St. George Edmonton
10831 124 street T5M 0H4 Edmonton, AB, Canada

Let's get to know Holy Martyr Cecilia better

A letter from our youth board on the status of our events until further notice.

Our November bulletin is now available!

Not able to attend Divine Liturgy on Sundays? Did you want a brief liturgy without the crowds of Sunday morning? We have great news for you! Every Wednesday at 6pm, the Divine Liturgy will be offered, unless otherwise announced. We look forward to seeing you there!

October's schedule is now available. Please note that Fr Andreas will be unavailable for the month of October. If any emergencies occur during his vacation time, please contact one of the Orthodox Churches on the directory list provided. The services will still be held with Rev Fr Stephen Keaschuk and Rev Fr Mircea Panciuk presiding on alternating Sundays.

Are you needing to fill your pantry or freezer for the Holidays? We have a great fundraiser for our the Daughters of Penelope, Boreas Chapter #268. Mom’s Pantry is a company with over 200 diverse items, from spices, teas, fruits & veggies, and superfoods to cookie dough, frozen ready to bake treats, and snacks. All of Mom’s Fundraising Programs are always peanut-aware, meaning they no longer stock any products that contain peanuts as an ingredient. They also offer several 100...% peanut free selections and carry some gluten free items as well! If you are interested in seeing what all you can buy, visit www.momspantry.ca When ready to place your order, please select Fundraiser Order (Group Order) Order Number: 321344 Group Passcode: 17993. All orders need to be in by November 23, items will be paid for at time of order, then shipped to a single drop off in West Edmonton for easy pickup, sometime during the first 2 weeks of December, just in time for the holiday season. Pickup date and time will be provided once we receive it from Mom’s Pantry. All proceeds go to support local charities that help women and children in need.

Please be advised that during the month of October we will not be livestreaming. We have here posted the Facebook page of St Paul's regina for those that would still like to watch from home.

To our friends in and around Edmonton, our chapter of the Daughters of Penelope is gathering clean and useable winter coats, mitts, socks, and scarves for the homeless. If you have anything to contribute, please contact Christina Andrews via email at [email protected] and we can arrange drop-off or pick up. Last day for donations is Nov 15. Thank you in advance!

We had a great time pumpkin carving tonight!

The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke wrote the longest of the 4 Gospels, he was a physician, a friend of St Paul with whom he travelled. However, he was not one... of the 12 Apostles of Our Saviour Jesus Christ. In addition, his Gospel includes several unique events and parables, out of which we have selected 10 to encourage your Bible reading. See more

We are pleased to announce that during Fr Andreas' October absence, two wonderful and illustrious priests will be joining us for Sunday Divine Liturgy. Please come out to greet these great veterans of Edmontonian Orthodoxy and thank them for stepping up to the plate! Sunday October 4 & 18- Stephen Keaschuk Sunday October 11 & 25 Fr Mircea Panciuk ... (Please note that we will begin at 10AM on each Sunday. Live streaming will not be available during this time but links will be provided to other live streams.)

Just a reminder that the services for this upcoming week are as follows: Sunday September 27: Orthros 9am Divine Liturgy 10am Wednesday September 30: Divine Liturgy 6pm for the Holy Protection of the Holy Theotokos/ ... (The traditional date for this celebration is the 1st of October in honor of the miracle of Our Lady at Blachernon) https://www.oca.org//102824-the-protection-of-our-most-hol

‘Equal-to-the Apostles’ is a special title bestowed by the Church to the saints whose work of preaching the Gospel is considered similar to that of the Apostles.

St Sophrony Sakharov was St Silouan’s disciple and biographer.

St Thecla's feast day is celebrated on September 24.

This Monk from the Gregoriou Monastery of Mount Athos sleeps on the park benches in Athens and is a confessor and Spiritual Father to the homeless

You may be certain that as long as someone is in hell, Christ will remain there with him. - Saint Sophrony of Essex

Change yourself before/whilst changing others If you want to help the Church, it is better to try to correct yourself, rather than be looking to correct others.... If you manage to correct yourself, one small part of the Church is immediately corrected. Naturally, if everyone did the same, the body of the Church would be in good health. But, today, people concern themselves with anything but themselves. You see, judging others is easy, whereas working on yourself takes effort. If we work to correct ourselves and look more intently towards our inner activity rather than our external, giving precedence to divine help, we can in turn be of greater and more positive help to others. We will also achieve an inner serenity that will quietly help the souls of the people we encounter because spiritual serenity reflects the virtue of the soul and transforms souls. When someone applies himself to external activity before having polished his spiritual inner state, he may struggle spiritually, but he will be fraught with worry, anxiety, lack of confidence in God and frequent loss of serenity. If he does not improve himself, he cannot say that his interest for the common good is pure. When he is liberated from the old self and all things worldly, then he will receive divine Grace and be not only at peace with himself, but also able to bring peace to everyone else. But if he has not received the Grace of God, then he can neither govern himself nor help others in order to bring about a divine effect. He must first be immersed in divine Grace and then utilise his resulting sanctified powers for the salvation of others. - St Paisios of Mt Athos

[St. Seraphim is attacked by robbers] All the devil's temptations and attacks against Fr. Seraphim had the aim of driving him from his hermitage. All the enemy'...s attempts were, however, unsuccessful: he was defeated and in shame he withdrew from his vanquisher, but he did not leave him in peace. Looking for other means to drive the Starets away from his hermitage, the evil spirit began to wage war against him through evil people. On 12 September 1804 three strangers in peasant clothes came up to the Starets. Fr. Seraphim was chopping fire-wood in the forest at the time. The peasants approached him in an insolent manner, demanding money and saying, "People from the world visit you and bring you money. The Starets said: I never take anything from anyone. But they did not believe him. Then one of them rushed at him from behind, wanting to throw him to the ground, but instead fell down himself. Because of this mishap the villains hesitated, but they did not want to give up their intention. Fr. Seraphim had great physical strength and being armed with an axe could well have defended himself. This thought flashed momentarily into his mind. But at the same moment he recalled the Saviour's words, All they that take the sword shall perish by the sword (Matt. 26:52), and, not wanting to resist them, he calmly laid his axe on the ground and, crossing his arms on his breast, said meekly: Do what you need to do. He resolved to suffer everything innocently for the sake of the Lord. Then one of the peasants picked up the axe from the ground and hit Fr. Seraphim on his head with the butt so hard that blood gushed from his mouth and ears. The Starets fell to the ground and lost consciousness. The assailants pulled him to the porch of his cell, continuing to beat him furiously on the way, as if he were their prey, one with the axe-butt, one with a stick, one with his hands and feet, and they even discussed among themselves if they should throw him in the river. And when they saw that he seemed to be dead, they tied his hands and feet with a rope, put him in the porch, and rushed into the cell, thinking they would find untold riches there. They very soon turned over everything in his wretched dwelling, examined everything, broke the stove and pulled up the floor; but, searching and searching, they found nothing that was any good to them: they saw that all he had was a Holy Icon, and they found a few potatoes. Then the conscience of the assailants spoke loudly in them, their hearts awoke to repentance because they had beaten a devout man in vain, without any profit even to themselves. They were gripped by fear and ran away in horror. Meanwhile, Fr. Seraphim regained consciousness with difficulty because of the cruel mortal blows inflicted on him, but he somehow untied the ropes, thanked God for the chance given to him to endure the wounds innocently, and prayed that the Lord might forgive his murderers. He suffered the whole night in his cell, but the next day, with great difficulty, he made his way by himself to the monastery in the middle of the Liturgy. His appearance was appalling. The hair of his beard and head was soaked in blood, rumpled, tangled, covered with dust and dirt. His face and hands were bruised; several teeth had been knocked out: his ears and lips were covered with dried blood; his blood-soaked crumpled clothes had dried out and in places had stuck to his wounds. Seeing him in this state, the brethren were horrified and asked what had happened to him. Without saying a word, Fr. Seraphim asked them to call for the Superior Fr. Isaiah and the monastery's Confessor, and he told them all that had happened in detail. Both the Superior and brethren grieved deeply over the sufferings of the Starets. Because of this misfortune Fr. Seraphim had to stay in the monastery to regain his health. The devil who had called up the assailants now seemed to be rejoicing at his victory over the Starets, imagining that he had driven him away from his hermitage for ever. The first eight days were very hard for the wounded man: he took no food or water, he could not sleep because of the unbearable pain. In the monastery they gave up hope that he would survive his sufferings. On the seventh day after the attack, seeing no change for the better, the Superior Starets Isaiah sent to Arzamas for doctors. Having examined the Starets, the doctors reported the following: a fractured skull, broken ribs, his chest trampled in, his body all covered with deadly wounds. They were amazed that the starets was still alive after such a severe beating. The doctors thought they should bleed the sick man according to the old-fashioned method of healing. The Superior, who knew that the sick man had already lost much blood from his wounds, did not agree to this; but, on the insistence of the doctors who held a consultation together, he decided to ask Fr. Seraphim himself. The doctors again gathered in Fr. Seraphim's cell; there were three of them, and with them were three assistants. While waiting for the Superior, they examined the sick man again, had a long talk in Latin among themselves and made the decision: to bleed him, wash him, put plasters on his wounds, and apply surgical spirit in some places. They also agreed that this should be done as soon as possible. Fr. Seraphim recognised their kindness and care for him and his heart filled with great gratitude. While all this was happening, someone unexpectedly cried out: The Father Superior is coming, the Father Superior is coming! At that moment Fr. Seraphim fell asleep: his sleep was short, light and pleasant. He dreamt he saw a wondrous vision. The Most Holy Mother of God was coming towards him on the right hand side of his bed. She was in royal purple, surrounded with glory, and the Holy Apostles Peter and John the Theologian were following Her. The Most Holy Virgin stopped at the bed, pointed with the finger of Her right hand at the sick man and, turning Her most pure face in the direction where the doctors were standing, said: What good are your efforts? Then She turned to the Starets again and said: He is one of us. And the vision, which none of those present even suspected, was gone. When the Superior came in, the sick man was again conscious. Fr. Isaiah, with a feeling of deep love and compassion for him, suggested that he follow the doctors' advice and accept their help. But to everyone's amazement the sick man, in spite of so much care of him and in spite of the desperate state of his health, answered that now he did not want any human help and asked the Father Superior to entrust his life to God and His Most Holy Mother, the true and faithful doctors of souls and bodies. There was nothing to be done. They left the starets in peace, respecting his capacity to endure and wondering at the strength and firmness of his faith. And he was filled with unspeakable joy because of the wondrous visitation, and this heavenly joy lasted for about four hours. Then the Starets calmed down, returned to his normal state of mind, and felt some relief from his pains. His strength and fortitude began to return to him; he got up from his bed, started walking around the cell a little, and in the evening, after eight o'clock, he took some food, eating a little bread and pickled white cabbage. From that day onwards he began gradually to return to his spiritual practices. Even before all this happened, Fr. Seraphim was once working in the forest, when a tree he had cut fell on him and he was crushed by it, and as a result lost his naturally straight back and upright stature, and became hunched. After the attack by the robbers, because of the beatings, wounds and injuries, he became even more hunched. From then on he used to walk leaning on a small axe, a hoe or a stick. Thus his hunched back, a bruising of the heel, was all his life like the crown marking the victory of the great ascetic over the devil. From the day he was injured, Starets Seraphim spent about five months in the monastery without visiting his hermitage. When he regained his health, and felt strong enough to follow the hermit life once more, he asked the Superior Isaiah to let him leave the monastery and go to his hermitage again. But the Superior, at the insistence of the brethren and himself feeling true concern for the Starets, tried to persuade him to stay in the monastery permanently, having in mind the possibility that such violent incidents could occur again. Fr. Seraphim answered that attacks like that counted for nothing with him and that he was ready, like the Holy Martyrs who suffered in the Name of the Lord, to endure any injury whatever, even to death. He feared only robbers of the soul, firmly remembering the Saviour's words: Fear not those which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt, 10:28). Won over by Fr. Seraphim's Christian fearlessness of spirit and his love of the hermit life, Fr. Isaiah gave his blessing to the desire of the Starets, and Starets Seraphim returned to his hermit cell once more. The return of the Starets to his hermitage marked the complete defeat of the devil. The peasants who had attacked the Starets were found; and they turned out to be serfs belonging to the landowner Tatishchev of the village of Kremenki in the Ardatov region. But Fr. Seraphim not only forgave them personally, but beseeched the Superior of the monastery not to punish them, and later he sent a letter with the same request to the landowner. Everyone was so outraged by what these peasants had done that it seemed impossible to forgive them, but Fr. Seraphim insisted. Otherwise, the Starets said, I will leave the Sarov Monastery and go to another place. And to Fr. Isaiah, his Spiritual Father, he said that it would be better for him to be sent away from the monastery, than for the peasants to be punished in any way. Fr. Seraphim left vengeance to the Lord God. God's anger did indeed strike these peasants: for in a short while, a fire destroyed their houses. Then they came to Fr. Seraphim themselves with tears of repentance to ask for his forgiveness and his holy prayers. - Diveyevo Chronicles, Chapter 4

Join us this Thursday to get lost in the Edmonton Corn Maze! We will be meeting at 6pm at the main entrance of the maze. Please pre-purchase your ticket online ...for the 6pm time slot at edmontoncornmaze.ca. Please remember to bring your mask! Address: 26171 Garden Valley Road Spruce Grove, Alberta If you have any questions please message us or email us at [email protected]

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Realising that a great amount of our people are working on Monday and are unable to attend, tomorrow we will have the procession with the Holy Cross immediately after Liturgy. We will still have the procession on Monday following liturgy.

This week at St George's: Sunday 13 - Sunday before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: Orthros 9Am Liturgy 10Am Monday 14 - Exaltation of the Holy, Precious, and Life-giving Cross: Liturgy 10 Am... Wednesday 16 - St Sophia and her three daughters: Liturgy 6 Pm