Bright Week - Thomas Sunday

The Week after Pascha is known as Bright Week. The name reflects the joy of Pascha that fills our hearts and transforms the world. The doors of the altar stand open throughout the entire week in token of the gates of Paradise, once closed to Adam and Eve, that now stand open for us all. 

This week we do not fast, but we pray. Pray for those who are especially in need of the joy of Bright Week. Pray that its brightness will remain in your heart throughout the year. May the Light of Christ shine boldly in our hearts and save thousands around us!

  LYRA To Perform Next Week

This next Wednesday will mark the third appearance of Russia's LYRA at St. Anne. The first time I heard them was at St. George in Knoxville and I was simply awestruck. Music that I had only ever heard in a recording, simply because it was that difficult, was performed flawlessly and wondrously by this ensemble of five voices. 

The singers are all professionals from St. Petersburg, performing in various choirs, operas and the like. What they bring to the sacred music of our tradition is an exquisite beauty. I encourage everyone to come. Especially bring our youth. They should know that such beauty exists and it should become part of their soul. No recording ever comes close to the energy and spiritual vitality of the human voice in a live setting. It is a true sacrament!

The evening begins at 7 pm. There is an hour of sacred music in the Church and an hour of Russian folk music in the parish hall with refreshments in between. Come early and enjoy!

Help With LYRA Concert Needed

We will be providing refreshments in the parish hall after the sacred music concert - cookies, fruit, cheese, coffee and tea. If you can bring something to share for this event, or if you can help to set up and serve, please contact M. Beth (beth.senes@gmail.com).

St. Brendan's Day Celtic Festival a Week From Saturday!

Our first festival celebrating Celtic culture and Orthodoxy is almost here! So many details have been organized by so many volunteers! The preparations look great...so we pray for great weather!

Be sure to share the news and invitation to as many friends as possible. I'm creating a link to a pdf file poster for the festival that you can print and post in your office or anywhere you imagine! Our event is for fun, fellowship, but especially for sharing with East Tennessee the rich heritage of our Orthodox faith and its deep, historic connection to the Europeans who first settled in this part of Tennessee.

Click Here for a St. Brendan's Day Poster