A great man is one who collects knowledge the way a bee collects honey and uses it to help people overcome the difficulties they endure - hunger, ignorance and disease!
- Nikola Tesla

Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.
- Franklin Roosevelt

While their territory has been devastated and their homes despoiled, the spirit of the Serbian people has not been broken.
- Woodrow Wilson

Chicago Mayor Proclaims January 27th Saint Sava Academy Day

The Honorable Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, has officially proclaimed January 27th, the feast day of the revered Serbian patron saint of education and culture, as Saint Sava Academy Day in Chicago in recognition of the school's work and for its contributions to the community.

The Mayor's proclamation also noted that Saint Sava Academy is "the only full-time elementary school in Chicago offering dual language education in both Serbian and Russian languages," "offers a safe community where students are able to express their culture and religious beliefs," and "sustains an Orthodox faith-based education that provides students a strong spiritual compass both inside and outside the classroom."

Leaders of Holy Resurrection Cathedral and Saint Sava Academy warmly welcomed the Mayor's proclamation.

"The Mayor's proclamation of St. Sava Academy Day is a very important and deserved recognition for our school, and an honor for our whole community, and I would like to thank our Academy Administration and Board of Trustees for their work which lead to this decision," said the Very Reverend Protopresbyter Darko Spasojevic, Cathedral Dean.

Marko Bojovic, Academy Principal, added: "I am truly grateful to Mayor Emanuel for proclaiming January 27th as 'St. Sava Academy Day' in this wonderful City of Chicago.  I also thank our Cathedral clergy, Academy Board of Trustees, faculty and staff for working as one unified team in achieving the mission of St. Sava Academy and for meeting the needs of our students. Our students have yet another reason to be proud of their school."

Reverend Dr. Vasilije Vranic, priest in charge of the Cathedral's educational programs, noted the historical significance of the proclamation.

"Sts. Sebastian of Jackson, Mardarije of Libertyville, and Nikolaj of Zicha organized the parishes of the Serbian Orthodox Church​...
Looking at the example of St. Sava, the first archbishop of Serbia, they recognized the indispensable role that Orthodox-based education, rooted in our culture and traditions, ought to have in the life of our communities on this continent. This proclamation confirms and attests that indeed our efforts in perpetuating the legacy of our great spiritual ancestors through our parochial school and other educational programs are bearing a noteworthy fruit. We are grateful to Mayor Emanuel for his support," Fr. Vasilije Vranic said.

Founded in 2001, St. Sava Academy is the dual language parochial school at Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral offering a dynamic PreK-8 education.


SA

 

People Directory

Stella Jatras

Stella Louis Jatras (nee Katsetos) from Camp Hill, PA, was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, as the fourth and youngest daughter of Louis (Leonidas) and Marina Katsetos, originally of Sparta, Greece, and later of Harrisburg and Carlisle.

Stella was quite literally a daughter of Sparta - and her father's name was Leonidas, no less. As Julia Gorin noted, she was Sparta, truly worthy of that heroic heritage. Axia!

In addition to the U.S. Department of State, her professional work included service with the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and the Veterans Administration.

In 1953, she married George Jatras, also the offspring of Greek immigrant parents, and began a long and varied life as the wife of a career U.S. Air Force Officer.

As a career military officer's wife, Stella traveled widely and lived in several foreign countries where she not only learned about other cultures but became very knowledgeable regarding world affairs and world politics. She lived in Moscow for two years, where she worked in the Political Section of the U.S. Embassy. She also lived in Germany, Greece, and Saudi Arabia. Her travels took her to over twenty countries.

.
Read more ...

Publishing

The Church at Prayer

by Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonopetra

Publisher’s note

Many readers of the addresses of Elder Aimilianos, which have been published in the five-volume series, rchimandrite Aimilianos, Spiritual Instructions and Discourses (Ormylia, 1998-2003), have frequently expressed the wish for an abridged and more accessible form of his teaching. In response, we are happy to inaugurate a new series of publications incorporating key texts from the above-mentioned collection. Other considerations have also contributed o this new project, such as the selection of specific texts which address important, contemporary questions; the need for a smaller, more reader-friendly publication format; and the necessity for editing certain passages in need of clarification, without however altering their basic meaning.

Above all, the works collected in this volume reflect the importance which the Elder consistently attached to prayer, spirituality, community life, worship, and liturgy. Thus the experientially based works "On Prayer", and "The Prayer of the Holy Mountain", which deal primarily with the Prayer of the Heart, appear first, followed by the summary addresses on "The Divine Liturgy", and "Our Church Attendance". These are in turn followed by the more socially oriented discourses on "Our Relations with Our Neighbor", and "Marriage: The Great Sacrament". Finally, the present volume closes with the sermons on "Spiritual Reading" and "The Spiritual Life", which in a simple and yet compelling manner set forth the conditions for "ascending to heaven on the wings of the Spirit".

It is our hope that The Church at Prayer will meet the purpose for which it is issued and will serve as a ready aid and support for those who desire God and eternal life in Him.