Icon of Christ Pantocrator Installed

December 7, 2009

This Icon of Christ "Ruler of All" was painted by Fr. Andrew Tregubov of Claremont, NH, who has done most of our large icons. Eight feet in diameter, it was painted on canvas and installed on our 16-foot high ceiling by local wallcovering craftsmen Gary Atchley and Tim Irwin. The icon is quite striking and reminds us that Christ is reigning in the heavens and on earth.

More Pictures

Our Icon Project

Read more about icons:
Father Thomas Hopko
Professor Leonid A. Uspensky

St. Nicholas Party

December 6, 2009

Our annual St. Nicholas party has been a favorite of children and adults for many years. Since St. Nicholas Day fell on a Sunday this year, it was held after the Divine Liturgy and Coffee Hour. Janice Dietrich related several stories of St. Nicholas' life and wondrous works. Tony Varner led a spirited game of Trivia related to Scripture and the Faith. Subdeacon John Wood led in singing O kto, kto, a Carpatho-Russian folk song about St. Nicholas, which some of our members were able to sing in Russian. St. Nick himself made a surprise appearance with candy canes. The children had left their shoes outside, and discovered that St. Nick had placed chocolate gold coins in them!
More Pictures    (These pictures by Mark Robinson begin with several shots of the blessing of our new icon of Christ Pantocrator before it was affixed to the ceiling of our Temple.)
More about St. Nicholas

Baptism of Baby Constantin

August 16, 2009

Our newest member received the sacred mysteries of Baptism, Chrismation, and Holy Communion.

  • More Pictures
  • Read more about Baptism.

    • Christ is Risen!

    Holy Week and Pascha Pictures - April 11-19, 2009

    We had a wonderful blessed Holy Week and Pascha. Services were well attended; we baptized three fine little boys, and in spite of rainy weather we were able to make outdoor Processions on Palm Sunday and Holy Friday. It was too rainy for an outdoor procession Pascha night, but we had a beautiful and joyous service inside. A special joy was hosting the other two Jackson area Orthodox congregations this year for Agape Vespers and Feast Sunday afternoon. This is the 22nd year we have done this service together.

  • Eve of Lazarus Saturday - Reception of Catechumens
  • Palm Sunday - Procession with Palms
  • Holy Wednesday Evening - Service of Anointing
  • Holy Thursday Evening - Twelve Gospels
  • Holy Friday Vespers
  • Holy Friday Evening - Procession through the Cemetery
  • Holy Saturday Morning - Baptism and Divine Liturgy
  • More Holy Saturday Pictures
  • Pascha Midnight At this service all lights are put out as we experience the darkness of the Tomb. Then we hear:

    Come receive the light from the unwaning light,
    and glorify Christ, Who is risen from the dead.
    We light our candles from the light brought from the altar, singing

    Thy Resurrection O Christ Our Saviour
    The Angels in Heaven Sing;
    Enable us on earth
    To glorify Thee in purity of heart.

    Then we hear the Resurrection Gospel from St. Mark, the proclamation, Christ is Risen! in many languages, and continue with the brightly lighted and festive Matins and Divine Liturgy. Then we go to the dining food for feasting and fellowship.

    "More Holy Saturday" and Pascha Midnight pictures by Steve and Christina Long; other pictures by Melinda Haddad.

    • Join Us for Holy Week

    April 11-19, 2009

    The Orthodox Holy Week and Pascha services set before us a rich feast of Christian experience that no seeker of God should miss. The four Gospels devote more space to the week before our Lord's death than all the rest of His life and teaching. Beginning with the Raising of Lazarus, the Orthodox services give us each day scriptures, hymns, and liturgical actions that enable us experience these saving events as realities in our time. Make plans to join us for these.

    Holy Friday Evening, 2008
    Procession with the Epitaphios (image of the shroud of the Lord)
    through the Clinton cemetery next to the Church

    First of Resurrection Murals Installed

    April 14, 2009

    This mural of the Appearance of the Lord at the Sea of Tiberias (St. John 21:1-14) was installed on the right front wall of our Temple. The mural is 12 feet wide and 8 feet high. It was painted on canvas by Fr. Andrew Tregubov of Claremont, NH, and affixed to the wall by Mr. Gary Atchley, a local wallcovering professional.

    It is given in memory of Joseph Bassam Khalaf, Holy Resurrection member who fell asleep in the Lord April 17, 2008. May his memory be eternal!

    Since our Temple is called Holy Resurrection, the right side of the Temple will have murals of the Resurrection events, beginning at the back with the women at the Tomb and St. Mary Magdalene with the Lord in the Garden (St. John 20:11 ff), then Sts Peter and John at the Tomb (St. John 20:3 ff), the meal at Emmaus (St. Luke 24:13 ff), and ending with this one in front.

    Great Lent Begins

    March 7, 2011

    Let us fast with a fast pleasing to the Lord. This is the true fast: the casting off of evil, the bridling of the tongue, the cutting off of anger, the cessation of lusts, evil talking, lies and cursing. The stopping of these is the fast true and acceptable.
    --Monday Vespers of the First Week

  • What is Lent?
  • Read more about Lent
  • Schedule of Services

     

    The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian

    O Lord and Master of my life
    Take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power and idle talk.
    But grant rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant.
    Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my brother,
    For blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen.

    Sunday of Orthodoxy

    March 8

    Orthodox Christians celebrate the first Sunday of Great Lent as the Sunday of Orthodoxy, remembering the restoration of the Holy Icons to the Churches on this Sunday in A.D. 843, after they were suppressed about 90 years by heretical Byzantine emperors.

    In America it has become customary for all Orthodox Churches in a city or area to hold a service together in witness to our unity in the Faith. This year's service will be held at St. George's Church in Vicksburg, Father Chris Harner, Pastor of Holy Trinity and St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church in Jackson will preach.

    Other Churches participating include St. Peter's Church in Madison and Holy Resurrection. The picture at right is of the the iconostas at St. George's.

    The service will begin at 6 p.m. The public is invited to this service and fellowship afterwards.

    Directions to St. George's Church
    Orthodox Churches in Mississippi
    About Icons

    Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, Clinton, Mississippi

    Fr. Jacob Myers Talks

    We had a wonderful time here February 17-19 with Fr. Jacob Myers and his wife, Matushka Rebecca, from St. John the Wonderworker Church in Atlanta. Recordings of his first two talks can be heard here (unfortunately the third talk did not record properly).

  • Talk 1: The Holy Spirit in Our Lives
  • Talk 2: Heavenly Companions: Our Life With the Saints of God

    More pictures

    • DEVELOPING A DIVINE FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD AND THE HEAVENLY HOST

     

    Developing A Divine Friendship

    With God And The Heavenly Host

     

    Three Talks by Father Jacob Myers

    Pastor, St. John the Wonderworker Orthodox Church, Atlanta

     

    Tuesday, February 17 - The Acquisition of the Holy Spirit

    The presence of God in our daily lives

     

    Wednesday, February 18 - Our Friends the Angels and Saints

    The invisible presence of the Heavenly Host in our daily lives

             

     Thursday, February 19 – A Christian Ending to our Life

              How to be ready for it

     

    The talks will begin at 7 p.m. each night in the Parish Hall behind the Church.

    On Wednesday night there will be a Vespers service at 6 p.m. in the Church.

    The public is invited to all. For more information call 601 924-2441.

     

    Fr. Jacob was born and reared Jewish in Springfield, Illinois, and is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He was a pastor in a Christian service order for many years, and was introduced to Orthodox Christianity in the 1980s. He has been at St. John the Wonderworker Church in Atlanta for 20 years. This is an active and interesting inner-city Church which has done service work with Atlanta’s poor and homeless for many years. The Orthodox Churches of Atlanta chose St. John’s as their joint outreach to the poor; they receive money, volunteers, and food from all over Atlanta. The Church also has an Orthodox school, St. Nicholas Orthodox Academy. Fr. Jacob is a warm and winsome person whose joy is contagious. He and his wife, Matushka Rebecca, have two teenage daughters.

     

    Theophany (Epiphany)

    Baptism of the Lord

  • Tuesday, Jan. 5 - 6 p.m. Blessing of Water in the Church
  • Wednesday, Jan. 6 - 6:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy
  • Sunday, Jan. 10 - 4:00 p.m. Blessing of Water at Old Trace Park, Ross Barnett Reservoir - Directions

    We invite you to join us for all these services.
    For more information call 601 924-2441.

    On January 6 Orthodox celebrate the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan River (Mark 1:9-11 and parallels). His descent into it and rising from it show us in advance His Death and Resurrection. The voice of the Father calls Him His beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit descends on Him in the form of a dove, so the event is also a revelation of the Holy Trinity.

    In celebration of this we bless a basin of water in the Church and plunge a Cross into it as an image of Our Lord's descent into the water. We drink some of this water and in the days ahead the priest visits each member's home and sprinkles the water as a sign of the renewal of the world by the Lord's descent into it.

    The following Sunday all the local Orthodox Churches gather at the Ross Barnett Reservoir for an outdoor blessing. The Reservoir is part of the Pearl River, so we are asking the Lord's blessing on the whole Pearl River Valley and indeed the whole world. During this service we throw a Cross into the water and swimmers retrieve it.

    Churches participating will be

  • Holy Trinity and St. John Greek Orthodox Church, Jackson
  • St. Peter Orthodox Church, Madison
  • St. George Orthodox Church, Vicksburg
  • Holy Resurrection.

    • At last year's service the Cross was retrieved by Ryan Harner, son of Father Chris Harner of Holy Trinity and St. John Greek Orthodox Church, Jackson.

    More Pictures

    New Members

    On January 11 Andrew and Renee Caldecott of Clinton and Ed James of Brandon were received as members by Chrismation, anointing with blessed oil as the "seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit." They had already been baptized by other Christians and had spent some time as catechumens (learners). After Chrismation they received Holy Communion for the first time. January 10 was the year anniversary of the falling asleep in the Lord of Andrew's mother, Marlene Mackie, a long-time faithful member of our Church. We served a prayer service in her memory also.

    More Pictures

    Read more about Baptism and Chrismation

    Learn About Orthodox Christianity

    The Orthodox Church is the Church which has existed continuously in the Middle East and Greece from the time of the Apostles. It is the second largest Christian communion in the world; over 200 million people identify themselves as Orthodox, including the majority of people in Bulgaria, the Republic of Georgia, Greece, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine, and the majority of Christians left in the Middle East. With the exception of Rome, the local Churches mentioned in the New Testament which have existed continuously until today, such as Corinth, Thessaloniki, and Damascus, are Orthodox. There are more than 1,500 Orthodox congregations in the United States.

  • The Orthodox Faith - Comprehensive information on the faith and the life of the Orthodox Church for the average reader, with abundant Scripture quotations. The author is Fr. Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY.
  • Questions and Answers About Orthodoxy
  • About Orthodox Christianity - Collection of Information about Orthodoxy on the website of the Orthodox Church in America
  • An Introduction to Orthodox Christianity - Collection of Introductory Articles about Orthodoxy on the website of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese
  • Wikipedia Article on Eastern Orthodox Church
  • A Timeline of Church History
  • Orthodox Reading List
  • Glory to God for All Things blog by Fr. Stephen Freeman
  • Articles by Father Paul Yerger
  • What to Expect When You Visit