St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church Lowell, Massachusetts

Transcription

1 St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church Lowell, Massachusetts The Theophany of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great January 6, 2019

2 ST. GEORGE ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH The Most Reverend Metropolitan JOSEPH Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America The Right Revered Bishop JOHN, Diocese of Worcester and New England Rt. Rev. Archmandrite Leonard Faris Pastor of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church 44 Bowers Street, Lowell, MA Web: Phone: (978) Fax: (978) Facebook: Sunday: Matins (Orthros) Service 9:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m. WORSHIP SERVICE Sunday School: Every other Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Church Office Hours;: Tuesday through Friday, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Divine Liturgy begins at 10:00 a.m. and we should not arrive late. When we do arrive late and the Epistle or Gospel is being read or the priest is preaching the sermon or the Great Entrance is taking place, please REMAIN in the Vestibule until it is finished before entering the Church. At the end of the Divine Liturgy please keep your conversation until the Coffee Hour. We should leave the Church in silence. Important Notice: The reception of Holy Communion is limited to Orthodox Christians who have prepared themselves by prayer, fasting and recent Confession. Confessions are heard on Sunday mornings during the Matins Service or by special appointment. The Eucharistic Fast begins at midnight on Saturday and ends up with the receiving of Holy Communion. If you are on medication or a young child, you can have a light breakfast before coming to church. If you have any questions, please call Fr. Leonard. Thank you, Father Leonard Prayer Requests and Bulletin News: All prayer requests and articles for the weekly bulletin must be submitted each week by Noon, Tuesday: ed to Fr. Leonard at fatherfaris@comcast.net or call , otherwise, the requests and articles will be published the following week. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT If anyone is in the hospital it is the duty of the family to inform the priest so that he can visit the patient. Also, if anyone is homebound and would like to receive Holy Communion, he/she or a family member should contact Fr. Leonard to make arrangements to bring the Sacrament to the shut-in. Fr. Leonard is always happy to bring the Sacraments to those in Hospitals, Nursing Homes or at home. Thank you and God bless!

3 Troparion of the Theophany of Christ, Tone 1 When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, worship of the Trinity wast made manifest; for the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, calling Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the likeness of a dove confirmed the truth of His word. O Christ our God, Who hast appeared and enlightened the world, glory to Thee. Entrance Hymn Ha-lum-mu lu li-nas-judu, lil-nar-ka lil-ma-sih, khal-lis-na ya bna l-lah, ya man qa-ma min bal-nil-am-wat, li-nu-rat-til la-ka, Hal-li-lu-ia Troparion of the Theophany of Christ, Tone 1 (repeated) Kontakion of the Theopany of Christ, Tone 4 On this day Thou hast appeared unto the whole world, and Thy light, O Sovereign Lord, is signed on us who sing Thy praise and chant with knowledge: Thou hast now come, Thou hast appeared, O Thou Light unapproachable. ALTAR BREAD Today s Altar Bread is being offered for the health and safety of the parishioners of St. George and their families.

4 THE EPISTLE Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever. The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to Titus. (2:11-15; 3:4-7) My son Titus, the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world; awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for Himself a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds. Declare these things; exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by His grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. THE GOSPEL The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (3:13-17) At that time, Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented Him, saying, I need to be baptized by Thee, and Thou dost come to me? But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on Him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased.

5 Prayers are being offered for the Health and Safety of: Nora Abdelahad Connie Abodeely Kathy Ansara Lorice Ansara Phyllis Arsenault Siham Bahou Ray Beaudry June Behrakis Ed & Lillian Betor David and Cindy Boragine Ida Boragine George Ellis Athanasia Grivas Veronique, Annabelle & Chloe Groff Duayne Habib Rosalind Hajjar & Family Sam Halperin & Family Lloyd Jennings Joe Kadir Nabil Khoury Fr. Stephen and Family Rose Lowe Marcotte Family Lynn Marccotte Thomas Marcotte Clemence Maria Robert Maria Megan MacDonald Fred Noonan Helen Poulos Julia and Brian Sapienza Amad Tayebi Jack Trottier Dr. Vartan & Lisa Yeghiazarians & Family Michael Wade Genia Yeghiazarians Prayers are being offered in Memory of: Charles Abdelahad George Abodeely Miriam Abodeely Toula Anasoulis Andrew Ansara Elias Ansara John Ansara Maurice Ansara Michael Ansara Gladys Assaly Linda Assaly Yaacoub Awad Juliette Bahou Laurice Bahou Widad Batten James Jimmy Beaudry Dorothy Boragine Sal Boragine Cleopatra Bouras David Burs Robert Coviello Austin Dufault Fred Ead Frances Ellis Frank Ellis George & Elsie Faris Mary T. Faris Mary V. Faris Elizabeth & Joseph Ghareeb Elias Grivas George P. Habib Philip Hajjar Dorothea Husson Eleanor Husson N. Mary Husson Terry Husson Kadir Lissa Kowalski George Lowe Efthymios & Paraskevi Manolis George Matook Anthony Matysczak Nafie Moses Kay Moulton Frederick & Matilda Noonan Paul Panagopoulos, Sr. Anisse Saad Hanna Saad Mary Saati George W. & Mary Saba Badawi Sabbouh Eleanor Shalhoup Fred Simon Chakeep Skaff Judy Skaff Mildred & Arthur Skaff Minnie Skaff Nellie Husson Skaff Ricky Skaff Stephen Skaff T. Michael Skaff Edmond Solomon J. B. Taleb Elaine Vieira Robert & Julia Wonneberger Leon Yeghiazarians Charles Zaharias Mary Ann Zaharias Hilda Zananiri Nahil Zananiri MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE ETERNAL!!

6 MEMORIAL SERVICE - Next Sunday, January 13th A 6 month Memorial Service will be offered for the repose of the soul of the Servant of God, Elias Grivas, requested by his wife, children and grandchildren. May his memory be eternal. A three year Memorial Service will be offered for the repose of the soul of the Handmaid of God, Frances Ann Ellis, requested by her husband, George. May her memory be eternal. COFFEE HOUR In honor of the Feast of the Epiphany and the Feast of St. Basil, we will bless the Vasilopita and serve it with coffee. It is given for the health and safety of all the parishioners and their families and for Fr. Leonard and his family. Given by Fr. Leonard. COMING UP Wed. 1/9 6:30 pm Parish Council Meeting in Church Hall Wed. 1/16 7:00 pm Adult Education Class in Rectory Wed. 1/30 7:00 pm Adult Education Class in Rectory

7 Feast of the Theophany of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Theophany is the Feast which reveals the Most Holy Trinity to the world through the Baptism of the Lord. God the Father spoke from Heaven about the Son, the Son was baptized by Saint John the Forerunner, and the Holy Spirit descended upon the Son in the form of a dove. From ancient times this Feast was called the Day of Illumination and the Feast of Lights, since God is Light and has appeared to illumine those who sat in darkness, and in the region of the shadow of death and to save the fallen race of mankind by grace. In the ancient Church it was the custom to baptize catechumens at the Vespers of Theophany, so that Baptism also is revealed as the spiritual illumination of mankind. The origin of the Feast of Theophany goes back to Apostolic times, and it is mentioned in The Apostolic Constitutions. From the second century we have the testimony of Saint Clement of Alexandria concerning the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, and the night vigil before this Feast. There is a third century dialogue about the services for Theophany between the holy martyr Hippolytus and Saint Gregory the Wonderworker. In the following centuries, from the fourth to ninth century, all the great Fathers of the Church: Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Ambrose of Milan, John of Damascus, commented on the Feast of Theophany. The monks Joseph the Studite, Theophanes and Byzantios composed much liturgical music for this Feast, which is sung at Orthodox services even today. Saint John of Damascus said that the Lord was baptized, not because He Himself had need for cleansing, but to bury human sin by water, to fulfill the Law, to reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and finally, to sanctify the nature of water and to offer us the form and example of Baptism. On the Feast of the Baptism of Christ, the Holy Church proclaims our faith in the most sublime mystery, incomprehensible to human intellect, of one God in three Persons. It teaches us to confess and glorify the Holy Trinity, one in Essence and Undivided. It exposes and overthrows the errors of ancient teachings which attempted to explain the Creator of the world by reason, and in human terms. The Church shows the necessity of Baptism for believers in Christ, and it inspires us with a sense of deep gratitude for the illumination and purification of our sinful nature. The Church teaches that our salvation and cleansing from sin is possible only by the power of the grace of the Holy Spirit, therefore it is necessary to preserve worthily these gifts of the grace of holy Baptism, keeping clean this priceless garb, for As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. On the day of Theophany, all foods are permitted, even if the Feast falls on a Wednesday or Friday.

8 Good Health to All! Robert and Elaine Maria & Family