With the weekend of Memorial Day approaching, let us remember all of the departed from this life, their names and their deeds, and let us rededicate ourselves to work for peace and good will and love among all people.

Beginning Saturday, May 29 Father Marko Matic will be blessing graves at Graceland and Angelcrest cemeteries in Valparaiso. Sunday, May 30 Father Marko will be blessing graves at our Holy Cross Cemetery at St. Sava Church. Monday, May 31 Father Marko will be blessing graves at Calumet Park Cemetery in Merrillville and Oak Hill Cemetery in Gary. The complete list of times is available below.

In these days when so much is said about the high cost of living, it is fitting to pause on Memorial Day and acknowledge the great price that thousands of others have paid that we might live in this land of freedom, the United States of America.

Memorial Day came as a result of Civil War. This was America’s greatest war – in the lives that were lost, in the issues and principles at stake, in the fact that it was fought on American soil, and in the results that have come from it. American Land flowed red with blood in this terrible conflict. It was fitting that a solemn day of memory be set aside for such a conflict as that.

Just as the Jewish people have their feast of Passover to remind them of their freedom from Egyptian bondage, so America has its Memorial Day to remind us of the Salvation and rebirth of the United States as a free nation.

Since that time, Memorial Day has become a national holiday to honor the dead of all wars. Even more, it has become a day in which fitting remembrance is made of all of our relatives, kumovi and friends who rest in peace.

On this Memorial Day Weekend, let us remember all of the departed from this life, their names and their deeds, and let us rededicate ourselves to work for peace and good will and love among all people.

Memorial Day Weekend May 29-31, 2021

Services offered by Saint Sava Church

Saturday:

• 10:00 a.m. – Parastos and blessing of graves at the Graceland Cemetery in Valparaiso
• 12:00 p.m. – Parastos and blessing of graves at the Angelcrest Cemetery in Valparaiso

Sunday:

• Parastos and blessing of graves at the Holy Cross Cemetery (at Saint Sava Church) immediately after Holy Liturgy

Monday:

• 10:00 a.m. – Parastos and blessing of graves at the Calumet Park Cemetery in Merrillville
• 1:00 p.m. –  Parastos and blessing of graves at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Gary

Everyone is welcome to join with us at St. Sava in Merrillville, Indiana as we commemorate one of the most important times of the year in the Orthodox Church. A complete listing of the Holy Week Schedule of Services is listed below.

Holy Week Schedule of Services

LAZARUS SATURDAY – APRIL 24th 2021

• Confession at 9:00; Divine Liturgy at 10:00 – VRBICA
• Holy Communion for children

PALM SUNDAY – APRIL 25th 2021

• Confession at 9:00; Divine Liturgy at 10:00AM

HOLY WEDNESDAY – APRIL 28th 2021

• Presanctified Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM
• Holy Unction Service: St. George Church Schererville – 6:00PM

HOLY THURSDAY – APRIL 29th 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM
• The Great Vigil: Reading of 12 Passion Gospels at 6:00PM

HOLY FRIDAY – APRIL 30th 2021

• Morning Service / Royal Hours at 10:00AM
• Vespers with laying of Holy Shroud and Funeral Service at 6:00PM

HOLY SATURDAY – MAY 1st 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM
• Resurrection Matins at 11:30PM

PASCHA – MAY 2nd 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 10:00AM

EASTER MONDAY – MAY 3rd 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM

EASTER TUESDAY – MAY 4th 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM

SAINT GEORGE – MAY 6th 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM
• Followed by cutting of Slava Kolac

Join us for a special day for children as we commemorate Lazarus Saturday (Vrbica Day) with Divine Liturgy and Holy Communion for children beginning at 10:00 a.m. and Confession beginning as early as 9:00 a.m. Saturday, April 24 at St. Sava Church in Merrillville.

Palm Sunday Services begin Sunday, April 25 at 10:00 a.m. with Confession beginning as early as 9:00 a.m.

This weekend marks the beginning of Holy Week with special services taking place daily. A complete list of services is available in the schedule below.

About Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday

Lazarus Saturday is the first day of the Great and Holy Week. On this day we commemorate Jesus raising his friend, Lazarus, from the dead. Lazarus Saturday is a paschal celebration, and is a preview of the Resurrection that we will celebrate one week later. At the Liturgy for this day, Christ is glorified as the Resurrection and the Life, and the baptismal verse “All you who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ” replaces the Thrice Holy Hymn.  By raising Lazarus, Christ has confirmed that we all will one day be resurrected.

To gather pussywillows we walk in a festive procession on Lazarus Saturday. Coming back is particularly solemn. The clergy in their festive Garb are followed by festively dressed school children. They sing while they walk to the accompaniment of church bells. From the voices of innocent children who carry their willow twigs as a symbol of Christ’s victory reverberates, “HOSANNA…!” it is customary that each child is given a small bell which is rung during the procession thus proclaiming the Solemn Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem.

The picture remains indelible in the minds of children and continues into their later years. This is where the beauty of Orthodoxy is presented to them; this is where true dogmatic beliefs penetrate their souls to grasp resurrection from death. The beautiful holiday Troparion convinces them as well as nature which rested all winter and emerges to show itself stronger and more luxuriant.

Palm Sunday is the holiday which commemorates the solemn entry of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ into Jerusalem six days before the Passover (Matt. 12:1-12).

As Jesus neared the Mount of Olives, He sat on an ass and entered into the Holy City. Throngs of inspired people greeted Him as their King, singing and strewing their garments and green branches in His path as He rode. The crowds followed Him, carrying Palms in their hands and crying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

In remembrance of that event the first Christians established the holiday, Palm Sunday. With the celebration of Palm Sunday the custom to bless palm branches was established to celebrate Christ’s victory.

Even prior to the Christian era Palms were awarded as a sign of victory.  Palms, always green, are said by old beliefs, grown out of their ashes. It signifies the glory of a victor who deserves an immortal name.

Heroes were greeted and decorated with palms. Therefore, the people greeted the Savior with palms because nothing could have dissuaded His voluntary sufferings: no Gethsemane horrors, no injustice of Judean courts, no insidious leaders, not even His mother’s love nor Golgotha’s horrible sufferings.

In pictures, palms in the hands of angels or saints represent their victory over the earth and remind us of a beautiful place in Revelations, “Then I saw many people of all languages, generations and races standing before the throne and lamb, dressed in white garb, and palms in their hands.”

The word “palma” according to the Greek fine interpretation was a phoenix with which Christ was met, or in a wider interpretation may mean a bud or a shoot.

In regions where there are no palms, a willow is blessed because it is the first one to become green after winter. It reminds us of a general resurrection. Our presence at the church service with green willows in our hand witnesses our belief in Christ victory over death.

Holy Week Schedule of Services

LAZARUS SATURDAY – APRIL 24th 2021

• Confession at 9:00; Divine Liturgy at 10:00 – VRBICA
• Holy Communion for children

PALM SUNDAY – APRIL 25th 2021

• Confession at 9:00; Divine Liturgy at 10:00AM

HOLY WEDNESDAY – APRIL 28th 2021

• Presanctified Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM
• Holy Unction Service: St. George Church Schererville – 6:00PM

HOLY THURSDAY – APRIL 29th 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM
• The Great Vigil: Reading of 12 Passion Gospels at 6:00PM

HOLY FRIDAY – APRIL 30th 2021

• Morning Service / Royal Hours at 10:00AM
• Vespers with laying of Holy Shroud and Funeral Service at 6:00PM

HOLY SATURDAY – MAY 1st 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM
• Resurrection Matins at 11:30PM

PASCHA – MAY 2nd 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 10:00AM

EASTER MONDAY – MAY 3rd 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM

EASTER TUESDAY – MAY 4th 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM

SAINT GEORGE – MAY 6th 2021

• Divine Liturgy at 9:00AM
• Followed by cutting of Slava Kolac

His Grace Bishop Longin will be serving at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church – Merrillville, Indiana for Holy Annunciation beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 7, 2021.

The special visit by His Grace Bishop Longin is among the many he makes to parishes throughout the Diocese throughout the year.

About The Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

There are two main components to the Annunciation: the message itself, and the response of the Virgin. The message fulfills God’s promise to send a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15): “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed; he shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for his heel.” The Fathers of the Church understand “her seed” to refer to Christ. The prophets hinted at His coming, which they saw dimly, but the Archangel Gabriel now proclaims that the promise is about to be fulfilled.

We see this echoed in the Liturgy of Saint Basil, as well: “When man disobeyed Thee, the only true God who had created him, and was deceived by the guile of the serpent, becoming subject to death by his own transgressions, Thou, O God, in Thy righteous judgment, didst send him forth from Paradise into this world, returning him to the earth from which he was taken, yet providing for him the salvation of regeneration in Thy Christ Himself.”

The Archangel Gabriel was sent by God to Nazareth in Galilee. There he spoke to the undefiled Virgin who was betrothed to Saint Joseph: “Hail, thou who art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

In contrast to Eve, who was readily deceived by the serpent, the Virgin did not immediately accept the Angel’s message. In her humility, she did not think she was deserving of such words, but was actually troubled by them. The fact that she asked for an explanation reveals her sobriety and prudence. She did not disbelieve the words of the angel, but could not understand how they would be fulfilled, for they spoke of something which was beyond nature.

Then said Mary unto the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” “And the angel answered and said unto her, ‘The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: therefore also that which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.’ And the angel departed from her.” (Luke 1: 35-38) The Annunciation falls during Lent, but it is always celebrated with great joy.

The Liturgy of Saint Basil or Saint John Chrysostom is served, even on the weekdays of Lent. It is one of the two days of Great Lent on which the fast is relaxed and fish is permitted (Palm Sunday is the other).