Kathryn White reports Jonathan had his surgery this week and is recovering.  They are hopeful the prognosis will be good.  He is experiencing some post-surgical issues so please keep him and his family in your prayers.

 Bishop Job of Blessed Memory with the early Saint Marks community

Some early history notes of St. Mark of Ephesus, Kingston, MA

(by Fr. Mark Sherman, April 2013)

I know you have good researchers and historians, and you probably have all this information.  Nevertheless, I thought I would jot down the info that I could find from my early files of St. Mark’s, in the hope of providing a blessing!

1. The idea of the mission began as an obedience in 1980 to Fr. David Black (later, Hieromonk Sergios and Bp. Sergios, variously of the OCA Bulgarian Diocese, HOCNA, and an old calendar Greek Church) of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Boston “to begin a mission on the South Shore.”
2. Early services began as Vespers and Presanctified Liturgies in our home in Norwell and the home of Anna McAfee in Hanover.   The first service was in our home on November 7, 1980 with Fr. Black.  However, the mission received only sparse support until His Eminence Job became Bishop of New England in January 1983.  Also in 1983, the mission received service and invaluable encouragement from Fr. Joseph Letendre of Nativity of the Virgin Mary Church, Chelsea; and music assistance from Paula (Griffith) Daubert, who later became choir director at Holy Trinity Cathedral.  Specifically, there is record of Friday Presanctified Liturgies at Anna McAfee’s home on April 8, 15, 22 (His Eminence Job attending), and 29, 1983.  There is also documentation of resuming after Bright Week 1983 “regular Tuesday night Vespers services.”
3. Early participants in the effort to begin a mission were our family, and the families of Anna McAfee, Mary Alice Steinemer, Richard and Mary Adele Rudick, and Mark and Magdalena (Marge) Porter.  Also included were Sophie Silverman from Hingham and attorney Anthony Moses.
4. An early document regarding the choice of St. Mark of Ephesus as patron for the mission states: “St. Mark provides us a pattern for upholding the faith against great odds.  In our world of shifting spiritual sands against the great tide of existential philosophy and secular humanism, this is precisely our calling.  O Blessed St. Mark, pray that we may have a share of your vision and courage!”
5. The desired location for the mission was the Plymouth area due to its significant growth in the 1970’s.   Starting in mid-1983 we began looking for a suitable building for the mission.  On a day in July 1983 during a complete downpour, Anne and I drove by and spotted the Kingston building that looked like a great possibility.  We asked a neighbor who said it was the original St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, now located down the street, and that it was only used for storage and yard sales.  We went to the door of the Catholic Rectory and the priest, Fr. John Pettie, reacted negatively stating a number of obstacles for anyone else using the building.  

1. On September 19, 1983, we met again with Fr. Pettie and offered to meet with members of his parish, stating that our proposal “may be seen as positive by your parishioners.  That is, the use once again of the building for the purpose for which it was established and consecrated – the offering up of praise and thanksgiving to our Lord.”  We subsequently met with members of the Catholic parish, and despite the original objections of Fr. Pettie, parishioners and perhaps diocesan authorities decided in our favor.   Negotiations for a lease spanned a year, including a meeting with Catholic Bishop Daniel Hart of Brockton and Fr. Pettie, and much correspondence.  Finally in Fall 1984, we completed the lease deed with Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston for $1 per year.  
2. Wishing to have services in the Plymouth area (as opposed to further north in Hanover or Norwell), we rented the Silver Lake Chapel in nearby Plympton.  The first Liturgy in the Plymouth area was served there by Fr. Letendre on Saturday, September 24, 1983.
3. In order to make a proper introduction to the Kingston community, we met with the Kingston selectman on November 1, 1983.  Fr. Joseph Letendre and I described Orthodoxy and our hopes to begin a Church at the meeting.  As a result, we received articles in the Independent Voice, the Silver Lake News, and the Brockton Enterprise.  (And we first met reporter, and later parishioner, Alice Hawrilenko!)
4. We became incorporated as St. Mark of Ephesus Church, Inc., under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on February 1, 1984.  Officers were Mark Sherman, Anna McAfee, and Mary Rudick.
5. In September 1984, it was a blessing to have Fr. Michael Margitich, who had retired from his U.S. Air Force chaplaincy, assigned as St. Mark of Ephesus’ first priest.  Fr. Michael set up and served the first Liturgy in the Kingston building (thought to have been October 13-14, 1984).  I served my diaconate at St. Mark’s (Sept ’84 to Jan ’85), was ordained priest at St. Mark’s by His Eminence Job, on Saturday, January 19, 1985, the Feast of St. Mark of Ephesus, and was attached to St. Mark’s until being assigned to Chelsea in early 1985.    

Christ is Risen!!!   Indeed He is Risen!!!

Christos Voskrese!!!   Voyesteno Voskrese!!!

Christos Anesti!!!   Allithos Anesti!!!

Paschal Message of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon

To the Venerable Pastors, God-loving Monastics and Devout Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America

“We celebrate the death of death and the overthrow of hell, the beginning of another life which is eternal; and in exultation, we sing the praises of its source.  He alone is blessed and most glorious, the God of our Fathers.” —(Paschal Canon, Ode 7)

Dearly Beloved in the Lord:

The central mystery of the Christian Faith is the glorious Resurrection of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, through which mankind is offered the gift of another life, which is eternal. This miracle of divine and everlasting life was wrought for us in a most remarkable way, for our Lord accomplished it by voluntarily suffering His Passion, being nailed to the Cross and descending into the tomb and into hell. 

To the world, suffering is understood as something to be avoided at all costs.  The Cross is perceived as foolishness, while the reality of death is ignored as often as possible. But Christ takes the very things the world fears and uses them, not only to reveal His glory and His power, but to share that power and glory with us. He voluntarily endures suffering to free us from our suffering.  He ascends the Cross to bring joy to a world that is so often shrouded in war, destruction and hatred.  And He willingly endures death so that He might trample it down and reveal that, in the risen Lord, it has no power over us.

Throughout our beautiful Paschal services, we sing of the great paradox of eternal life, revealed and accomplished through death: of mortality, clothed in the robe of immortality; of the Sun of Righteousness shining forth from the tomb; of death being trampled down by death. Christ, Who is Life itself, dies for us, so that we who are dead might live. We no longer fear those things that the world fears, for they no longer have power over us. As Saint John Chrysostom reminds us in his magnificent Paschal homily, “Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free. He who was prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into hell, He made hell captive.”

Let us, therefore, rejoice in the Risen Lord and be strengthened to face our own struggles with courage and hope, knowing that the Lord is ever with us. As we celebrate the bright and joyous day of His Resurrection, let us exclaim with the Apostle Paul, “O death, where is thy sting? O hell, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).  And let us all partake of the Banquet of Immortality, the Feast of Faith, with joy and thanksgiving.

With love in the Risen Lord,

+TIKHON
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada

click on the words to the right of the Saint or Feast to learn more - make sure you hit Back to come back to this page

The Women's Group is meeting the first Sunday of each month right after Liturgy - All are welcome to stay and meet with them!

Please stop by the Memory Eternal section to the right for photos and to pray for of those who have Fallen Asleep in the Lord

Interesting video from Serbia - Christos Voskrese song     click here

Please look at the MINISTRIES tab on the right for ways to get involved!

A wonderful link to a good basic primer/dictionary on Orthodoxy is:  http://www.stots.edu/these_truths_we_hold.html

A good online Bible with commentary approved by the Orthodox Church is at http://orthodoxstudybible.com/

January - Margitich                   February - Dubrovsky               March - Haddads
April - ALL (Pacha month!)       May - Laferte                              June - Open???  

July - Whites                              August - Laura                          September - Peter and Catherine     

October -         November - Nancy Zotos         December - Vantangolis 

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