St. Timon Sunday 2015

His Grace Bishop Basil writes:

The Feast of St. Timon, patron saint of the Archdiocese of Bosra-Hauran, is Tuesday, July 28th. On the preceding Sunday, July 26th, 2015, the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America will observe "St. Timon Sunday" when DOWAMA parishes and missions pray for and highlight the history, ministries and needs of our Sister Diocese of Bosra-Hauran shepherded by His Eminence Metropolitan Saba. However, if you will be remaining in Boston for the concluding Divine Liturgy on Sunday, July 26th you may keep "St. Timon Sunday" on the previous Sunday, July 19th. The text of my letter to the Diocese (PDF) about this observance is attached hereto. Immediately following your community's observance of St. Timon Sunday, please direct your parish treasurer to send one parish check for the total amount collected (payable to"DOWAMA FSJD Account" and earmarked "Bosra-Hauran") to the coordinator of The Hauran Connection Dn. James Kallail - 502 South Creekside - Derby, KS 67037. Questions? Contact Deacon James at kkallail@att.net.

May 22nd, 2015

Beloved and Christ-loving priests, deacons, monastics and lay folk of DOWAMA:

I embrace and greet you with a holy kiss in the Name of the Lord Christ.

In the Biblical account of the feast of Pentecost (Acts 2) we read of people from a multitude of nations who heard for the very first time and "everyone in his own language" (2:6) the proclamation by the Holy Apostles of the Good News. Among those people were "Arabians" (2:11) which meant people from Rome's frontier province of Arabia Petraea (the area of modern Syria south of Damascus, the Nabataean kingdom in modern Jordan, the Sinai peninsula and the northwestern tip of modern Saudi Arabia).

Much of Decapolis (Matthew 4:25), an area frequently visited by Christ and His disciples, is situated in this Arabia, as is Caesarea Philippi (modern Banyas in Syria) where the Holy Apostle Peter confessed Jesus to be "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:13-20). It was to this Arabia that, following his baptism in Damascus by St. Ananias (9:17 & 18) and his escape over the city's wall (9:25) that the Holy Apostle Paul fled and spent three years (Galatians 1:15-18). And it was to this Arabia that St. Timon, one of the Seventy Apostles appointed by the Lord Christ (Luke 10:1) and one of the Seven Deacons chosen by the Twelve (Acts 6:5), was sent to preach and later served as first bishop of the province's capital city of Nova Trajana Bostra (modern Bosra in Syria).

The Orthodox Christians who today live in much of the territory once known as Arabia Petraea– descendants of those converted to faith in Christ Jesus by St. Timon – comprise the faithful of the Archdiocese of Bosra, Hauran, Jabal al-Arab and the Golan. The present "angel of Bosra and successor to St. Timon" is The Most Reverend Metropolitan SABA (Esper). One of the most venerable Archdioceses of our Patriarchate, the Archdiocese of Bosra now finds itself facing very difficult times. Because of the area's frequent wars – which, as you are well aware, continue to this very day – the occupation of much of its territory by a neighboring unfriendly nation, and the unemployment which plagues that desert region, most of its people have become economic refugees who have relocated to Damascus or have simply left the country for the Americas, Australia, Europe or the Gulf States.

In a gesture of Christian love and support for Metropolitan SABA and his flock, the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America has committed itself to a Sister Diocese relationship with the venerable Archdiocese of Bosra, and many of our parishes and missions have come forward to be paired - or "twinned" - with congregations in Metropolitan SABA's Archdiocese in Sister Parish relationships. To call attention to this project, dubbed "The Hauran Connection," the Sunday nearest July 28th, the feast of St. Timon, is observed annually as "St. Timon Sunday" throughout our Diocese.

This year our eighth annual "St. Timon Sunday" will be Sunday, July 26th (or 19th). On that day we ask our congregations to highlight all aspects of our Sister Diocese project. You can find suggested resources for your congregation's observance of "St. Timon Sunday" online at www.antiochian.org/Hauran. Questions? Contact Deacon James Kallail (kkallail@att.net) of St. Mary Church in Wichita, KS, coordinator of "The Hauran Connection."

Thanking you for your prayers and offerings for Metropolitan SABA and the clergy and people of our Sister Diocese – The Archdiocese of Bosra Hauran – and assuring you of my continued paternal love, prayers and blessings, I remain

In Christ,

+Basil
Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America