St. Michael's is a Pan-Orthodox, canonically consecrated Orthodox church. Established to serve Huntsville, Madison & neighboring counties in North Alabama and south central Tennessee, St. Michael's is proud to celebrate all services in English. We welcome worshippers of all backgrounds.

Services Celebrated in English every Sunday at 10:00 AM
We welcome you to join us in worship & in fellowship after Services.

News at St. Michael's ‡ July, 2008 ‡
Christ is Risen Indeed He is Risen! Please join us in our Church home - a warm place of true blessings. 4319 Spartacus Dr., Huntsville (directions & map below). Service Schedule: Divine Liturgy and Communion every Sunday unless otherwise noted here. (all services at 10 AM unless otherwise noted) Confession: on Sundays when Liturgy is served, the Hours will begin at 9:30 am and confessions will be heard until the beginning of Liturgy. Or make special arrangements for Father to hear your confession. (An Akathist service is a lay-conducted worship dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the Holy Trinity, with participation by the entire congregation.) After this summer, we will no longer have the PO Box. Please use the church’s address at 4319 Spartacus Dr, Huntsville, AL 35805 for all correspondence. Blessing of Homes: Please make arrangements with Father Radovan to have your home blessed. His contact info is Ph 847-549-0798; Email: religiousedu@yahoo.com or see him in church. We Bless Homes: To reveal the home as what God created it to be, a way to Heaven; To rid the home of every evil; To show that the family is a small Church unit in Christ; To consecrate the home and all activity in it to God; and to fill the home and all who live in it with the fullness of God. Make every effort to have your home blessed. Church Books- We have bought or reproduced many new books for our varied services, especially during Holy Week. We have also purchased children’s books. They are wonderful to read. If you took them home to finish reading them, please return them to the church when you are finished. They do belong to the church. Soon we hope to have a book corner for you to purchase books. Father Radovan’s contact info: Ph - 847-549-0798 Cell - 847-219-2969 Email - religiousedu@yahoo.com Father Benedict’s contact info: Home - 205-441-7118 Cell - 205-856-0154 Email - fatherbencedict@charter.net Make your 2008 pledge to St. Michael's Pledges: If you have not yet made your pledge for the mission through the end of next year (December 2008), please see our treasurer, Janet Burns. You are always welcome to join us for worship and fellowship even if you are in a position where you cannot pledge. Please contact our treasurer - Janet Burns. Call 256-520-4089 or email Janet. Please keep in your prayers: Katarzyna Bazylewicz, Basil Berchekas, Frank Boardman, Mariam & Tom Calache, Mary Demora (Steve’s mother), Renda Dengler(friend of Jokich family), Sandy & Roger Ellis, DanielEllis(brother of Roger), Naji Freiji and family, Ted Gulas, Markela Hatzakis, Rochelle Helba, Brian Jokich, Elena Meagher, Daniel & Anne Kobasa (parents of H. Bergantz), Rhonda Lovette, Johana Ramsey, Catrina & Kathy Thomas, Tim & Ron Waskerwitz, and Sophia and Marija (daughters of Fr. Vladimir) and Mary Zarzaur. Please call 256-881-2449 or email Helen Bergantz to let us know if you or anyone you know is in need of prayer or a priest. Local emergency number: 256-883-2714. Basil Berchekas' email: basilberchekasjr@yahoo.com. Johana Ramsey's email: Johana.Ramsey@AMEDD.army.mil. Please keep Basil and Johana in your prayers as they serve our country. St. Michael's Choir To all who celebrate birthdays and anniversaries in the coming month, may God grant you many years! July Birthdays: 2nd -Debbie Gulas 4th -Vivienne Pastrick 7th - Oksana Buksa 8th - Michael Pamfilis 24th –Nikita Platt 25th - Karen Pamfilis 28th - Roger Ellis Happy Anniversary: 16th – Cara & Paul Gall 19th - Rick & Michele Kaiser 21st - Amy & Josh Weesner Important Dates for this Month: July 4th – Independence Day July 6th – Martyr Agrippina, Akathist Service July 7th – Birth of John the Baptist July 12th – Apostles Peter and Paul July 13th – Synaxis of 12 Apostles, Divine Liturgy July 20th – Ven Thomas of Maleon, Divine Liturgy July 26th – Synaxis of Archangel Garbriel July 27th – Apostle Aquila, Divine Liturgy July 28th – St. Vladimir the Great July 29th – Great Martyr Marina Kitchen items needed always: cremora, cold cups (9oz), toilet paper, paper towels, Paper plates (dessert & luncheon sizes) decaf and regular coffee, and a new lighter to light the candles. If you would pick up any of these items and donate them to church, it would be most appreciated. Help us to be "green" by choosing paper products over plastic or styrofoam! Directions to our church: From South Memorial Parkway in Huntsville, turn West on Airport Rd. Go through the intersection at Leeman Ferry Rd. The next Right is Spartacus Dr. St. Michael's is on the right, #4319. (Scroll down for a map.) Sunday School: Immediately following Divine Liturgy, Sunday School will be conducted. It will take place during coffee hour and last about 30 minutes. We encourage you to bring your children. Click here for Memorial Wheat recipes. Two versions posted. Click here for a Church Bread Recipe (Prosfora) and see below for a good reading on the important characteristics of bread and its importance to us as Orthodox Christians.
Coffee Hour: July 6th - Platt August 3rd - Buksa July 13th - Zarzaur August 10th - Burns July 20th - Bergantz August 17th - Demora July 27th – Branham August 24th - Ellis August 31st - Gall NOTE: If you would like to do a coffee hour, and are not on the list, please contact Helen Bergantz for more information. Duty would be approximately once every 3 months. Please remember, if you cannot do coffee hour on your Sunday, please switch with someone on the list. Thank you. Coffee hour need not be elaborate. Keep it simple with coffee, juice and perhaps some fruit and pastry. Church Cleaning: Each month a council member will be in charge of cleaning the church. They will probably do this twice a month. If they call on you to assist in cleaning please come and help. We are a small group and it takes a lot of hands to keep the church looking nice and operating. This is YOUR church. When you or your child spill or drop something, clean it up!!! And if you have some time to volunteer to help clean, please contact a council member. We all like our church to look nice. Schedule: June - Branham July - Burns August - Ellis July Saint St. Olga – It was under St. Vladimir that the Russian nation was converted to Christianity. But this event was foreshadowed by the Baptism of St. Olga, his grandmother. Of lowly birth, Olga had married Prince Igor, grand duke of Kiev, in 913. After his assassination in 945 by the Dravidians, she becam regent and severely punished this insurgent people. Her regency lasted until 955, when she went to Constantinople and was baptized under the name Helen. Returning to her country, she bent her efforts to spreading the Christian religion. Doubtless she had asked the Eastern emperor Otto the Great, who for his part was anxious for the conversion of the Slavs, the Magyars, and all the Eastern peoples who were exerting pressure on his frontiers. The mission sent in 952 by Otto and led by St. Aldabert, a mnok of St. Maximinus at Trier, was completely wiped out, with only the leader escaping. However, after the reign of Sviatoslav and Yaropolk, son and grandson of Olga, Vladimir, brother of Yaropolk, mounted the throne, and was baptized in 987. He imposed the new faith on his peoples, thus assuring the triumph of Christianity in Russia. St. Vladimir – St. Olga, his grandmother had removed Vladimir from the court, and at the death of his father he possessed on the little estate of Novgorod. But seven years sufficed for him to reconquer all his paternal inheritance, and a few years later he had retaken Galicia from the Poles, vanquished the EasternBulgars on the Volga, and conquered the territories of the North as far as Finland. He was baptized in 987, and thereafter worked to Christianize his subjects. Missionaries came from Byzantium and from Germany; idols fell; whole populations received mass baptism; at his death the Christian religion had spread from Rostov to Volhynia. Vladimir had obtained the hand of Anna, sister of Basil II and Constantine VIII, for having helped these emperors at a difficult time. When he lost her, he married a granddaughter of Otto the Great, and he left twelve children at his death.
Parish Council 2007 Father Radovan - Parish Administrator President - Joe Bergantz Vice President - Bob Zarzaur Treasurer - Janet Burns Secretary - Michele Platt Members at large - Sandy Ellis (Choir Director), Hal Pastrick, and Cindi Branham Newsletter - Helen Bergantz (subscribe)
Blessing of Homes Each family is considered a small church and the family table is the home altar. When the priest comes, have as many family members there as possible. Set up a place for prayer, in the dining room or kitchen, with an icon and a lit candle on the table. All radios and TVs should be turned off; there is no smoking when the priest is vested. Print the first names of those for whom special prayers are to offered, including all family members on a sheet of paper. Make a clear distinction between the living and departed (use 2 columns). Do this in advance of the priest's arrival. Have your blessed water available and the water that is left should be stored in a suitable container and accorded proper respect. If you wish to give the priest a gift or have him remain for a meal, it should be offered after the service. Everyone may join in the singing of the festal troparion: "When You, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordon, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest, for the Voice of the Father bore witness to You, and called You His beloved Son, and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of His word. O Christ, our God, Who hast revealed Thyself and hast enlightened the world, Glory to You!" We Bless Homes: To reveal the home as what God created it to be, a way to Heaven; To rid the home of every evil; To show that the family is a small Church unit in Christ; To consecrate the home and all activity in it to God; and to fill the home and all who live in it with the fullness of God. Make every effort to have your home blessed. Map to St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church (4319 Spartacus Drive) Directions From South Memorial Parkway, turn West on Airport Rd. Go through the intersection at Leeman Ferry Rd. The next Right is Spartacus. St. Michael's is on the right, #4319.
About Holy Bread... Why Prosphora Must Be Pure - Nothing but white flour, salt, water, & yeast By Subdeacon George Aquaro The only ingredients in prosphora are white flour, water, salt, & yeast. Simply put, the Holy Traditions mention nothing else! When we begin to add things to the pure bread, what are we saying about it? That it isn't sufficient on its own? That people won't like it if we don't add something to it? Prosphora becomes the Body of Christ in the Eucharistic celebration. Do we add things to our Faith to make it more tasteful? Or, when we partake in the simple bread of prosphora, do we remember that our Lord came as a simple carpenter and endured our poverty out of love for us? No Oil - Many a priest fear the loaf with oil added to it. This type of additive is the most insidious, often turning the chalice into a mini-reenactment of the Exxon Valdiz disaster. Fats and oils create a number of hassles for the priest. It leaks out of the bread and into the chalice and it floats, i.e. the wine doesn't absorb. Oil also hardens, giving the bread a chewy texture. No Sugar - There is absolutely no good reason to add sugar to the Prosphora. If often overexcites the yeast and froths the dough. Not only that, but the sugar in the crust of the bread crystallizes, causing a flinty texture that the priest won't appreciate when doing the proskomedia. No Spices - some like cinnamon actually retard yeast growth; some spices react chemically with metals, can actually damage the surface of the chalice over time. No Whole Wheat Flour - some people think that whole-wheat flour is "more natural" and therefore more appropriate for Prosphora. But whole-wheat flour was never used in the early Church. White flour was always used, since it was more expensive than the brown variety and the loaf was quite literally a sacrifice for those who provided it. Whole-wheat makes a harder crust, and takes longer to rise and creates less regular bubbling. Thank you for keeping this in mind when preparing your Holy Bread! Click here to see photos from our Agape Service
For the Record: There may have been some confusion concerning our mission status and situation with our having a permanent priest. First, we are a bona fide mission, under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church as a part of Metropolitan Christopher's Diocese of the Midwest. Our priest is Father Sam Gantt, who belongs to the Antiochian Church of America and is on loan from his Bishop Joseph in California through an agreement with Metropolitan Christopher and acts as our permanent priest, since the Serbian church cannot provide us a full time priest at the present time. Our mission was officially sanctioned by the Serbian Church hierarchy on July 18th, 2002 by his eminence, Archbishop Mitrophan via a mission establishment document signed by Archbishop Mitrophan. A copy of this document is on file and can be viewed by asking any council member. Saint Michael the Archangel: Our Patron Saint Saint Michael is, with St. Gabriel and St. Raphael, one of the three archangels mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. There he appears as a prince of the celestial hierarchy, protecting the chosen people and achieving the downfall of the infernal powers. The primitive Church considered him also the defender of Christians and their consolation in trials. On May 8th, 492, Archangel Michael appeared on the summit of Mount Gargano, and the cave where he had appeared became the most frequented place for pilgrams in southern Italy. A hundred years later when a plague was raging in Rome, Pope Gregory saw Michael in a vision, sheathing his flaming sword, to signify he would put an end to the scourge. A crytiform church was built about 608 on Hadrian's mausoleum in gratitude to the Archangel for this good office. The most famous sanctuary dedicated to St. Michael is on a Norman hill, built in 709, called Mont St. Michel. The Archangel appeared to St. Aubert, expressing his wish to be honored by the Gauls. From that moment devotion to St. Michael took on a new impetus; it traveled to the East with the Celtic monks, who carried it to the Bavarian Alps, and whence it spread throughout the West. Today the liturgical prayers show St. Michael charged with the guidance of souls here below, to lead them to light eternal.
ARCHIVES Click here to view the news article in the Huntsville Times on St. Michael's & Fr. Milovan. WHNT TV in Huntsville has done a wonderful story on the Blessing of Homes. You can read the transcript and see the video by clicking on the following link: http://www.whnt.com/Global/story.asp?S=2953926. To see the video, click on the link right below Amy George's photo. Thanks go to Father Sam and Bob & Mary Zarsaur & sons for their participation! For photos from Father Sam's Farewell (Thanks, Roger Ellis!), click here. Click here for Lenten/Vegetarian Recipes
Check back often for updates. Please contact us at 881-2449 or by email for additional information. Sign up for our email newsletter HERE.

Services Celebrated in English every Sunday at 10:00 AM We welcome you to join us in worship & in fellowship after Services.

Services Celebrated in English every Sunday at 10:00 AM
We welcome you to join us in worship & in fellowship after Services.