Today's Scripture | Today's Saints | Today's Prologue
New to Orthodoxy? Visit our About Orthodoxy section, ideal for inquirers and seekers!
And watch our services via livestream on our YouTube Channel. Come and see!
|
At midnight the Easter procession begins. The people leave the church building singing: "The angels in heaven, O Christ our Savior, sing of Thy resurrection. Make us on earth also worthy to hymn Thee with a pure heart."
The procession circles the church building and returns to the closed doors of the front of the church. This procession of the Christians on Easter night recalls the original baptismal procession from the darkness and death of this world to the night and the life of the Kingdom of God. It is the procession of the holy passover, from death unto life, from earth unto heaven, from this age to the age to come which will never end. Before the closed doors of the church building, the resurrection of Christ is announced. Sometimes the Gospel is read which tells of the empty tomb. The celebrant intones the blessing to the “holy, consubstantial, life-creating and undivided Trinity.” The Easter troparion is sung for the first time, together with the verses of Psalm 68 which will begin all of the Church services during the Easter season.
Let those who hate Him flee from before His face!
The people re-enter the church building and continue the service of Easter Matins which is entirely sung. The canon hymns of Christ’s resurrection, ascribed to St John of Damascus, are chanted with the troparion of the feast as the constantly recurring refrain. The building is decorated with flowers and lights. The vestments are the bright robes of the resurrection. The Easter icon stands in the center of the church showing Christ destroying the gates of hell and freeing Adam and Eve from the captivity of death. It is the image of the Victor “trampling down death by his own death.” There is the continual singing and censing of the icons and the people, with the constant proclamation of the celebrant: Christ is risen! The faithful continually respond: Indeed he is risen! Continue reading...
Remember - from Pascha to Pentecost we do not offer the prayer to the Holy Spirit. From Pascha to Ascension we begin our prayers by chanting thrice the Paschal Troparion: 'Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.' And from Ascension to Pentecost, we chant the Troparion for Ascension!
Explore our Bright Week Resources, and our Pascha to Pentecost section...
The
HOURS OF PASCHA
For the week after Pascha (Bright Week), we use the special Hours of Pascha. This brief service features some of the most beautiful and meaningful hymns of the Pascha Matins & Liturgy. Keep the Light of Pascha burning by using this powerful prayer service at home:
- Replaces our Morning and Evening Prayer Rule,
- Replaces the Prayers of Thanksgiving after receiving Holy Communion,
- Replaces all the regular 'Hours of Prayer', including Compline,
- Easy to memorize,
- Much loved by children! Pray the Paschal Hours as a family!
Remember - from Pascha to Pentecost we do not offer the prayer to the Holy Spirit. From Pascha to Ascension we begin our prayers by chanting thrice the Paschal Troparion: 'Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.' And from Ascension to Pentecost, we chant the Troparion for Ascension!
Download and Print the Hours of Pascha in PDF format.
Explore our Bright Week Resources, and our Pascha to Pentecost section...
FOCUS Cincinnati Chapter
Facing the Needs of our Neighbors... Together
- Learn more on our FOCUS Page
- Volunteer for our FOCUS Meal Service
- Help with our Food Pantry Ministry
-
Please consider donating to help support FOCUS. NOTE: Be sure to signify "Cincinnati" when you donate.
Thank you for your constant support to this ministry!!!!!!
Yours in Christ,
Charlene Myers, Director, FOCUS, Cincinnati
'TORCH'
Teen Orthodox
Revealing Christ’s Hope
Join our Parish Youth Group, 'TORCH', led by Rhett & Jenny Harkins — please contact them for more info.
Our vision is to engage more with our teens, who are willing and open to sharing the real challenges and questions of their current contexts. Our goal in attaining this vision is to provide more for our teens: More outings, events, and possibly even more gatherings.
This active ministry meets weekly during the Church School Year, from September through May. Learn more on the TORCH page.
This year we are studying The Old Testament, classes began on September 15, 2024.
Late registrations are welcome! Please contact Fr Steven or our Church School Director, Terrie Sauer.
For those who are attracted to the Orthodox Church and who would like to take the "next step" in drawing closer, this class is essential. If you are interested, please contact Kevin Rains or Fr Steven.
We livestream on our YouTube channel most of our services, including Great Vespers on Saturday evenings at 6:00pm, and the Hours & Divine Liturgy at 9:10am on Sunday mornings. As always, we invite you to "come and see" and join us in person, but we hope our livestream ministry may be a help and blessing whenever needed.
- Message from Met. Tikhon on Peace in the Ukraine
- UNICEF Update; ways to donate to aid for children in Ukraine
- Articles & Commentary on the war
- Suggested prayers for the suffering during the conflict,
- Visit our UKRAINE RELIEF PAGE...
|
From our 2022 Pilgrimage |
St. Katherine Sisterhood was blessed to visit Holy Dormition Monastery in Rives Jct MI, October 13-15th, 2023.
The monastic life is alive, vibrant, and a central dynamic force in the life of the Orthodox Church, and has been since the early 4th century, with roots going back to the Apostolic period, and even to many of the Old Testament prophets, such as Elijah.
Did you know there are nearly a hundred Orthodox monasteries spread across North America? We are fortunate to have a few monasteries in our region, only three to four hours away, and we make a group pilgrimage to one of them each year. Some of our parishioners have even become monastics!
See our special page on monasticism, and contact Fr Steven if you are interested in learning more.
America's Newest Saint:
DECEMBER 31, 2024: Announcement Regarding Matushka Olga’s Canonization and Feast Day
AUGUST 16, 2024: New article and icon added...
Joyous News! - The Orthodox Church in America has issued an official proclamation announcing the glorification of Matushka Olga of Alaska. She is now numbered among the saints whose names are on the ecclesiastical calendar! Please read the Proclamation on our Midwest Diocese website.
Explore our new Special Resource Page for Matushka Olga, with more info, icons, and video, and which we hope to greatly expand over the coming years.
His Beatitude, The Most Blessed
TIKHON
Archbishop of Washington,
Metropolitan of All America and Canada,
Orthodox Church in America (OCA)
Metropolitan Tikhon's Biography
Read Metropolitan Tikhon's Message for Pascha
His Eminence, The Most Reverend
DANIEL
Archbishop of Chicago and the Midwest,
Orthodox Church in America (OCA)
Read Archbishop Daniel's Message for Pascha
|
Our Parish Family, Autumn 2023! |
PARISH FAMILY PHOTO PROVIDES 'TEACHABLE MOMENT'
Hope you were here this past Sunday, October 22, for the taking of our parish photo, our first one since 2017! A large group was indeed present, and the results are posted here, and on our Welcome Page, Photo Gallery, and Stewardship Page.
Following the photo, a perhaps understandable outburst of cheering and clapping broke out since it took some patience to set things up "just right," but here is a reminder that neither cheering nor clapping is appropriate for any services or events in the nave of the church.
Special thanks to Subdeacon Ron (Myron) Skulas for his photographic skills.
Read Fr. Steven's important new article, an "apologia" and guidepost on some of the great Orthodox writers and books of the 20th century, those pillars on whom our contemporary Church and writers stand. — Excerpt:
Contemporary Classics of Orthodox Literature
by Fr. Steven Kostoff
...A steady Orthodox reading discipline/program is essential in today's world perhaps more than ever. We are so ideologically bombarded from so many disparate quarters, that we need to remember who we are and what we believe! I am writing, though, with a particular concern in mind: Perhaps we are only - or mostly only - reading the most contemporary literature...
I want to make a heartfelt plea for the great writers who nurtured me, who nurtured an entire earlier generation or two, and who wrote the classics of twentieth century Orthodox literature. This is a great literature that placed Orthodoxy on the "map" both in America and in Europe and beyond - into Russia and other parts of the world. I strongly believe that we need to read these classics of the twentieth century, because these are the very books that served as the foundation for others to build on. These were books that allowed Orthodoxy to emerge from its sheltered ethnic communities; books which revived an abiding and lasting focus on the Fathers of the Church; books which completely restored the apostolic vision of the Liturgy and the Eucharist; and books that penetrated deeply into our genuine spiritual Tradition with the insights and practices that lead us to lives of holiness...
Read the complete article, with an extensive book list and brief line about each title...
Secure, easy, online giving.
Give towards your pledge, or make a simple donation.
Get to know us through recent parish news and feature articles...
On June 30, 2020, the parish celebrated Fr Steven & Presvytera Deborah's 30 years of ministry here at Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit. View some wonderful images from the special program and meal, and read some of Father Steven's reflections on this significant anniversary.
AXIOS! and Thank you, Father Steven and Presvytera, and may God grant you Many Years!!!
View photos on our Photo Gallery...
Today's Scripture, Saints & Prologue
- The daily readings right here on our website
PODCASTS on the SCRIPTURES:
The Path - Daily scripture & commentary, inspired by the Saints
Search the Scriptures - Accessible Bible study for busy people
Daily Orthodox Scriptures - Reading Through the Bible in One Year
The Whole Counsel of God - Verse By Verse Through The Scriptures
PARISHIONER DELIVERS TALK AT ORTHODOX CONFERENCE
Christ the Savior parishioner Natasha Frasch delivered a talk at the 2019 conference, Speaking the Truth in Love, held at St Tikhon's Orthodox Seminary in South Canaan PA over the November 7-9 weekend.
You can learn more about the conference here, and listen to and download the presentations at Ancient Faith Radio.
SPECIAL VIDEO ON OUR ICONOGAPHER,
FR. ANDREW TREGUBOV
Fr Steven's book is available through the church office/bookstore, and online.
"For almost twenty years now, parishioners at Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit in Cincinnati, and friends in Christ from places near and far, have been receiving from Father Steven his 'Monday Morning Meditations' via email, or have been visiting his Orthodox Christian Meditations Blog. Now at long last a selection of Father Steven's reflections have been published in book form by Kaloros Press!"
Learn more on this special page, and purchase at the church, or order online here.
|
The Patronal Icon of our Parish, by the hand of Fr. Andrew Tregubov |
The 'Image Not Made By Hands'
Celebrated on August 16 - Learn about our Parish Patronal Feast, the Miraculous Image of Christ associated with it and its amazing story, through these special resources:
Read this OCA article about the history and feast of the 'Image Not Made By Hands', the 'Holy Mandylion'.
UPDATED FOR 2024! - Download our Orthodox bibliography on the Holy Mandylion and the Shroud of Turin
This special PDF handout was originally produced for our 2019 Fall Retreat on the Shroud of Turin, and contains embedded links to books, articles, videos and more.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION — From our Church School program, to our Summer Bible Study, Fall Adult Classes, and Spiritual Retreats, and more, Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit offers many opportunities for deepening our faith while growing in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Come and join us! 
MONASTIC MATTERS — Monasticism is essential to the life of the Orthodox Church. Did you know there are about 100 Orthodox monasteries in North America, several within only a 3-4 hour drive from us? Explore some unique features, videos and articles on Orthodox monastic life, including our annual Parish Monastery Retreats, and much more. On our Monasteries page... |  |
An Ideal Guide to the Liturgy . . . 
The DIVINE LITURGY of the ORTHODOX CHURCH by Archpriest Steven C. Kostoff
Third Edition, with a new Epilogue by the author
Seekers, catechumens and Orthodox faithful alike will be blessed by this trustworthy and inspiring guide to the Divine Liturgy and the Life in Christ, composed by our pastor, a faithful presbyter of the Orthodox Church in America.
Paperback, 64 pages, full color cover. 
WELCOME - LET'S GET ACQUAINTED! — Get to know us through photos of parish life and of new members to Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit. Also, photos honoring Fr Steven's 30 years at Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit. All this and much more on our Photo & Video Gallery page. 
PARISH MINISTRIES — Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit members serve in various capacities within the church, and our parish helps support various ministries in our local neighborhood, as well as regionally and even internationally. Our Ministries page describes this vibrant area of parish life in more detail. Select ministries have their own pages with additional information. If you're wondering where you might put your God-given talents to work, this is a good place to start! |