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Bishop Maxim Visits St. Lazar Parish in Honolulu

 
BISHOP MAXIM VISITS HONOLULU - His Grace Bishop Maxim celebrated the Holy Liturgy at the St. Lazar Serbian Orthodox Parish on Saturday, November 1th, 2008 in Honolulu, Hawaii as he did this year in July. The Liturgy was served at the Most Holy Theotokos of Iviron (ROCOR) with the assistance of Fr Blasko Paraklis. During the past year the Holy Liturgy was served in Honolulu four times and the parish was blessed with several Baptisms.
After the Divine Liturgy, there was a small banquet.


Our Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples to: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The teachings of the Apostle Paul gives us guidance: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:28) He went forth to all nations to teach them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and, by doing so, drew them into the fold of the Church. We are also called to do the same thing in this multinational, multicultural country, to bring people together into His Church. By doing this, we honor the great calling we have as Orthodox Christians.

With the spiritual guidance and leadership of His Grace Bishop Maxim, life in all our missionary parishes has been strengthened. His regular visits, services, instructions, teachings and encouragement are most crucial for the life and development of each parish. One of the parishes consisting of converts of American background is St. John the Baptist in Reno, Nevada. According to the words of Fr. James Bartfield, the mission in Reno was actually started by the monks of St. Herman Monastery around 1992. Another Serbian Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist was established in Denver, Colorado. Other missionary parishes: St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Parish in Salt Lake City has made a tremendous effort in gathering the funds and creating conditions for a permanent priest. The Nativity of The Most Holy Theotokos Serbian Orthodox Parish in Orange County is in process of planning a major building fund campaign to be conducted this year. The Venerable Peter of Korish Serbian Orthodox Parish in  Anchorage, Alaska is also in process of increasing its building fund. His Grace Bishop Maxim is in the process of establishing a new parish in Boise, Idaho where a great number of Serbian refugees came after the recent wars in our homeland.

St. Lazar Serbian Orthodox Parish in Honolulu, Hawaii - Bishop Maxim's visit in 2008
 
Photo by Marko Mijuskovic

General Information about Hawaii

Hawaii (awaiian: Hawaii) () 21. 1959. . (), 2,300 (3,700 km) , 2118?41?N, 15747?47?W. 19. the Sandwich Islands.

In dialects of American English, "Hawaii" is pronounced at least three different ways. In the Hawaiian language, there is also some variation possible, but the most general pronunciation is [h?.v?i]. This last Hawaiian pronunciation is often used by native-English-speaking Hawaii residents, as well.

Archaeologic evidence points to earliest habitation in the 11th Century ACE, probably by Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas, Raiatea and Bora Bora. The first recorded European contact with the islands was in 1778 by British explorer James Cook. However, substantial evidence (Stokes 1932 for example) exists of earlier Spanish visits to Hawaii. Hawaii was an independent kingdom from 1810 until 1893, when the monarchy was overthrown. It became a U.S. territory in 1900 and has been a state since 1959.

Location, topography, and geology

An archipelago in the mid-Pacific and, thus, commonly included in Oceania, Hawaii is the southernmost state of the United States; it would be the westernmost, if not for Alaska. It is one of the only two states (Alaska is the other) that are outside the contiguous United States, and do not share a border with another U.S. state. Hawai?i is the only state that (1) is without territory on the mainland of any continent; (2) is completely surrounded by water; and (3) continues to grow in area because of active extrusive lava flows, most notably from Kilauea (Kilauea).

Except for Easter Island, Hawaii is farther away from land than any other landmass on Earth. Hawaii's tallest mountain, Mauna Kea stands over 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) and is taller than Mount Everest if followed to its base at the floor of the Pacific Ocean.

The Hawaiian Archipelago comprises eight islands and atolls extending across a distance of 1,500 miles (2,400 km). Of these, eight high islands are considered the "main islands" and are located at the southeastern end of the archipelago. These islands are, in order from the northwest to southeast, Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawaii. The latter is by far the largest, and is very often called the "Big Island" or "Big Isle". The use of that alternative name is often motivated by a desire to avoid ambiguity with "Hawai?i" meaning the entire state (all of the islands), as opposed to only that one island.