Message from Father Dino Regarding the Current Situation

Date: March 19, 2020

Dear Friend of Saint Katherine,

A recent communique from the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople has stated that in response to current conditions:

"Today we universally declare our ecclesiastical resolution and mandate to cease all divine services, events and rites, with the exception of private prayer in churches that will remain open, until the end of March. This restriction will be later reassessed, in accordance with the development of the pandemic caused by the virus."

Here at Saint Katherine, therefore, we will follow the instructions of His All-holiness and will not hold services, including the Divine Liturgy on Sundays, until we hear otherwise from the Patriarch.

Instead, on Sundays, our Saint Katherine church will be open from 10 – 11 AM for anyone to come, light a candle and offer a private prayer. In addition, this Sunday, you may take a flower adorning the Holy Cross home with you, to commemorate the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross.

In the meantime, I am producing a Prayer Service that you can use at home, either privately or with your entire family, at any time during the health and travel restriction period we are all observing. We have posted this on our web site at: https://saintkatherine.org/protection_prayer.php. The prayers can be prayed silently or aloud, but either way, I would suggest that they be prayed in front of an icon of Christ or the Holy Virgin (if you don’t have either, then any icon will do).

Finally, I would recommend that you sign up for our email list, and follow Saint Katherine on Facebook and Instagram, where we will be posting occasional sermons and messages throughout this period while conditions do not allow us to gather together. Also, please share this information with others who may not be connected over email or on social media.

May God keep you and your family safe and healthy; and may He grant that our life be made peaceful and whole again.

Faithfully,
Father Dino