St. Athanasius Orthodox Church • Nicholasville/Lexington Kentucky

Open to Me the Gates of Repentance

Saturday, February 18th, 2012

Iconostasis of St. Athanasius (Holy Week)

Orthodox Christians pray, as Great Lent dawns, that God would open to us the “gates of repentance.”  Great Lent, which literally means the “Great Fast,” refers to a glorious season of “bright sadness” when we turn to the Lord with renewed prayer, fasting, almsgiving.  During the 40-Day Fast, Orthodox are called lay aside normal entertainments, put away all gossiping and backbiting, all meat and dairy (if one is healthy), so that we might focus all of our energies on loving our Lord Jesus Christ and our brothers and sisters.  Whether you are an Orthodox Christian or not, we invite you to participate with us in Lenten worship, which is remarkable for its ancient beauty and intensity.  Our complete Lenten Calendar is available (through Holy Week and Pascha) through a link on the sidebar.  Services for the specially intense Clean Week (the first week of Great Lent) are included below:

Schedule for Clean Week 2012

Sun, Feb 26: 10am Liturgy

& 5pm Forgiveness Vespers

Mon, Feb 27: 7am Lenten Matins

& 6:30pm Compline w/ St. Andrew Canon

Tue, Feb 28: 7am Lenten Matins

& 6:30pm Compline w/ St. Andrew Canon

Wed, Feb 29: 7am Lenten Matins

& 5:55pm Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts

Thu, Mar 1: 7am Lenten Matins

& 6:30pm Compline w/ St. Andrew Canon

Fri, Mar 2: 7am Lenten Matins

& 11:30am Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts

Saturday, March 3: 6:15pm Litya for Departed

& 6:30pm All-Night Vigil

Sunday, March 4: 10am Liturgy

& 6pm Orthodoxy Vespers in Louisville (at Assumption GOA)

Teaching Series: ”Road of Orthodoxy”

Beginning on Wednesday evening, February 22, and continuing each Wednesday evening of Great Lent (i.e., through April 4th), Father Justin Patterson will be offering an engaging, yet basic course on early Christian and Orthodox Christian history.  Father Justin will make use of power point slides, photos, and short videos to help bring the story of the Church to life.  For the basic structure of his talks, Father Justin will be taking Fr. Alexander Schmemann’s classic book The Historical Road of Orthodoxy as his guide.  This 7-part series is open to everybody, and will include the teen group of St. Athanasius, as well.  Class time begins at about 7:30pm and will last 45-50 minutes.

Service Schedule

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

Wednesday February 15

7:20 Special Video Presentation “Return of the Icon”

presented after Vespers at 6:30pm

Soul Saturday Prayers for the Departed

Begins Sat. Feb. 18 at 6:15 with Litya for the

Departed prior to Vigil and continues throughout the

Saturdays of Lent

Sunday Feb.19 Meatfare Sunday which begins a week

of festal preparation for Great Lent which begins on

Clean Monday, Feb. 27

Sunday Feb. 26 5pm Forgiveness Sunday Vespers

Upcoming Parish Services

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

Wednesday Feb. 15 6:30pm  Vespers followed by a special video presentation

                                               “The Return of the Icon”

Saturday Feb. 18 6:15pm Litya for the Departed

This special commemoration, Soul Saturday Prayers for the Departed, will be

observed each Saturday thru

Great Lent

Sunday Feb. 19  Meatfare Sunday

Monday Feb. 20  Begins a week for festal preparation for Great Lent

Sunday Feb. 26 5pm  Forgiveness Sunday Vespers

Monday Feb. 27 Clean Monday marks the beginning of Great Lent

Updates in Parish Life

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Parish Continues to Celebrate Theophany

Great Water Blessing 2012, Lake Mingo, Nicholasville

If you would like Father Justin to serve a houseblessing during the month of January, please email him or call the office at 859-881-8144 (Tues.-Thurs., 10am-2pm).

“Death and Dying as Orthodox”

Special Two-part Wednesday Evening Series taught by Fr. Justin Patterson

Wednesday, January 18, 7:20-8:15pm

Wednesday, January 25, 7:20-8:15pm

Parish 10th Anniversary Coming Up

Friday, Feb. 10th

6:30pm: Grand Banquet at Ss. Peter & Paul School in Lexington

Saturday, Feb. 11th

11am Women’s Brunch with Bishops Nikon and Mark

3:30pm New Property Blessing

4pm All-Night Vigil

7pm Men’s Fellowship with Bishops at Carl Lizak’s House

Sunday, Feb. 12th

9:40am Greeting Bishops & Liturgy (meal following)

All events are open to parishioners and friends of our parish. For ticket information for the Grand Banquet, please call Kathy at the church during office hours (881-8144) or email her at officeasst@athanasiusoca.org

Season of Theophany

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

“When thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. For the voice of the Father bore witness to thee, calling thee his Beloved Son; and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truthfulness of his word. O Christ our God, who hast revealed thyself, and enlightened the world, glory to thee.” Troparion of the Feast of Theophany

Wednesday, January 4:

6:30pm–Vespers for the Forefeast (40 min.)

followed by informal coffee time at Starbucks

Thursday, January 5

9am–Royal Hours with Indoor Water Blessing (90 min.)

6:30pm–Vigil for the Feast (2 hr.)

Friday, January 6:

7am–Liturgy for Theophany (65 min.)

Saturday, January 7:

6:30pm–Vigil for Lord’s Day (95 min.)

Sunday, January 8:

9am–Sunday School

10am–Liturgy

12pm–Coffee and Snacks

12:30pm–Great Water Blessing at Lake Mingo

Wilmore-area Houseblessings from 2pm-6pm

Please Call Fr. Justin if you would like to schedule a house blessing during this season of Theophany!

Service Schedule for the Nativity of Our Lord

Friday, December 16th, 2011

Hierarch to Visit St. Athanasius

Saturday, November 19th, 2011

His Grace Mark, Bishop of Baltimore

His Grace Mark, Bishop of Baltimore, is scheduled to make a hierarchical visit to St. Athanasius Orthodox Church in Nicholasville, KY on the weekend of the twenty-seventh of November (Thanksgiving weekend) after having received the blessing of Bishop Nikon of Boston, Locum Tenens of the Diocese of the South.

Bishop Mark is scheduled to arrive at the parish for the All-Night Vigil, which will begin around 6:15pm on Saturday, and will serve a full Hierarchical Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning at 10am. A Common Meal will follow the Liturgy, as is the parish’s usual practice. the full weekend schedule is as follows:

Saturday, November 26th

6:15pm – Arrival of the Bishop, Ninth Hour
6:30pm – Vigil
8:30pm – Confessions

Sunday, November 27th

9:20am – Third and Sixth Hours
9:40am – Greeting of the Bishop and Vesting
10am – Hierarchical Divine Liturgy
12:30pm – Common Meal

Orthodoxy 101 Fall Semester Begins

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Altar Table, St. Katherine Monastery, Mt. Sinai.

Orthodoxy 101 has resumed at St. Athanasius! This fall, our parish will be going through basic catechism material on the beliefs and practices of the Orthodox Church.

The new semester began in late September, and will be running through December. Main topics include Worldview, Sin, Asceticism, Scripture and Tradition, Christology, Ecumenical Councils and Canons, Iconography and Liturgical and Sacramental Theology.

The course is written for both catechumens (those preparing to become members of the Church) as well as inquirers/seekers (anyone who wants to know more about us). St. Athanasius youth are also encouraged to attend.

Sessions for Orthodoxy 101 are being held Wednesday evenings 7:20-8:10pm, following Vespers (6:30pm) at the parish.  Again, everyone is welcome to attend. Come and see!

Holy Cross Monastery Pilgrimage

Saturday, August 20th, 2011

Pilgrimage Weekend Procession - Hermitage of the Holy Cross

Our diocese has blessed us to join with the fathers of the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, WV for this year’s pilgrimage weekend, celebrating their 25^th anniversary as a monastic community. The pilgrimage weekend falls on October 1^st and 2^nd, and will be blessed by the presence of the Myrrh-Streaming Iveron Icon “of Hawaii” along with the presence of at least three hierarchs, including His Eminence HILARION, Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad. The schedule for the pilgrimage is as follows:

Met. Hilarion of New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR)

Saturday, October 1
9am Liturgy for Protection of Theotokos in Nicholasville w/ blessing for pilgrims at the end of Liturgy
2pm Opening Procession and Moleben at Holy Cross Monastery
4:30pm Dinner for Pilgrims at Holy Cross Monastery
6pm-8:30pm Vigil in the Outdoor Chapel of Holy Cross Monastery

Sunday, October 2
9am Greeting of the 3 Bishops, Hours, and Liturgy (beginning ~9:45am)
1pm Open Banquet at Parish Hall of Holy Spirit Antiochian Church, Huntington

Note that we will only have Reader’s Services at St. Athanasius for the Sunday cycle!

We hope that almost everybody can participate in this pilgrimage—even if only for the Sunday events. See Father for lodging ideas (including camping possibilities).

Summer Scripture Series

Friday, June 10th, 2011

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.  John 5:39

It is appropriate that with the Feast of Pentecost, in which the saving work of Christ is fulfilled with the coming of the Spirit, we turn our attention to the Holy Scriptures.  This summer, at St. Athanasius, we will offer a special Wednesday evening series (at 7:30pm, after Vespers) devoted to deepening our understanding of the Scriptures.  The individual sessions are open to everyone.  Note that, by demand, we have expanded Ryan Paul Winter’s sessions into late August.  All sessions are listed below and will include recordings as they come available:

June 8–Orthodox Interpretation of Scripture: An Intro (Fr. Justin) ws5100081

June 15–Pentateuch, Part1: Genesis A (R. P. Winter) ws510009

June 22–Scripture in the Feasts of the Theotokos (Fr. Justin)

June 29–Pentateuch, Part 2: Genesis B (R. P. Winter)

July 6–Scripture in the Feasts of the Lord (Rdr. B. A. Walther)

July 13–Pentateuch, Part 3: Genesis C (R. P. Winter)

July 20–Scripture in the Feasts of John the Baptist (Rdr. B. A. Walther)

July 27–Pentateuch, Part 4: Genesis D (R. P. Winter)

August 3–Scripture in the Feasts of Orthodox Saints (TBA)

August 10–Pentateuch, Part 5: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (R. P. Winter)

August 17–Scripture Q & A (Group)

August 24–Pentateuch, Part 6: Deuteronomy (R.P. Winter)