Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
On this great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, our minds first turn to the mystery of her bodily translation to heaven. The story of her Dormition ends in an empty tomb, with her reception into the arms of her Son. As the Kontakion of the Feast relates, “Neither the tomb, nor death could hold the Theotokos . . . for being the Mother of Life, she was translated to life by the One who dwelt in her virginal womb.”
This Feast obliges us to reflect on the entirety of her life as we would at the end of the life of any loved one. In a homily for the Dormition, Saint Andrew of Crete enumerates her entire life, reminding us of Mary's central role in our salvation. At the end of his review of her life he states, “It was a life without spot or stain, utterly filled with every pure and holy quality, a life such as the world cannot grasp, since it cannot interpret it with words or bring it to the light – a life that the world had to respect, until the end.”
In our reflections on the life of the Theotokos, we must begin with her parents, Joachim and Anna. The Fathers of the Church describe Joachim as righteous, distinguished, single-minded, and in every way pleasing to God. They say Anna lived faithfully before God, regularly attended the temple of God, and observed fully her Jewish faith with her husband. We can see how these qualities combined to create a home and family that nurtured Mary. Because of these qualities at home, Mary was secure in her identity and was willing to accept the role she would play in the life of God’s people. At Mary’s dedication in the Temple at three years old, the high priest blessed her saying, “The Lord has magnified your name in all generations. In you, on the last of the days, the Lord will manifest His redemption to the sons of Israel.”
Mary’s life was no stranger to heavenly ways, as Saint Germanos of Constantinople says. We must assume that those heavenly ways filled the home she created for her son Jesus. Although the New
Testament is silent about the early years of Christ’s life, we must remember that Mary nurtured Him, saw to His physical needs, and guided His upbringing, as does any mother. And, although He was fully God, His mother taught Him the ways of His people and into maturity. In short, as the Gospel of Luke states, she saw her son increase “in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)
When Jesus began His ministry to the people of Israel, Mary was present from the wedding at Cana, all the way to the foot of the Cross at Golgotha. After the resurrection of Christ, Mary shared her stories, all those things that she had “kept in her heart” (Luke 2:51), with the Apostles and the first Christians.
When it was time for her to depart her earthly life, she prepared herself with prayer, faith, and resolve. She comforted those around her, but urged them not to be sad or weep. The Apostles gathered around her and at the moment of her death, Jesus Himself appeared. After embracing Mary, took her soul, wrapped it and handed it to the Archangel Michael, who carried it to heaven.
Beloved, the Theotokos, the Mother of God, is our example, We can learn so much from her when we open our hearts and minds to her life on this Feast of her Dormition, but in all the Feasts that commemorate her role in our salvation. In this brief recollection, we see Mary the child of devout and loving parents, with a secure and strong personal identity. We see the adult Mary, the faithful and nurturing Mother of God, and we see Mary, resolute and strong, facing the end of her earthly life. In so doing, there are examples for each of us to imitate in each stage of our lives, in our families, and in our communities.
Wishing to all who celebrate their Name Day on this Feast, the blessings of our Lord through the intercessions of His Mother the Theotokos, I remain,
With Love in Christ,
GERASIMOS Metropolitan of San Francisco


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The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco is pleased to announce that Thomaida Hudanish is now serving as the Director of the Commission for Orthodox Missions and Evangelism. She previously served as Assistant Director of COME for the past three years until she was offered the leadership of this thriving ministry of our Metropolis as of June 1, 2017.
“Thomaida has proven herself to be a devoted worker, especially committed to growing Orthodoxy in America through innovative and thoughtful programs offered at both the Metropolis and parish levels,” stated His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco. “I am confident she will continue the good works of those who previously led this ministry and take it to even greater accomplishments in the future.”

Thomaida was born in Portland, Oregon into an Orthodox Christian family. During college, she had the opportunity to visit religious sites in Greece, Romania and Russia. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Portland State University in Russian Language and Literature, Thomaida worked as Parish Administrator at Saint John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Beaverton, Oregon. During this time Thomaida served on short-term mission trips with Project Mexico and OCMC, chaired her parish Missions and Evangelism Ministry, and was involved in several other aspects of parish life.

From 2013 to 2014, Thomaida embarked on an independent mission pilgrimage, working three months at the Theotokos Girls’ Orphanage near Kolkata, India, and three months at the Orthodox School of Bethany near Jerusalem, in addition to visiting Orthodox sites in Europe.
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In 2015, Thomaida earned a certificate in Professional Fundraising through Portland State University and the Willamette Valley Development Officers organization.
Thomaida brings to this position enthusiasm and commitment to spreading the Orthodox faith. Her years of experience at both the parish and Metropolis levels make her an excellent candidate to elevate the Missions and Evangelism ministry in the western United States. For more information on COME please visit come-sf.org or contact Thomaida directly at come@sanfran.goarch.org.

“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” 
–Aristotle
“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” 
–George Burns
How would you define happiness? Everyone has an opinion: the famous and the infamous, the wealthy and the destitute, ancient philosophers and contemporary self-help gurus. It is a subject that touches every man, woman and child the world over.
The founding fathers of our nation list the “pursuit of happiness” as one of the “inalienable” rights in the Declaration of Independence. Helen Keller offers a thoughtful reflection: “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us,” and others like Oscar Wilde use a bit of sarcasm: “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”
There is a wide variety of things that bring joy and happiness, and can put a smile on a person’s face: a dazzling sunset, the laughter from children playing, humor that is in good taste, ice cream that tastes good, and even enjoying the happiness of others. But a smile can quickly fade; the enjoyable moment comes and goes. There is a difference between things that makes us feel happy for a while and finding something that offers true, long-lasting joy.
For Christians, there should be no confusion between the two: many simple things in life can bring us temporary joy and happiness; true happiness, however, comes from a loving relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ that continues to deepen throughout life.
While there is no need to belittle the former (be thankful for every moment that brings happiness, if even for a little while), too many of us neglect the source of all goodness and joy in the world: our loving Savior, Helper, and Redeemer.  He knows our needs and our desires, our weaknesses and strengths, our passions and our problems.
As we read from the Epistle to the Hebrews (4:14-16), “let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
It takes that confidence in Christ, as well as faith and persistence, to progress from learning about Jesus, to learning from Him; from reading His words in the Bible, to applying them to our lives; from seeing Jesus as a historical figure, to loving and following Him as Lord and Savior of our lives.
From the moment of our baptism, when we receive the Holy Spirit and have become part of the very Body of Christ (the Church), we have within us the divine resources to pursue that loving relationship with Christ, so important to finding true happiness.
By becoming aware of our identity as servants of God, blessed with gifts of the Holy Spirit, we begin to see a divine purpose of life. Our gifts and talents from God are given to us, but they are not for us: they are rightly used for the benefit of others, which glorifies God, and also fills us with joy.
Our good and loving God gives us the means to live a happy, joyous and fulfilling life; but the foundation of that life comes from loving, following and serving Christ, the source of all good things, and true happiness.

~ Rev. Fr. Michael Pallad, 
Saint Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church - Peoria, AZ