Protocol N. 192 - June 7, 2009 To the Reverend Clergy and Beloved Faithful of this Diocese: Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever! I greet you in the spiritual joy of the Feast of Pentecost, for on this Day, we celebrate the outflowing of the Holy Spirit from God the Father, through Jesus Christ and His Church, and to the entire world.

Information pertaining to the 21st Diocesan Council/Sobor, which will be held July 12-15, 2009, has been sent out to all Diocesan parishes recently. This event will be hosted by the parishes of the New Jersey Deanery.

This is the Morning after the long night and the long journey. For the past forty days and Holy Week, we have journeyed after Jesus in fasting, in confession, in the Liturgies of St. Basil and the Pre-Sanctified Gifts. We have prayed longer prayers and we have sought forgiveness. We have listened to the sweet Gospel words of our Saviour, and faithful songs of the Theotokos at the Cross.

As we began our journey into the Triodion a few weeks ago, we were reminded once again of the lessons that several parables had to teach us, especially the two parables of the Publican and the Pharisee and the Prodigal Son; these messages are repeated in the hymns of the Church during the third and the fourth weeks of the Great Fast.

JOHNSTOWN, PA - The official website of the American Carpatho Russian Orthodox Diocese of the U.S.A. (www.acrod.org) will be undergoing a complete redesign during the coming months. The new website will communicate news and information more quickly and efficiently with diocesan clergy and faithful and the outside world through multiple digital mediums. It will also assist the various ministries and the apostolates of the diocese to provide needed resources.

When we were little children, our parents and our Church School teachers were the first ones to instruct us in the mysteries of our Holy Faith. One of the initial words that we learned was "BoŽe," which, of course, means "GOD." Next we were taught where God lived. And if you ask almost any child today, hopefully his or her response will be, as was ours, "in heaven."

JOHNSTOWN, PA - In recent months, interest has been expressed by the SCOBA endorsed Orthodox Christian Network, (OCN) to collaborate with our diocese in producing educational programing for the popular Come Receive the Light Radio Program. Of particular interest to OCN is the work of the Diocesan Apostolate For Youth (DAY). Plans are being made to produce several Orthodox Teen Talk Online (OTTO) programs during the coming year which will feature diocesan youth informally dialoguing about contemporary moral issues facing teenagers.

JOHNSTOWN, PA - His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas has established a diocesan-wide relief effort for the horrific damage in Texas and Louisiana caused by Hurricane Ike. Each diocesan parish is asked to take up a special collection on Sunday September 21, 2008. It is requested that each parish forward their parish gift immediately after the collection so that it arrives at the Chancery no later than September 26, 2008. Parish checks are to be made payable to ACROD. The Diocese will then forward a sum-total gift to an appropriate relief agency.

JOHNSTOWN, PA - His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas has been invited by His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, to be part of a Patriarchal Delegation to Kiev, Ukraine to attend the festivities of the 1020th anniversary of the Christianization of Kievan Rus, which will take place from July 25-27, 2008.

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