Saint Dimitri Orthodox Chruch

Church interior (Click to enlarge)

Welcome to web site of Saint Dimitri of Rostov Orthodox Church located in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Christ is with us. He is and ever shall be.

Saint Dimitri Orthodox Church is an Orthodox Christian Church: the ancient, historic, and original Church of the New Testament, which has neither added to, nor taken away from, the Faith experience of the Apostles who witnessed the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazereth, Christ God, the Word of God, Our Lord and Saviour.

Saint Dimitri is a small but growing mission of the Diocese of the South of the Orthodox Church in America under the spiritual guidance of his Eminence Archbiship DMITRI of Dallas, Texas and the Diocese of the South.

The Orthodox Faith was first brought to North America in 1794 to Alaska by a small group of Russian missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church in America received self-governing status (autocephaly) from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1970.

To read about Orthodox Christianity, follow the link on the left "About Orthodoxy" and also visit "www.oca.org."

Saint Dimitri Orthodox Church has been located in Los Alamos since 1999. The mission holds its liturgical services in a converted portion of a house located in North Commumity on 39th Street one block off of Diamond Drive. (See Driving Directions on the right)

All of our services are conducted principally in English. Visitors are always welcome - join us as we pray!

Sunday of All Saints
Sunday of All Saints

The Sunday following Pentecost is dedicated to All Saints, both those who are known to us, and those who are known only to God. There have been saints at all times, and they have come from every corner of the earth. They were Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, Monastics, and Righteous, yet all were perfected by the same Holy Spirit.

The Descent of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to rise above our
fallen state and to attain sainthood, thereby fulfilling God's directive to
"be holy, for I am holy" (Lev. 11:44, 1 Peter 1:16, etc.). Therefore,
it is fitting to commemorate All Saints on the first Sunday after Pentecost.

This feast may have originated at an early date, perhaps as a celebration of
all martyrs, then it was broadened to include all men and women who had borne
witness to Christ by their virtuous lives, even if they did not shed their
blood for Him.

St Peter of Damascus, in his "Fourth Stage of Contemplation,"
mentions five categories of saints: Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, Hierarchs, and
Monastic Saints (Philokalia [in English] Vol. 3, p.131). He is actually quoting
from the Octoechos, Tone 2 for Saturday Matins, kathisma after the first
stichology.

St Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain (July 14) adds the Righteous to St Peter's
five categories. The list of StNicodemus is found in his book The Fourteen
Epistles of Saint Paul (Venice, 1819, p. 384) in his discussion of I Corinthians
12:28.

The hymnology for the feast of All Saints also lists six categories:
"Rejoice, assembly of the Apostles, Prophets of the Lord, loyal choirs of
the Martyrs, divine Hierarchs, Monastic Fathers, and the Righteous…."

Some of the saints are described as Confessors, a category which does not
appear in the above lists. Since they are similar in spirit to the martyrs,
they are regarded as belonging to the category of Martyrs. They were not put to
death as the Martyrs were, but they boldly confessed Christ and came close to
being executed for their faith. St Maximus the Confessor (January 21) is such a
saint.

The order of these six types of saints seems to be based on their importance to
the Church. The Apostles are listed first, because they were the first to
spread the Gospel throughout the world.

The Martyrs come next because of their example of courage in professing their
faith before the enemies and persecutors of the Church, which encouraged other
Christians to remain faithful to Christ even unto death.

Although they come first chronologically, the Prophets are listed after the
Apostles and Martyrs. This is because the Old Testament Prophets saw only the
shadows of things to come, whereas the Apostles and Martyrs experienced them
firsthand. The New Testament also takes precedence over the Old Testament.

The holy Hierarchs comprise the fourth category. They are the leaders of their
flocks, teaching them by their word and their example.

The Monastic Saints are those who withdrew from this world to live in
monasteries, or in seclusion. They did not do this out of hatred for the world,
but in order to devote themselves to unceasing prayer, and to do battle against
the power of the demons. Although some people erroneously believe that monks
and nuns are useless and unproductive, St John Climacus had a high regard for
them: "Angels are a light for monks, and the monastic life is a light for
all men" (LADDER, Step 26:31).

The last category, the Righteous, are those who attained holiness of life while
living "in the world." Examples include Abraham and his wife Sarah,
Job, Sts Joachim and Anna, St Joseph the Betrothed, St Juliana of Lazarevo, and
others.

The feast of All Saints achieved great prominence in the ninth century, in the
reign of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise (886-911). His wife, the Holy
Empress Theophano (December 16) lived in the world, but was not attached to
worldly things. She was a great benefactor to the poor, and was generous to the
monasteries. She was a true mother to her subjects, caring for widows and
orphans, and consoling the sorrowful.

Even before the death of StTheophano in 893 or 894, her husband started to
build a church, intending to dedicate it to Theophano, but she forbade him to
do so. It was this emperor who decreed that the Sunday after Pentecost be
dedicated to All Saints. Believing that his wife was one of the righteous, he
knew that she would also be honored whenever the Feast of All Saints was
celebrated.

Feast of Pentecost
Feast of Pentecost

FEAST OF HOLY PENTECOST

Commemorated this year on June 7 (50 days after Pascha)

In the Church's annual liturgical cycle, Pentecost is "the last and great
day." It is the celebration by the Church of the coming of the Holy
Spirit as the end - the achievement and fulfillment - of the entire
history of salvation. For the same reason, however, it is also the
celebration of the beginning: it is the "birthday" of the Church as the
presence among us of the Holy Spirit, of the new life in Christ, of
grace, knowledge, adoption to God and holiness.

This double meaning and double joy is revealed to us, first of
all, in the very name of the feast. Pentecost in Greek means fifty, and
in the sacred biblical symbolism of numbers, the number fifty
symbolizes both the fulness of time and that which is beyond time: the
Kingdom of God itself. It symbolizes the fulness of time by its first
component: 49, which is the fulness of seven (7 x 7): the number of
time. And, it symbolizes that which is beyond time by its second
component: 49 + 1, this one being the new day, the "day without
evening" of God's eternal Kingdom. With the descent of the Holy Spirit
upon Christ's disciples, the time of salvation, the Divine work of
redemption has been completed, the fulness revealed, all gifts
bestowed: it belongs to us now to "appropriate" these gifts, to be that
which we have become in Christ: participants and citizens of His
Kingdom.

THE VIGIL OF PENTECOST

The all-night Vigil service begins with a solemn invitation:

"Let us celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit,

The appointed day of promise, and the fulfillment of hope,

The mystery which is as great as it is precious."

In the coming of the Spirit, the very essence of the Church is revealed:

"The Holy Spirit provides all,

Overflows with prophecy, fulfills the priesthood,

Has taught wisdom to illiterates, has revealed fishermen as theologians,

He brings together the whole council of the Church."

In the three readings of the Old Testament (Numbers 11:16-17,
24-29; Joel 2:23-32; Ezekiel 36:24-28) we hear the prophecies
concerning the Holy Spirit. We are taught that the entire history of
mankind was directed towards the day on which God "would pour out His
Spirit upon all flesh." This day has come! All hope, all promises, all
expectations have been fulfilled. At the end of the Aposticha hymns,
for the first time since Easter, we sing the hymn: "O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth…," the one with which we inaugurate
all our services, all prayers, which is, as it were, the life-breath of
the Church, and whose coming to us, whose "descent" upon us in this
festal Vigil, is indeed the very experience of the Holy Spirit "coming
and abiding in us."

Having reached its climax, the Vigil continues as an explosion
of joy and light for "verily the light of the Comforter has come and
illumined the world." In the Gospel reading (John 20:19-23) the feast
is interpreted to us as the feast of the Church, of her divine nature,
power and authority. The Lord sends His disciples into the world, as He
Himself was sent by His Father. Later, in the antiphons of the Liturgy,
we proclaim the universality of the apostles' preaching, the cosmical
significance of the feast, the sanctification of the whole world, the
true manifestation of God's Kingdom.

THE VESPERS OF PENTECOST

The liturgical peculiarity of Pentecost is a very special
Vespers of the day itself. Usually this service follows immediately the
Divine Liturgy, is "added" to it as its own fulfillment. The service
begins as a solemn "summing up" of the entire celebration, as its
liturgical synthesis. We hold flowers in our hands symbolizing the joy
of the eternal spring, inaugurated by the coming of the Holy Spirit.
After the festal Entrance, this joy reaches its climax in the singing
of the Great Prokeimenon:

"Who is so great a God as our God?"

Then, having reached this climax, we are invited to kneel. This
is our first kneeling since Easter. It signifies that after these fifty
days of Paschal joy and fullness, of experiencing the Kingdom of God,
the Church now is about to begin her pilgrimage through time and
history. It is evening again, and the night approaches, during which
temptations and failures await us, when, more than anything else, we
need Divine help, that presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who has
already revealed to us the joyful End, who now will help us in our
effort towards fulfillment and salvation.

All this is revealed in the three prayers which the celebrant
reads now as we all kneel and listen to him. In the first prayer, we
bring to God our repentance, our increased appeal for forgiveness of
sins, the first condition for entering into the Kingdom of God.

In the second prayer, we ask the Holy Spirit to help us, to
teach us to pray and to follow the true path in the dark and difficult
night of our earthly existence. Finally, in the third prayer, we
remember all those who have achieved their earthly journey, but who are
united with us in the eternal God of Love.

The joy of Easter has been completed and we again have to wait
for the dawn of the Eternal Day. Yet, knowing our weakness, humbling
ourselves by kneeling, we also know the joy and the power of the Holy
Spirit who has come. We know that God is with us, that in Him is our
victory.

Thus is completed the feast of Pentecost and we enter "the
ordinary time" of the year. Yet, every Sunday now will be called "after
Pentecost" - and this means that it is from the power and light of
these fifty days that we shall receive our own power, the Divine help
in our daily struggle. At Pentecost we decorate our churches with
flowers and green branches - for the Church "never grows old, but is
always young." It is an evergreen, ever-living Tree of grace and life,
of joy and comfort. For the Holy Spirit - "the Treasury of Blessings
and Giver of Life - comes and abides in us, and cleanses us from all
impurity," and fills our life with meaning, love, faith and hope.

Father Alexander Schmemann (1974)

Blessing of New Bell Tower

New Bell Tower in New Meixoc sky

Blessing of new Bell Tower

May 3, Father John and the commnunity gathered to bless to new Bell Tower recently constructed on the property of Saint Dimitri Church.

The Orthodox Church is evangelical,... but not Protestant.
It is orthodox,... but not Jewish.
It is catholic,... but not Roman.
It is not non-denominational,... but pre-denominational.
It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost, over 2000 years ago.

We invite you to come meet us and find out more about the Ancient Christian Faith.

Icon Painting Workshop - JULY 2009

Icon Painting Workshop July 6-11, 2009 --information See: "Icon Workshop" tab on upper left.

Saint Dimitri of Rostov

Saint Dimitri of Rostov writing on Luke 6:2. Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you.

"He who loves his enemy subdues the waves of the sea and stills the storm. Therefore love your enemy, and you will be a new wonderworker, saving his soul and your own... Begin from henceforth to love everyone. The Son of God will be your gurantor. Without a doubt you will become a son of the Most High. I desire this sonship for myself and for everyone. Amen.

From Saint John Chrysostom:

"What water and sun are to the body, prayer is to the soul."

A Prayer of Saint Dimitri of Rostov -
Come my Light and illumine my darkness.
Come my Life and revive me from death.
Come my Physician and heal my wounds.
Come Flame of divine love and consume my sins,
kindling my heart with the flame of Thy love.
Come my King, enter my heart and reign there.
For Thou art my salvation.

"Our life is love -- yes, love. And where there is love, there is God; and where God is, there is every good. 'Seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and these things shall be added unto you.' And therefore joyfully feed and delight all, joyfully give to the needs of all and trust in the heavenly Father for everything, in the Father of bounties and the God of every consolation. Offer that which is dear to you as a sacrifice of love for your neighbor. As you have received everything from God, be ready to give back everything to God, so that having been faithful in small things you may afterwards be made ruler over many things. (Matt. xxv.23)"
Saint John of Kronstadt

"From this day, from this hour, from this minute, let us strive to love God above all, and fulfill His holy will." Saint Herman of Alaska

"God is the life of all free beings. He is the salvation of all, of believers and unbelievers, of the just and the unjust, of the pious and the impious, of those freed from the passions and those caught up in them, of monks and those living in the world, of the educated or the illiterate, of the healthy or the sick, of the young or of the old. He is like the outpouring of light, the glimpse of the sun, or the changes of the weather, which are the same for everyone without exception." Saint John Climakus

"If a man has no care whatever for himself because of love for God and virtuous deeds, knowing that God will take care of him - such hope is true and wise. But if a man takes care of his own affairs and turns to prayer only when unavoidable misfortunes overtake him and he sees no way of averting them by his own power, only then beginning to hope in God's aid - such hope is vain and false. True hope seeks the Kingdom of God alone and is convinced that everything earthly that is necessary for this transitory life will unfailingly be given." Saint Seraphim of Sarov

Contact: info@stdimitri.org www.stdimitri.org

Saint Dimitri of Rostov

Our Father Among the Saints Dimitri of Rostov (also Dmitri, Dimitry or Demetrius) was a great 17th century hierarch, preacher, author and ascetic. He was born near Kiev in the year 1651, and reposed in the year 1709. Among his many great works of instruction, he was known especially for his translation and publication of The Lives of the Saints. He foresaw his own death three days in advance, and died while at prayer. Dimitri was a great light of the Russian Church and of Orthodoxy in general. He had heavenly visions during his life. He served the Lord zealously and took up his habitation in the Kingdom of Heaven.

St. Dimitri's life is celebrated on October 28, but on September 21 the Church commemorates the finding of his miracle-working relics in 1752.