The Metropolis of Chicago Fanari Winter Camp was held at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. The participants stayed at the cottages and log lodge and participated in various activities. We look forward to having all the participants return for our summer Fanari sessions.
The Boy Scouts of America held its January retreat at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. Guests stayed at the log lodge and participated in numerous indoor and outdoor activities.
The Armenian Church Youth Organization of America held its Juniors Retreat at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. Guests stayed at the cottages and took part in various educational activities.
The Orthodox Christian Fellowship held its Midwest retreat at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. Students from various colleges stayed at the cottages and participated in many different spiritually educational activities.
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University of Wisconsin Parkside held the January Orientation Leader Retreat at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. Guests stayed at the log lodge and took part in numerous leadership and team building activities.
The Metropolis of Chicago Family Synaxis Ministry along with the St. Iakovos Retreat Center held the first Couples Retreat at the retreat center. Guests stayed at the Tomaras Lodge and participated in various educational and team building activities.
The second issue of The Ark is fresh off the press! Please follow the link to view The Ark, and be sure to share the good news with all of your friends!
The Orthodox Christian Fellowship held 2017 Midwest College Conference at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. Students representing various educational institutions came from all over the country and stayed at the Tomaras lodge, the cottages and the log lodge. The participants also took part in various activities that were both fun and educational.
The St. George Coptic Church held its 2017 youth retreat at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. Guests stayed at the cottages and took part in numerous activities.
Following the extreme shopping done over the past few days and the days to follow, #GivingTuesday is a day designed to remind people to give back to their communities. We often think of what deals we can get for ourselves or what we can get our loved ones but charities are often overlooked.
This Tuesday we hope you remember the St. Iakovos Retreat Center as you participate in #GivingTuesday. The importance of the GoSIRC ministry cannot be overlooked as it serves the youth and the entire Orthodox community. It is through your generosity and continued support we are able to be a resource and a place of spiritual rejuvenation for people of all ages.
Please consider the St. Iakovos Retreat Center this Christmas season and keep us in your prayers as we work to serve the Orthodox community through Faith and fellowship.
Thank you so much, and may God bless you as we journey to the nativity of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The St. Iakovos Retreat Center is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.
The Armenian Church Youth Organization of America held its 2017 Leadership Conference at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. Guests stayed at the Tomaras lodge and participated in various leadership building activities.
The Vineyard Christian Church of Evanston held their women’s retreat at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. Guests stayed at the Tomaras Lodge and enjoyed various activities and the pleasant fall weather.
The Orthodox Christian Fellowship held its 2017 summer leadership institute at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. Participants stayed at the Tomaras Lodge and the cottages and took place in various leadership and team building activities as they prepared for the new academic school year.
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By Fr. Dimitri Burikas
It is that time of year when we in the Orthodox Church once again approach the joyful celebration of the feast of Pascha. You may say, “How did this priest graduate seminary? Pascha was on April 16th this year.” And you would be right, but I’m right too. The Pascha I’m referring to is celebrated every year on August 15th and is known as the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, a.k.a. the Pascha of Summer.
What do these two feasts have to do with each other? One is the Resurrection of Christ, the other is the falling asleep of the Virgin Mary. Yet they are intimately connected. The life, teachings, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ liberated mankind from the power of death and come with a promise for humanity: “A time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live” (John 5:25). Not only did Christ break death’s power over us, but Christ promises eternal life to those who hear His voice.
Even so, it’s easy for our faith to be challenged. How can we really know that this will happen? How do we know that there is a life waiting for us beyond the grave?
God has given us the assurance of His promise in the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. Holy Tradition tells us that after her death and burial, the disciples of Christ found her tomb empty and beheld her alive in the Heavenly Kingdom. As we hear in the hymn of this feast: “You were translated unto life, you who are the mother of Life.”
This feast strengthens us as Christians living in the modern world that the promise which God has made us is true and will be fulfilled, that one day we too will rise and dwell forever in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ!
As Orthodox Christians, there are many ways in which we can celebrate this feast. The Orthodox Church observes a two-week fasting period before the feast itself as a way of preparing. On each weekday evening, our churches hold Paraklesis or Supplication services to the Virgin Mary. On August 14th, Great Vespers will be held at the various parishes named in honor of this feast. And on August 15th, we will complete the festivities with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.
During this time, the Church gives us many opportunities to connect with God through the prayers of His Holy Mother. Just as we flock to our parishes for Holy Week and Pascha services, let us again flock to the church to celebrate the Pascha of Summer, the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. With her intercessions and help, we are sure to receive the gift promised to us, life everlasting in God’s Heavenly Kingdom.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
It is with great sorrow that we inform everyone on the falling asleep of His Eminence Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago on Friday evening, June 2, 2017. He was the spiritual leader of the Metropolis of Chicago and one of the driving forces behind the creation of the St. Iakovos Retreat Center. May His Memory Be Eternal!!!!
Please continue to check here as well as the Metropolis website for additional information as it is provided.
