St. Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church
9201 60th St, Pinellas Park, FL 33782 • Tel: 727-777-4450 • stmichaeltampabay.org
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA · Ecumenical Patriarchate
Victoria Pechenizka, Parish President
May 2026
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
From Pascha to Pentecost: The Fifty Days
The fifty days from Pascha to Pentecost are a single, continuous celebration. The Church calls these days the “Pentecostarion” period, and during them we live as though we are already in the Kingdom of God. We do not kneel during prayer. We do not fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. We greet one another with “Christ is Risen!” instead of our usual greetings.
The Royal Doors of the iconostasis, opened on Pascha night, remain open through Bright Week, reminding us of the open tomb. Each Sunday during the Paschal season has its own theme, drawn from the Gospel of John. The Sunday after Pascha (Antipascha) commemorates the Apostle Thomas. The next Sunday remembers the Myrrhbearing Women, the first witnesses of the Resurrection. Then comes the Sunday of the Paralytic, then Mid-Pentecost, then the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, and the Sunday of the Blind Man.
These fifty days are not just a series of dates on the calendar. They are an extended meditation on what it means that Christ has risen. The Church gives us this time so that the joy of Pascha can sink deeply into us, so that we can carry it through the rest of the year.
The Ascension of Our Lord
On Thursday, May 21, the Church celebrates the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Heaven. Forty days after His Resurrection, Christ led His disciples to the Mount of Olives, blessed them, and was lifted up into heaven before their eyes. As they watched, two angels appeared and said: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
The Ascension is not a departure. Christ does not leave us; He goes to prepare a place for us. As the troparion of the feast says: “You ascended in glory, O Christ our God, granting joy to your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit.” The Ascension marks the moment when Christ’s human nature, glorified and transfigured, is taken up into the very life of God. Where Christ has gone, we are called to follow.
The feast falls on a Thursday, but its joy continues for ten days, until Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descends upon the Apostles. Together, the Ascension and Pentecost complete the saving work of Christ: He has risen, He has ascended, and He has sent the Comforter to remain with His Church forever.
Pascha 2026: The Resurrection of Our Lord
Glory to God for another beautiful Pascha at St. Michael Parish! Our church was filled with parishioners, family, and visitors as we celebrated the Resurrection of Our Lord. The Paschal Liturgy began with the procession around the church, the proclamation of the Gospel in multiple languages, and the joyful greeting “Christ is Risen!”
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped prepare the church, decorated the icons with flowers, and joined us with their beautifully prepared baskets for the traditional blessing.
May the joy of the Resurrection remain with our parish family throughout the Paschal season.
Read the full Pascha 2026 recap with photos
With Hearts Full of Gratitude
Glory to God, who has gathered us once more at the empty tomb! The bright joy of Pascha did not come to our parish by itself. It came because so many of you gave your hearts, your hands, and your time so that the Lord’s House would be ready to receive Him.
To those who scrubbed the floors and cleaned every corner of the church before Holy Week, who carried and washed and polished without ever being asked twice: thank you.
To those who arranged the flowers before the altar, who covered the tomb with petals, who decorated the icons with the green of new life: thank you.
To those who baked the paskas, prepared the festal tables, and welcomed our basket-laden parishioners with warmth and laughter long after the Liturgy had ended: thank you.
To those who arrived at every service with a willing heart, who quietly stayed late to put the church in order, who folded linens and carried chairs while others were already on their way home: thank you.
And to every parishioner and every guest who greeted a stranger at our door with the words “Christ is Risen!”, you have shown the world what it means to belong to Christ. The angels themselves rejoice over a single soul welcomed in love.
May the Lord, in His abundant mercy, remember every act of service and every gesture of kindness, and grant you and your families the bright joy of the Resurrection a hundredfold.
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
Air Conditioning for the Altar - Thank You!
Thanks to your generosity, we were able to install a new air conditioning unit for the altar area before Pascha. Last year, the altar was dangerously hot for Fr. Stephen during Holy Week services, and we are deeply grateful that this year he served in comfort.
This installation was made possible by donations to our AC Fund. We are still working to fully cover the cost. If you would like to help, please mark your donation “AC Fund” or visit stmichaeltampabay.org/donate/ac.
Memorial Day: Honoring Our Veterans
On Monday, May 25, our nation observes Memorial Day, when we remember those who gave their lives in service to our country. Our parish has a long tradition of honoring veterans. Many of our parishioners have served in the United States military, including the late Frank Theodore Cholowski, who served in the Korean War with the “Triple Nickel Unit” and whose memory we still hold dear.
Please remember our nation’s fallen in your prayers, and offer thanks for those who continue to serve. May their memory be eternal.
The Feast of Pentecost - The Descent of the Holy Spirit
May the Holy Spirit fill your hearts today and grant you the strength and grace to do good. May the green branch, that ancient symbol of life and renewal, bring the joy of the feast into your home. A blessed feast of the Holy Trinity!
In the Old Testament, Pentecost was the feast which occurred fifty days after Passover. As the Passover feast celebrated the exodus of the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt, so Pentecost celebrated God’s gift of the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai.
In the new covenant of the Messiah, the Passover event takes on its new meaning as the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection, the “exodus” of men from this sinful world to the Kingdom of God. And in the New Testament as well, the Pentecostal feast is fulfilled and made new by the coming of the “new law,” the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ.
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed as resting upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 2:1-4)
The Holy Spirit that Christ had promised to His disciples came on the day of Pentecost. The apostles received “the power from on high,” and they began to preach and bear witness to Jesus as the risen Christ, the King and the Lord. This moment has traditionally been called the birthday of the Church.
Trinity Day
In the liturgical services of the feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit is celebrated together with the full revelation of the divine Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The fullness of the Godhead is manifested with the Spirit’s coming, and the Church hymns celebrate this manifestation as the final act of God’s self-disclosure to His creation. For this reason, Pentecost Sunday is also called Trinity Day in the Orthodox tradition.
Often on this day, the icon of the Holy Trinity, particularly that of the three angelic figures who appeared to Abraham, the forefather of the Christian faith, is placed in the center of the church. This icon is used alongside the traditional Pentecostal icon which shows the tongues of fire hovering over Mary and the Twelve Apostles, the original prototype of the Church.
Why It Matters Today
The feast of Pentecost is not simply the celebration of an event which took place centuries ago. It is the celebration of what must happen and does happen to us in the Church today. We all have died and risen with the Messiah-King, and we all have received His Most Holy Spirit. We are the “temples of the Holy Spirit.” God’s Spirit dwells in us (Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 3).
In Hebrew, the word for Spirit, breath, and wind is the same word: ruah. The Divine Liturgy of Pentecost recalls our baptism into Christ, with the verse from Galatians replacing the Thrice-Holy Hymn. The kontakion sings of the reversal of Babel as God unites the nations into the unity of His Spirit:
“When the Most High came down and confused the tongues, He divided the nations. But when He distributed the tongues of fire, He called all to unity. Therefore, with one voice, we glorify the All-Holy Spirit!” (Kontakion of Pentecost)
The Kneeling Prayers of Pentecost
On Sunday, May 31, the church will be decorated with flowers and the green leaves of summer to show that God’s divine Breath comes to renew all creation as the “life-creating Spirit.” After the Divine Liturgy, the faithful kneel for the first time since Pascha as the priest offers the three long Kneeling Prayers of Pentecost, one of the most beautiful and ancient prayer services of the Orthodox Church.
“Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit: through them Thou didst draw the world into Thy net. O Lover of Man, glory to Thee.” (Troparion of Pentecost)
Online Giving Now Available
We are now accepting donations through credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can give online from anywhere, or in person at the church by scanning the QR code with your phone.
Ways to give online:
- General Fund for the ongoing needs of the parish
- Candles to pay for candles you light for prayer, intention, or memorial
- Roof Repair Fund to help cover the cost of recent roof repairs
- AC Fund to help cover the cost of the new altar AC unit
Donate at stmichaeltampabay.org/donate
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