HOLY ASCENSION PARISH NEWSLETTER, DECEMBER 2010

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1 HOLY ASCENSION PARISH NEWSLETTER, DECEMBER 2010 PART 1. OUR PARISH. The Holy Ascension parish welcomes all Orthodox people to its sacraments and all people with an interest in Christianity and the abiding Tradition of the Holy Orthodox Church. The immediate Holy Ascension parish background is Russian émigré and American, with many other English-speaking members. Members, visitors, and people in touch online come from all ethnicities. The Church is One. PART 2. INFANT BAPTISMS. Bishop Joseph is pleased to announce the baptisms of two infants who are first cousins. Infant Zoia Richart, daughter of Mr & Mrs Jeremy and Maria Richart was born n October 11, and baptized on October 30. Infant Anastasia Frick, daughter of Subdeacon and Mrs Andrew and Ksenia Frick was born on November 21, and will be baptized in December. The little girls are grand-daughters of Subdeacon John and Mrs Nadia Herbst. PART 3. BOOKSTORE. The store has the 2011 church calendar on sale for $5. ENTRY OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS INTO THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE THE HOLY ASCENSION ORTHODOX CHURCH is the Washington, DC, parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA), under the omophor (or the conciliar leadership) of Metropolitan Agafangel (Pashkovsky), Bishop of Odessa & Taurida. The Holy Ascension Parish was organized on Ascension Day, 17 May BISHOPS & LOCAL CLERGY Metropolitan Agafangel, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York, and Bishop of Odessa & Taurida Bishop Joseph (Hrebinka) of Washington John Hinton, deacon Seraphim Englehardt, subdeacon Andrew Frick subdeacon John Herbst, subdeacon 3921 UNIVERSITY DRIVE, FAIRFAX VA [In both Russian and English] PART 4. ENTRY OF THE THEOTOKOS INTO THE TEMPLE. The Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple is a liturgical feast celebrated in Orthodox Churches and in the Roman Catholic tradition. The feast is associated with an event recounted not in the New Testament but in the apocryphal Infancy Narrative of James. According to that text, Mary's parents Joachim and Anna, who had been childless, received a heavenly message that they would bear a child. In thanksgiving for the gift of their daughter, they brought her, when still a child, to the Temple on Jerusalem to consecrate her to God. Mary remained in the Temple until puberty, at which point she was assigned to Joseph as her Guardian. Later versions of the story (such as the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary) tell us that Mary was taken to the Temple at around the age of three in fulfillment of a vow. Tradition held that she was to remain there to be educated in preparation for her role as Mother of God. 2

2 The feast originated as a result of the dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary the New, built in 543 by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, near the site of the ruined Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. This basilica was destroyed by the armies of Sassanian Persia, led by Khusroe II, after the Jerusalem Siege of 614, but the feast continued its celebration throughout the East. The feast was celebrated in the monasteries of southern Italy by the ninth century and was later introduced into the Papal The Orthodox Church celebrates the ENTRY as one of its 12 Great Feasts, with the first documented celebration of the feast in any calendar being its mention as the Εἴσοδος τῆς Παναγίας Θεοτόκου (Entry of the All-Holy Theotokos) that is, the Entry Into the Temple) in the 11th-century menology of the Byzantine emperor Basil II. food at home and by preparation and service at the church. A volunteer may also bring monastic food for Bishop Joseph on Sundays that are not already Lenten fasts. Currently a regular schedule also designates a family that is responsible for cleaning the church after the services. The duty is for one month at a time. If you wish to volunteer, please see the warden/starosta, Mr Gontscharow. Saturday, November 27, Vigil at 5 PM. Sunday, November 28, the 27 th Sunday After Pentecost. Hours & Divine Liturgy at 9:40 AM. NATIVITY FAST STARTS. Wednesday, December 1, Vespers & Akathist at 6:30 PM. Friday, December 3, Vigil at 6:30 PM. Saturday, December 4, ENTRY OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS. Hours & Divine Liturgy at 8:40 AM. Fast: Fish, wine, & oil allowed. Saturday, December 4, Vigil at 5 PM. Sunday, December 5, the 28 th Sunday After Pentecost. Hours & Divine Liturgy at 9:40 AM. AFTERFEAST OF THE ENTRY OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS INTO THE TEMPLE. Fast: Fish, wine, & oil allowed. Wednesday, December 8, Vespers & Akathist at 7:00 PM. ENTRY OF THE ALL-HOLY THEOTOKOS INTO THE TEMPLE Saturday, December 11, Vigil at 4:30 PM. Sunday, September 12, the 29 th Sunday After Pentecost. Hours & Divine Liturgy at 9:40AM. MARTYR PARAMON. Fast: Fish, wine, & oil allowed. Wednesday, December 15, Vespers & Akathist at 6:30 PM. PART 5. DECEMBER LITURGIES BY CIVIL DATE All Sunday Liturgies begin at 10:00 AM. A luncheon buffet always follows. Volunteers may offer to help with luncheon fare by cooking 3 Saturday, December 18, Vigil at 5 PM. Sunday, December 19, the 30 th Sunday After Pentecost. Hours & Divine Liturgy at 9:40 AM. SAINT NICHOLAS. Fast: Fish, wine, & oil allowed. 4

3 Wednesday, December 22, Vespers & Akathist at 6:30 PM. Saturday, December 25, Vigil at 5 PM. Sunday, December 26, SUNDAY OF THE FOREFATHERS, & the 31 st Sunday After Pentecost. Hours & Liturgy at 9:40 PM. SUNDAY OF THE HOLY FOREFATHERS. Fast: Fish, wine, & oil allowed. Wednesday, December 29, Vespers & Akathist at 6:30 PM. Saturday, January 1, Vigil at 5 PM. Sunday, January 2, the 32 d Sunday After Pentecost. Hours & Divine Liturgy at 9:40 AM. FOREFEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. SUNDAY OF THE HOLY FATHERS. Fast: Fish, wine, & oil allowed. Wednesday, December 29, Vespers & Akathist at 6:30 PM. Thursday, January 6, Vigil at 6:40 AM. EVE OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST. ROYAL HOURS, TYPICA, GREAT VESPERS, AND DIVINE LITURGY. Fast: Wine & oil allowed but not fish. Friday, January 7. NATIVITY OF OUR LORD. Hours & Divine Liturgy at 9:40 AM. PART 6. THE 40-DAY FAST AND THE LESSER HOLIDAYS BEFORE THE NATIVITY, USING JULIAN CALENDAR DATES. A. The fast before Christmas is a period of abstinence and penance practiced by the Orthodox Christians in preparation for the NATIVITY OF CHRIST (December 25, civil date January 7). The Nativity Fast is less severe than the Great Lent or the Dormition fasts. The fast is, however, longer than the western Advent season, running for 40 days instead of four weeks, observed from 14 November until 24 December. Sometimes the fast is called Saint Philip's Fast (or the Philippian Fast) because it begins on the day following the Feast of St Phillip the Apostle (November 14). Just when the St Philip s designated fast nominally ends, the fast of the Forefeast of the Nativity begins immediately. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, these winter fasts traditionally exclude eating red meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products, fish, oil, and wine. Fish, wine, and oil are allowed on some Saturdays and Sundays, and oil and wine alone are also allowed on some Tuesdays 5 and Thursdays. The fasting rules permit fish, or wine and oil, or all three on certain feast days that occur during the course of the Nativity fast: the Evangelist Matthew (November 16), the Apostle Andrew (November 30), the Great-Martyr Barbara (December 4), Saint Nicholas (December 6), Saint Spyridon (December 12), and Saint Ignatius (December 20). SAINT NICHOLAS SAVES THREE INNOCENTS FROM DEATH oil painting by Ilya Repin, 6 Orthodox fasting rules exempt all people who are sick; very young, or very old; or nursing mothers from fasting. Each person is expected to confer with his confessor regarding his exemptions, but no one should ever put himself in physical danger because of fasting rigor. A. Some ambiguity surrounds the restriction on eating fish--whether the restriction allows eating invertebrate fish and shellfish rules vary by jurisdiction. jurisdiction, but all rules insist that no scaly fish may be eaten from the Julian December 20 until darkness on the Julian December 24 The Eve of the Nativity (Julian December 24) is a strict fast day, and is also called Christmas Eve or Paramony (literally, preparation), on which no solid food should be eaten until the first star is seen in the evening sky (or at the very least, until after the Vesperal Divine Liturgy that day. B. During the course of the fasts, several lesser feast days celebrate Old Testament prophets who foretold the Incarnation--for instance: Obadiah (November 19), Nahum (December 1), Habbakuk (December 2), Zephaniah (December 3), Haggai December 16), and Daniel and the Three Holy Youths (December 17). These last four are significant not only because of their perseverance in fasting, but also because their preservation unharmed in the fiery furnace is symbolic of the Incarnation the Theotokos conceived God the Word in her

4 womb without being consumed by the fire of the Godhead. C. As is true of all four Orthodox fasts, at least one great feast falls during the course of the fast--the Entry of the Theotokos (November 21). After the apodosis (the leave-taking) of that feast, hymns of the Nativity are chanted on Sundays and higher ranking feast days. The liturgical Forefeast of the Nativity begins on December 20, and concludes with the Christmas Eve - Paramony on December 24. During this time, the Church chants hymns of the Nativity every day. In Russian usage the textile hangings in the church are changed to the festive color (usually white) at the beginning of the Forefeast. D. The Sunday of the Forefathers falls two Sundays before Nativity, when the Church recalls the ancestors of Our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the flesh, both before and after the giving of the Law of Moses. The Menaion contains a full set of hymns for this day that are chanted with the regular Sunday hymns from the Octoechos. These hymns commemorate Biblical persons, especially the Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Young Men. There are also special Epistle (Colossians 3:4-11) and Gospel (Luke 14:16-24) readings appointed for the Divine Liturgy on this day. E. The Sunday of the Holy Fathers falls one Sunday before Nativity. It is even broader in its scope of commemoration than the previous Sunday. It commemorates all of the righteous men and women who pleased God from the time of Creation up until the time of Saint Joseph the chaste spouse. In the vespers portion of the All- Night Vigil, three Old Testament parables (paroemia) are read. The Epistle read at the Divine Liturgy is a selection from Hebrews 11:9-40; the Gospel is the Genealogy of Christ from the Gospel of Matthew. F. Christmas Eve can traditionally be called Paramony (Greek: παραµονή, Slavonic: navechérie). Christmas Eve is observed as a strict fast day, on which those faithful who are physically able to, refrain from food until the first star is observed in the evening, when they may consume a meal with wine and oil. On this day the Royal Hours are celebrated in the morning. Some of the hymns are similar to those of Theophany and Holy Friday, thus tying the symbolism of Christ's Nativity to his Death on the Cross. The Royal Hours are followed by the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil, which combines Vespers with the Divine Liturgy. During the Vespers, eight Old Testament parables are read that prefigure or prophesy the 7 Incarnation of Christ, and special antiphons are chanted. If the Feast of the Nativity falls on a Sunday or Monday, the Royal Hours are chanted on the previous Friday, and on the Christmas Eve, the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is celebrated in the morning, with its readings and antiphons, and the fasting rules are lessened so that a meal with wine and oil can be eaten after the Liturgy. The All-Night Vigil on the night of December 24, consists of Great Compline, Matins, and the First Hour. One of the highlights of Great Compline is the exultant chanting of "God is with us!" interspersed between selected verses Isaiah 8:9-18, foretelling the triumph of the Kingdom of God and Isaiah 9:2-7, foretelling the birth of the Messiah (For unto us a child is born... and he shall be called... the Mighty God). The Orthodox do not serve a midnight liturgy on Christmas Eve. The Divine Liturgy for the Nativity of Christ is celebrated the next morning. However, those monasteries that continue to celebrate the All-Night Vigil in its long form where it literally lasts throughout the night keep the conclusion of the Vigil at dawn on Christmas morning and may go directly into the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. When the Vigil is separate from the Divine Liturgy, the Lenten fast continues until even after the Vigil, until the end of the Liturgy the next morning. G. The Afterfeast of the Nativity begins on December 25 after 8 Saint Nicholas, Russian icon from first quarter of 18 th cent.

5 Divine Liturgy. The days until January 4 make a fast-free period. Orthodox fasting resumes on the Eve of the Theophany (January 5). H. Many special Nativity of Christ writings will appear in the January 2010 newsletter. Please report difficulties with newsletter distribution and, by all means, report newsletter corrections to the newsletter preparer, Patrick Brown ~ hpcjfbrown@cox.net. 9