All Saints
Categories: uncategorized
Date: 26 June 2005 06:31:31
While the Western rites celebrate the Feast of All Saints on November 1, in Orthodoxy it is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. The Feast of All Saints commemorates the "great cloud of witnesses": all those who have gone before us in the faith, both those known to us and those known only by God.
 [Icon from OCA] | As with fine porphyry and royal purple, Your church has been adorned with Your martyrs' blood shed throughout all the world. She cries to You, O Christ God: Send down Your bounties on Your people, Grant peace to Your habitation, and great mercy to our souls! Troparion The universe offers You the God-bearing martyrs, Kontakion |
Though a joyful commemoration of our brothers and sisters who have gone before us (and with a mighty dosing of incense -- there was a fog developing around the altar!), today was tinged with sadness as it was the last day, for the moment, that Fr John and his wife (who is also the choir director) are with our parish. Fr John founded our parish as an English-speaking Orthodox parish seven or so years ago and, as was made mention today, he was the first to do so here in Sydney: a true visionary. They, and their children, will be greatly missed. God willing, we will have the funds sometime soon to enable him to return to us full-time. We had a farewell lunch with the food prepared by the women from our parish: beautiful food and plenty of it, and wondrous desserts.
In addition, Fr Themi from Kenya was visiting our parish today. Fr Themi leads the Orthodox Mission in Nairobi which serves the poor and needy people there by providing food, clothing and medical aid to the local population, as well as providing them with the skills needed to support themselves long term. There is a large focus on education, and they are aiming to build an Orthodox university in Kenya to provide tertiary education at reduced price for those unable to afford the full-priced universities. They are currently running, in addition to other education programmes, an accredited Child Care diploma from which the first graduates recently graduated.
It was wonderful to hear of the work being done in Kenya, especially with those who have HIV or AIDS, and the way Fr Themi and those working with him are reaching out and helping those in need in Kenya. Fr Themi is a wonderful man, full of energy and zeal -- and it shows clearly and is contagious. He also has a wonderful sense of humour. It was a true pleasure to hear him speak and have him help serve the Divine Liturgy today.
May God continue to bless Fr John and his wife and family, and Fr Themi and his workers and their mission in Kenya.