1. RESURRECTION TROPAR:

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1 St. Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church 1100 Hicksville Rd. Seaford, NY, Rev. Fr. Andrew Gromm (516) / stgregoryseaford@gmail.com Website: Sunday Mornings: Hours- 9:15, Liturgy- 9:30, Church School- 10:40 Bible Study Sundays, 5:00 PM June 17, 2018 / Third Sunday After Pentecost Epistle: Romans 5:1-10; Gospel: Matthew 6:22-33; Tone 2 Commemorations: St. Isaurus, St. Paul & Companions (+284); St. Manuel, St. Sabel and St. Ismael of Persia (+362); St. Botolph (+680); St. Shalva (+1227); St. Maximus Popov (+1934). Happy Fathers Day!!! Panakida: Today s Panakida is in memory of our parish s fathers and grandfathers. Change: The Vespers service is changed from June 23rd to June 30th. Fast: The Apostles Fast is ongoing and ends June 30th. It is not as strict as Great Lent, but it is another of the Church year s fasting times for the refining of our souls and bodies. Retreats: The Young Women s Retreat is July 1-4 in Johnstown, PA for ages And the Altar Boy Retreat occurs at the same time and place. Flyers for them are in the kitchen. Goodies: Pieroghi and kielbasi are still for sale in the kitchen! Stocks: Please take a few moments to read the letter from our Deanery included in this bulletin. To participate in the growing and vibrant activity of our Deanery, please see our agent, Hannah, to make your investment in our Orthodox Youth Mission Team. Parish Finances: Last week s expenses were $2574. Weekly Specials: Birthdays= Sylvia Meyers on the 20th and Victoria Muck on the 21st. Prayers: Health for Kathleen, Martha, Eugenia, Gregory, Elizabeth, Anthony, Mary, Chris, Mary, Anna, Lydia, Anne, Frank, Paul, Maria, Danielle, Adriana, Mary and Dana. He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his Mother. St. Cyprian of Carthage (+258) Rubrics for the Third Sunday after Pentecost 1. RESURRECTION TROPAR: (Tone 2) When You submitted to death, O Immortal Life, * You made death powerless by the radiance of Your Divinity. * When You raised the dead from the depths of the earth, * all the heavenly powers exclaimed: * O Giver of Life, Christ our God, Glory to You! 2. RESURRECTION KONDAK: (Tone 2) Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. You arose from the dead, O Almighty Savior! * Death witnessed the miracle and was filled with fear, as the dead arose. * All creation beheld it and rejoices in You * even Adam rejoices. * The universe exalts You, O my Savior, forever.

2 3. BOHORODICA: (Tone 2) Now and ever and forever. Amen. O Birthgiver of God, all your mysteries * surpass understanding and every glory. * For being sealed in purity and perfectly intact in your virginity, * you became a real mother by giving birth to God the Word. * Intercede with Him for the salvation of our souls. 4. PROKIMENON: (Tone 2) The Lord is my strength and my song and He is my salvation. v. The Lord has chastened me sorely, but He has not given me over to death. (Psalm 118:18) 5. THE EPISTLE LESSON: (Romans 5:1-10) The Reading is from the holy Apostle Paul to the Romans. Brethren: Now that we have been justified by faith, we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we have gained access by faith to the grace in which we now stand and we boast of our hope for the glory of God. But not only that, we even boast of our afflictions! We know that affliction makes for endurance, and endurance for tested virtue, and tested virtue for hope. And this hope will not leave us disappointed because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. At the appointed time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for us godless men. It is rare that anyone should lay down his life for a just man, though it is barely possible that for a good man someone may have the courage to die. It is precisely in this that God proves his love for us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Now that we have been justified by his blood, it is all the more certain that we shall be saved by him from God s wrath. For it, when we were God s enemies, we were reconciled to him by the death of his Son, it is all the more certain that we who have been reconciled will be saved by his life. 6. ALLELUIA: (Tone 2) v. May the Lord answer you on the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you. (Psalm 31:1) v. O Lord, give victory to the king; answer us when we call. (Psalm 31:2) 7. THE GOSPEL LESSON: (Matthew 6:22-33) Let Us All Be Attentive: At that time, the Lord said, The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. Therefore, if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness itself! No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will stand by the one & despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore, I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat and drink, nor yet for your body, what you shall wear. Is not life a greater thing than food & the body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you of much more value than they? But which of you by being anxious about it can add to his stature a single cubit? And as for clothing, why are you anxious? See how the lilies of the field grow. They neither toil nor spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. But if God so clothes the wild flower of the field, which today is alive & tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more you, O you of little faith! Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, What are we to wear? (for all these things the Gentiles seek). For your heavenly Father knows you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God & his justice & all the rest shall be given you besides.

3 SUPPORT YOUR DEANERY -MISSIONS PROGRAM- Buy Stock Today! The Deanery s Youth Mission Team members are selling Stock Shares in the Deanery Mission Team. Like any Stock purchase, your contribution will yield dividends. In this case, the dividends are the Missionary efforts of our Deanery Youth and Adult Chaperones. Stock holders will be invited to a Share Holders meeting at the end of each fiscal year to learn about the Deanery s Mission activities and to hear about the particular dividends earned! Become an active Missionary by financially supporting the Deanery s Mission Team today! A Trip to the Holy Land -ALMOST FULL! ----October Join Fr. Andrew & Matushka Charity on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We will follow in the footsteps of our Lord through the Holy Land visiting and praying in Churches, Monasteries and historic sites. We will be visiting the Church of the Resurrection, Golgotha, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, Nazareth, Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives and more! The cost is only $3, Only a few spaces are still available. See the brochure in the Bulletin Board or call Fr. Andrew direct at for more info. Reservations must be made prior to Sunday June 24 th. Camp Nazareth Information 1. The camp bus will follow the same schedule as last year. It departs July 15 & returns July The Bus line is Anderson Coach & Travel out of Mercer PA. 4. The cost is $85 per rider. 5. Campers should have a bagged lunch for the ride out. Drinks must have a secured top. No milk or peanuts please. 6. Campers will receive $5 on the return trip for the customary McDonald's stop. 7. Please have the names of the campers, emergency contact information and fees sent to Fr. John Pribish no later than Saturday June 30th. 8. Checks should be made out to: New Jersey Deanery.

4 National Jr. ACRY Announces Annual Camp Essay Contest If you ve ever been to Camp Nazareth, chances are you can t wait to go back. Wouldn t it be great if you were able to go for free?! Each year, the National Jr. ACRY holds a Camp Essay Contest that anyone across the diocese can enter. If you essay is chosen as the winner, the National Jr. ACRY will pay for one full Diocesan week of camp if you are a National Jr. ACRY member. If you are not a member of the National Jr. ACRY, half of your camping week will be paid for. *Who can enter? - ANYONE, whether a Jr. ACRY member or not. *What is the topic? - Write about/reflect on last year s camp theme: Psalm 86:12 I give thanks to You with my whole heart, and I will glorify Your Name forever. *How long? - The essay must be 200 words or less. *When is it due? - By 12:00 Midnight on Wednesday, June 20, *Where do I send it? - your submissions as either a Word attachment or a GoogleDoc to Jr. Advisor, Rachel Pribish at rachelprib@gmail.com (Be sure to put Camp Essay Contest in the subject line!) Please include your name, address, telephone number, and chapter number or home parish at the conclusion of your essay. This information will be removed by Rachel before the essays are judged anonymously by the board. A decision about the essay contest will be announced on Sunday, June 24th. We look forward to receiving your essays AND seeing you all at that beautiful place in among the mountains this summer! St. Manuel, St. Sabel and St. Ismael The Holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel and Ismael, brothers by birth, were descended from an illustrious Persian family. Their father was a pagan, but their mother was a Christian, who baptized the children and raised them with firm faith in Christ the Savior. When they reached adulthood, the brothers entered military service. Speaking on behalf of the Persian emperor Alamundar, they were his emissaries in concluding a peace treaty with Emperor Julian the Apostate ( ). Julian received them with due honor and showed them his favor. But when the brothers refused to take part in a pagan sacrifice, Julian became angry. He annulled the treaty and jailed the ambassadors of a foreign country like common criminals. At the interrogation he told them that if they scorned the gods he worshipped, it would be impossible to reach any peace or accord between the two sides. The holy brothers answered that they were sent as emissaries of their emperor on matters of state, and not to argue about gods. Seeing their firmness of faith, the emperor ordered the brothers to be tortured. They beat the holy martyrs, then nailed their hands and feet to trees. Later, they drove iron spikes into their heads, and wedged sharp splinters under their fingernails and toenails. During this time of torment the saints glorified God and prayed as if they did not feel the tortures. Finally, the holy martyrs were beheaded. Julian ordered their bodies to be burned, and suddenly there was an earthquake. The ground opened up and the bodies of the holy martyrs disappeared into the abyss. After two days of fervent prayer by the Christians, the earth returned the bodies of the holy brothers, from which a sweet fragrance issued forth. Many pagans, witnessing the miracle, came to believe in Christ and were baptized. Christians reverently buried the bodies of the holy martyrs Manuel, Sabel and Ismael in A.D Since that time the relics of the holy passion-bearers have been glorified with miracles. When he heard about the murder of his emissaries, and that Julian was marching against him with a vast army, the Persian emperor Alamundar mustered his army and started off toward the border of his domain. The Persians vanquished the Greeks in a great battle, and Julian the Apostate was killed by the holy Great Martyr Mercurius.

5 St. Gregory of Nyssa Orthodox Church 1100 Hicksville Rd. Seaford, NY, Rev. Fr. Andrew Gromm (516) / stgregoryseaford@gmail.com Website: Weekly Bible Message June 17, 2018 Two weeks ago, Fr. Andrew s left side of the face was so puffed up from poison ivy that one eye was closed shut. He looked either like a pirate or half Chinese. He could still see with one eye, but even with both eyes, all of us see things as if we had only one eye. This is how our souls should be. The Lord Jesus mentions something to this effect. In the gospel reading, He explains that the lamp of the body is the eye. A good eye is full of the Holy Spirit s light, while a bad eye darkens the soul. Then He spoke about how we must choose between serving God or serving riches. He actually understands why people are so fixated on riches. So He talks about our everyday worries in life. He mentions the basics, like food, drink and clothing for survival. These are quite understandable, but He tells us not to worry about these things because God feeds and clothes the plants and animals. And since we are more valuable to God than animals & plants, He will take care of us so much more. It s interesting that in Christ s days, human survival was not as easy as it is today. We can easily get food and clothes quite cheaply. And yet we are just as worried about getting the money to buy them as in ancient times. But our lives today are not as precarious as in ancient times. Thus, our worries about daily necessities look quite selfish and petty by comparison. The Lord Jesus offers the solution for us, no matter how valid or petty we act. And that is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. It doesn t matter how worried we get; God will take care of us. So the only thing we need to worry is worry itself. Worry may destroy our focus on the real daily necessity, which is God s Kingdom. So if we seek the Holy Spirit first, putting worries aside, our eyes will soon be full of true righteousness.