Ascending With The Lord

Beloved in the Lord:

     The Ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ reveals the great glory and dignity that our Lord has given us.  Through His Ascension, we are raised with Him literally to the heights of the heavenly Kingdom. In Him, humanity and divinity are united in one Person; He goes up into heaven as the God-Man. The Son shares in the glory that He had with the Father and the Holy Spirit before the creation of the world.  And He brings our humanity into that glory with Him.  There is perhaps no more powerful sign of our salvation than the Ascension, for it makes clear that our Lord has raised us – not only from the tomb – but into the eternal life of the Holy Trinity.  We truly become participants in God, partakers of the divine nature by grace, in our Ascended Lord.

     We are reminded by the Ascension that our Lord is not merely a great teacher. As the Holy Fathers of the Council of Nicaea proclaimed, He is light of light, very God of very God, of one essence with the Father, the only begotten Son of God. For only One who is truly divine and eternal can ascend into heaven and bring us into the divine, eternal life of the Holy Trinity. For only One who is truly both God and Man can bring humans into the life of God.

     Countless martyrs, including our Lord’s disciples, did not go to their deaths out of loyalty to a mere human teacher.  They looked death in the eye and did not blink because they knew that their Lord was God, that He had conquered death and would share His victory with them in heaven.  In a matter of days, Christ’s disciples went from total despair and defeat at His crucifixion to the astounding joy of Great and Holy Pascha and Holy Pentecost.  These were life-changing experiences that gave them the strength to sacrifice their own lives for the Lord. The life of the Risen and Ascended Son of God continues in the Holy Church, especially in the witness of the martyrs who share in a victory that is not of this world. Indeed, we all share in the eternal life of Christ through His Body, the Holy Church.

     Here is an exalted view of what it means to be a human being in the image and likeness of God. In Christ’s Body, the Church, we are to be one in Him, showing forth the unity of holiness and love that are characteristic of the Holy Trinity. Christ has given us His glory, a share in life eternal, the life to which He has ascended as the Savior of the world. That glory, that eternal life, is not an individual undertaking; it is the life of unity in Christ, of His Body, of which we are all members by baptism. The One Who has conquered death and ascended into heaven requires that we fall before Him in worship, to accept in humility the great blessing of the resurrected, ascended life which He gives us, and to live faithfully in the unity of the Holy Church as we grow in Him.

     Let us celebrate the Ascension by embracing the great dignity that is ours in the God-Man Who has gone up to heaven.  Let us pay close attention to our thoughts, words and deeds. Let us make our life in the Holy Church an icon of the Holy Trinity, a Communion of love and holiness. Yes, we can really live this way because we are participating even now in the eternal life of the One Who has conquered death, the tomb, and hades, and taken our humanity into heaven. For the Lord has ascended into heaven, and He will take us with Him if we will only embrace – with humility and repentance – the great glory that He has brought to us as those created in His image and likeness.

     Praying that the abundant grace and rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ dwell in your hearts and minds, directing your steps to every good deed that is well pleasing to God, I humbly remain,

With love and blessings in the Lord,

+Fr. Panagiotis 

The Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church welcomes you to worship with us on Sunday and whenever the Divine Liturgy is celebrated. Orthros begins at 8:45am and the Divine Liturgy at 10:00am.

Click here for Google Map & Specific Driving Directions »

DIRECTIONS TO THE CHURCH FROM THE NORTH:

1. Proceed south on Interstate 81 South heading toward Winchester
2. Take exit 317 for VA-37/ US-11 toward US-522 N/ US-50 W/ Winchester/ Stephenson (0.3 mi)
3. Turn right at US-11 S/ VA-37 S/ Martinsburg Pike, Continue to follow VA-37 S (3.8 mi)
4. Take the ramp to US-50 E/ Northwestern Pike (0.2 mi)
5. Turn left at US-50 E/ Northwestern Pike, Continue to follow US-50 E (0.6 mi )
6. Turn left at Omps Dr, Continue to entrance of the Church`s parking lot (100 ft)
7. Turn left into the Church`s parking lot.

DIRECTIONS TO THE CHURCH FROM THE SOUTH:

1. Proceed north on Interstate 81North heading toward Winchester
2. Take exit 310 for VA-37 toward US-11/VA-642/ Winchester/ Kernstown/ US-50/ US-522/ Berkely Spgs/ Romney (0.2 mi)
3. Turn left at VA-37 N (5.2 mi)
4. Take the US-50 ramp to Winchester/ Romney (0.3 mi)
5. Turn right at US-50 E/ Amherst St (0.5 mi)
6. Turn left at Omps Dr, Continue to entrance of the Church`s parking lot (100 ft)
7. Turn left into the Church`s parking lot.