I’m a member of the Eastern Catholic Church as are several other members of our Council. As Church Director I would like to take the opportunity to tell you about some of the customs and practices of the Eastern Catholic Church.

Following the day of Pentecost, the Theotokos (Mother of God) remained in the city of Jerusalem, comforting the infant Christian community. She was living in the house of the beloved Apostle John, later the Evangelist. At the time of her death (tradition states she was in her early fifties) many of the Apostles were scattered throughout the world preaching the Gospel. All but Thomas were miraculously brought to the Virgin aloft on clouds.

As they stood around her bedside, she commended her spirit to the Lord and Jesus descended from Heaven, taking up her soul in His arms. The Apostles sang the funeral hymns in her honor and carried her body to a tomb in Cedron near Gethsemane. The Apostle Thomas arrived on the third day and wished to see the Virgin for the last time. They discovered an empty tomb filled with flowers. Church tradition relates that the Theotokos was resurrected bodily and taken to heaven, the same reward that awaits all the righteous on the Last Day.

For us as Eastern Catholics, August is the month of Mary. We celebrated on August 15th the falling asleep of Mary which we called the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. This is the greatest feast of the Theotokos. The feast is preceded by 14 days of fasting. On weekdays before the feast, the service of Paraklesis (service of supplication) is celebrated. This is a service to the Theotokos in which we asked her to intercede for us.

The service of Paraklesis will be chanted on August 3, 8 and 13 at 6:30 PM. We celebrate the service of Great Vespers on Tuesday August 14th at 6:30 PM and the Divine Liturgy on Wednesday August 15th at 6:30 PM. It is tradition for us to bless flowers on the feast. All are welcome to join us at St. George Melkite-Greek Catholic Church as we honer the Theotokos. We are located at 1620 Bell St. in Sacramento just south of Arden Way.

Fred Struck,
Deputy Grand Knight, Council 953