Despite just over seven months now of serious restrictions on gatherings due to the highly contagious Covid-19 virus, Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit continues to persevere and adapt, with Fr Steven, the parish council, Deacons Paul and Johnothon, and our choir under the direction of Joseph Kormos, helping us increase our worship numbers safely even during a recent resurgence in active cases in Hamilton County and Ohio. These photos give a few glimpses into parish life at the moment. For more in-depth coverage of our response to the coronavirus you can explore our special page here.

On January 12, the Sunday following Theophany, we celebrated the Great Blessing of Waters outside the church, reminding us of how Christ, when baptized in the River Jordan by St John the Forerunner, sanctified all the waters and all creation through His Incarnation.

Congratulations to Andrew and Suzanne Herbst on the baptism of their daughter, Maria. God grant you Many Years!

From Fr Steven:

"See that you all follow the bishop - even as Jesus Christ followed the Father - and the presbyters as you would follow the apostles, and reverence the deacons as the institution of God. Let no one do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Only a Eucharist that is [administered] either by the bishop or by one that the bishop entrusts should be deemed a proper Eucharist."  

~ St. Ignatius of Antioch - Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, ch. viii.

"A Worthwhile Weekend - By any account, I believe that our parish just experienced a wonderful weekend together with His Grace, Bishop Paul. From the Great Vespers on Saturday evening to the majestic hierarchical Liturgy on Sunday, the parish was well-represented and everyone enjoyed listening to and speaking with His Grace. Bishop Paul is always accessible and "down to earth" as the saying goes. He also spent some "quality time" with the Youth Group yesterday. With a geographically far-flung diocese, his visits are rather rare occasions and take on a certain intensity because of that. There were many parishioners who signed up for setting up and cleaning up afterwards in the Church Hall and that is very much appreciated. And, of course, though the fish was catered, all the other delicious food was prepared by members of the parish, and that is also greatly appreciated."

From our new digital Church School Registration, to the formal blessing of the students at the beginning of classes, to our beautiful Youth Group T-shirts (designed by our 'artist-in-residence' and mom of four, Anya Gerasimchuk), and views from our Church School classes themselves, this slide show pulls together several aspects of our thriving ministries and Christian education for our children and teens.

New members and late registrations are always welcome! Contact Fr Steven.

As is our parish custom, to enable families the more easily to attend the divine services for feasts and saints who fall during the week, we held Vesperal Divine Liturgies for the Great Feasts of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Aug 6) and the Dormition of the Theotokos (August 15). The Vesperal Liturgy provides a full and expansive liturgical setting, as it combines the theologically rich Stikhera hymns (for "Lord I call") from Vespers, the beautiful and ancient hymn 'O Gladsome Light', and the appointed Old Testamental readings, with the Festal Troparia/Kontakia, and Epistle & Gospel readings, before proceeding into the celebration of the Eucharist for the Feast. 

With the added traditions of the Blessing of Fruit Baskets at Transfiguration, and the Blessing of Flowers and Herbs at Dormition, these August Feasts remind us through their vivid celebration of the beauty and bounty of God's creation, of how Christ has come to renew all of nature.

The Dormition Feast is also known as the "Summer Pascha," as we celebrate the passage of the Theotokos through death to her glorification and theosis. For the Feast, we bring the Tomb to the center of the church, placing the eiptaphios of the Mother of God in it, and adorning it with flowers.

From Father Steven:

On this coming Sunday, June 30, I will have completed thirty years of pastoral ministry here at Christ the Savior/Holy Spirit. Since I am now sixty-six years old, that is actually a significant portion of my entire life spent here in Cincinnati. God willing, I hope to continue as the parish priest for at least a "few more years." But only God knows, for the future always remains an unknown terrain to us. I always like to quote that colorful character,Tevya the dairyman: "The more man plans, the harder God laughs." I understand that on Sunday a recognition of those thirty years is planned to take place in the church hall following the Liturgy. By way of anticipation, I would like to express my deep appreciation for that kind consideration on the part of the parish. Presvytera Deborah has been a co-minister with me over the years, so she would like to express the same deep appreciation to the parish. It would be false humility to deny that the priest is a "key" figure in any parish; but priest and parish work together, so I would like to thank everyone for the support - and love - I have received over the years. I believe that our mutual respect and care for each other has made our parish a stable and spiritually healthy Orthodox Christian community. It is always difficult to find that one precise word that can convey all that one wishes to express. But if I was to seek such a word, I would say that it has been a source of "joy" to have served here for the last thirty years.

Once again, Presvytera Deborah and I offer our sincere thanks for the upcoming recognition.

And, following the celebration, Father Steven sent this message to the parish:

Beginning My Thirty-first year Today - Yesterday was a wonderful day for Presvytera Deborah and me and my entire family. We began with a very lively - even dynamic - Liturgy in which we celebrated the Saints of North America, together with the original twelve Apostles of Christ. The celebration to follow in the church hall was an extension of the unity in Christ experienced in the Liturgy. We very much enjoyed the prepared program and the thoughtful words directed to us, followed by the meal and fellowship. The heartfelt words that Presvytera Deborah shared, expressed the feelings of both of us. We have received many wonderful cards and other expressions of love that we are further thankful for. God has been good to us!  So now we continue our common journey together ...

Our Summer Workshops returned for 2019 with a rich selection of courses well attended by parishioners and our Norwood neighbors. This year's workshop series included classes on Chess (taught by Steven Korach), Cross Stitch (Shirley Leara), Folk Dancing (Presvytera Deborah), Painting with Watercolors (Anya Gerasimchuk), Photography (Ralph Sidway), and Table Tennis (Fr Steven, and Paul Kostoff). A festive closing session following the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, June 23, with exhibitions of the various art and crafts produced, demonstrations of Chess and (in the Education Center) Table Tennis, and a rousing round of several Ethnic Folk Dances, to the delight of all.

Our Parish Youth Group continues its active year with outings and meetings into June and beyond. Late May saw a special gathering for the end of the school year, and on June 9 our teens served meals for hundreds of homeless of the Tri-State area at the Henry Hosea House in Newport KY.

Upcoming plans include a commemorative T-shirt specially designed by Anya Gerasimchuk, and an expended relaunch for 2019-2020. Many of our teens are making their annual retreat to the Antiochian Village Orthodox Christian Camp in Pennsylvania in July as well.

Learn more about our Youth Group and contact us for more info here.

Glimpses of Pascha: the Night brighter than the Day, with images from the Nocturn Service before the Tomb, the Candlelit Procession and Entrance to the Church, and Pascha Matins & Liturgy, followed by the Agape Vespers, with the Gospel read in many languages.

For many Orthodox Christians, the prayerful and compunctionate season of Great Lent, and the journey with Christ through Holy Week to Golgotha and the Cross, and on to the Empty Tomb and the incandescent joy of the Paschal Night as Bright as Day, is their favorite period in the Church Liturgical Year. We hope these photos give you a glimpse of our parish life as we pass through the course of the Fast and on to the the Lord's Passion and Resurrection.

On Sunday, April 7, we received our brother Shannon Grubb into full communion of the Orthodox Church through the Sacraments of Chrismation and Holy Communion. His sponsor is Dn. Paul Gansle. God grant you many years, Shannon!

On the First Sunday of Great Lent, we commemorate the Triumph of Orthodoxy and the Restoration of the Holy Icons following the century-long heresy of iconoclasm. To help honor this landmark celebration in the Life of the Church, our Church School students process with icons into the church following the Liturgy, and Father Steven reads the classic text proclaiming the Veneration of the Icons.

Following the dismissal and veneration of the Cross, the students complete their annual Lenten Service Project, which this year saw the preparation of lunch bags to benefit the Broken Bus Ministry.

As always, the Orthodox Church's great feasts of the revealing of the Triune God — the Nativity according to the Flesh of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan by John the Forerunner, at which 'the worship of the Trinity was made manifest' (from the Troparion of the Feast of Theophany) — were celebrated joyously at Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit.

This selecton of photos from Nativity and Theophany offer a few glimpses into these powerful feasts, especially Theophany, at which we celebrated the Great Blessing of Waters outside for the first time.

We recently welcomed into the fullness of the Orthodox Church Kevin Rains, and Joshua and Maurie Hanauer, through the Sacraments of Confession, Chrismation and Communion. Congratulations also to their Sponsors, Philip Entweiler for Kevin, and Jacob Boehne and Erin Lockridge for Joshua and Maurie, respectively. God grant you Many Years!

Father Steven visited the Church School after the Divine Liturgy recently, and described in great detail the preparation of the Prosphora, the loaf of bread which we offer to God druring the Divine Liturgy, the central portion of which — the 'Lamb' — is set apart for Holy Communion, and becomes the very Body of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Father Steven described the deeply mystical service of the Proskomedia, which the Priest celebrates well before the Divine Liturgy even begins, and showed the chldren how this beautiful but simple offering of a loaf of bread makes its journey to nourishing the faithful with the very Bread of Heaven.

The Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit Youth Group followed its launch of the 2018-2019 year with the first of several fellowship outings. On Sunday, October 21, the group of 16 or so gathered for lunch at Newport on the Levee, followed by an exhilarating game of Dart Rush. We had amazing weather & a beautiful view of the Ohio River.

Visit our Youth Group page to learn more and to join us!

Dear Parish Faithful,

CHRIST IS RISEN!        INDEED HE IS RISEN!

A Long and Eventful Succession of Days - With the celebration of the Bright Monday Liturgy, we completed eleven straight days on which we served seventeen liturgical services (and that is counting the Royal Hours of Friday as one service; and the Saturday night Nocturns, Matins and Liturgy as one long service). Basically, that includes the festal weekend of Lazarus Saturday & Palm Sunday; Holy Week  and Pascha. We thank God that everything went well, with the services unfolding in a prayerful atmosphere as we actualized the death and resurrection of Christ in the "today" of our liturgical services.

No doubt, many of you share with me a certain exhaustion, but I call it a "good tired," as we again celebrated the Resurrection of Christ. Let us struggle and hope to avoid a bad case of the "post-paschal blues"  as life begins to return to its usual patterns.

in Christ,

Fr. Steven

Our parish Church School celebrated the Sunday of Orthodoxy with their annual icon procession at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, followed by a special Lenten service project, packing lunches for the homeless. At the end of the morning, the students received their annual IOCC Charity boxes to collect donations at home duing Lent. The charity boxes will be brought back to the church on Palm Sunday to be sent to IOCC. Thanks to Terrie Sauer and our entire Church School team for organizing this inspiring event.

This brief slide show conveys the 'joy-making sorrow' and 'bright sadness' of these unique services.

Read Fr Steven's Meditation on the Great Canon here.

Dear Parish Faithful,

The Bishop's Visit - I believe that we had a wonderful weekend with Bp. Paul in our midst these last few days. The church was filled for the Liturgy and most remained after for the fine banquet to follow. Those meals do not materialize out of thin air, so we need to be grateful for our primary organizer and the "staff" that made sure that everything went well. I believe that His Grace, in turn, enjoyed his stay with us.

And again, we congratulate Dn. Johnothon on his ordination, together with his wife Terrie, who has been a tireless worker within many of our parish ministries, beginning with the Church School. Dn. Johnothon will serve his first Liturgy this coming Sunday on his own, as Dn. Paul and family will be traveling to visit family for the Feast. I look forward to serving with him on the Eve of the Feast and then, of course, for the Feast itself on Monday morning.

~ Fr. Steven