LIVING WATER . . .



A place to reflect, be quiet, and pray

If you knew the gift of God and who  it is that asks you for a drink, you
would have asked Him and He  would have given you living water.
                                                                                                    (John 4.10)


Welcome to Living Water,  a public space for quiet reflection, prayer and meditation offered to this community by Holy Trinity Orthodox Church. Everyone who passes by is invited to come in, sit down (on the bench, or on one of the ‘sitting stones’ placed in the garden) and enjoy the greenery, flowers, and the gentle sound of the waterfall. If you would like to visit the inside of the church, you are welcome to do that too (the church is open most hours during the day, and in the evening up until around 9 p.m. or so). The garden is still a‘work in progress’, but enough has been completed so that we may invite people in to spend a few minutes (or as long as you like) away from the outside world.


Points of Interest within the Garden


Shrine with Icon of The Holy Trinity
The Old Testament Trinity, by Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev (+ around 1430), is the primary visual expression of “three persons in one God” in the Orthodox Church. Sometimes entitled The Hospitality of Abraham, the image presents the three men (or angels) that appeared to
Abraham at his house near the “oaks of Mamre” (Genesis 18), three strangers to whom he offered food and shelter. The arrangement of the figuresreflects the circle of unbroken love and unity of will that exists among the three persons of the Holy Trinity.


Japanese Style Rock Garden, representing the 'Old Testament Trinity'
This rock arrangement is inspired by the Rublev icon nearby in the garden, and is mean to complement it. It shows in abstract form the main figures of the Trinity in the Rublev icon, but also includes
rocks that represent Abraham and Sarah, major characters
in the Old Testament narrative, who are also included in
many other painted versions of this icon.

The Pond and Waterfall
Water carries a great variety of profound symbolism within the Christian faith. The two most basic associations are that water is cleansing, (and here lies its connection with Baptism), and that it is necessary for all life, plant and animal. The quotation at the beginning of this page contains words spoken by Jesus when we asked the Samaritan Woman at the well for a drink of water. The woman is initially startled that Jesus says
to her 'Give me a drink', because the Jewish people did not normally
associate with Samaritans. When she initially resists, Jesus says "If
you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you
would have asked Him and He would have given you living water."
This living water is Jesus Himself, something the woman gradually
comes to understand during her encounter with the Son of God.


The Wooden Cross
The Cross is truly the central focus of the Christian faith. Christians believe that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became a real human being and endured real suffering and death on the cross for our salvation. In the Orthodox faith, however, we do not believe that Jesus died in order to satisfy some desire for revenge, certainly not on the part of God the Father! The Son of God became human in order to sanctify
and make holy every aspect of our human nature, including death. By accepting death, Jesus sanctified it, and conquered it. That is why we sing in our hymns 'Through the Cross joy has come into all the world.' By dying on the Cross, Jesus has 'trampled down death by death, and bestows life among those in the tombs.'

THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FAITH
Many people think of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church as the 'Ukrainian,' or 'Romanian' church. Indeed, the founders of this church did bring Orthodox Christianity to Moose Jaw from their homelands in Europe. But the Orthodox faith transcends ethnic boundaries, and members of our church (many of them converts) come from all sorts of ethnic back- grounds. We are no longer only the  'Ukrainian church.' We want to be a church for the entire community of Moose Jaw.

The Orthodox faith is very much about BEAUTY. One of God’s most characteristic qualities is Beauty. His creation of the world, His love for mankind, His gift of Jesus Christ to the world, all these things are beautiful. This is why the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky could state as a theological truth 'Beauty will save the world.'

If you find the grounds of our garden, 'Living Water’ beautiful, then you will also find our worship beautiful. The beauty of the garden and of our worship reflect the beauty of God Himself, and are meant to give glory to Him. We invite you to enjoy our garden, and to join us in worship, both as means to experience the Beauty of God.