Bishop Maxim Visits Orange County Parish
On the second Sunday of Great Lent, March 24, 2019, His Grace Bishop Maxim served the Divine Hierachical Liturgy at the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos Church in Orange County. Concelebrating with His Grace were Fr. Blasko Paraklis and Deacon Vladan Radovanovic.
The parish faithful welcomed their bishop in front of the church and after receiving his blessings proceeded inside for the Divine Liturgy. The liturgical responses were sung by Choir Istocnik under the direction of Valentina Swearingen and complemented by Bishop Maxim.
The Hierachical Liturgy and beautiful sermon of His Grace about the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas which focused on the uncreated energies of the Holy Spirit made a great impression on the souls of the parishioners. Lenten fasting plus other divine virtues help to purify our hearts and allow us to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. In this way, we truly experience God in our lives. The beautiful troparion from the Paschal cannon (ode one) sung with such joy on Pascha night perfectly encapsulates the theme and the goal of Great Lent:
“Let us purify our senses, and we shall see Christ, shining in the unapproachable Light of his resurrection, and we shall clearly hear him say, ‘Rejoice!’ as we sing the song of victory!”
We all definitely rejoiced with His Grace Bishop Maxim. He joined us for lunch after the Divine Liturgy and talked personally with the faithful encouraging each one to continue to strengthen our church community and accomplish the task of acquiring a permanent facility.
