How to Receive Holy Communion, Appendix I

Last month's article about proper preparation for receiving Holy Communion produced some good questions:

1. "Can I receive communion if I come late to the Liturgy?" Or, to put it another way, "How late is too late?" While there is no single, dogmatic answer to this question, our own conscience ought to help us decide for ourselves. Things can happen on Sunday morning to derail us from getting to church on time. Alarm clocks, children, spouses and even our vehicles can at times seem to conspire against us. That is why one of the best ways to prevent being late is to plan to arrive early, so that if something does happen to delay us, chances are we'll still be on time. But suppose that in spite of this precaution we do arrive unavoidably late for Liturgy. Can we still come for communion? To give a straight answer, a good rule to follow is not to come to the chalice if we have missed the Epistle and Gospel readings.

This 'cut-off' point is not simply arbitrary. It is based on the fact that part of our preparation for properly receiving communion takes place in the Liturgy itself. The readings for the day form an indispensable part of that preparation. They instruct us, mold us so that our hearts and minds - and not just our bodies - can indeed be prepared to receive the body of Christ. The scripture readings tell us who that Christ is. To miss them is to miss something without which we should think twice before drawing near. Our own piety ought to hold us back, lest in drawing near without proper preparation we scandalize ourselves.

2. "Why do you have wine after communion, and do I have to drink it?" This question points to a difference between Russian and Byzantine custom. Hot water mixed with wine, known as zapivka, is a distinctive feature of Russian Eucharistic practice. Like the antidoron, it serves several practical as well as symbolic functions. Foremost, it helps to wash down Holy Communion and keep any particles from sticking in our mouths. As for whether you have to drink it, the answer is no. It is an option for those who chose it.

Services This Month
+ September 8th: Nativity (Birth) of the Theotokos.
+ September 14th: The Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
**Note: The Vigil service will be celebrated on the eves of both Great Feasts. As we flesh out our liturgical celebrations a bit more with this, our second year together, the goal will be to observe all Great Feasts with Vigil.
**Note: Weekday Divine Liturgies will now begin at 8:35 am, a half hour earlier than on weekends.

Bible Study
The Wednesday evening Bible Study resumes this month and will begin with the story of Noah and the Flood (Genesis 6). As usual, the Holy Fathers will be our guides, particularly Ss. John Chrysostom and Ephrem the Syrian. We will also pray an Akathist together. The schedule of classes will hopefully be less sporadic this time around as we will not attempt any sessions over the summer, but will end for the year with the beginning of Great Lent. The Akathist service lasts roughly 45 minutes and the Bible Study will generally be kept to similar length, so the total time will be about an hour and a half. Come for either or both components, as you desire.

Windows
The long-running project of replacing the windows in our temple is nearly complete, glory be to God! Almost everyone is pleased with the re-design. The next and final phase will be to place protective coverings over the outside of each window. Clear Lexan storm windows should be installed hopefully by the end of the month. Though there will be no extra cost to those who have sponsored a window, the storm windows will run over $2000 all told. It is essential that we maintain and even improve upon our sacrificial giving to the church, since this is but one of several projects that need to be completed for the glory of God.

Saturday, September 9 will be a day for preparing the exterior windowsills with white laminate material that will make the gap between the stained glass and storm windows look nice. All able bodied men should plan to put in an appearance and we can get the job done in a few hours.

Finally, the question arises what to do with the old windows, several of which survived the process of removal and are currently taking up space in the storage shed. The Parish Council has decided to sell these pieces of our church's history, which will hopefully all be purchased by our own faithful. The old windows are available to parishioners at a cost of $40 each. Please speak with Father if you'd like to buy one (or more).

Choir Practice will now be held on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 - 9:00 in the parish hall. All who feel a vocation to singing in church are invited.

Parishioner Profile: The Craciuns

A wedding was recently celebrated at St. Michael's - the first one this parish has seen in seven years. The bride and groom were one of the unlikeliest couples you could find, and yet all of those present for the simple, Thursday morning ceremony could feel the grace of the Holy Spirit coming down upon them to mould them into one.

Alex Craciun and Olivia (Magdalena) Olguin came from different worlds. A recent immigrant from Romania, Alex was born in Bucharest in 1969. Gifted musically, he trained professionally from a young age. Violin is Alex's specialty, though he is also proficient at piano. After completing his studies at Romania's National Academy of Music, he taught for a while and traveled internationally with a professional choir. Music took him as far abroad as Japan and the Netherlands, but it was love that brought him to Pueblo (which shows just how CRAZY love can make a person).

That love is Olivia. Born in 1981 and raised near Long Beach, CA, Olivia decided to study English at CSU Pueblo. Her desire is to become a teacher. This call to teach also helped initiate her relationship with Alex. You see, Olivia's uncle is married to a woman from Romania who happens to have studied music with Alex back in the Old Country. This aunt introduced Alex to Olivia via the internet, with the stated purpose of having Olivia help Alex learn English.

A relationship that began as pedagogical in nature developed over the course of time into something more personal. The two found they had a great deal in common. One day, Alex sent Olivia a very simple email: "Will you marry me?" She called him to say 'yes.' Shortly thereafter, she traveled to Romania to initiate his immigration proceedings…and so they could meet face-to-face for the first time. In March of 2006, Alex came to Pueblo, sight unseen, with the intent to marry Olivia and live in America.

Since then, life has not been easy. Our friends at Homeland Security have made certain of that (as Father and Popadija can confirm from their own experience). Alex has found Pueblo to be like "another world" (as Father and Popadija can confirm from their own experience). It is particularly frustrating for him not to be able to work yet. Romanian men aren't terribly big on being househusbands, and Alex fills his time playing league soccer with Mexicans.

How have they found St. Michael's? For Alex, the Orthodox faith has always been an important part of his life. "To pray correctly is important to this life. Without praying is very dangerous," he observes. Alex was shocked the first time he visited St. Michael's Church because the doors were locked. In Romania (and most other places) the churches are always open and you can go in to pray whenever you like.

As for Olivia, who was raised a Roman Catholic, she has found the Orthodox Church a good home. "It seems so Old World whereas the Catholic Church is becoming so geared toward the modern world. I like the tradition," she said. Olivia was received into the Church prior to their marriage on the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, her chosen patron saint. Their kumovi are Davi and Eleni Wingate, who are now demoted to the second-unlikeliest couple at St. Michael's.

Recommended Reading
This time last year a number of parishioners were talking about the book The Mountain of Silence, by Kyriacos Markides. While on vacation this summer, Father decided to see what the buzz was about and encountered one of the most important, modern spiritual works he has read. The book is written by a Greek-American academic who has a special relationship with an Athonite/Cypriot monk, a monk with many qualities of a spiritual elder. The Mountain is essentially a presentation of the wisdom and teachings of this monk, Fr. Maximos, via the prose of Markides. The only drawbacks of the book are the New Age proclivities of the author, which occasionally insert themselves into the narrative. On the other hand, Markides' skepticism and krypto-syncretism may appeal to the non-Orthodox reader, for whom The Mountain of Silence would make an excellent gift. Though not currently carried in the bookstore, it is published by Doubleday and should be widely available elsewhere.

Archbishop Jovan Fund
The Messenger has mentioned on occasion the plight of His Beatitude Jovan, Archbishop of the Autonomous Orthodox Archdiocese of Ohrid (Macedonia). As you may recall, the entire Macedonian episcopate, at the urging of communist leaders, went into schism in 1967 and declared itself an autocephalous Macedonian Orthodox Church. This faction is recognized by no Orthodox Church in the world. The legitimate head of the Church in Macedonia is Archbishop Jovan, who is in communion with the Serbian Orthodox Church and all canonical bishops. The schismatics and their communist masters have consistently persecuted Vladyka Jovan and his flock for years. He has been imprisoned, and released, and threatened with imprisonment again. Churches and monasteries under his omophorion have been destroyed, many with bulldozers. With the blessing of Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver, a fund has been established to enable Orthodox Americans to support Archbishop Jovan and our brothers and sisters in his flock. We will take a collection for this fund on September 10.

Ladies Antique Outing
Fellowship is not restricted to coffee hour. The health of our parish life depends in part on the ties we build outside of church. In order to encourage these ties, the ladies of St. Michael's are invited to get together for a day of antiquing in exotic Florence (not the one in Italy). Ladies should meet in front of the church at 9:30 am on Saturday the 16th. Carpooling is encouraged. All women of the parish are welcome.

Church School
In order to move toward a Sunday School, we need some information. Please fill out this card for your children grades K-12 if you would like them to participate in such a program. Clip and return it to Father by September 24:

___________ Age	____________ Grade Level	_________________ Child's Name
___________ Age	____________ Grade Level	_________________ Child's Name
___________ Age	____________ Grade Level	_________________ Child's Name