SCHEDULE OF DIVINE SERVICES

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1 WEEKLY e-bulletin SAINT ELIA THE PROPHET ORTHODOX CHURCH A Parish of the Orthodox Church in America 64 West Wilbeth Road, Akron, Ohio Church Hall: Office: His Grace Alexander, Bishop of Toledo, Bulgarian Diocese, OCA Archpriest Father Don Anthony Freude, Parish Rector Protodeacon Joel M. Chupp, Attached Sunday, January 15, 2017 Vol. 33 No, 3 SCHEDULE OF DIVINE SERVICES 30 th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST Tone 5 Venerable Paul of Thebes and John Calabytes Saturday, January 14 NO VESPERS SCHEDULED Fr. Don will be attending a Diocesan Trustees Meeting in Toledo Sunday, January 15 9:45 am Hours: Sue Ellen Turscak 10:00 am Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom Epistle Reader: Sue Ellen Turscak EPISTLE: Colossians 3:12-16 GOSPEL: Luke 18: st SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST Tone 6 SANCTITY OF LIFE SUNDAY Apostle Timothy of the Seventy. Monk Martyr Anastasius the Persian Saturday, January 21 5:00 pm Great Vespers and Confessions Sunday, January 22 9:45 am Hours: Reader Michael Luc 10:00 am Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom Epistle Reader: Reader Michael Luc EPISTLE: 1 Timothy 1:15-17 GOSPEL: Luke 18:35-43

2 We WELCOME ALL visitors to the Divine Liturgy. While Holy Communion may only be received by prepared Orthodox Christians, our non-orthodox guests are welcome to join us in venerating the Cross and receiving the blessed bread at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy and join us for Coffee Hour. REMEMBER THOSE SERVING IN THE ARMED FORCES Anthony Freude, son of Fr. Don and Popadia Donna Freude Egor Cravcenco, son of Serghei and Ludmila Cravcenco REMEMBER OUR SICK AND SHUT-INS Mickey Stokich Leonora Evancho Bessie Alexandrovich Larissa Freude Anastasia Haymon Joseph Boyle, (Kathy Grays brother) Joseph Boyle (Kathy Gray s father) Phyllis George (sister of Rose Marie Vronick Connie Pysell Lisa Nastoff Mary Drakage (sister-in-law of Fr. Don and Popadia Donna) Please see Fr. Don for contact info. Addresses are never published in the e-bulletin. Matushka Laryssa Huntyan (St. Andrew Church, Maple Heights, Ohio) Reader Bill Paluch Elaine Pedder PROSPHORA OFFERiNG Michele Lambo COFFEE HOUR Eve Nelson Tavenier ADVENT FOOD BAG DONATIONS St. Elia has provided 271 pounds of food donation to the Food Bank for a distribution of 226 meals for those in need. May God be glorified. Our Stewardship: January 8, 2017 PARKING LOT DONATIONS Sunday Offering: $1, To Date: $16, Improvement Fund: Candles: CHURCH PAINTING PROJECT TOTAL $1, To Date: $3,600.00

3 PARISH COUNCIL MEETING A combined meeting of the 2016 and 2017 Parish Council Meeting will be held on Tuesday evening, January 17 th at 7:00 pm ANNUAL MEETING The Annual Parish Meeting of St. Elia the Prophet Orthodox Church has been changed to SUNDAY JANUARY 29, 2017 following the Divine Liturgy. There will be a covered dish dinner to follow. A General Parish Meeting was held ON Sunday, November 20, 2016, following the Divine Liturgy. The Members for the 2017 Parish Council were elected and will be installed at the Annual Meeting: (in alphabetical order) Subdeacon Terrence Bilas, Veronica Bilas, John Bohush, Bud Graham, Reader Aaron Gray, Michele Lambo, Reader Joseph Turner, Sue Ellen Turscak. Many Years! All are encouraged to attend and participate in important past-year assessment and next year planning session for our parish. The 2017 Parish Council will be installed. The minutes will be read, the Treasurer s Report, the Sisterhood Report, Church School Report and the Rector s Report will be presented. CHURCH SCHOOL Our Church School classes are held on Sunday mornings in the Church Hall following the Holy Communion of the Divine Liturgy. Q&A Questions and Answers for adults follow the Divine Liturgy in Church. Orthodox Christian Women The Annual OCW Winter Mini-Retreat will be held this coming Saturday, January 1, :30 a.m. 12 noon, at Presentation of Our Lord Church, 3365 Ridgewood Road, Fairlawn. Speaker: Rick Newton, PhD Continental breakfast will be served. PRIESTHOOD ORDINATION Bishop Alexander will ordain Deacon Mikel Hill to the Priesthood on Saturday, January 28 th, 2017 at St. Nikolay Mission Alliance, Ohio. The Bishop will be greeted at 9:00 am and the Divine Liturgy will begin at 9:30 am Following Fr. Mikel s graduation at St. Tikhon Seminary, he will be assigned as Parish Priest of St. Nikolay Mission in Alliance, Ohio

4 THIS WEEK: FEAST DAYS AND SCRIPTURE READINGS Monday, January 16 Veneration of the Precious Chains of the Holy and All-glorious and Apostle Peter Hebrews 11:17-23,27-31 Mark 9:42-10:1 Tuesday, January 17 Venerable and God-bearing Father Anthony the Great Hebrews 13:17-21 Luke 6:17-23 Wednesday., January 18 Saints Athanasius the Great and Cyril, Archbishops of Alexandria Fast Day James 1:1-18 Mark 10:11-16 Thursday, January 19 Venerable Macarius of Egypt James 1:19-27 Mark 10:17-27 Friday, January 20 Venerable Euthymius the Great - Fast Day Hebrews 13:17-21 Luke 6:17-23 Saturday, January 21 Venerable Maximus the Confessor Colossians 1:3-6 Luke 16:10-15 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 2017 Stewardship The rich man is not one who has much, but one who gives much, for what he gives away remains his forever. St. John Chrysostom In filling out your 2017 Membership/Pledge Card, please consider that your gift is a spiritual exercise. A primary goal of Stewardship is to promote spiritual growth and strengthen faith. Prayerfully consider how God has blessed you. In true stewardship, we are giving back to God with joy in thanksgiving for what He has done for us. Stewardship cheerfully offers back to God a portion of the gifts with which we have been blessed. Please turn in your 2017 Membership/Pledge Card before the Annual Meeting on January 22 nd, As of the printing of this Weekly Bulletin 13 Membership/Pledge Cards have been returned representing 17 members CHURCH OFFERING ENVELOPES Your Offering Envelops for 2016 are available on the front pew. Please pick your box up along with your Membership Pledge Card

5 Venerable and God-bearing Father Anthony the Great January 17 Saint Anthony the Great is known as the Father of monasticism, and the long ascetical sermon in The Life of Saint Anthony by Saint Athanasius (Sections 16-34), could be called the first monastic Rule. He was born in Egypt in the village of Coma, near the desert of the Theobald, in the year 251. His parents were pious Christians of illustrious lineage. Anthony was a serious child and was respectful and obedient to his parents. He loved to attend church services, and he listened to the Holy Scripture so attentively, that he remembered what he heard all his life. When Saint Anthony was about twenty years old, he lost his parents, but he was responsible for the care of his younger sister. Going to church about six months later, the youth reflected on how the faithful, in the Acts of the Apostles (4:35), sold their possessions and gave the proceeds to the Apostles for the needy. Then he entered the church and heard the Gospel passage where Christ speaks to the rich young man: If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me (Mt.19:21). Anthony felt that these words applied to him. Therefore, he sold the property that he received after the death of his parents, then distributed the money to the poor, and left his sister in the care of pious virgins in a convent. Leaving his parental home, Saint Anthony began his ascetical life in a hut not far from his village. By working with his hands, he was able to earn his livelihood and also alms for the poor. Sometimes, the holy youth also visited other ascetics living in the area, and from each he sought direction and benefit. He turned to one particular ascetic for guidance in the spiritual life. In the year 311 there was a fierce persecution against Christians, in the reign of the emperor Maximian. Wishing to suffer with the holy martyrs, Saint Anthony left the desert and went to Alexandria. He openly ministered to those in prison, he was present at the trial and interrogations of the confessors, and accompanying the martyrs to the place of execution. It pleased the Lord to preserve him, however, for the benefit of Christians. At the close of the persecution, the saint returned to the desert and continued his exploits. The Lord granted the saint the gift of wonderworking, casting out demons and healing the sick by the power of his prayer. The great crowds of people coming to him disrupted his solitude, and

6 he went off still farther, into the inner desert where he settled atop a high elevation. But the brethren of the monasteries sought him out and asked him to visit their communities. Another time Saint Anthony left the desert and arrived in Alexandria to defend the Orthodox Faith against the Manichaean and Arian heresies. Knowing that the name of Saint Anthony was venerated by all the Church, the Arians said that he adhered to their heretical teaching. But Saint Anthony publicly denounced Arianism in front of everyone and in the presence of the bishop. During his brief stay at Alexandria, he converted a great multitude of pagans to Christ. People from all walks of life loved the saint and sought his advice. Pagan philosophers once came to Abba Anthony intending to mock him for his lack of education, but by his words he reduced them to silence. Emperor Constantine the Great (May 21) and his sons wrote to Saint Anthony and asked him for a reply. He praised the emperor for his belief in Christ, and advised him to remember the future judgment, and to know that Christ is the true King. Saint Anthony spent eighty-five years in the solitary desert. Shortly before his death, he told the brethren that soon he would be taken from them. He instructed them to preserve the Orthodox Faith in its purity, to avoid any association with heretics, and not to be negligent in their monastic struggles. Strive to be united first with the Lord, and then with the saints, so that after death they may receive you as familiar friends into the everlasting dwellings. The saint instructed two of his disciples, who had attended him in the final fifteen years of his life, to bury him in the desert and not in Alexandria. He left one of his monastic mantles to Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (January 18), and the other to Saint Serapion of Thumris (March 21). Saint Anthony died peacefully in the year 356, at age 105, and he was buried in the desert by his disciples. The Life of the famed ascetic Saint Anthony the Great was written by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria. This is the first biography of a saint who was not a martyr, and is considered to be one of the finest of Saint Athanasius writings. Saint John Chrysostom recommends that this Life be read by every Christian.