On Sunday, March 23, 2025, His Grace, our beloved bishop, presided over Great Lenten Vespers at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Midland, PA. As is the custom in our Pittsburgh Deanery, each Sunday Lenten Vespers features a different priest as the guest homilist. This week, the honor belonged to Presbyter George Popovich, who spoke on the theme: “The Celebration of the Holy Cross”, tracing the origins of the Holy Cross on Golgotha to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, as it noted iconographically, "The Place of the Skull (Eden - Adam’s skull) has become Paradise".

Following the service, the host priest, Fr. Dejan, along with the faithful parishioners of St. George, graciously prepared a wonderful lenten meal, fostering fellowship in the spirit of Great Lent.

His Grace addressed the gathered faithful, speaking about the importance of this sacred season and the necessity of finding true hesychia (silence) in prayer and sobriety of mind, following the teaching of the great Holy Father, St. Gregory Palamas.

A special moment of the evening was the presentation of a heartfelt gift from Fr. George to His Grace—an icon of Venerable Mother Angelina Despotess of Serbia, written by Fr. George himself. This icon was dedicated to the St. Sava Shadeland Children’s Camp, as the Ven. Mother Angelina is the Patronal Feast - Slava - of the Shadeland Estate.

We extend our deepest gratitude to our hosts at St. George for their warm hospitality and to our beloved Bishop for his prayers, wisdom, and guidance during this holy season. May God grant us all strength as we continue our Lenten journey toward the joy of Pascha!

Fr. George Popovich