Deadline Extended for Holy Land & Jordan

Trip Itinerary
Registration Form

The Protopresbyteral District of the South of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is sponsoring a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Jordan. It will be led by Fr. Elias Rafaj of St. John Chrysosotom Church-Houston, TX.

The group will depart for Amman, Jordan on Feb. 19, 2011 from Dallas and Houston (other departure cities are arranged at minimal cost if any—please inquire). The pilgrimage will focus on all the famous Holy Places and especially on the sites important to Byzantine and Roman Catholics.

The group will also spend time with the local Melkite Byzantine Catholics whose communities trace back to the apostles, and their parishes are the heirs of the Ancient Faith.

The Via Nazareth Tour Company that is organizing our stay in the Middle East is owned and run by Melkite Byzantine Catholics. Our Pilgrimage will return to the US on March 2, 2011. The cost (includes all meals, taxes, tips, entrance fees and more) is 2,799$ pp. (including airfare). Land-Only Package is available for only $1,499.00.

For more information please contact or speak with Fr. Elias to receive a full detailed brochure.

Fr. Elias can be reached by email at: houstonelias@gmail.com or on his cell phone at713-256-8953 or at the Parish Office at713-681-3580.

Deadline for Registration is Sept. 20. Space is limited!

In the Byzantine Tradition the liturgical day begins in the evening with the setting of the sun. This practice follows the Biblical account of creation: "And there was evening and there was morning, one day" (Gen 1:5).

As such, our church will reinstitute the Vesper service in proper traditional oversvation. The Vesper service in the Church always begins with the chanting of the evening psalm: "...the sun knows it's time for setting, Thou makest darkness and it is night...." (Psalm 104: 19-20) This psalm, which glorifies God's creation of the world, is man's very first act of worship, for man first of all meets God as Creator.

Vespers takes us through creation, sin, and salvation in Christ. It leads us to the meditation of God's word and the glorification of his love for men. It instructs us and allows us to praise God for the particular events or persons whose memory is celebrated and made present to us in the Church. It prepares us for the sleep of the night and the dawn of the new day to come. On the evenings of the Divine Liturgy, it begins our movement into the most perfect communion with God in the sacramental mysteries.

Matins is held in the morning prior to the Divine Liturgy. In some Russian churches Matins is combinedd with Saturday Vespers in one long vigil. The Matins service of the Church unites the elements of morning psalmody and prayer with meditation on the Biblical canticles, the Gospel reading, and the particular theme of the day in the given verses and hymns. The themes of God's revelation and light are also always central to the morning service of the Church.

See our Church Calendar for the schedule of Vespers and Matins.

Throughout two millennia of Christian history, the great heresies have tried to destroy the Faith by perverting the truths that Christ taught the apostles. Beginning in Jesus' own time with the betrayal of the arch-heretic Judas, and continuing through the centuries, waves of error have threatened to swamp the Church, only to break and be dashed upon the Rock of Peter. Author Tom Colyandro investigates seven of the most harmful and seductive heresies in Church history, and reveals that they are indeed with us once more.