“It is better to err by excess of mercy than by excess of severity... Do you will to become a Saint? Be severe to yourself but kind to others.”
+Saint John Chrysostom
Daily Scripture Reading
Epistle: Romans 7:14-8:2
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.
22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Gospel: Matthew 10:9-15
9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts,
10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
11 Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.
12 And when you go into a household, greet it.
13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.
15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
St Dionysios the Rhetorician and his disciple Saint Mētrophánēs (Mt. Athos—1606)
The Little Skḗtē of Saint Anne is a dependency of the Great Skḗtē of Saint Anne, and is located between Saint Anne's and Katounákia, on a rocky slope with little greenery, because of the rocky soil. It consists of ten Kalyves (cells gathered around a church), two of which do not have a temple.
According to written testimonies and Tradition, life at the Little Skḗtē of Saint Anne (Μικραγιάννα) began with the settlement of its first known inhabitants and ascetics: the great luminaries and Spiritual Fathers Saints Dionysios the Rhetorician and his disciple Saint Mētrophánēs. These two Saints came from a dependency of Stoudion Monastery in Constantinople, and they were searching for a quiet, remote place to live. After passing through Karyes and Saint Anne's, they reached a spot which, at that time, was called the Skḗtē of the Lavra.
Recollections of Saintly Matushka Olga
On March 17, 2024, His Grace, +Bishop Alexei, traveled to Kwethluk, Alaska with members of the Diocesan Chancery to hear the people’s thoughts on the upcoming glorification of Saint Olga of Alaska, Mother to Kwethluk and first glorified handmaiden of the Holy Orthodox Church in the Alaskan lands. The people shared their recollections of Saint Olga and expressed their joys and concerns to Vladyka Alexei who was preparing to present a report to the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Holy Orthodox Church in America the following month. To present the voices of the people to the venerable hierarchs of the Orthodox Church, His Grace invited Director Anton Khlopotov to film the pilgrimage during his archpastoral visitation.
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 7/8: Matins 8:30 a.m.; Steward Meeting 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday 7/9: no services
Wednesday 7/10: no services
Thursday 7/11: Matins 8:30 a.m.; Men’s Group 7 p.m.
Friday 7/12: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Saturday 7/13: Catechumen Class 4:30 p.m.; Great Vespers 6 p.m.
Sunday 7/14: Divine Liturgy 9: 15 a.m.