ST. RAPHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
EUCHARISTIC COMMUNITY 

OrthodoxStRaphael

The Eucharistic Oratory Chapel
"ST. RAPHAEL THE ARCHANGEL"
The Evangelical Orthodox Catholic Church in America

Raphael whose name means "God has healed" is one of the
seven angels who stands before the throne of God. Tied around his waist is a flask
of medicine. He is said to appear on earth disguised as
a bright young man in order to give instructions on healing.

FEAST DAY: OCTOBER 24

Patron saint of physicians, the blind, pharmacists, those leaving home,
travelers, lovers, nurses.

Note: Please see end of this Page for more detailed information on this Archangel of God
 
anniver

  Altar At St. Raphael, The Archangel in San Jose, California - Set For the Feast Day of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29th, 2003

 
Anniversary
Pictured Left To Right Back Row:
Very Reverend Joseph M. Russo,  Most Reverend Perry (Joseph Benedict, OSB/bcsa)  Sills
and Very Reverend Lee E. Fort, Archpriest
Left to Right Bottom Row:
Reverend Mother Virginia L. Frazier, Priest and Reverend Mother Regina M. Morella, Priest

Anniversary

Most Reverend Perry R. (Joseph Benedict, OSB/bcsa) Sills 

Upon the 29th Anniversary of His Episcopate,

taken on the Feast Day Celebration of Sts. Peter and Paul - St. Raphael, The Archangel,

San Jose, California

Also pictured from left to right: Reverend Mother Shirley J. Williams, Priest,

Most Reverend Perry (Joseph Benedict, OSB/bcsa) Sills, Very Reverend Joseph M. Russo

and Reverend Mother Virginia L. Frazier, Priest

Bishop Primus

The Most Reverend Perry R. (Joseph Benedict, OSB/bcsa) Sills, OC, S.T.D. 

Residence/Office of the Bishop Primus

1213 N. San Pedro Street
San Jose, CA
Phone: (408) 453-8947
email: (spiritlead1@earhlink.net
Map to the Chapel

Assigned and Canonical Clergy



Much Beloved Clergy Belonging to the EOCCA and/or In Communion,
Who Over The Years Are Now With Our Lord Jesus Christ, but Remain In Our Prayers and Remembrance:

The Most Reverend Carmel Henry Carfora, Primate (RIP)
The Most Reverend Frederick Littler Pyman, C.S.A., S.T.D. (RIP)
The Most Reverend Msgr. Dr. Thomas Julius De CZ-Fehervary, D.D. (RIP)
The Most Reverend Karl Johann Polivka (RIP)
The Most Reverend Thomas A.P. Gilboy (RIP)
The Reverend Robert Bayne (RIP)
The Reverend LaFay N. Saltis, Doorkeeper (RIP)

Clergy In Good Standing Canonically Transferred / Excardinated To Other Jurisdictions:


open bible RELIGIOUS SERVICES and ACTIVITIES

Sundays:

NOTE:  IF YOU ARE A FIRST TIME VISITOR, PLEASE CALL TO VERIFY TIMES OF SERVICE AT: 408-453-8947 IN CASE THE WEB LISTING IS NOT CHANGED IN TIME.

"ST. RAPHAEL THE ARCHANGEL"

The name of the archangel (Raphael = "God has healed") does not appear in the Hebrew Scriptures, and in the Septuagint only in the Book of Tobias. Here he first appears disguised in human form as the traveling companion of the younger Tobias, calling himself "Azarias the son of the great Ananias". The story of the adventurous journey during which the protective influence of the angel is shown in many ways including the binding "in the desert of upper Egypt" of the demon who had previously slain seven husbands of Sara, daughter of Raguel, is picturesquely related in Tobit 5-11, to which the reader is referred. After the return and the healing of the blindness of the elder Tobias, Azarias makes himself known as "the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" (Tob., xii, 15. Cf. Apoc., viii, 2). Of these seven "archangels" which appear in the angelology of post-Exilic Judaism, only three, Gabriel, Michael and Raphael, are mentioned in the canonical Scriptures. The others, according to the Book of Enoch (cf. xxi) are Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel, while from other apocryphal sources we get the variant names Izidkiel, Hanael, and Kepharel instead of the last three in the other list.

Regarding the functions attributed to Raphael we have little more than his declaration to Tobias (Tobit 12) that when the latter was occupied in his works of mercy and charity, he (Raphael) offered his prayer to the Lord, that he was sent by the Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sara, his son's wife, from the devil. The Jewish category for the archangels is recognized in the New Testament (I Thess., iv, 15; Jude, 9), but only Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name. Many commentators, however, identify Raphael with the "angel of the Lord" mentioned in John 5. This conjecture is base both on the significance of the name and on the healing role attributed to Raphael in the Book of Tobias. The Church assigns the feast of St. Raphael to 24 October. The hymns of the Office recall the healing power of the archangel and his victory over the demon. The lessons of the first Nocturn and the Antiphons of the entire Office are taken from the Book of Tobias, and the lessons of the second and third Nocturns from the works of St. Augustine, viz. for the second Nocturn a sermon on Tobias (sermon I on the fifteenth Sunday), and for the third, a homily on the opening verse of John, v. The Epistle of the Mass is taken from the twelfth chapter of Tobias, and the Gospel from John 5:1-4, referring to the pool called Probatica, where the multitude of the infirm lay awaiting the moving of the water, for "an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under". Thus the conjecture of the commentators referred to above is confirmed by the official Liturgy of the Church.

ink pot with feather For further information please feel free to contact:

        Most Reverend Perry R. (Joseph Benedict, OSB/bcsa) Sills (spiritlead1@earhlink.net)


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