Saturday, 4/27:
– 8:30 AM – Baptism of Andrew Bush
– 9:00 AM – Matins and Divine Liturgy for the Raising of Lazarus
– 6:00 PM – Great Vespers for Palm Sunday

Sunday, 4/28:
– 8:30 AM – Pre-Communion Prayers
– 9:00 AM – Festal Matins of Palm Sunday, with the Procession with Palms
– 10:15 AM – Festal Divine Liturgy of Palm Sunday
– 1:30 PM – Bridegroom Matins of Holy Monday

Monday, 4/29:
– 6:00 PM – Bridegroom Matins of Holy Tuesday

Tuesday, 4/30:
– 6:00 PM – Bridegroom Matins of Holy Wednesday

Wednesday, 5/1:
– 6:00 PM – Matins of Holy Thursday and Holy Unction

Thursday, 5/2:
– 9:00 AM – Vesperal Liturgy of Holy Thursday (Institution of the Eucharist)
– 6:00 PM – Matins of Holy Friday (the Service of the 12 Passion Gospels)

Friday, 5/3:
– 10:00 AM – Royal Hours of Holy Friday
– 4:00 PM – Vespers of Holy Friday (the Taking-down of Christ from the Cross)
– 5:00 PM – Matins of Holy Saturday, with the Lamentation of the Mother of God before the Tomb of Christ

Saturday, 5/4:
– 8:30 AM – Vesperal Liturgy of Holy Saturday (the Harrowing of Hell)
– 11:00 PM – Nocturns and Matins of Holy Pascha, with the Procession

Sunday, 5/5:
– 12:00 AM (Midnight) – Divine Liturgy of Holy Pascha (Easter Resurrection Service)
– 12:00 PM (Noon) – Agape Vespers of Holy Pascha, followed by the Parish Feast

Monday, 5/6:
– 9:00 AM – Hours of Holy Pascha and Bright Monday Liturgy for the Great-martyr George

Our secure, managed mail service has changed address. If you send anything to the Chapel via USPS, UPS, FedEx, or DHL, please note that the new mailing address is:

Mailing Address:
St John Cassian Orthodox Chapel
3985 Parkwood Road, Ste 109
PMB 424
Bessemer, AL 35022-5671

This week the Chapel is celebrating the feast day of the parish’s patron saint, John Cassian, the Roman. St. John Cassian was a native of Gaul, from the city of Marseille (in modern-day southern France). He travelled the length of the Roman world, and learned great spiritual wisdom from the fathers of the Egyptian desert in Sketis as well as from the fathers dwelling on Mount Sinai. Returning home to his native Gaul after many years of travel and spiritual learning, he authored what is the first collection of teachings of the desert fathers, known as The Conferences. He was an outspoken critic of the heretical patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople, and offered brotherly correction to his fellow laborer in the West, St. Augustine of Hippo. This great saint, the instructor of monks and converser with the angels, went to his repose in the Lord peacefully in the year 435 AD.

In honor of his feast, the parish will be celebrating the following services:
-On Tuesday 3/12 @ 6 PM, the Vigil service (consisting of Great Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour prayers).
-On Wednesday 3/13 @ 9 AM, The Third and Sixth Hour prayers followed immediately by the Divine Liturgy.

A potluck meal will be served after the Divine Liturgy; the meal will be in conformity with the fasting rules of the Church for Cheese Week, so no meat will be permitted.

Following our celebratory common meal, those who can are asked to stay and help clean up the chapel and get things ready for the start of Great Lent on Sunday evening.

It’s been two years since St John Cassian Orthodox Chapel moved into its home at 1731 13th St. N., in Bessemer, Alabama. Our contractor skipped out on us, and there’s still an enormous amount of work to be done on the building itself; we’re still finishing up the iconostasis project, we had a catastrophic failure on the plumbing at Pascha last year (which was supposed to have been replaced as part of the original renovation, but, unsurprisingly, the unscrupulous contractor did mostly cosmetic changes and replaced none of the 75 year old drain pipes to the sewer); we’ve been the target of graffiti and malicious vandalism, resulting in the destruction of several windows in the rear of the building; and, our little community has been rocked with several devastating losses, especially with the deaths of William and Susanna Knarr, only 13 months apart.

However, because of the mercy of God and the intercessions of St. John Cassian, the chapel has survived, and despite the serious financial setbacks we’ve faced, we are moving forward. The chapel has the opportunity to settle and restructure some of the existing debt we took on to begin the renovations on the building, doing which will allow us to finally finish some capital improvements on the building. Many of these improvements, like the replacing of the windows broken by vandals, are vital to retaining the structural integrity of the building.

We ask primarily for your prayers, that God and St. John will continue to bless us and the work being done in Bessemer. Despite the difficulties of the past two years, the chapel continues to have a steady stream of inquirers and catechumens, proving that God has placed us where we need to be in order to minister to those looking for His Church. However, if you can, we also again ask for your financial support of our ministry here, so that we can continue this work to God’s glory. In these difficult and uncertain economic times, we know it is a lot to ask; and we certainly would never ask you to rob your local parish of your donations on our behalf. But, if you can spare just a small $5 or $10 donation toward the repairs necessary on the building, even small donations can make a huge impact on what we are able to do and when.

We at St. John Cassian Orthodox Chapel are incredibly grateful to all of you who have supported us so faithfully over the years, and are humbled by the tremendous generosity our network of friends both in the community and in the wider space of social media have always shown us. Remember that we are a registered 501c3 non-profit, and all your donations to the chapel are fully tax deductible.

If you would like to donate online, you can do so using the links/addresses below:

Donate Via Papyal

Donate Via Square

Donate Via Venmo @StJohnCassianOrthodoxChurch

The faithful of St. John Cassian chapel gathered last night for an all-night vigil that concluded with the Divine Liturgy with the Rite of the adoration of the Cross. Priest Justinian Burnett (chaplain) served the divine services, assisted by Subdeacon Ignatius Burton and altar-server John Popee; Athanasius Lewis chanted the services, and the flowers for the cross were arranged by Susanna Burton. As is the usual custom at the chapel, the faithful assisted in signing the hymns.

Fr. Justinian preached a short homily on the significance of the Cross as the unifier of oppositions and as the instrument of reconciliation of God to man. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the clergy and faithful received the blessing of venerating the all-holy Cross to their spiritual refreshment.

Saturday 4/8 – 8 AM Baptisms, followed by Matins and Divine Liturgy for the Raising of Lazarus
Saturday 4/8 – 6 PM Great Vespers for Palm Sunday and the Blessing of the Palms

Sunday 4/9 – 9 AM Matins and Divine Liturgy for Palm Sunday
Sunday 4/9 – 1 PM Bridegroom Matins of Holy Monday

Monday 4/10 – 6 PM Bridegroom Matins of Holy Tuesday

Tuesday 4/11 – 6 PM Bridegroom Matins of Holy Wednesday

Wednesday 4/12 – 6 PM Matins of Holy Thursday

Thursday 4/13 – 9 AM Institution of the Eucharist Liturgy
Thursday 4/13 – 6 PM Matins of Holy Friday (Passion Gospels)

Friday 4/14 – 10 AM Royal Hours of Holy Friday
Friday 4/14 – 3 PM Vespers of Holy Friday (The Taking Down of Christ from the Cross)
Friday 4/14 – 4:30 PM Matins of Holy Saturday and the Lamentations at the Tomb

Saturday 4/15 – 8:30 AM Vesperal Liturgy of Holy Saturday (The Harrowing of Hell)
Saturday 4/15 – 11 PM Midnight Office (Rush Service), Matins of Holy Pascha (with Procession), and Divine Liturgy of Holy Pascha (Easter); blessing of the baskets will follow the Divine Liturgy

Sunday 4/16 – Noon Agape Vespers, followed by the Parish feast

On 20 February/5 March, the clergy and many of the faithful from the Alabama ROCOR and MP parishes gathered together for joint prayer for the Sunday of Orthodoxy. The service was hosted at St. John Cassian Orthodox Chapel (Bessemer, Alabama), and concelebrated by Archpriest Paul Davis (St. Nicholas Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate), Priest Elias Crowder (St. Martin of Tours Mission-ROCOR), Priest Joseph Gagliano (ROCOR), and Priest Justinian Burnett (St John Cassian Orthodox Chapel-ROCOR). Thirty five of the faithful from around Alabama were in attendance for the service, and many stayed for the lenten fellowship meal afterward. Following the meal, Fr. Justinian gave a short talk on the importance of iconography to Orthodoxy theology and their impact on our salvation.

This year, St John Cassian Orthodox Chapel will be hosting Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers for the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Alabama.

Vespers will be at 4PM on March 5th, 2023.

Priest Justinian Burnett will give a short talk on the significance of the Triumph of Orthodoxy after the service. Light Lenten refreshments will be served for the faithful who attend.

The service times for the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross has been changed. Instead of doing Agrypnia (Vespers, Matins, and Liturgy) on Monday, we will be doing Vespers and Matins on Monday, September 26th at 6:00 PM (CT) followed by Liturgy on Tuesday, September 27th at 8:30 AM (CT).