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HOLY TRINITY

SERBIAN

ORTHODOX

CHURCH

1910 Serbian Drive

St. Louis, MO 63104

314-776-3262

E-mail : htseoc.stl@gmail.com

Parish Priest :

Rev. Father Ljubomir Krstic

Father’s Phone :

815-543-6170

Board President :

Georgia Posey

Kolo President :

Sharon Wade

Choir President :

Nik Chkautovich

Sunday School Director :

Kris Chkautovich

Stewardship Committee

Chair : Nick Dopuch

Cemetery Manager :

Dragan Acamovic

Church Hall Manager :

Zoran Kurtuma

The News of the Holy Trinity

is sent out monthly. Please

contact Father Ljubomir or

the Church office with any

suggestions for future articles.

All ideas are certainly

welcome.

www.serbianchurchstlouis.org

Пут Крста - Вести Цркве Свете Тројице The Way of the Cross

Holy Trinity News

Without doubt, matter is represented in the human body in a manner which is most puzzling, most mysterious, and most complex. The brain: What wondrous mysteries pass between its physical and spiritual parts! How vast is the experi-ence of the human race. In no manner can one ever fully comprehend or grasp these mysteries. Indeed, little of this is accessible to the human senses or intel-lectual investigation. So it is also with the heart of man, formed as it is entirely and solely from cosmic mysteries. So formed, too, are every cell, every mole-cule, every atom. Everyone and all are set on their mystical path toward God, toward the God-Man.

Inasmuch as it was created by God, the Logos, matter possesses this same the-ocentricity. Moreover, by His advent into our earthly world, by His all-embracing condescension as God and Man for the redemption of the world, the Lord Christ clearly demonstrated that not only the soul, but matter also was created by God and for God, and that He is God and Man; and for it, matter, He is all and everything in the same manner as for the soul. Being cre-ated by God, the Logos, matter is, in its innermost core, God-longing and Christ-longing.

The most obvious proof of this is the fact that God the Word has become Incar-nate, has become man (St. John 1:14). By His Incarnation, matter has been magnified with Divine glory and has entered into the grace- and virtue-bestowing, ascetic aim of deification, or union with Christ. God has become flesh, has become human, so that the entire man, the entire body, might be filled with God and with His miracle-working forces and powers. In the God-Man, the Lord Christ, and His Body, all matter has been set on a path toward Christ —the path of deification, transfiguration, sanctification, resurrection, and ascent to an eternal glory surpassing that of the Cherubim. And all of this takes place and will continue to take place through the Divine and human Body of the Church, which is truly the God-Man Christ in the total fullness of His Divine and Human Person, the fullness

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Thanks again for the following who supported coffee hour this month:

11/3 - Calvin and Chrissy Vic (Michel’s Funeral Home) | 11/10 - An anonymous sponsor on

11/17 - Lou Lausevich parastos in memory of Zivorad (30 years) and Cveta (12 years)

11/24 - Lekich Family parastos in memory of Steve (10 years). Memory Eternal.

We have a sponsor for Dec 8 ththen will hold our assembly meeting on Dec 15th. The calendar is posted in

the hall way by the kitchen if you would like to sign up for future coffee hour sponsorships.

THANK YOU :Milena Mitrovic and Ann La Clair for donating incense to the Church!

CONGRATS:

Congratulations to Adam Chkautovich on his engagement to Carolyn Livanos. Also, congratulations to

Dejan and Gospa Karan on their new addition. Baby Vasilije and parents are doing great!

BAPTISMS:

Congratulations to the following new baptisms: Mila Fenelon, daughter of John and Roxanda Fenelon

and Novak Vranic , son of Milos and Zorica Vranic.

MEMORY ETERNAL:

Our sympathy is expressed to John and Rochelle Amisch on the passing of his father-in-law,

Lynn Abernathy. Memory Eternal.

VETERANS DAY:

On Sunday, November 10th we acknowledged Veterans Day by reading the names of our fallen parish-

ioners and those who are still with us. Thanks to Nada Buha for preparing zito for the parastos. As in the

past, American flags were passed to our parishioners as they departed from church.

PATIENT UPDATE:

On December 8th we are expecting two families coming in for surgery. One family you have met before;

Martin and his mother Violeta. I’m sure you remember Martin coming here a year ago. After his birth,

Violeta, a single parent, carried him everywhere until Dr. Parks performed the surgery. Our parish was so

touched to see him walk up to Father for communion with a little help. These families also will be staying

at Ronald McDonald House; arrangements have already been made by Fr. Ljubomir. More info to follow.

11/10 –62

Average: 95.25

11/3 - 107 11/17 - 91 11/24 - 121

November Church Attendance

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As we are trying to streamline information about church times, events and info

regarding inclimate weather, we now have a mass text option.

It’s free for who ever wants to join!

Text the word:

SERBIANCHURCHSTLOUIS to 855-534-4872

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

As this December issue of the bulletin will arrive on the heels of your Thanksgiving celebration, I hope you all

had a fabulous Thanksgiving spent with family and friends.

December is an important month at Holy Trinity. I invite you all to our annual meeting which will be held on

Sunday, December 15th. At this meeting, the stewards are asked to help guide the direction of our parish with

their support, ideas, and participation on decisions that affect the future of our community. This year’s meeting

will focus heavily on a report on the status and condition of our facilities, both the church and hall, and recom-

mendations for how we should be caring for the maintenance of both. I encourage you to attend to learn more

and be a part of our future!

Finally, thanks to all of you for your support of Holy Trinity and the executive board this year. A special

thanks goes to the board with whom I’ve had the pleasure and honor to work this year. I am in awe of the de-

votion and dedication of Father Ljubomir and the executive board. Their never-wavering commitment is an

inspiration!

While we are still a little over a month away from our Christmas season, I invite all of you to join us on

Badnje Vece, Christmas Day and our annual Christmas banquet on Sunday, January 12th.

Yours In Christ, Georgia Posey - Holy Trinity Church Board President

New Church Texting Feature

Jam Available

We have a few dozen jars of jam left:

$4 for a small jar

$6 for a large jar

We are expecting their popular peppers and

some honey soon but we need to move the

jam first. They are on a cart inside of the

church hall. Stop by to pick up a couple be-

fore they are gone!

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“that fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:23). Through its Divine and human existence in the Church, the human body, as matter, as substance, is sanctified by the Holy Spirit and in this way participates in the life of the Trinity. Matter thus attains its transcendent, divine meaning and goal, its eternal blessedness and its immortal joy in the God-Man.

The holiness of the Saints—both the holiness of their souls and of their bodies—derives from their zealous grace- and virtue-bestowing lives in the Body of the Church of Christ, of the God-Man. In this sense, holiness completely envelopes the human person—the entire soul and body and all that enters into the mystical composition of the human body. The holiness of the Saints does not hold forth only in their souls, but it necessarily extends to their bodies; so it is that both the body and the soul of a saint are sanctified. Thus we, in piously venerating the Saints, also venerate the entire person, in this manner not separating the holy soul from the holy body. Our pious vener-ation of the Saints’ relics is a natural part of our pious respect for and prayerful entreaty to the Saints. All of this constitutes one indivisible ascetic act, just as the soul and body constitute the single, indivisible person of the Saint. Clearly, during his life on the earth, the Saint, by a continuous and singular grace- and virtue-bestowing syn-ergy of soul and body, attains to the sanctification of his person, filling both the soul and body with the grace of the Holy Spirit and so transforming them into vessels of the holy mysteries and holy virtues. It is completely natu-ral, again, to show pious reverence both to the former and to the latter, both to soul and body, both of them holy vessels of God’s grace. When the charismatic power of Christ issues forth, it makes Grace-filled all the constituent parts of the human person and the person in his entirety. By unceasing enactment of the ascetic efforts set forth in the Gospels, Saints gradually fill themselves with the Holy Spirit, so that their sacred bodies, according to the word of the holy Apostle, become temples of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19; 3:17), Christ dwelling by faith in their hearts (Ephesians 3:17) and by fruitful love also fulfilling the commandments of God the Father. Establishing themselves in the Holy Spirit through grace-bestowing ascetic labors, the Saints participate in the life of the Trini-ty, becoming sons of the Holy Trinity, temples of the Living God (II Corinthians 6:16); their whole lives thus flow from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. By piously venerating the holy relics of the Saints, the Church reveres them as temples of the Holy Spirit, temples of the Living God, in which God dwells by Grace even after the earthly death of the Saints. And by His most wise and good Will, God creates miracles in and through these relics. Moreover, the miracles which derive from the holy relics witness also to the fact that their pious venera-tion by the people is pleasing to God.

The New Testament raised the human body to the sublime and divine heights, endowing it with a glory which the Cherubim and Seraphim do not possess. The Good News of the New Testament concerning the body—the signifi-cance and goal of the human body—is that, together with the soul, it achieves and inherits immortal life in Divine eternity. The Lord Christ has come to deify, to make Christ-like, the entire man, that is, the soul and body, and this by the resurrection, insuring thereby victory over death and eternal life. No one ever elevated the human body as did the Lord Christ by His bodily resurrection, the ascension of His body into heaven, and its eternal ses-sion at the right hand of God the Father. In this way, the Resurrected Christ extended the promise of resurrection to the nature of the human body—”having made for all flesh a path to eternal life.” Thus man now knows that the body is created for eternity through union with the God-Man and that his divine work on earth is to struggle, with the soul, for eternal life; to struggle, with all those means that convey grace and virtue, to make himself grace-filled, fulfilled by Divine grace, and created anew as the temple of the Holy Spirit, the temple of the Living God.

The eternal good news of Holy Revelation about sacred relics and their pious veneration is proved, and is continu-ally being proved, by Holy Tradition from Apostolic times to the present day. Innumerable are the sacred relics of the holy Chosen Ones of God throughout the Orthodox world. Their miracles are innumerable. The pious venera-tion of these relics by Orthodox Christians is everywhere to be found. And without doubt this is because the holy relics, through their miracles, incite the Orthodox toward their pious veneration. From the very beginning, in Ap-ostolic times, Christians piously preserved the honored relics of the Holy Forerunner and the holy Apostles, so that these could be preserved even for us. As well, during the times of persecution the sacred remains of the bodies of the holy Martyrs were taken away by Christians and hidden in their homes. From that time until now, the sacred relics of the holy Chosen Ones of God have, by their miracles, poured forth the immortal joy of our faith into the

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hearts of Orthodox Christians. The proofs concerning this are countless. We shall cite only several.

The universal faith of the Church concerning the pious veneration of holy relics was confirmed by the God-bearing Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Synod in its decrees: “Our Lord Jesus Christ granted to us the relics of Saints as a salvation-bearing source which pours forth varied benefits on the infirm. Consequently, those who presume to abandon the relics of the Martyrs: if they be hierarchs, let them be de-posed; if however monastics or laymen, let them merely be excommunicated.” That a pious veneration of the ho-ly relics is a constituent part of the salvation rendered by the God-Man is also evidenced by the following facts: from the depths of sacred antiquity, churches were built on the graves and relics of Saints, and the holy Liturgy is performed only on antimensia, in which are placed parts of the holy relics. Moreover, the divine service books, especially the Menaion, are replete with prayers and hymns which refer to the pious veneration of holy relics.

All in all, the mystery of holy relics is at the heart of the universal mystery of the New Testament: the incarnation of God. The full mystery of the human body is explained by the incarnation, the embodiment of God in the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason, then, the Gospel message concerning the body: “The body for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (I Corinthians 6:13). And through a human body also the entire creation, all of matter, received its divine significance, the universal meaning of the God-Man. By man, who is sanctified in the Church by the holy mysteries and the holy virtues, the creation and even matter are sanctified, united to Christ. There accrues to this also a joy—the myrrh-streaming property of many relics. This wonder of myrrh has been given to the holy relics in order to indicate that Christians are truly “a sweet-savour of Christ unto God” (II Corin-thians 2:15), sweet-smelling to God and to heaven. The truth of the Gospel is that the sin of man is a foul odor before God and every sin pleases the devil. Through the holy mysteries and holy virtues, Christians become “a sweet-savour of Christ unto God.” For this reason, then, the holy relics of the Saints pour forth myrrh.

(continued from page 1)

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

We hope everyone ate well or almost everyone. What a day for post to start. We have begun the

Lenten season preparing for Bozic. Our Kolo will be having our annual meeting soon; more info to

follow to members. Our banquet will be held the second Sunday of January. Again, more info ex-

pected at a later date.

Please keep all our sisters who cannot be with us on a regular basis in your thoughts and prayers.

Wishing all a happy and healthy season!

In Christ,

Your Kolo Board

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Ниједан гријех није Христос силније изобличавао од лицемјерја, хипокризије (грч. – претварање, претворство,

лицемјерство). Заиста, ниједан гријех тако очигледно не пројављује демонско посуновраћење човјекове

личности, као што то чини лицемјерје. Док друга сагрешења потичу или од неког несвјесног покрета пале

природе, или од зле навике, или од страсти које човјеком овладавају, лицемјерје је увијек свјесно, прорачунато

пристајање на зло и на неки начин „предумишљај“ многих других зала која њиме започињу и њиме се крунишу.

Лицемјерје је гријех против истине и искрености и зато се увијек скрива иза лажи или полуистина. Оно је гријех

људи који живе и дјелају иза леђа других, хранећи се клеветама, оговарањима и подозрењима. Зато оговарачи

и клеветници никада не говоре лицем у лице, јер лице човјека је – о томе смо већ говорили – увијек суд нама и

суд над нама.

“Чувајте се квасца фарисејскога, а то је лицемјерје” (Лк. 12,1), говорио је Господ својим ученицима. Јер „то мало

квасца све тијесто укисели.“ Човјек покретан лицемјерјем увијек се креће у мочварним и тамним дубинама

људске природе, газећи тако достојанство и своје и других. Зато лицемјерје неријетко води ка најтежим

гријесима.

Лицемјеран човјек је неспособан и неспреман да своје лице, дакле – своје биће, пружи и окрене свецијело,

безрезервно, ка лицу другог. Увијек прорачунато, увијек мјерено и „кројено“ према сопственој скривеној

намјери, његово лице је – безлична маска. Зато је лицемјерје не само дволично већ, у својој удаљености од

Онога у Чијој свјетлости видимо свјетлост, увијек помрачено, тамно и потпуно безлично. Дволичност, коначно,

води у безизлазност, јер сам носилац те маске кад-тад ће морати себи да постави питање: ко је он уствари?

Лицемјерје, без сумње, своју храну тражи на њивама лажи. Ава Доротеј, велики наставник духовног живота,

говорио је да лаж није само и једино изговорена неистина, и да се, осим у ријечи, може лагати и мишљу, али и

животом. Треба знати да ниједно зло, ниједна неистина, чак ни сам ђаво који је “отац лажи“, не могу преварити

човјека уколико не узму лик врлине. И Апостол Павле говори у Светом Писму да се „и сам ђаво претвара у

анђела свјетлости (2Кор. 11,14). Наш велики писац и мислилац Иво Андрић, човјек сложеног живота али свакако

богатог искуства написао је: „Кад видиш овако човјека сувише сигурна у себе и у оно што каже, хитра и слатка на

ријечи, који ти нуди што му не тражиш, одобрава што кажеш а остаје при ономе што је намислио, знај да је

бестидник и бездушник, и клони га се колико можеш.“ Најочигледнија пројава лицемјерја, не само у ово наше

вријеме већ и у сва времена, јесте људска склоност оговарању, тј. Лажном свједочењу на ближње своје у

њиховом одсуству. То тако очигледно одсуство љубави помрачује и трује не само оне који то (не)дјело творе,

већ и оне који су пасивни слушаоци, који се ћутањем саглашавају и наслађују. И тада и тако страдају

многи, и многи трпе штету.

Ова очигледна помраченост израз је једне суштинске духовне неслободе, (настављено на страници 8)

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јер слобода је својство личности, дакле својство онога ко своје лице огледа

у лицу другога, јасно и искрено. Бјежање од лица другога, тј. скривање од сопственог одраза на њему,

пројављује велико духовно сиромаштво. Човјек који гази Лик Божији у ономе кога клевеће, увијек је човјек

скучен и тјескобан, затворен у сопственом малом свијету самообмане; то је човјек за кога Апостол Павле са

правом каже: “Вама није тијесно у нама, него вам је тијесно у срцима вашим“ (2Кор. 6,12). То је човјек тужан и

злокобно мрачан; то је биће без радости.

За онога ко лицемјерно живи други је увијек препрека, пријетња, опасност, а никада брат, никада саставни дио

његовог бића, никада сапутник и сапатник на путу спасења. Такав у себи нема благодати Божије која нам даје

живот, јер Бог је истина а лицемјерје је живот у лажи. Оно је духовни кукавичлук, који се скрива иза подозрења

или ласкања. Оно је суштинско окретање леђа животу и одбијање да се живот прихвати као што јесте:

сапостојање, сарадња, смирено свједочење Истине хођењем у свјетлости Лица Божијег а прије свега радост и

нада на живот вјечни.

Лицемјерје, као зла и злокобна наклоност душе, за своје најубојитије оружје има управо ријеч људску. Оно што

би требало да је орган словесности, боголикости, посебности човјекове спрам све творевине, тако постаје орган

и оруђе злобе, лукавства и сваке лажи. У Светом Писму стоји: “Ако неко у ријечи не гријеши, тај је савршен

човјек, моћан је зауздати и све тијело” (Јак. 3,2). Заиста је језик “мала ватра, а како велике ствари запали”(Јак.

3,5). А још у старозавјетно вријеме, премудри цар Соломон је говорио: „Покривају непријатељство усне праве, а

који износе оговарања најнеразумнији су. У многом причању нећеш избјећи гријех, а чувајући уста своја бићеш

разуман“ (Прем. Сол. 10.гл.).

Лажљива уста и живот лицемјеран огледало су унутрашње помрачености човјекове, јер уста увијек говоре “од

сувишка срца.” Такав човјек показује дубоку подвојеност и разореност своје личности. Не може се сопствени

идентитет градити на поништењу тј. негирању личности другога, а нарочито не на прљању лица другог.

Напротив, други је темељ на коме тај идентитет треба градити. Вријеме у коме живимо све отвореније

пројављује очигледну девалвацију духовних и уопште животних вриједности. Све чешће постављају се пред нас

циљеви који то нипошто не би смјели бити. Човјек је све навикнутији да живи сам, немајући притом свијест о

томе да је такав живот – притајено лагано умирање. Дуго промовисани индивидуализам показује се као велики

промашај, или као успјешно изведен пројекат пун туге која води у смрт.

Потребно је оживјети и непрекидно оживљавати у себи свијест о томе да једино мјерило нашег живота, дјелања

и свих наших односа треба да је Христос, Који је Пут, Истина и Живот. Побунити се против лажи у себи и око

себе, и живјети и ходити у истини. Размислити о ријечима надахнутог јеванђелиста који говори: “Ако ли у

свјетлости ходимо, као што је Он Сам у свјетлости, имамо заједницу једни са другима” (Јн. 1,6-7). Једино тако, не

заборављајући ову небопарну, громку ријеч Спаситељеву: “Чувајте се квасца фарисејског, а то је лицемјерје”,

можемо стећи наду да ће на нама, иако смо људи који у свијету живе и гријеше, починути Цар Небесни,

Утјешитељ, Дух Истине Који ће нас очистити од сваке нечистоте и спасити душе наше.

Епископ Григорије (Дурић)

(настављено са странице 7)

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Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church 2019 Calendar / Kалендар

December / Децембар

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Sunday 1

10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Света Литургија

Tuesday 3

5:00 p.m. Vespers Вечерње

Wednesday 4

10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy - The entry in the temple of the Most Holy Theothokos Света Литургија- Ваведење

Saturday 7

4.30 p.m. Vespers Вечерње

Sunday 8

10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Света Литургија

Saturday 14

4.30 p.m. Vespers Вечерње

Sunday 15

10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Света Литургија 12:00 p.m. Annual Assembly – Годишња скупштина

Wednesday 18

5:00 p.m. Vespers Вечерње

Thursday 19

10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy - St. Nicholas Света Литургија -Свети Никола 12:30 p.m. Nativity Play / вертеп

Saturday 21

4.30 p.m. Vespers Вечерње

Sunday 22

10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy - Memorial Service for Benefactors Света Литургија - Парастос за добротворе

Saturday 28

4:30 p.m. Vespers Вечерње

Sunday

29

10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Света Литургија