St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church

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Exploring Orthodox Christianity: Advent Unit

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EXPLORING ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY is a six-week experience for anyone interested in understanding better the faith, teachings, history, worship and practices of the Orthodox Christian Church. This Advent Unit (Saturdays Nov. 10 – Dec. 22) is complemented by a Lent Unit held in the Spring.

This evening program begins with 5pm Vespers on Saturday night, followed by a common potluck fasting meal (roughly 6pm, no meat or dairy, please) and a short presentation and discussion. One or more church members will give the presentation(s) and moderate the discussion. Each evening’s program should wrap up by 7-7:30pm.

This program is recommended for all interested (including Orthodox Christians, non-Christians or non-Orthodox Christians) and is also part of the standard preparation for formally enrolled catechumens of the parish (those who have made a commitment to become Orthodox Christians).

TOPIC SCHEDULE FOR ADVENT 2019
(subject to adjustment as needed):

November 16 – Church History Orientation
Overview
Ecumenical Councils
Historical sources
Also: Clergy & hierarchy

November 23 – Prayer in the Orthodox Tradition
Prayer in the Orthodox tradition (Personal and Corporate)

November 30 – Sacraments (Holy Mysteries) I
What are the Holy Mysteries?
Baptism
Chrismation
Eucharist

December 7 – Sacraments (Holy Mysteries) II
Marriage
Holy Unction
Holy Orders
Confession (Penance)

December 14 – Feasts and Fasts
The Church Year
Overview of Major Feasts
Overview of Major Fasts
Why fast?

December 21 – Other Topics
The Theotokos & Other Saints
Prayer with the saints
Stewardship / Ministry
Tradition / Scripture

St. Paul’s Hosts Orthodox Conference on Author J. R. R. Tolkien

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On Sept. 27-28, 2019, in conjunction with the St. Basil Center for Orthodox Thought and Culture and the Amon Sûl Podcast, St. Paul’s hosted DoxaMoot: The Orthodox Christian Tolkien Conference, featuring lectures from pastor Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, as well as novelist Dcn. Nicholas Kotar, Prof. Alfred Siewers, parishioner Prof. Cyril Gary Jenkins, and author Michael Haldas.

Over 70 people gathered from 11 US states and the Canadian province of Ontario to listen to spiritually edifying talks, to gather for prayer and meals, and to engage in discussion about how Orthodox Christians read the popular fantasy author’s Middle-earth works and find applicability in a way compatible with Orthodox spiritual life.

The dates for the next DoxaMoot are April 24-25, 2020, also to be hosted at St. Paul’s.

June 10-11: Pilgrimage Feast of the Axion Estin Icon of Emmaus

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St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church and the Lehigh Valley Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood invite you to join them in pilgrimage on June 10-11, 2019!

The Axion Estin Icon of the Mother of God is an ancient, wonder-working icon on the Holy Mountain of Athos. A copy of this icon was painted in 2018 and enshrined in St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church of Emmaus, PA, to serve as a place of veneration for all faithful Christians. The feast day of the icon as celebrated in the Orthodox Church is on June 11.

This pilgrimage celebration is sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

MONDAY, JUNE 10: 6pm Great Vespers & Litia, with Anointing of Pilgrims

The service will be followed by a potluck meal (bring a dish to share!) and a presentation on Pilgrimage by Fr. Theodore Petrides.

TUESDAY, JUNE 11: 8am Matins, 9am Divine Liturgy

Copies of the Axion Estin Icon of Emmaus will be for sale in the parish bookstore.

MORE ABOUT THE AXION ESTIN OF EMMAUS:

This icon, enshrined at St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church of Emmaus, Pennsylvania, is modeled on the original Axion Estin (“It Is Truly Meet”) icon of Mount Athos (feast day, June 11).

It was in AD 982 before the Athonite icon that the expanded version of the hymn “More honorable than the cherubim…” was first sung by the Archangel Gabriel, who added the prelude “It is truly meet to call thee blessed, O Theotokos, ever-blessed and all-blameless and the Mother of our God,” and inscribed the hymn miraculously with his finger on a slate tile. The hymn has been sung ever since in the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church.

The original Axion Estin icon is kept in the apse of the Protaton Church in Karyes on Mount Athos. The Axion Estin of Emmaus was painted by iconographer Protodeacon Paul Drozdowski (Paul Drozdowski Icons) in 2018. It features the main inscription in four languages: Greek (next to the head of the Virgin), Church Slavonic and Arabic (at top), and English (at bottom).

The six saints who surround the Theotokos and the Lord Jesus are the Holy Hierarchs of America: (top) Tikhon of Moscow and Raphael of Brooklyn, (middle) Innocent of Moscow and Mardarije of Libertyville, (bottom) John of San Francisco and Nikolaj of Žiča. All served in America, and several of them spent time in Pennsylvania.

Exploring Orthodox Christianity: Lent Unit

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EXPLORING ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY is a six-week experience for anyone interested in understanding better the faith, teachings, history, worship and practices of the Orthodox Christian Church. This Lent Unit (Saturdays Mar. 16 – Apr. 20) is complemented by an Advent Unit held in the Fall.

This evening program begins with 5pm Vespers on Saturday night, followed by a common potluck fasting meal (roughly 6pm, no meat or dairy, please), a short presentation and discussion. One or more church members will give the presentation(s) and moderate the discussion. Each evening’s program should wrap up by 7-7:30pm.

This program is recommended for all interested (including Orthodox Christians, non-Christians or non-Orthodox Christians) and is also part of the standard preparation for formally enrolled catechumens of the parish (those who have made a commitment to become Orthodox Christians).

TOPIC SCHEDULE FOR LENT 2019 (subject to adjustment as needed):

March 16 – Introduction & Basic Approach
Welcome and Introduction
The Gospel
Creation / Fall / Salvation
Essential Beliefs of the Orthodox Church
The Didache

March 23 – Divine Liturgy & Eucharist
Structure of the Liturgy
How the Divine Liturgy & Eucharist are central to our life as Orthodox Christians

March 30 – Trinity
The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
Incarnation
Theophany
Tradition

April 6 – Jesus Christ
God-Man
The New Adam
Heresies

April 13 – Salvation
Theosis

April 20 – The Church
Physical layout of the church
Viewing of vessels from the altar
Clergy
Body of Christ

Orthodox Iconography Lecture on Feb. 17: Creating an Icon for Emmaus, PA

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Creating an Icon for Emmaus, PA, and other peculiarities of contemporary iconography

On Sunday, February 17, at 10:30am, Orthodox Christian iconographer Protodeacon Paul Drozdowski will be discussing the creation of the “Axion Estin of Emmaus” icon and will briefly touch on relevant issues which iconographers in previous centuries never encountered.

The talk will be preceded by the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, served at 9am.

MORE ABOUT PROTODEACON PAUL:

A lifelong artist, Pdn. Paul formally studied drawing, painting, printmaking, and design at Tyler School of Art, Temple University, earning a Bachelor’s degree of Fine Arts. Subsequently, he spent a year and a half studying at Holy Trinity Theological Seminary in Jordanville, NY. During that time, he simultaneously worked under the tutelage of master iconographer Fr. Andrei Erastov, and began fulfilling monastery orders almost immediately. Thus he was able to synthesize his artistic studies. Since then, Pdn. Paul has fulfilled many commissions for both churches and individuals, and his work can be seen coast to coast. He is also the illustrator of the children’s book St. Seraphim’s Beatitudes, authored by Fr. Daniel Marshall. Pdn. Paul enjoys classical music, world and local history, and nature walks with his family. Fr. Paul is currently an ordained clergyman, in the rank of protodeacon, and serves at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Howell, NJ.

MORE ABOUT THE ICON:

This icon, enshrined at St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church of Emmaus, Pennsylvania, is modeled on the original Axion Estin (“It Is Truly Meet”) icon of Mount Athos (feast day, June 11).

It was in AD 982 before the Athonite icon that the expanded version of the hymn “More honorable than the cherubim…” was first sung by the Archangel Gabriel, who added the prelude “It is truly meet to call thee blessed, O Theotokos, ever-blessed and all-blameless and the Mother of our God,” and inscribed the hymn miraculously with his finger on a slate tile. The hymn has been sung ever since in the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church.

The original Axion Estin icon is kept in the apse of the Protaton Church in Karyes on Mount Athos. The Axion Estin of Emmaus was painted by iconographer Protodeacon Paul Drozdowski in 2018. It features the main inscription in four languages: Greek (next to the head of the Virgin), Church Slavonic and Arabic (at top), and English (at bottom).

The six saints who surround the Theotokos and the Lord Jesus are the Holy Hierarchs of America: (top) Tikhon of Moscow and Raphael of Brooklyn, (middle) Innocent of Moscow and Mardarije of Libertyville, (bottom) John of San Francisco and Nikolaj of Žiča. All served in America, and several of them spent time in Pennsylvania.

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St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church

Planting the Seeds of Orthodoxy,
Cultivating Christian Community

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610.965.2298

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156 E. Main St.
Emmaus, PA 18049

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