Beloved in Christ Brothers and Sisters,

A heartfelt congratulations to all of you with the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, with our parish feastday!

The kontakion of today’s feast, which is sung at almost all of the Liturgies served in our church, highlights one of the main ideas of today’s feast, that we are not alone, we are not without support! We are not alone in our battle with passions and attacks from the Devil. We are not without support on the difficult path towards the Kingdom of Heaven. Daily the Virgin Mary and all the saints help us and intercede for us. They are ready to protect us from harm and cover us with their prayerful protection, if only we ourselves turn to them for help.

In this most unusual and strange year, when sometimes it seems the whole world has been turned upside down, when people are separated from one another, when it is not particularly permissible to have contact even with the closest of friends, let’s remember that we are not alone and that we are all under the spiritual protection of the Theotokos!

Through the prayers of the Mother of God and all the saints, may the Lord God protect all of us and our parish from all misfortune!

priest Alexis