Troparion — Tone 4
O Lord, save Your people, and bless Your inheritance. Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians, over their adversaries. And by virtue of Your Cross preserve Your habitation!
Our Church
125th Anniversary |
Our Parish Family |
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Concelebrating Clergy |
Kelley's Island Marker |
Welcome to Kelley's Island |
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The Orthodox cross is still in place where the original Orthodox Church stood on Kelley's Island |
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The Original Marker |
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A few of us took the ferry over to Kelley's to pray at the Orthodox marker. Natalie, Fr. Peter, Tina and Mka. Michelle |
1st Sunday of Great Lent: Sunday of OrthodoxyThe first Sunday of Great Lent is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy because it commemorates the restoration of the Holy Icons and the triumph of the Orthodox Faith against the terrible heresy of the Iconoclasts........ read more here!
125th Anniversary |
Clergy |
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Archbishop Daniel |
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Our parishioners |
Celebrating 125 years of Orthodox witness on the North Coast
On Saturday September 23, 2023, Holy Assumption Orthodox Church observed 125 years of witnessing to the Apostolic Faith in Marblehead with a magnificent Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, celebrated by His Eminence Archbishop Daniel of Chicago and the Diocese of the Midwest.
We thank everyone who helped to prepare for and participated in this momentous occasion!
About 90 parishioners, visiting clergy, and friends attended the morning service, followed by a festive banquet attended by approximately 115.
Vespers were held the evening before, followed by an informal meal. Matushka Michelle Tomas directed the choir for the services.
Most parishioners and visitors met His Eminence Archbishop Daniel for the first time during his first visit to Holy Assumption. Many visitors also met for the first time Rev. Fr. Peter Tomas, pastor at Holy Assumption since May 1, 2023.
Visiting priests who celebrated with His Eminence were Very Rev. Fr. John Adamcio, Very Rev. Fr. Emilian Hutnyan, and Rev. Jan Cizmar. Very Rev. Fr. Basil Stoyka also attended the Liturgy. Serving during the Liturgy were one visiting deacon and four visiting sub-deacons.
The Honorable Jacqueline Bird, Mayor of Marblehead, presented a proclamation in honor of the Holy Assumption’s 125th anniversary, and Rev. Fr. Joe Repko, priest at Saint Mary Byzantine Catholic Church in Marblehead, presented Father Peter with an icon of the Dormition of the Holy Theotokos. Parish Council President Ron Royhab served as master of ceremonies.
Mnohaya Lita! Congratulations! |
V. Rev. Peter and Mka. Michelle recieve a special blessing from His Eminence, Archbishop Daniel on the occasion of their 30th Wedding anniversary. |
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V. Rev. Peter Tomas is bestowed and honored with the Jeweled cross, by His Eminence, Archbishop Daniel. Axios! |
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Mr. Joseph Schutt is tonsured Reader. Axios! |
On Sunday December 7th we were truly blessed to pray the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy lead by His Eminence Archbishop Daniel who also bestowed Father Peter with the Jeweled Cross and tonsured Altar server Joseph to the rank of reader.
Father Peter and Matushka Michelle received a special blessing from His Eminence on the occasion of their 30th Wedding Anniversary and 30 year Anniversary in the priesthood!
May God grant you many blessed, happy and healthy years!
2nd Sunday of Great Lent: St. Gregory Palamas
Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas
This Sunday was originally dedicated to Saint Polycarp of Smyrna (February 23). After his glorification in 1368, a second commemoration of Saint Gregory Palamas (November 14) was appointed for the Second Sunday of Great Lent as a second “Triumph of Orthodoxy.”
Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, was born in the year 1296 in Constantinople. Saint Gregory’s father became a prominent dignitiary at the court of Andronicus II Paleologos (1282-1328), but he soon died, and Andronicus himself took part in the raising and education of the fatherless boy. Endowed with fine abilities and great diligence, Gregory mastered all the subjects which then comprised the full course of ...... click here to read more about St. Gregory Palamas
Photos from 2nd Sunday of Great Lent 2026
3rd Sunday of the Great Fast: The Veneration of the Precious CrossThe Third Sunday of Lent is that of the Veneration of the Cross. The cross stands in the midst of the church in the middle of the lenten season not merely to remind men of Christ’s redemption and to keep before them the goal of their efforts, but also to be venerated as that reality by which man must live to be saved. “He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Mt.10:38). For in the Cross of Christ Crucified lies both “the power of God and the wisdom of God” for those being saved (1 Cor.1:24).
Kontakion — Tone 7
Now the flaming sword no longer guards the gates of Eden; it has mysteriously been quenched by the wood of the Cross! The sting of death and the victory of hell have been vanquished; for You, O my Savior, have come and cried to those in hell: “Enter again into paradise.”
4thd Sunday of the Great Fast: St. John ClimacusTroparion — Tone 1
Dweller of the desert and angel in the body, you were shown to be a wonderworker, our God-bearing Father John. You received heavenly gifts through fasting, vigil, and prayer: healing the sick and the souls of those drawn to you by faith. Glory to Him who gave you strength. Glory to Him who granted you a crown. Glory to Him Who, through you, grants healing to all.
Kontakion — Tone 4
The Lord truly set you on the height of abstinence, O our instructor and Father John, as an unerring star, guiding the ends of the earth by your light.
The Ladder of Divine Ascent
The Fourth Sunday of Lent is dedicated to Saint John Klimakos, the author of The Ladder of Divine Ascent. In this book the Igoumen of Saint Katherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai bears witness to the great effort which is required for entry into God’s Kingdom (Matthew 10:12). The spiritual struggle of the Christian life is difficult since it is “not against flesh and blood, but against ... the rulers of the present darkness ... the hosts of wickedness in heavenly places ...” (Ephesians 6:12). Saint John encourages the faithful in their efforts for, as the Lord has said, only “he who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).
Saint John was born around the year 525, the son of devout and wealthy parents. He received a very good education, but at the age of sixteen, he forsook the world and went to Mount Sinai, subjecting himself to the spiritual guidance of Elder Martyrios. When he was nineteen years of age,1 his Elder reposed. Then Saint John entered the arena of hesychasm, visiting the monastic communities of Skḗtē and Tabénnisē in Egypt. For another forty years, he lived in a cell at Thora in the Sinai Desert, which was a two hour (5 mile) walk from the Monastery of Saint Katherine.
Aflame with indescribable longing for God, he ate everything that was permitted by the monastic Rule, but only in very small quantities, and not unto satiety. By so doing, he overcame the vice of pride; and by eating just a little food, he humbled the stomach, which always wants more. He raised his body from death and paralysis by the remembrance of death, and he overcame the tyranny of anger with the sword of obedience.
Who can describe the fountain of his tears, which is now to be seen in very few individuals? He slept only as much as was necessary to prevent his mind from being distracted. Before going to sleep he prayed a great deal, and he also wrote books. This was how he subdued despondency. His entire life was spent in unceasing prayer, and incomparable love for God.
After writing The Ladder at the request of Igoumen John of Raithu Monastery, and leading a God-pleasing life, Saint John fell asleep in the Lord when he was about seventy-five years old (ca. 603). He is also commemorated on March 30.
The inscription on his icon is from Step 7:2. It reads: "Compunction is a perrenial trial of the conscience, which brings about the cooling of the fire of the heart through mental confession. And confession is a forgetfulness of nature, since someone because of this forgot to eat his bread."2
1 This was his monastic age. He was, in fact, thirty-five years old.
2 Psalm 101:5 (Septuagint) "Him that speaks privily against his neighbor, him have I driven from me; he that is proud in look and insatiable in heart - with him I have not eaten."
Lazarus Saturday |
The Raising of Lazarus |
Lazarus Saturday is a paschal celebration. It is the only time in the entire Church Year that the resurrectional service of Sunday is celebrated on another day. At the liturgy of Lazarus Saturday, the Church glorifies Christ as “the Resurrection and the Life” who, by raising Lazarus, has confirmed the universal resurrection of mankind even before his own suffering and death.
By raising Lazarus from the dead before Your passion, You did confirm the universal Resurrection, O Christ God! Like the children with the palms of victory, we cry out to You, O Vanquisher of death: Hosanna in the Highest! Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord! Troparion
Christ the Joy, the Truth and the Light of all, the Life of the World and the Resurrection has appeared in His goodness, to those on earth. He has become the Image of our Resurrection, granting divine forgiveness to all! Kontakion
At the Divine Liturgy of Lazarus Saturday the baptismal verse from Galatians: As many as have been baptizedl into Christ have put on Christ (Gal 3:27) replaces the Thrice-holy Hymn thus indicating the resurrectional character of the celebration, and the fact that Lazarus Saturday was once among the few great baptismal days in the Orthodox Church Year. Because of the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, Christ was hailed by the masses as the long-expected Messiah-King of Israel. Thus, in fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament, he entered Jenrsalem, the City of the King, riding on the colt of an ass (Zech 9:9; Jn 12:12). The crowds greeted him with brancfies in their hands and called out to him with shouts of praise: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! The Son of David! The King of Israel! Because of this glorification by the people, the priests and scribes were finally driven “to destroy him, to put him to death” (Lk 19:47; Jn 11:53, 12:10).
Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem - Palm Sunday
The feast of Christ’s triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, Palm Sunday, is one of the twelve major feasts of the Church. The services of this Sunday follow directly from those of Lazarus Saturday. The church building continues to be vested in resurrectional splendor, filled with hymns which continually repeat the Hosanna offered to Christ as the Messiah-King who comes in the name of God the Father for the salvation of the world.
The main troparion of Palm Sunday is the same one sung on Lazarus Saturday. It is sung at all of the services, and is used at the Divine Liturgy as the third antiphon which follows the other special psalm verses which are sung as the liturgical antiphons in the place of those normally used. The second troparion of the feast, as well as the kontakion and the other verses and hymns, all continue to glorify Christ’s triumphal manifestation “six days before the Passover” when he will give himself at the Supper and on the Cross for the life of the world.
Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together. Let us all take up Thy cross and say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest! (First Verse of Vespers).
When we were buried with Thee in baptism, O Christ God, we were made worthy of eternal life by Thy resurrection. Now we praise Thee and sing: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord! (Second Troparion).
Sitting on Thy throne in heaven, and carried on a foal on earth, O Christ God, accept the praise of angels and the songs of children who sing: BIessed is he who comes to recall Adam! (Kontakion).
At the vigil of the feast of Palm Sunday the prophecies of the Old Testament about the Messiah-King are read together with the Gospel accounts of the entry of Christ into Jerusalem. At Matins branches are blessed which the people carry throughout the celebration as the sign of their own glorification of Jesus as Saviour and King. These branches are usually palms, or, in the Slavic churches, pussy willows which came to be customary because of their availability and their early blossoming in the springtime.
As the people carry their branches and sing their songs to the Lord on Palm Sunday, they are judged together with the Jerusalem crowd. For it was the very same voices which cried Hosanna to Christ, which, a few days later, cried Crucify Him! Thus in the liturgy of the Church the lives of men continue to be judged as they hail Christ with the “branches of victory” and enter together with Him into the days of His “voluntary passion.”
The Great Fast 2026 |
Let my prayer arise like incense before Thee. |
The Orthodox Church is currently in the Great Lent 2026 fasting period, which began on Clean Monday, Feburary 23, 2026 and will conclude on Great and Holy Saturday, April 11, 2026, which leads us to HOLY PASCHA on APRIL 12, 2026. In this 40-day fasting period we abstain from meat, dairy, wine and oil, and where we focus more strictly on prayer, spiritual renewal and preparation, and increased focus on repentance, increased devotion and alms-giving.
+Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. O most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, cleanse us from our sins. O Master, pardon our transgressions. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Great and Holy Thursday 2026Of Thy Mystical Supper, O Son of God, accept me today as a communicant,
For I will not speak of Thy Mystery to Thine enemies,
Neither like Judas will I give Thee a kiss;
But like the thief will I confess Thee:
Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom.
Great and Holy Saturday - April 11, 2026
CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!
Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one. We venerate Your Cross, O Christ, and we praise and glorify Your Holy Resurrection, for You are our God, and we know no other than You: we call on Your name. Come, all you faithful, let us venerate Christ's holy Resurrection, for behold, through the Cross joy has come into all the world. Let us ever bless the Lord, praising His Resurrection, for by enduring the Cross for us, He has destroyed death by death.
Tonight
Great and Holy Saturday, April 1, 2026
8:30 pm Nocturns and Resurrection Matins
Tomorrow
GREAT AND HOLY PASCHA
9:50 am Paschal Hour
10:00 am Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
followed by the blessing of Paschal food baskets
Fourth Anniversary of the Repose of Archbishop Paul
His Eminence Archbishop Paul, the late Archbishop of Chicago and the Midwest reposed a four years ago on the Holy and Saving day of the Resurrection of the Lord, April 24, 2022. Read more here...