St. Thomas Day and Church Perunal Celebrations - July 6th

The St. Thomas Day and Church Perunal will be held on Sunday, July 6th.  We will be having a Mooninmel Qurbana for the celebration.  H.G. Dr. Gabriel Mar Gregorios, Metropolitan of Trivandrum Diocese, will be our chief celebrant for Holy Qurbana assisted by H.G. Dr. Abraham Mar Seraphim, Metropolitan of Bangalore Diocese and three other achens.

Please don’t miss this occasion and plan to attend with your family.

Mother of Sodharan Varughese Has Passed Away in India

We are very saddened to inform you that the mother of Sodharan Varughese, Ammini Idiculla, Aswathi George and Vilasini Simon, has passed away today.  Sodharan will be going to India for the funeral services in a few days.  

The St. Thomas Orthodox Church gives our heart-felt condolences Sodharan and all the families.  Please keep them in your daily prayers as they pass through this difficult time.

Funeral Details for Lilly Kochamma's Mother (Rachel Kuruvilla)

Public Viewing: Sunday., June 1^st 1:30 – 5pm

Prayer Service: 5-7pm

St. Thomas Catholic Church, Santa Ana
5021 West 16^th St.
Santa Ana, CA  92703

Funeral service will be taking place in India

HH Baselios Marthoma Didymus I (Valiya Bava) Enters Eternal Rest

His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Didymos I (valiya Bava), former Catholicos of the East, entered eternal rest on May 26, 2014, at the St Gregorious hospital in Parumala in Kerala.

Baselios Marthoma Didymos was the Catholicos on the Apostolic Throne of St Thomas and Metropolitan of Malankara who lead the ancient Orthodox Church of India from 2005 to 2010. He retired from the throne due to health conditions and was undergoing medical treatment for the past four years.

Catholicos was well known for his prayerful life, piousness and spiritual leadership. Catholicos Baselios Dydimos is succeeded by Catholicos Baselois Paulose II who is currently leading the Church.

Holy Liturgy of Passion Week - Hosanna to Easter (Malayalam, Manglish and English)

Please click the link below to access the full liturgy of Passion Week from Hosanna to Easter. This is very useful for our youth and anyone that cannot read Malayalam.  If you have a tablet, you can download and open the PDF in either iBooks (Apple) or Kindle Fire (Android).

Good Friday (Page 51-213)
Click Here to view Holy Liturgy of Passion Week 

Pictures from Palm Sunday 2014

Wishing everyone a Blessed Palm Sunday from St. Thomas Orthodox Church of Los Angeles.

Click here to see pictures from Service

Holy Qurbana - Fri., April 11th @ 6:30pm

40th Day of Lent and Lazarus Saturday

This is a reminder that there will be Holy Qurbana tomorrow, Friday, April 11th at 6:30pm.  We encourage all our families to attend and participate.

MGOCSM and Sunday School Lenten Retreat and Confession Day - April 5th

A Lenten Retreat for MGOCSM and Sunday School has been scheduled for April 5th at church.  Teachers and students should all participate as per the schedule below.  Dn. Saju Varghese and Fr. Yohannan Panicker will be the leaders.

 

TIME	GROUP/EVENT
1:00 PM	Retreat MGOCSM and Sunday School (Grades 8 and above)
4:00 PM	Retreat Sunday School (Grades Pre-KG to 7)
5:30 PM	Holy Confession for all Charity Project (Grades Pre-KG to 7) Make hygiene kits for Orange County Rescue Mission
6:30 PM	Evening Prayer Lenten Message

Father of Jolly Varughese Passes Away in India

We are very saddened to inform you that the father of Mrs. Jolly Varughese (Culver City) has passed away in India early this morning.  Both Sodharan and Jolly were in India when her father passed.  Our prayers go out to Jolly Varughese and her family.  

The St. Thomas Orthodox Church gives our heart-felt condolences to the families.  Please keep them in your daily prayers as they pass through this difficult time.

Great Lent Prayer Meeting - Sat., March 15th @ 6:30pm

A prayer meeting has been scheduled at church this Saturday.  Evening Prayer will begin at 6:30pm and a devotional talk after.  Please make every effort to attend with your family.

If you wish to host a prayer meeting at your home or at the church, please contact Mr. Abraham Mathew, Prayer Coordinator.

Week 2 of Great Fast - Devotional & Scripture

Devotional based on abridged Homilies of St. John Chrysostom “On Fasting” – part 2

Click here to view PDF Version.

For there exist, there really exist, ways which are even more important than abstinence from food which can open the gates which lead to God with boldness. He, therefore, who eats and cannot fast, let him display richer almsgiving, let him pray more, let him have a more intense desire to hear divine words. In this, our somatic illness is not a hindrance.

Let him become reconciled with his enemies, let him distance from his soul every resentment. If he wants to accomplish these things, then he has done the true fast, which is what the Lord asks of us more than anything else. It is for this reason that he asks us to abstain from food, in order to place the flesh in subjection to the fulfillment of his commandments, whereby curbing its impetuousness.

But if we are not about to offer to ourselves the help rendered by the fast because of bodily illness and at the same time display greater indifference, we will see ourselves in an unusual exaggerated way. For if the fast does not help us when all the aforementioned accomplishments are missing so much is the case when we display greater indifference because we cannot even use the medicine of fasting.

CALC Food Sale - Sun., February 23rd

The CAlifornia Leader Camp (CALC) Committee will be holding a food sale this Sunday, February 23 following the Holy Liturgy. We ask that all our families join together with us in this luncheon.  All proceeds will go towards funding of the California Leadership Camp, which will be hosted on July 23-26, 2014. This annual leadership camp of the Mar Gregorios Orthodox Christian Student Movement (MGOCSM) is a great opportunity for the young generation of the United States to be trained as future leaders of our communities and churches. We ask that you keep the progress of CALC in your prayers, and we appreciate all aspects of support that you have provided us.

MMVS Meeting - Sat., January 25th @ 4pm

The first meeting for MMVS of this year will be held on Saturday, January 25th from 4 to 6 pm at the Church. Very Rev. K.O. Philip Cor-episcopa will preside the meeting and give a devotional talk.  

Also, there will be a cooking class after the meeting mainly for our young adults.  For the cooking class, Mrs. Aleyamma Mathew will teach how to make Kerala style Fish Curry.  All the ladies are invited.

Mrs. Susan (Ammukutty) Varughese's Sister Passes Away

We are very saddened to inform you that the sister of Mrs. Susan (Ammukutty) Varughese, has passed away in India this evening. There will be a prayer meeting at the home of Mathew Varughese (Viji) tomorrow, Tuesday at 6:30pm. Please join us for the prayer.  

The St. Thomas Orthodox Church gives our heart-felt condolences to the family.  Please keep the family in your daily prayers as they pass through this difficult time.

Address: (Click here for directions)
9965 Princeton St.
Cypress, CA  90630
(714) 821-3677

Miracle Of Christmas Program - Sun., Dec 22nd @ 4pm

Miracle of Christmas Program will be held on Sunday, December 22nd at 4pm at the Bellflower Civic Auditorium.  Please try to bring at least one more family to the program.

Please remind all your family and friends to attend.  See you all there!