Photos and Videos

We have many wonderful photographs from Pascha!

We have a video of the Procession on Pascha!

We have a video of excerpts from the services of Pascha!

Holy Saturday began with the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil, and Elizabeth was chrismated, and Monica and Brigid were baptized!

We have many wonderful photographs from Holy Friday!

We now have two videos of the processions in the Vespers Rite of Entombment, and in the Lamentations service of Great and Holy Friday.

We have photos from the Vigil for Palm Sunday and a short video of the procession with "the children with palms (and pussy willows) of victory...," that was held inside because of the rain.

Edward and Amelia brought their son Peter back to Holy Cross to be baptized. Reader Daniel and Nora are Godparents.

After Liturgy on Theophany we continued our tradition of the Outdoor Blessing of the Waters at City Lake Park in Jamestown.

We celebrated the Great Blessing of the Waters on Saturday evening of Theophany, and after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, and the faithful were blessed with Holy Water.

We celebrated our annual Parish Picnic on the Sunday following our Parish Feast, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

The Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos was joyous!

We have photos from the Divine Liturgy on the Dormition of the Theotokos.

We have photos from the joyous celebration of the Transfiguration of our Lord!

We have photos of the Chrismation of Jim and his sons on Sunday!

We have some photos of the celebration of Saints Peter and Paul.

We had the opportunity to meet with and get to know Fr. Gerasim Eliel who is one of the candidates being considered for Bishop for the Diocese of the South.

We have some photos from Pascha!

We have photos from the baptism and chrismations on Holy Saturday!

We have a video of the Procession on the Sunday of Orthodoxy

We have photos and video from the services of Theophany, thanks to several photographers!

We have some photos of the Shoemaker family chrismation.

Faith and Subdeacon Jim's grandson Robert was chrismated, who was joyful to join the holy Orthodox Church and at last take communion for the first time. Nicholas is his sponsor.

We have some photos and video from our festal celebration of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Fr. Christopher concelebrated Vigil and the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with Metropolitan Hilarion, Bishop George and many other clergy for the Feast Day of St. Nicholas at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Fletcher, NC.

Several Holy Cross parishioners shared in the celebration at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, Mebane, NC, when Metropolitan Hilarion came to visit.

St. Nicholas visited Holy Cross, spoke to children and all present, distributed gifts, and was a joyful blessing in this season of preparing for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ.

Father Christopher and Subdeacon Jim represented our parish at the 16th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America. Reader Daniel attended as an observer, and shared some photographs with us!

On the weekend following our Parish Feast, we celebrated our annual parish picnic following the Divine Liturgy, which was, as always, a time of joy. We have some photos of the divine services, and a parish "greeting" video!

We celebrated our Patronal Feast of the Exaltation of the Universal and Life-Giving Cross with reverence and gratitude. Joining us and concelebrating with Father Christopher was Father Thomas Guery of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in High Point. We have some photos from the festal services.

We celebrated joyously the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos.

Lynn Elizabeth was received into the Orthodox Church in the Mystery of Chrismation, with the parish joyously celebrating with her.

We joyfully welcomed Naomi into the parish family as she was churched and baptized! We have some photos to share!

Holy Pentecost was a joyful Feast as we celebrated the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, and prayed the Kneeling Prayers.

At last, in addition to the videos, we have many photos from the joyous celebration of Pascha!

Fr. Christopher shared photos of the Artos, dwelling in Church like Christ, the Bread of Life, dwelt with His Apostles.

We now have a video of parishioners reading the Gospel on Pascha in 15 languages, plus Father proclaiming it in English!

We now have three videos from the joyous services of Pascha! We hope to offer many photos from the Festal services and joyous meal following. Please check back for more!

On Holy Saturday, we shared reading 15 Old Testament readings foreshadowing Christ and the Resurrection. Father Christopher spoke movingly about Holy Communion before Christ's Tomb and its meaning throughout the entire year.

On Holy Friday, Christ was carried in procession to the Tomb. We have video and photos!

We celebrated the Vesperal Liturgy of Holy Thursday, and Matins of Holy Friday with the reading of the 12 Passion Gospels. We have photos and video!

On Palm Sunday, we processed with palms, and took some group photos of the parish youth and children.

Bishop Mark graciously visited Holy Cross, gave wonderful talks, and celebrated a Hierarchal Divine Liturgy, ordaining Father Deacon George and Subdeacon James. The entire weekend was filled with joy! Eis polla eti, Despota!

We now have a video of the Holy Cross Choir singing three hymns in anticipation of Great Lent and Pascha as an introduction to Bishop Mark's wonderful talk.

We now have some wonderful photos as well as a brief video of the Great Blessing of the Waters performed on the Sunday following Theophany at City Lake Park in High Point.

We now have even more photos from the baptism of Reader Daniel's and Nora's beautiful little girl Alexandra.

We have a brief video of the Great Blessing of the Waters from the services of Holy Theophany this year.

Steve (Stephen) and Pam (Photina) were joyously received by Chrismation into the Holy Orthodox Church! Photos here!

We now have many MORE photos from our joyous celebration of the traditional Nativity Holy Supper on the Eve of Nativity, with Christ's place set at the table, and of the nave and the Altar on Holy Nativity.

St. Nicholas visited Holy Cross in advance of his Feast Day, and a joyful and edifying visit it was for all. Photographs of his visit to Holy Cross were selected and displayed in a slide show on the Web site of the OCA Diocese of the South.

Our Second Annual Fall Festival Yard Sale and Chili Cookoff was a joyous occasion: a perfect, glorious Fall day, wonderful chili, burgers, hot dogs, Greek foods, Serbian Dancers, bargains galore, and more!

This October we began a new adult study group, studying Archimandrite Melitios Webber's book entitled Bread and Water, Wine and Oil: An Orthodox Christian Experience of God. We meet on Wednesdays, with little compline at 6:30PM and the group at 7:00PM

We celebrated our 2nd Annual Holy Cross Parish Picnic, commencing with an outdoor celebration of the Divine Liturgy followed by joyous feasting and fellowship.

We have video and snapshots of services of our Parish Feast, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, with the concelebration of 6 priests and a deacon from multiple Orthodox jurisdictions.

Anna was chrismated and her daughters Ruth and Esther were baptized!

Caleb, Emily, and Their Daughter Become Catechumens.

The newly Chrismated handmaiden of God, Jeanette (Anna) Rouse Lanier, mother of David Lanier, was Chrismated on Sunday June 27, 2010 and fell asleep in the Lord on Friday, July 2, 2010. More...

Father Christopher, our choir, and many of our parishioners joined with the local Serbian church, St. Basil of Ostrog, as they consecrated their beautiful new church building.

Father Christopher, Reader Daniel and several Holy Cross parishioners served a Vespers service in support of a possible new mission in Hickory.

Holy Pentecost was celebrated with joy and awe, and with the joyful reception of two catechumens into our parish family!

The Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser was a joyful and successful event -- many thanks to all who worked so hard to make it so!

The Parish Council, including newly-elected members, were sworn in.

A newly-commissioned icon of a Saint of America, Vasily Martysz, was blessed.

We now have photographs from Pascha, including the Blessing of the Baskets. (We also have added some photos to the Holy Saturday page that initially had only the video.)

In the early hours of Pascha, the Priests and the faithful cry aloud and sing, "Christ is Risen -- Indeed, He is Risen!" in many languages of the faithful around the world. We have some video of the Canon from Matins on Pascha!

Shortly after midnight on Holy Pascha, the Light of Christ shines in the darkness, and the faithful sing in joy, Christ is Risen! We have some video of the procession!

We have some photos from Mick's Chrismation and the liturgy of Holy Saturday.

We have some video as the faithful process and venerate Christ's holy Passion as Noble Joseph lays Christ's Body in the Tomb at the end of the Lamentations in the evening on Holy Friday (the Matins of Holy Saturday). Included are the words sung by the faithful for Noble Joseph, and Christ's holy Passion.

We have video of Placing Christ's Body (the Plashchanitsa / Epitaphion) in the Tomb from Vespers on Holy Friday.

We have video and photos from the Divine Liturgy with 3 priests on Palm Sunday and the festive Palm Sunday Procession.

We have some photos and video from a Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. It is very difficult for many people to attend weekday services even in the evening, but those who have been able to attend all have agreed that these are very beautiful and meaningful services.

We have a video from the healing service of Holy Unction for Matushka Salome / Carrie which was served for Matushka Salome - Carrie Foley, two days before her cardiac surgery on Thursday, February 25, to correct a recently discovered congenital defect in her ascending aorta (the major blood vessel from the heart to the rest of the body).

We have photographs from the Procession celebrating the victory of Orthodoxy of the heresies on the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

Fr. Christopher joined His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah and hundreds of other Orthodox Christians in the March for Life in Washington, DC this year, on Sanctity of Life Sunday, the Sunday following the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

The Blessing of the Waters at City Lake Park near our parish church on the Sunday following Holy Theophany was bitterly cold but beautiful and a joyous festal celebration. Even in sunny North Carolina a hole had to be chopped in the ice for the Cross to bless the waters! We also have video of the event!

We have photos and a brief video from Nativity, including photos from the fasting Holy Supper prior to Nativity, and of Faith's chrismation.

Fr. Christopher Foley concelebrated with Fr. Sergei Lukianov when the miraculous Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God visited the mission parish of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church (ROCOR) in Mebane, NC, on December 23, 2009. Fr. Sergei , who had accompanied the holy icon on its historic visit back to Russia where thousands of the faithful lined the streets for miles and perched on roofs to greet the Mother of God, spoke movingly of his experiences and what he observed.

St. Nicholas visited Holy Cross on his Feast Day, and spoke to children and all present, and gave gifts to the children. We have photographs of this historic visit!

We have a few photographs of Rickford/Nicholas' Chrismation.

Thomas Lowry received a blessing as he prepared to enter Boot Camp in the US Army. Tom is a specialist in the US Army, and as he was preparing to leave for 12 weeks of Boot Camp at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, he received a blessing at church. He left on November 16th. In February he is going to start his AIT training in Norfolk, Virginia. His destination thereafter is not finalized yet. Please keep him in your prayers.

Our first annual Fall Festival was a grand success! The yard sale and chili cookoff were enjoyed by all, the children enjoyed activities prepared for them, everyone enjoyed sampling 9 different wonderful chilis, and the proceeds will go to the Building Fund. Thanks to all who organized and participated in it!

We celebrated our first annual Holy Cross Parish Picnic following an outdoor Divine Liturgy. The forecasted stormy weather held off, and it was a wonderful time of worship and fellowship.

Concelebrating the Vigil for the Exaltation of the Cross with Fr. Christopher, was Fr. Paul Schellbach and newly ordained priest of The Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church in Greensboro, Fr. Thomas Newlin.

Adam Keith Kowalcheck was received into the Church through the Holy Mysteries of Baptism and Chrismation on August 23, 2009. Adam’s grandfather, Father Onouphry Keith (St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, Fletcher, NC) concelebrated the Baptism service with Father Christopher. And former deacon at Holy Cross, now priest, Father John and Matushka Ginny Hays were the Godparents. Immediately following the baptism, the three priests concelebrated the Divine Liturgy.

We have some photos from Holy Transfiguration, and from a pannykhida.

We have some photos from Holy Friday, Baptisms and Chrismations on Holy Saturday AM, Holy Saturday and Pascha, including our Paschal Procession, the blessing of the Pascha Baskets, and an Egg Hunt that followed Agape Vespers, available, and there are still a few more to come!

Palm Sunday was a glorious celebration of Christ's entrance into Jerusalem, carrying palms and branches, and singing, "Hosanna!"

Fr. Michael Oleksa spoke about the history of Orthodoxy's beginnings in North America, with stories of saints and "mountain men" paddling hand-made boats of elk and caribou hide in the wintry seas of the North as Russians moved into lands populated by native peoples. We have photographs from the Akathist to the Saints of North America that was served before his talk, and a short video clip from his talk.

Fr. Christopher's son, Alexander Malcolm, was received into the Church though the Holy Mysteries of Baptism and Chrismation on January 25, 2009.

We have some photos from Holy Theophany, with many thanks to Ray Zawertany.