Father Anthony

On Blessing Candles on the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple

February 13, 2021 By The Deacon

Dear and Faithful Orthodox Christian,

We shall soon arrive at the Fortieth Day since the Nativity of Our Saviour. In fulfillment of the Law, Our Lady, the Mother of God together with Joseph, bring Our Saviour to the Temple, and there takes place the Encounter of the Lord with Saint Symeon and Saint Anna the Prophetess. Saint Symeon beholding Him, reveals that Christ is a ‘light of revelation to the Nations, and the glory of Thy people Israel.’

This Monday is the great Feast of the Meeting of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple, and we will celebrate with the All-night Vigil and Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral on Sunday night. At that celebration, we will also keep the very ancient tradition of blessing candles which we will then distribute to the faithful.

As we all prepare for the Feast, please read this short excerpt from a Homily of Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem which he gave on this day back in the early seventh century.

Many Years for the Feast!
Father Anthony

On Blessing Candles for the Feast of the Meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple
By St. Sophronius of Jerusalem + 638 AD

Our lighted candles are a sign of the divine splendour of the one who comes to expel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole universe radiant with the brilliance of His eternal light. Our candles also show how bright our souls should be when we go to meet Christ.

The Mother of God, the most pure Virgin, carried the true Light in her arms and brought Him to those who lay in darkness. We too should carry a light for all to see and reflect the radiance of the true light as we hasten to meet Him.

The Light has come and has shone upon a world enveloped in shadows; the Dayspring from on high has visited us and given light to those who lived in darkness. This, then, is our feast, and we join in procession with lighted candles to reveal the light that has shone upon us and the glory that is yet to come to us through Him. So let us hasten all together to meet our God.

The true Light has come, the light that enlightens every man who is born into this world. Let all of us, my brethren, be enlightened and made radiant by this light. Let all of us share in its splendour, and be so filled with it that no one remains in the darkness. Let us be shining ourselves as we go together to meet and to receive with the aged Symeon the Light whose brilliance is eternal.

Rejoicing with Symeon, let us sing a hymn of thanksgiving to God, the Father of the light, who sent the true Light to dispel the darkness and to give us all a share in his splendour.

Through Symeon’s eyes we too have seen the salvation of God which he prepared for all the nations and revealed as the glory of the new Israel, which is ourselves. As Simeon was released from the bonds of this life when he had seen Christ, so we too were at once freed from our old state of sinfulness.

By faith we, too embraced, Christ, the salvation of God the Father, as he came to us from Bethlehem. Gentiles before, we have now become the people of God. Our eyes have seen God incarnate, and because we have seen him present among us and have mentally received him into our arms, we are called the new Israel.

Never shall we forget this presence; every year we keep a feast in His honour.

Message from Fr. Anthony on the Feast of Holy Theophany 2021

January 17, 2021 By The Deacon

Dear and faithful Orthodox Christians,

In today’s Gospel we heard the preaching of the Prophet, and Forerunner, Saint John the Baptist saying, ‘There comes One mightier than I…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ Saint John prepares the way for the coming of Our Saviour. The Great Feast of Theophany celebrates the appearance of God at the Jordan River, the establishment of Holy Baptism as the entry into the Church, and the worship of the Holy Trinity which was made manifest on this day.

We prepare for Theophany, by keeping a strict Fast on Monday, and participating in the Services on Monday and Tuesday to celebrate the Great Feast. Please join the Services that we will both live stream from the Cathedral, as well as through Facetime for Father Sergey’s Services.

The Service of the Great Blessing of the Waters will take place following the Liturgy on both Monday and Tuesday morning. Do you have some holy water at home? If you do have some from a previous service, I would encourage those praying with us at home to also sprinkle the holy water and chant with us the Hymn of the Feast, “When Thou wast baptized in the Jordan, O Lord”. You can listen to the Dismissal Hymn and Kontakion of Theophany chanted by the Choir of Saint Nicholas through the links below. You will also find the text below, or find it in your Prayer Book.

Many blessed years for the Feast of Theophany!

Father Anthony

Dismissal Hymn. First Tone
Listen Here
When Thou wast baptized in the Jordan, O Lord, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest; for the voice of the Father bare witness to Thee, calling
Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the certainty of the word. O Christ our God, Who hast appeared and hast enlightened the world, glory be to Thee.

Kontakion. Fourth Tone. The Original Melody
Listen Here
On this day Thou hast appeared * unto the whole world, * and Thy light, O Sovereign Lord, * is signed on us who sing Thy praise * and chant with
knowledge: Thou hast now come, * Thou hast appeared, O Thou Light unapproachable.

Blessings on the Feast of our Saviour’s Holy Nativity in 2020

January 3, 2021 By The Deacon

Dear and faithful Orthodox Christians,

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Together, let us all rejoice with great rejoicing as we celebrate the Birth of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Scarborough, English Language Orthodox Church Toronto, Orthodox Services in English Our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ! Let us read together now the announcement of the Angel to the shepherds as recorded in the second chapter of the divine Gospel of Saint Luke:

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

And we also say with them, ‘Glory to God in the highest!’ for Our Saviour was incarnate, and lived among us, through His sacrifice making possible the forgiveness of our sins, the reconciliation of God with men, and He showed us the most excellent way, that we also walk in peace and virtue to the great day of Salvation.

Our father among the Saints, John Chrysostom expounded to us in a sermon that he gave on December 20, 386 AD, that we pull down the wall that may still keep us from Our Saviour saying, “Farewell to the law courts! Farewell to the council chambers, and to daily business with its contracts and transactions! I want to save my soul!”. He gives us a word which I think is very helpful for our current situation. This year we are not able to all celebrate in the Vigil and Liturgy as we have in the past, we will not all be together to celebrate the feast with Nativity treats and singing of Carols. Yet we all remain united in Christ. Our community united in Christ through prayer, participation in the Services at home, through love and joined through Divine Communion.

As we celebrate in our homes, listen to these beautiful words again of Saint John Chrysostom, “The Magi came from Persia, you must come away from daily business and travel towards Jesus. The distance isn’t great, if we’re willing.” The point is, you don’t have to cross the sea, or traverse the mountain peaks, but if you sit at home exhibiting piety and much compunction… you can cut the distance of the journey. For “I am a God close at hand, and not a God far off,” (Jer 23:23) and “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth” (Ps 145:18).

In the few days until Nativity, I would encourage everyone to read at home from the Gospels, Luke chapter 2, and Matthew Chapter 3. If you are with your family and children, gather them and read it together. And also each day to read or learn to chant these two sacred Kontakia hymns of the Forefeast and the Nativity written by Saint Romanus the Melodist. You can hear them chanted by the choir of Saint Nicholas through links below, and you can follow the words noted below, as well.

Kontakion of the FOREFEAST of Nativity of our Saviour Jesus Christ

Kontakion of the FEAST of the Nativity of our Saviour Jesus Christ

Our beloved Metropolitan Andrew sends his fatherly blessing to all of us, together with his encouragement that we pray for one another, and rejoice in the great mercy and love of God Our Saviour.

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Father Anthony

Kontakion for the Forefeast of Nativity of our Saviour
Third Tone. On this day the Virgin.

On this day the virgin cometh to the cave to give birth to * God the Word ineffably, * Who was before all the ages. * Dance for joy, O earth, on hearing * the gladsome tidings; * with the Angels and the shepherds now glorify Him * Who is willing to be gazed on * as a young Child Who * before the ages is God.

Kontakion of the Feast of the Nativity of our Saviour
Third Tone. The Original Melody.

On this day the Virgin beareth the Transcendent in essence; * to the Unapproachable, * the earth doth offer a small cave; * Angels join in choir with shepherds * in giving glory; * with a star the Magi travel upon their journey; * for our sakes is born a young Child, * He that existed * before the ages as God.

Text copyright Holy Transfiguration Monastery; used with permission.

2020 Nativity Fast Begins our Journey to Bethlehem

November 27, 2020 By The Deacon

The Lord bless!

Dear and faithful Orthodox Christians,

As we begin the holy Nativity Fast, I thank Our Saviour that we have had the opportunity to worship together in the Divine Services over the last months both in Saint Nicholas Cathedral, as well as through our streamed Services from the Cathedral and Father Sergey’s home ministry.

Yet it is with some sadness, as I said last Sunday, that we must again significantly reduce attendance to meet the recommendations of the Provincial Health Authorities. We will, therefore, return to the practices we followed back in March. Only Father Protodeacon George, and I, together with a few chanters and server will attend Church in-person. This is not at all what any of us hoped for, but with God’s help, we have worked through these constraints in the past and will support each other at this time as well.

I ask and encourage everyone to participate, to worship, and pray together with us as we continue to stream all of our Services from the Cathedral or with Father Sergey through Facetime. For each family and individual parishioner to come in front of your icon corner, light a candle, and burn some incense during the Service. Remember that we should dress as we would if attending Church in-person, to stand and to cross ourselves, to attend to the hymns and readings, and to pray for one another, and for all in need.

We have each made our homes into ‘Islands of Holiness.’ As Metropolitan Gregory instructs us to emulate those Orthodox Christians who were nourished by the Faith in their homes in times of persecution in the past, and ‘to convert your living room into a Church, and let your family be the congregation. If you do, have no doubt, Christ will be there with you.’ And to not be discouraged if you live alone, but be comforted by how many Saints prayed individually to God in the wilderness, yet together with their Guardian Angel, ‘for no Christian is ever without their Guardian Angel.’

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, knowing that Our Saviour is the bestower of every good thing, and that we are compassed about with the great company of Saints, let us with faith begin our journey together through the fast, and follow the road with patience to arrive at Bethlehem. And so let us spend this time with prayer, fasting, and repentance, remembering those in sickness, and those in need, and be assured that arriving in Bethlehem we shall behold that ‘great and marvelous mystery’ as Our Saviour comes to be born.

In Christ,
Father Anthony

On the Feast of Saint Nectarius the Wonderworker

November 22, 2020 By The Deacon

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Beloved Orthodox Faithful,

Today we celebrated with great joy the Feast of Saint Nectarius of Aegina, the Wonderworker on the 100th Year Anniversary of his blessed repose. A great intercessor for us, a Saint renowned for miraculous healings, a great writer of Christian instruction and theology, and a man of great humility filled with the Holy Spirit!
Saint Nectarius instructs us in his writings:

“Prayer is truly a heavenly armour, and it alone can keep safe those who have dedicated themselves to God. Prayer is the common medicine for purifying ourselves from the passions, for hindering sins, and curing our faults. Prayer is an inexhaustible treasure, an unruffled harbour, the foundation of serenity, the root and mother of myriads of blessings.”
–(“St. Nectarius of Aegina”, 1981, by Constantine Cavarnos)

Let us follow his instruction and ask Saint Nectarius to intercede with Our merciful Saviour, that in this time of difficulty, Our Saviour shelter and protect us and keep us in His divine grace.

And recalling the magnificent hymn “O Pure Virgin”, that he wrote, let us also say to the Mother of God:
“O thou my hope deliver me, from harm and all adversity. Rejoice, O unwedded Bride! And by thy prayers show me to be, an heir of immortality. Rejoice, O unwedded Bride!”

In Christ,
Father Anthony