JOHNSTOWN, PA - Plans are underway for the Annual Altar Boy Retreat which will take place from Sunday evening, June 30th (Registration is from 6pm till 8 p.m.) until Wednesday, July 3rd, 2019.

The Retreat will once again take place at Christ the Savior Seminary, Cathedral and  Education Center in Johnstown and at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Windber, PA.  This year's outing will be to Coal Tubing for a tube ride down the Stoney Creek River. This is the time and place for our faithful Altar Servers to join other Altar Boys from all over our Diocese.

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- The schedule of His Eminence, Metropolitan Bishop Gregory
of Nyssa for May 2019 has been released by the Diocesan Chancery.

Today I greet you with great love and joy in the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ following His glorious Resurrection.  On Great and Holy Pascha, we behold the triumph of Christ, as He rose from death to life, from darkness of the tomb into the Light.  With the Resurrection of Christ, all Creation is filled with a new Light of life and joy.  On this Feast of Feasts, this Holy Day of Holy Days, we all proclaim the only truth that matters, the Truth that Christ is Risen!

We gather together as family and friends, in joy  and in love, celebrating the presence of the Risen Lord in our midst, and singing with one voice the triumphant hymn

Having run the course of the race of Holy and Great Lent in prayer and fasting, and having reached the salvific passion of Christ God, today we are rendered participants in the joy of His splendid Resurrection.

The experience of Resurrection belongs to the core of Orthodox identity. We celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection not only during the feast of Holy Pascha and the ensuing paschal period, but on each Sunday and at each Divine Liturgy, which is always a luminous festivity. The Christian life in all its dimensions – in divine worship as well as in our life and witness in the world – bears a resurrectional spirit and is shaken by the victory of the risen Christ over death and by the expectation of His eternal kingdom.

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- The updated schedule of His Eminence, Metropolitan Bishop Gregory
of Nyssa for April 2019 has been released by the Diocesan Chancery.

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- Diocesan Parishes are cordially invited to submit via email up to 3 photos of this year's Holy week and Paschal services for inclusion in a special photo gallery, "Pascha throughout the Diocese".

It is asked that parishes avoid sending low resolution cell phone camera quality photos as they may also be included in The Church Messenger

Please email photos to media@acrod.org Please put in the body of the e-mail the name of the parish, and a brief captions describing the photos. Please do not send captions as attached document files.

Camp Nazareth is pleased to announce its THIRD ANNUAL Science and Nature Camp which will take place August 4-10, 2019!!!

Camp participants will learn all about Astronomy, Biology, Earth Science, Geology, Meteorology and SO MUCH MORE!

Participants will have the opportunity to use telescopes, microscopes, and other equipment used to study and learn about nature. But most importantly, they will explore the trails, waterfalls, streams and geography of the Camp. Special emphasis will be placed on appreciating the beauty of nature and the wonder of the fields of science they will study.

JOHNSTOWN, PA --  [Diocesan Chancery] -  Registration is now open for the SIXTH Annual Diocesan Young Women's Encounter which will take place from Sunday, June 30th to Wednesday, July 3rd, 2019 at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Windber, PA. We encourage our young women, ages 12 to 18 to attend.

This engaging experience will highlight how young women can live our Orthodox Faith and serve the Church with their own unique gifts. The YWE is designed specifically for our young women to provide them an opportunity to spend time in fellowship with each other, have fun, and pray together. This year we will have the blessing to spend some time at the Orthodox Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration in Ellwood City, PA.

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Gregory, the National Junior ACRY, as in previous years, calls upon all to aid the Diocesan ministry of Saint John the Compassionate, which is located in Toronto, Canada. The decision to assist this ministry to those in need was made by the National Junior ACRY at the National ACRY Convention held over Labor Day Weekend 2018.

Members of the Junior ACRY had the opportunity to visit the Mission this past summer and experience the labors of love that take place there each and everyday. The donation from the National ACRY was hand delivered to The Mission on behalf of all who donated to the Lenten Project.

The Mission provides assistance to those in need in the inner city of Toronto. The Mission has continued to provide meals, job training and spiritual counsel to those in need in part because of the generous contributions made by organizations and individuals.

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- With the setting of the sun and the celebration of Forgiveness Vespers this evening, the season of The Great Fast has been ushered in throughout our God-Saved Diocese and the entire Orthodox Church.

This Holy Season, as His Eminence, Metropolitan Gregory has reminded us in his Lenten  Archpastoral Letter,  is a time for increased "... self-examination, reflection and confession.... Great Lent is not just about what we eat, but more importantly how we live."

To assist the faithful in making the most of this holy season, additional resources have been added to our Diocesan Website.

My beloved Faithful Clergy and Laity of our God-Protected Diocese:

As we begin Holy and Great Lent on March 11th I wanted to share with you a few thoughts so that we may journey through the season and arrive safely at the Great Feast of Feasts, Holy Pascha with the proper frame of mind.

Great Lent is a period of increased activity for the active Orthodox Christian. Our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving must increase. Attendance at Church services (of which there are many) and spiritual reading must increase. We must increase our self-examination, reflection and confession. Great Lent is also a period of decreased activity for the active Orthodox Christian. We should show restraint in our normal “outside of Lent” lifestyle. We should reduce our watching of television, listening to the radio, surfing the internet, going to concerts and movies. Great Lent is not just about what we eat, but more importantly how we live.

In our prayer life the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is read each week day during Great Lent.

JOHNSTOWN, PA,  [Diocesan Chancery]  -- The Orthodox Youth Directors in North America are pleased to announce our upcoming webinar - "Ministering to Campers with Special Needs"? - March 6, 2018 at 1 p.m. (Eastern time).  The  panel of presenters are Fr. Stephen and Pani Daria Loposky (Camp Nazareth), Fr. Anthony Yazge (Antiochian Village), and Natalie Kapeluck Nixon (All Saints Camp).

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- The schedule of His Eminence, Metropolitan Bishop Gregory
of Nyssa for March 2019 has been released by the Diocesan Chancery.

JOHNSTOWN, PA [Diocesan Chancery] -- This is an exciting time for the A.C.R.Y. Annual and Diocesan Yearbook as for the first time in its long history it will be available in full-color from front to back and available as a downloadable digital file. If you are not an A.C.R.Y. member and have not purchased a hard copy of the A.C.R.Y. Annual, you may purchase a downloadable version for just $6.

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- [Diocesan Chancery]   Six members of our Diocesan Family attended the 19th Annual Youth and Camp Workers Conference at Antiochian Village in Bolivar, PA from Wednesday, 1/23 – Saturday, 1/26, 2019.  Attendees from our Diocese included:  Very Rev. Fr. Stephen and Pani Daria Loposky, Very Rev. Fr. Miles Zdinak,  Very Rev. Protopresbyter Peter Paproski,  Pani Eleni Stagon and Rachel Pribish.

The Conference takes place each year by the collaborative work of the Orthodox Jurisdictional Youth Directors in North America and is hosted by one of their number.  Last year our Diocese hosted it in Atlanta, GA, together with the Ukrainian Archdiocese.  This year it was hosted by the Antiochian Archdiocese.  As usual, it was a tremendous Conference filled with awesome speakers, small group discussions, great networking, and a whole lot of fun.  It was really and truly inspiring!  This annual conference  has much to offer anyone involved in Youth Ministry, whether a parent, a church school teacher, a priest, or a parish youth worker.