Welcome Fr. Damon Geiger!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
After a lengthy period of trying long distance administration, our prayers have been heard!
His Eminence, Metropolitan Basil, Archbishop of Pittsburgh of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolia has accepted Father Damon Geiger for service within the Archeparchy, and Fr. Damon is appointed the administrator of St. Basil the Great Church, Irving, Texas, effective tomorrow, Friday, February 19, 2010.
Fr. Stephen Muth, who had originally been accepted from the Eparchy of Parma, to serve as administrator of St. Basil the Great in Irving, Texas, has been relieved of the original assignment due to ill health. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.
May God richly bless St. Basil's as we begin a new chapter in our parish's history. The last two years have been a difficult time for all the Byzantines in Texas...not just St. Basil's parishioners but also St. John's and the Byzantine Community of Austin. We now look forward not only to a return to normalcy, but a greater and more effective witness to the faith and traditions of ancient Byzantine Christianity as lived and celebrated in our parishes in Texas.
As you welcome Fr. Damon you will be accompanied by the prayers of the parishioners of St. John Chrysostom. In many ways even this difficult period has been a source of blessings as our communities have grown to know each other better, and this period of 'forced' collaboration will, God willing, be an impetus to greater collaboration and sharing of resources, all in the service of spreading the Word.
Please be supportive of Fr. Damon as he transitions from his seminary ministry at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Seminary in Houston, back to parish ministry. His vast experience, his clear understanding of the Theology and Spirituality of the Byzantine Church, his love for the Divine Services and his dedication will no doubt be felt by all those touched by his priestly ministry. As he begins this service at St. Basil's, I would like to thank the Parish Advisory Council, held over from Fr. Seeton's pastorate, for their service even through the interim. As this is a time for new beginings, so too will the Parish Advisory Council begin anew, with new members and old, carefully selected under the guidance of Fr. Damon. They with Fr. Damon will establish the path of St. Basil's Parish, so that our family of faith, located in the Metroplex, will continue to be a living witness to the Ancient Faith as lived, taught, celebrated and shared, following the example of the Apostles and the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, Equals to the Apostles and Enlighteners of the Slavs.
No small mission and apostolate....but a great task, and with the spiritual guidance of Fr. Damon, a renewal of our parish!
Christ is among us! He is and will be!
-Very Rev. Fr. Elias Rafaj
Protopresbyter of the Southwest
Please check out the Event Calendar on the navigation bar!
It has lots of information about upcoming services (there are MANY new additions), feast days and meetings. Different ways to view the calendar are available (by the day, week, month, as a list or on a table) to make it the most useful for you.
The Selected Hymns
of the Great Vespers for the
Nativity of the Theotokos CD
is now on sale!
The cost of the CD is $12. Please see Larry Monks for available CDs to purchase now. Additionally, check St. John Chrysostom Church's website www.stjohnchrysostom.com for updates as well as to hear selections from the recording. The production of this recording, sung by parishioners of both Texas Byzantine parishes who formed the Choir for the Evangelization Conference of the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese, is from the Vespers of the Nativity of the Theotokos as served at the Co-Cathedral on Sept. 11, 2009. To arrange for purchasing please contact Larry Monks at larry@stjohnchrysostom.com or 713-459-8009.
To read the complete article about this Vespers, click HERE
Monastery of Christ the Bridegroom
A place of prayer, Liturgy and Joy
A monastery is a community of nuns living under a common rule governed by an Abbess (or superior) chosen from among professed nuns. Apart from its life of prayer, and liturgy, which remains at all times the essential focus of the nuns, a monastery may have other ministries as circumstances demand, the sick, the aged, the orphaned, the homeless, or perform any work of Christian charity.In an Eparchy the monastery is the heart of the diocese and the place of pilgrimage, renewal and refreshment.
What joy then to announce that our Byzantine Catholic Metropolia is opening a new monastery that will be within the territory of the Eparchy of Parma. The Monastery of Christ, the Bridegroom, located in Burton, OH. Sister Celeste is part of the founding of this new community and we remember her ministry in prayer.
For more information please see the monastery's blog online www.christthebridegroom.blogspot.com If you would like to donate to the monastery please speak with Fr. Elias or contact the sisters directly through their blog and website.
Update on the Dogaru Twins
We ask that you please keep Anastasia, Tatiana, their sister Maria and their parents Fr. Alin and Preoteasa Claudia in your prayers. It has been decided that separation surgery for Anastatia and Tatiana is too dangerous and cannot proceed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Dogaru Family both now and in the future.
This link will take you to an article written by Claudia Dogaru. A Mother's Faith
