Welcome to The Official Website of the National Senior ACRY (American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Youth)
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The National ACRY (American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Youth) is is the national youth organization of the American Carpatho-Russian Diocese of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is divided into two separate organizations. The Junior ACRY (for ages 8 to 18) and the Senior ACRY (for ages 18 and older).
The ACRY is an Orthodox Christian family fellowship dedicated to the purpose of encouraging spiritual growth through charitable and apostolic missionary works, prayer and fellowship for the Glory of God and the building up of the Church and our Diocese. (Read More...)
Special Announcements
& Local Chapter News
Monday, April 22, 2013
HOMESTEAD, PA -- On Sunday April 21, 2013, St Nicholas Orthodox Church of Homestead held its 63rd Annual Communion Breakfast, hosted by the local ACRY Chapter.
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Monday, April 08, 2013
NATIONAL ACRY -- Please be advised that the nomination forms have been updated for the following ACRY achievement awards: Individual, Senior Chapter, and Church School Teacher of the Year. Note that the deadline date for submission of these awards has been changed from July 1st to May 15th. Read more...
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Spiritual Reflection
Our Patron Saints - Sts Cyril & Methodios
In the Slavic Life of St. Methodius, written immediately after his death by one
of his dedicated disciples, St. Constantine of Preslav, it is written:
"On Palm Sunday he (St. Methodius), despite his weakness, came into the
church where all his people were assembled. After imparting his final blessing,
he said: "Watch with me, my children, until the third day!" This they did. At
dawn of the third day he said: "Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my soul!"
(Lk.23:46), and he fell asleep in the arms of his priests on the sixth day of
April, in the third Indiktion, 6393 from the creation of the world" (SVII,
7-10). In other words, St. Methodius died on April 6, 885 A.D. This year of
1985, then, we commemorate the 1100th Anniversary of his pious death.
The name of St. Methodius is inseparably connected with the name of his
brother, St. Cyril. They both are venerated together as Apostles of the Slavs,
and they both were instrumental in the conversion of our ancestors to
Christianity.
Our Rusyn ancestors were converted to Christianity in the second half of the
ninth century by the Apostles of the Slavs, SS. Cyril and Methodius, before they
started their famous mission among the Slavic tribes of Great Moravia. With
Christianity, the holy Brothers initiated our ancestors into their beautiful
Byzantine Slavonic Rite and brought them into the sphere of Slavic culture.
Justly then we venerate them as our Slavic Apostles and Teachers.
The birthplace of our Slavic Apostles was the city of Thessalonica, the
capital city of the Macedonian Province of the Byzantine Empire. The father of
SS. Cyril and Methodius was a high ranking officer in the Byzantine Army. He was
of Greek descent. However their mother, Mary, in all probability, was of Slavic
birth. Hence both sons we acquainted with the Slavic tongue since childhood.
During the eighth century some Slavic tribes settled in Macedonia, making the
entire province predominantly Slavic. The Macedonian Slavs were soon
Christianized by these Greek missionaries and accepted the Orthodox Faith.
St. Methodius, whose baptismal name was Michael, was born in 815 A.D. His
younger brother Constantine (Read More ..)
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