Always a Spiritual Focus, First

September 13^th, 2026

Dearest Parish Families,

This Sunday’s message is about how to Drag Your Heels In Hushed Reverence (Or, When Does The Liturgy Actually End?)

            As a youngster, even with a priest for a father, I always thought the Liturgy ended when the Priest said the Prayer, Di eucwn twn agion Paterwn hmwn . . . and gave out the Antidoron. And then, that was my time to run out freely.

            But how surprised, and rather excited, I was to later learn that this is not really the case. The true devotion you—as a private person—may give to the Divine Liturgy is to learn every detail of what the Liturgy is about. To be able to explain the Service of Worship in every detail, to anyone who may ask you. It doesn’t matter if you become a priest or not. It doesn’t matter what kind of job you do in your life. But it does matter that you are an Orthodox Christian. For this is the first way you should describe—and define—yourself.

            Have you ever wondered what happens to the rest of the Holy Communion left in the Chalice, after Communion has been given out?

            This is where the end of the Holy Liturgy comes in.

            After the Priest have given out the Antidoron, it is then his duty to return to the Holy Altar and to consume the rest of the Holy Communion. In a very real sense, the body of the Priest is to become a “living chalice” in which to contain the Holy Body and Blood of our Lord.

            Think about this. For, in a very similar sense, this is also what you are doing and becoming, when you yourself receive communion. This is why you carry the heavy responsibility of keeping your body, mind, and soul as clean and pure as possible in your daily lives. [But this is another lesson, another sermon, best suited to share with you at another time. Just keep this thought to yourself for now, and we will return to this, later.]

            While slowly and reverently consuming every last drop and particle of Communion, the priest recites the “Prayers of Thanksgiving After The Holy Communion.” And, at the end of these prayers, then the Priest again intones the verse, “Di eucwn twn agiwn Paterwn hmwn, Kurie Ihsou Criste o Qeo" hmwn, elehson kai swson hma". Amhn.” And it is this “Amen” that completes and closes the Divine Liturgy Service.

            So, with this learning and understanding, we, as reverent parishioners, must always remember not only where we are in Church but also we must remember and think about WHEN we are in Church.

            You see, our Church is not just a Church of SPACE. But, also, it is a Church of TIME. Thus, we need to always think about not just Anywhere in our Church, but also we need to think of Anywhen in our Services. For an important part of our Worship Life is in realising that our Divine Liturgy is actually a representation of Time: the reality of Jesus Christ in the daily (Sunday) cycle of Liturgical Worship, and the reality of Jesus Christ’s Passion in the annual (Pascha) cycle of Worship.

 What This Means To Us on Sundays

            So, what we can do as reverent parishioners on Sundays is this: After we receive our Antidoron, let us not gather in the doorways of the Church, not gather in the Narthex talking loudly and calling to our friends. But let us remember where we are and when we are. Let us remember that the Liturgy is still not fully over, and that the humble Priest has still the duty left to consume the Holy Chalice’s contents. So, please, we need to keep a quiet reverence in the Church until these prayers are completed. Or, even better, wouldn’t it be truly excellent if some of us could return to our places in the Church and, all together in one, soft, unified voice, recite the Prayers of Thanksgiving, along with the Priest?

 Dragging Your Heels

            Because I, as the Priest, am all by myself (as opposed to there being a richness of several priests in the same parish), and need to spend fifteen minutes consuming the Holy Communion in a calm, prayerful manner (the Greek word fronyma = behavior]” is such a good word here), and then divest myself of my robes, I often find myself coming out into the Church Hall to sadly find that half of our congregation has run off to their homes and errands. I feel sorry to lose a chance to sit with you and visit a bit again, to speak together and share more of our lives together.

            So, as you read this and come to a fuller understanding of where and when the Divine Liturgy ends, do think about dragging your heels in the Church Hall just a little bit longer, so that I, too, may have the blessing of your company, after Church together, a little bit. In this way, we may maximize valuable time, and grow together as a whole family.

 Faithfully, Father Samaras

4^TH Morning Gospel

On September 13, we remember the Consecration of the Holy Church of the Resurrection of Christ our God; Saint Cornelios, the Centurion; the holy martyrs Cronides, Leontios, Serapion, Straton, Seleucos, Macrobios, Gordian, Zoticos, Eli, Lucian and Valerian; our devout Father Peter of Agrea died in peace; our devout father Hierotheos the New, who led an ascetic life in the Monastery of Iviron on Mount Athos, died in peace in 1745.

After the conclusion of our Divine Liturgy, we will then conduct the Service of the Elevation of the Holy Cross in honor of September 14^th.