Most honorable brother Hierarchs and blessed children in the Lord,

Filled with sacred emotion, we enter once again, by God’s goodwill, into Holy and Great Lent, the arena of ascetic struggle, the time of fasting and repentance, of humility and prayer, of spiritual vigilance and love, with the eyes of our heart directed to the life-giving Cross of the Lord, which guides us all toward Holy Pascha that opens the gates of Paradise to the human race.

JOHNSTOWN, PA (Cross-Jurisdictional Group)- The Annual Spring Young Adult Retreat will take place from Friday March 13 – Sunday March 15, 2026 at Camp Nazareth in Mercer, PA.  The Spring Young Adult Retreat is hosted by the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese, Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh Y2AM., Orthodox Church in America Archdiocese of Pittsburgh and The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, USA.  The retreat is open to all Young Adults ages 18-35.

JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA — The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese will host its Annual Diocesan Altar Boy Retreat from June 28 to July 1 at Christ the Saviour Cathedral and Seminary in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Participants will take part in daily prayers and services, educational sessions led by Clergy and Seminarians, and activities that foster brotherhood and leadership. Servers will be given an opportunity to tour the new Seminary, and take a day trip to Pittsburgh. The retreat also provides an opportunity for Altar Boys to meet peers from other Parishes and build lasting friendships rooted first in common faith.

JOHNSTOWN, PA  [Diocesan Chancery] -- The Diocesan Chancery is pleased to release the schedule of  this year's Diocesan Lenten Retreats for youth and adults, hosted in various regions of the Diocese.  The details are as follows:

Eastern Region Diocesan Adult and Youth Lenten Retreat -  Sat March 14, 2026   9:30 am– 5:00 pm   Holy Ghost Orthodox Church, Phoenixville PA.  Teen & Adults - Theme: Steadfast in the Storm: Keeping the Faith in Times of Turmoil -Speaker: Archpriest Timothy Hojnicki Youth Ages 6-12 - Theme Your First Liturgy : Finding Peace. Speaker: Fr. Andrew Wythe

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- It is proper and just to sing to You, to bless You, to praise You, to thank You, to worship You in every place of Your kingdom, for You are God, ineffable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible, ever existing yet ever the same, You and Your only-begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit. You brought us out of non-existence into being and, when we had fallen, You raised us up again, and left nothing undone to lead us to heaven and to bestow upon us Your future kingdom. For all this we give thanks to You and to Your only-begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit, for all that we know and do not know