Abilene is filled with houses of worship but most Abilenians are familiar with the inside of only a handful. A periodic feature in Spirit of Abilene will give you an “Insider’s View” of some of those places you may have driven by many times but never entered. By LORETTA FULTONNAME: St. Luke Antiochian Orthodox Christian ChurchLOCATION: 501 Sunset DriveWEBSITE: https://www.stlukeorthodox.net/LEAD
Read moreEditor’s note: Easter is coming a week later this year for Orthodox churches than Western churches. Philip LeMasters, priest at St. Luke’s Orthodox Church in Abilene, explains why and gives a list of services at the church. The church is located at 501 Sunset Drive. All are welcome. By PHILIP LeMASTERS The Orthodox Church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Read moreThe life of St. Nektarios of Aegina is featured in a movie that will be shown in Abilene beginning March 21. Philip LeMasters, priest at St. Luke Orthodox Church in Abilene, provided the following information. The feature-length movie was released last year in Greece. Click here for a link to purchase tickets. “Exiled unjustly, convicted without a trial, slandered without
Read moreBy PHILIP LeMASTERS With the support of the Lilly Fellows Program and the Abilene Interfaith Council, the Department of Religion and Philosophy of McMurry University is sponsoring three lectures on “Coptic-Muslim Interactions Across the Centuries” Feb. 7 and 8. The lectures will be presented by Bishop Anba Suriel, Ph.D. Bishop Suriel serves in the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles
Read moreThe public is invited to see the film, “Ostrov,” at St. Luke Orthodox Church, 501 Sunset Drive, on Saturday, Sept. 25. The film will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the parish hall. Pizza will be served. The movie and the pizza are free to the public. “Ostrov,” which means “The Island,” is in Russian, with English subtitles. According to a
Read moreBy PHILIP LeMASTERS Eastern Orthodox Christians may have hesitated a bit this year on April 5 when friends asked, “How was your Easter?” The day before we had observed the third Sunday of Lent, not the Lord’s resurrection. Though Orthodox agree with Catholics and Protestants that Easter is on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the
Read moreHoly Week begins April 23 at St. Luke Orthodox Church, 501 Sunset Drive, with daily services leading to Pascha or Easter on Sunday, May 2. Western Christians celebrated Easter on April 4, but Orthodox Christians follow a different calendar, which places Pascha at a different time from Easter. Below is the schedule for Holy Week and Pascha services at St.
Read moreOrthodox Christians, including members of St. Luke Orthodox Church in Abilene, will celebrate Holy Week and Easter a week later than Western Christians due to using a differenct calendar. Easter Sunday will be April 19. St. Luke services will be livestreamed on YouTube and then uploaded to the church’s Facebook page. See “Saint Luke Orthodox Christian Church” to access both. Services
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By LORETTA FULTON Nothing illustrates the adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words” as do icons, with their rich layering of colors and light and their deeply spiritual message. In fact, icons are both words and pictures. Iconographers “write” icons rathering than painting them because they are writing the theology of the church, explained Linda Fowler, a local iconographer
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