoon.) It is extremely difficult and almost impossible for your priest to hear confessions on Sunday morning before the Liturgy. Asking for confession at this time adds another burden to an already busy day. For people wo live at an extreme distance from the city, it is possible to make other arrangements — by phone or e-mail — but this should not become the norm.

Submitting Names

There is the custom of submitting names to be remembered during the Prothesis (or Proskimidia) at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy. This practice is normally reserved for the commemoration of living or departed Orthodox believers, or family members or very close friends. Think carefully of who may need special prayer at that particular time, and submit only those names. They must be submitted during the Prothesis while the priest is still in the process of preparing the diskos.

Panikhidas

Panikhidas (prayers for the departed) and other prayers of blessings are performed on Saturdays (before or after Vespers) or at other prearranged times. Requests for such services must be made at least twenty-four hours in advance. Normally a Panikhida is served for one or two very specific departed persons. The general rule is that the Panikhida is reserved only for departed Orthodox Christians, although in the case of family members or very close friends, this rule is often overlooked.

Civic Calendar with Service Schedule

Year 2020
January
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
		01	02	03	04 Work Bee 10:00am Vespers 6:00pm	05 Hours, Liturgy 10:00am
06 Nativity Eve Vigil of Nativity, Parish Potluck 9:00pm	07 Christ’s Nativity	08	09	10	11 Vespers 6:00pm	12 Hours, Liturgy 10:00am
13 Vespers 6:00pm	14 Circumcision of Jesus	15	16	17	18 Vespers, Great Blessing of the Water 6:00pm	19 Theophany Hours, Liturgy, Blessing of the Ocean 10:00am
20	21	22	23	24	25 Vespers 6:00pm	26 Hours, Liturgy, Annual Parish Meeting 10:00am
27	28	29	30	31

Sundays and major feasts are in red. Fast days are shaded.