Diocese of Toledo News

Pascha 2016

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! !قام حقا !قام المسيح

Our Church has given us the sacred sacrament of Holy Baptism to guarantee our personal resurrection from the dead. St. Paul clearly taught this when he writes: We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life. (Romans 6:4) Just as Jesus rose bodily from the dead and stayed with His Apostles for forty days to teach and deliver them the practices of our faith, we will rise bodily with the same recognizable features and personality traits which now and forever will identify, distinguish, and define us: only in a most purified and perfected way: I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ‘For no eye has seen, nor ear heard, no heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.’ (Romans 8:17; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Isaiah 64:4) Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3)

We realize the Great Lent and Holy Week purifying discipline of prayer and fasting is to tame the flesh and give power to the soul in preparation to become the beautified body of the resurrection, all in anticipation of the glory to come when Christ returns at the end of time. But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (at the Second Coming), who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20) We ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:23)

St. Mary Orthodox Church of Palos Heights, Illinois, is hosting a men's retreat on Saturday, April 2, 2016. The topic is an important one: "Retrieving the Sacramental Worldview: Moving Beyond Lust and Pornography," led by guest speaker Fr. Thomas Loya.

Father Loya is well versed on the subject of pornography. He has lectured extensively on the negative impact of this addiction, and how it destroys marriages, families, our society, and ultimately our relationship with God. Thanks to the internet and today's culture, pornography is legal and readily accessible by adults and children of all ages.

All are invited to join us to learn how to prepare our children – and ourselves - to avoid the temptations, and to address the addictive behavior of this "silent killer." More information, including registration, is available here. 

Memory Eternal! Khouria Marguerite Shaheen, wife of Archpriest George F. Shaheen (reposed), fell asleep in the Lord on Sunday March 20, 2016, surrounded by her family. 

Service information is as follows:

• Tuesday, March 22 - Visitation and Trisagion prayers at St. George Orthodox Church in Cedar Rapids  5:00-7:00 pm
• Thursday, March 24 - Visitation at the Cathedral of St. George in Toledo 2:00-4:00 pm; and 5:00-7:00 pm with Trisagion prayers at 7:00 pm
• Friday, March 25 - Visitation at 10:00 am; Funeral Service at 11:00 am at the Cathedral of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral; Entombment at Toledo Memorial Park and Mercy Meal following.

If any clergy would like to serve at the funeral, they should contact Fr. Michael Shaheen, Dean of the Cathedral, at frmich@gmail.com.

Marguerite was born July 21, 1933 in Montreal Quebec, Canada. She married Fred Shaheen on November 15, 1959. With her husband they served parishes in Montreal, Toledo, Charleston, West Virginia, Syracuse, Louisville, Cambridge, Worcester as well as several Mission Parishes.

As we anticipate the start of the Lenten season in March, three of the senior statesmen in the ranks of Antiochian clergy have offered reflections for our spiritual edification: Archpriest George Shalhoub, Economos Antony Gabriel, and Archpriest Joseph Antypas.

Fr. George and Kh. Nourhad ShalhoubThe Gospel and the Orthodox Family: The Christian Meaning of Love

"As our nation celebrates the feast of love, Valentine’s Day," writes Fr. George Shalhoub, pastor of The Basilica of St. Mary, Livonia, MI, "it brings with it the measures of marketing and the things that most of us have come to believe will make the wrong right, and the right better. Valentine’s Day will be celebrated by the exchanging of love with flowers, candy, dinner or surprise trips. It has become one more thing to do because others are doing it, and many find it is easier to purchase something than act." Read more

Christ is in Our Midst! He is and Ever Shall Be! The Midwest Diocese Teen SOYO Board hopes that you are all having a blessed winter season! 2016 has begun with a many blessings, and more to come! This past January, the 2016 Canton Basketball Tournament was a success with many great games played! Congratulations to all churches who participated and came out to Canton! If you have any pictures you want to be featured Midwest SOYO's social media pages, feel free to message any of the officers!

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Protestors object to unsafe water in Flint, MIDear Metropolitan Joseph, Bishop Anthony, beloved hierarchs, and Midwest Diocesan Clergy,

Masters Bless! Christ is in our Midst!

I want to thank everyone who has contacted me about the terrible situation the residents of Flint, MI are going through. As you may have learned, this has been going on for over one and a half years.

I wanted to let you know our parish of St. George (Flint Township) along with the 3 other Orthodox Churches in the Flint area (Assumption-GOA, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Nicholas, both Bulgarian-OCA) are located outside of the City of Flint and are not part of the crisis. Further, like most of our parishioners, all of our clergy families live in the suburbs of Flint which, again, is not affected. Unfortunately, our parish has 40 families who live in the City of Flint and will continue to live with this unbelievable problem for an undetermined period of time.

TO: Reverend Clergy, Fellowship, SOYO, and Antiochian Women of the Midwest

Greetings on the Great Feast of the Theophany of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Now that the "Holy Days" are behind us, the clergy and parishioners of St. Mary Church of Palos Heights, IL are excited to host the Midwest Spring Gathering of our Diocese and extend open arms to the entire Midwest family! The meetings are scheduled for the weekend of March 10-13, 2016. (Download the flyer)

Memory Eternal! Father Richard Peters of Williamston, MI, died at home on December 23, 2015. He was 78.

He was also born at home—the second of three sons born to Bertha and Dietrich Peters—on April 3, 1937, in Lansing. He graduated from Eaton Rapids high school, where he excelled in baseball, football, and basketball. He matriculated at Central Michigan University, where he met Janet Briggs of Scottville, Michigan. They were married in 1957.

A history major and ROTC cadet at Central, he was elected Student Body President his senior year, 1958, and was a Distinguished Military Graduate. He was a commissioned officer and an Airborne Ranger in the United States Army.

Memory eternal! Archdeacon Russell George Hodge, 89, of St. George Church in West St. Paul, Minnesota, peacefully feel asleep in Christ last evening at his home in South St. Paul. He is survived by his wife Shamassy Phyllis and their son Father Paul Hodge and his family.

Boston, MA: Dianne (second from right) leads her first meeting as President of the NAB Antiochian Women in July, 2015Dianne O'Regan has been a member of St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church in Louisville, Kentucky for almost 20 years. She graduated with her Associate of Arts in Political Science from Bellarmine University, and her Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude) in Political Science with an Emphasis on Russian/Soviet Area Studies from the University of Louisville. She has been employed as a Legal Assistant for 35 years, having worked in the fields of criminal prosecution, criminal defense, and civil and corporate law. Since 1996, she has worked at the law offices of Stites & Harbison, PLLC, in the Creditors Rights & Bankruptcy Service Group.

On the local parish level, she currently sings in the choir, but has also served as a church school teacher, editor of the monthly newsletter, member of the adult Bible Bowl Team, and serving the Antiochian Women in various capacities.

by Fr. George Shalhoub of the Basilica of St. Mary in Livonia, Michigan
A sermon delivered Sunday, November 15, 2015, in the wake of the terror attacks in Beirut and Paris

Beloved,

In the light of the constant atrocities, murder, suicide bombings, the war ravaging the world today, I wish to share with you the following:

As we enter the Holy Advent Season, we shall also gather, as families, to celebrate Thanksgiving in the midst of a world gone mad. We need to keep our eyes open through prayer to Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, for the salvation of the world.