Saint Anne Pomona Orthodox Church

Feast of the Theophany of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Theophany is the Feast which reveals the Most Holy Trinity to the world through the Baptism of the Lord (Mt.3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22). God the Father spoke from Heaven about the Son, the Son was baptized by Saint John the Forerunner, and the Holy Spirit descended upon the Son in the form of a dove. From ancient times this Feast was called the Day of Illumination and the Feast of Lights, since God is Light a...nd has appeared to illumine those who sat in darkness, and in the region of the shadow of death (Mt.4:16), and to save the fallen race of mankind by grace. In the ancient Church it was the custom to baptize catechumens at the Vespers of Theophany, so that Baptism also is revealed as the spiritual illumination of mankind. The origin of the Feast of Theophany goes back to Apostolic times, and it is mentioned in The Apostolic Constitutions (Book V:13). From the second century we have the testimony of Saint Clement of Alexandria concerning the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, and the night vigil before this Feast. There is a third century dialogue about the services for Theophany between the holy martyr Hippolytus and Saint Gregory the Wonderworker. In the following centuries, from the fourth to ninth century, all the great Fathers of the Church: Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Ambrose of Milan, John of Damascus, commented on the Feast of Theophany. The monks Joseph the Studite, Theophanes and Byzantios composed much liturgical music for this Feast, which is sung at Orthodox services even today. Saint John of Damascus said that the Lord was baptized, not because He Himself had need for cleansing, but to bury human sin by water, to fulfill the Law, to reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and finally, to sanctify the nature of water and to offer us the form and example of Baptism. On the Feast of the Baptism of Christ, the Holy Church proclaims our faith in the most sublime mystery, incomprehensible to human intellect, of one God in three Persons. It teaches us to confess and glorify the Holy Trinity, one in Essence and Undivided. It exposes and overthrows the errors of ancient teachings which attempted to explain the Creator of the world by reason, and in human terms. The Church shows the necessity of Baptism for believers in Christ, and it inspires us with a sense of deep gratitude for the illumination and purification of our sinful nature. The Church teaches that our salvation and cleansing from sin is possible only by the power of the grace of the Holy Spirit, therefore it is necessary to preserve worthily these gifts of the grace of holy Baptism, keeping clean this priceless garb, for As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ (Gal 3:27). On the day of Theophany, all foods are permitted, even if the Feast falls on a Wednesday or Friday.

Christmas Day 2019!

Christmas Eve Vespers with Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great! December 24th, 2019

Making cookies for Santa Clause!

Caroling at the Inland Valley Care & Rehab Center 2019!

Dear Brothers and Sisters, With hope in the Resurrection, we share the sad news of the repose of our brother Rev Deacon Polycarp Kroah. Deacon Polycarp passed away on January 10th at 1am.... News about the funeral will be sent later. This coming Sunday (January 12th) we will hold a Memorial Service after the Liturgy. May Lord grant him eternal repose! Our sincere sympathy and condolences to Darlene and his family.

St. Nicholas came to St. Anne Orthodox Church on Sunday! During the Divine Liturgy St. Nicholas left presents on the children's shoes and after the Liturgy, they heard the real story of Saint Nicholas and the miracles with the golden coins and all the miracles that he did. After that, they created a holy Christmas Tree, decorated with icons.

Those kids helped with church cleaning, toiletry thanksgiving operation(homeless) - packing and definitely played... a lot!

Our children learning about God's Love through crafting! We try to teach our children in a practical way about God, love, and care. They had to use their hands to decorate the pots and to plant the flowers on it. God did the same thing for us - first, he created and decorated the world, got it ready for us, then with His Own hands, and not by His Word, created us - so special and important are we for God. We are all flowers in the garden of God, and he loves us all the same, ...even if we are different. Not all flowers are the same - some are brighter colors, some are taller, some have a very nice smell, but all are beautiful and special. The same for people; we are not all the same - some are smarter, others have labor skills, others are more compassionate, but we are all flowers in the eyes of God and he loves all of us. So if someone can not see the beauty on you, don't worry - God loves you and you are very special for Him.

California is facing one of the worst homelessness crisis in history. 45% of the entire homeless population in the country is in California and 19% of it is in Los Angeles area only. When most of us will be enjoying this special and beautiful coming holiday - Thanksgiving - in warm homes with family and friends, unfortunately for too many homeless people will be just another day they have to survive outside in the cold. Please help us to collect socks and toiletries that will be donated to homeless people before Thanksgiving Day. We already have plenty of shampoo and body wash, but we are real need for socks, tampons and antibacterial wipes. Have a blessed season!