August 7533 (2025), Dormition Season
THE GOOD NEWS OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY IN NORTHERN APPALACHIA AT THE SUSQUEHANNA CONFLUENCE
From St. John’s Russian Orthodox Christian Church, Winfield PA, stjohnthewonderworker.com, and the Bucknell University Orthodox Christian Community
Glory to God!
Weekly services: Saturday Vigil, 4:30 p.m., Sunday Divine Liturgy, 10 a.m. (Hours 9:40). Special feasts and events noted below. Please double-check our online calendar at stjohnthewonderworker.com
Please contact Father Paul for any needed sick or hospital visits, prayers, confession, or missionary work. 570-863-9039, priestpauls@pm.me, and on Facebook messenger. For building-related and property issues, please contact Warden Nik, nikteisher@gmail.com. For donation issues, please contact Treasurer Vince, camiann1@aol.com. For cemetery information and record needs, please contact Reader and Secretary Luke, lukesobe@gmail.com. For choir-related questions, please contact Choir Director Sophia, emilee.parisi17@gmail.com. For items for future newsletters, please contact Nicholas Siewers, who helped with compiling, konstantinsiewers7@gmail.com
Church Schedule—Special Feasts and Events (dates on Church calendar/civil calendar)
Feast of the Holy Wood, “Honey Feast,” first of the three Spas (“Savior Days”) of the Formation Season
Aug. 1/13, Vigil for the Holy Wood, 7 p.m.
Aug. 2/14, Liturgy for the Holy Wood, 9:30 a.m., followed by the blessing of honey.
This day commemorates the Baptism of the Rus’ people on Aug. 1/13, which paved the way for later Orthodox Russia and its evangelization efforts to the world (including our mission parish,) as well as the Cross upon which our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was crucified for the salvation of mankind. In accordance with native Russian tradition, it is customary to bless honey with the intercession of St. Clement, the patron saint of beekeeping, as a reminder to the gifts of sustenance which God bestows upon us through creation. On this day we will also begin our preparation of fasting for the feast of the Dormition of the Holy Theotokos, “Summer Lent” and “Summer Pascha.”
Sunday Aug. 4/17, Liturgy as usual followed at 2 p.m. by Wedding of Joseph Frangione and Karina Toth. Note: This is a joyful event, but since it is by special blessing during a fasting season, we have been asked to try not to make a “big deal” of the wedding, i.e. to exercise restraint. Joe and Karina plan to invite a small group, and members of St. John’s community are of course invited to the ceremony. Glory to God!
Feast of the Transfiguration, blessing of fruits, “the Apple feast of the Savior,” one of the 12 major feasts
Mon., Aug. 5/18, Vigil for Transfiguration, 7 p.m.
Tues, Aug. 6/19, Liturgy for the Feast of the Transfiguration, 10 a.m.. We will be celebrating the Transfiguration of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on Mt. Tabor before his disciples Peter, James, and John. For Orthodox Christians this event is commemorated for its demonstration of the perfection with which Christ brings together the temporal nature of his manhood and the eternal nature of his Godhood through the awesome and mysterious power of the Holy Trinity, and also indicates the potential attainment of theosis by believers in the life to come. In accordance with Russian native tradition, we bless the fruits of the Autumnal harvest and express gratitude to the gifts of sustenance which God has bestowed upon us.
Wed. Aug. 7/20, Paraklesis healing prayer service, 7 p.m.
Fri. August 9/22, 1 p.m., Orthodox lunch for new students, Bucknell campus
Sun. August 11/24, Liturgy as usual. Then, 2-4 p.m. Orthodox table at Bucknell Activities Fair, Intermural Sports Field
Feast of the Dormition, blessing of flowers, one of the 12 major feasts
Wed., Aug. 14/27, Vigil for the Dormition, 7 p.m.
Thurs., Aug. 15/28. Liturgy for the Dormition, 10 a.m. On this day we commemorate the repose of our Holy Lady Mary, mother of God, and the assumption of her soul to Heaven to reside with our Lord Jesus Christ and all of His saints. In Orthodox tradition it is held that flowers bloomed around her tomb following her assumption, and so we also bless flowers as part of our commemoration of this occasion.
Fri., Aug. 16/29. “Nut Feast of the Savior”; Feast of the Mandylion (Icon of Christ not made with hands). Akathist to our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 a.m., followed by blessing of nuts.Originally from the city of Edessa in Southern Anatolia, in 944 after Arab forces occupied the city the image was obtained through an exchange of Muslim prisoners and transferred to Constantinople for safekeeping, which this feast commemorates. Additionally, it is traditional that nuts are blessed on this day as a way of celebrating the Autumnal harvests, which God bestows upon his creation.
Also: The Paideia Review, a journal of Orthodox Christianity and Culture, will be accessible soon (hopefully in August) at https://paideia.orthodoxws.com/. Edited by Fr Paul, it features reflections as well as scholarly articles by those engaged with the Paideia Society, which holds an annual conference at Antiochian Village.
Upcoming September Events:
Watch for a Sisterhood Retreat in September, featuring lunch and quarterly Church cleanup. Later in September or in October, Mary (Sally) has invited the Sisterhood to another lunch-tea at her home, the site of the successful kickoff to the Sisterhood of St. Olga of Alaska several weeks ago. Thank you to Mary for your hospitality and inspiration!
Sept. 5-6 civil calendar, Fr Paul and interested parishioners and catechumens to attend the 3rd annual Ludwell Fellowship Conference, “The Cradle and the Crucible: Ludwell’s Virginia through War and Revolution, and the Future of Orthodoxy in the South and in America.” Stafford, VA (hosted by St. Herman’s Orthodox Church, which was a sister parish to ours at the start of our mission). Speakers will include Fr. Turbo Qualls, Jay Dyer, and Fr Paul. https://southernorthodox.org/
Ongoing:
Daily Gospel Readings from St. John, see
Bible Study Sundays at 2:30 p.m., Bucknell Bookstore
Online Orthodoxy Class, 10 to 11 a.m. most Saturdays (doublecheck website calendar or email Fr Paul to confirm), at Bucknell.zoom.us/my/Kentigern/
Cemetery News
The parish Brotherhood of St. Alfred the Great has a current project of reaching out to local veterans halls and volunteer fire departments with information about special rates on plots in our public cemetery for veterans and emergency personnel and their families. If you have any contacts with such groups in Union and Snyder Counties, please be in touch. We also hope to have a table at the Selinsgrove Fair in September to feature our public cemetery and also provide information about our worship services and discussion groups.
Church Directory Project
We are in the process of updating our Church Directory for our community. It is located at stjohnthewonderworker.com/directory/. This is not linked publicly and has restricted access; even so, it’s best only to the link with members. If you find you do not have access, please request access there. Please fill in any contact information you can. Thanks to Nick Siewers for helping with this project, and also with updating our Church email list, texting loops, and work on this newsletter!
Notes on Confession and Fasting
Confession is a mystery of the Church for our own benefit in receiving spiritual health rather than negative effects from receiving Holy Communion. How often to confess depends on one’s spiritual struggles, but as a rule of thumb please plan to confess at least once every two months; monthly is better; and always when a sin is an obstacle to taking Confession with a clear conscience. If you have not properly prepared (including recent Confession also proper fasting and saying of the pre-Communion prayers), then please refrain from Communion until you can arrange confession by appointment. Communion is a gift to us from God but not an entitlement to be done carelessly, in which case it can be spiritually unhealthy. Fr Paul is also available for confession at Vigil and before Liturgy; it is helpful to contact him in advance if you know you need to confess (but if not please don’t let that keep you from requesting confession). If you confess elsewhere, please ask the priest to email Fr Paul to let him know each time you confess.
Fasting involves on certain days and seasons refraining from meat, dairy, and fish; basically it is “vegan plus shellfish” (fasting before Communion from midnight before is a fast from all food or drink unless you have a blessing otherwise for health reasons). This is to help us glimpse what life is like as God intended, by reducing our carnivority during fasting days (usually Wednesday and Friday), and in special seasons such as Dormition, and reducing our intake of rich luxurious foods that help foster fallen passions, and encourages us in giving alms to those in need by saving the cost of acquiring richer foods. Please check the parish calendar for daily information and variations on fasting, which can also be found at ROCOR websites such as stjonah.org and eadiocese org. If you have questions or have medical needs and travel/hospitality accommodations that require different fasting rules, please contact Fr Paul.