SAINT JAMES ORTHODOX CHURCH

Transcription

1 SAINT JAMES ORTHODOX CHURCH 195 N. Main Street Milpitas, Ca Matins 8:00 a.m. The Very Reverend Fr. Jiris Hanna (408) Liturgy 10:30 a.m. Sunday May 24 (5/11), 2015 Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council Hieromartyr Mocius (295) Commemoration of the founding of Constantinople (330) أحد االباء القديسين المجتمعين في المجمع االول في مدينة نيقية تذكار القديس الشهيد في الكهنة موكيوس تذكار انشاء مدينة القسطنطينية Matins (Eothina X): John 21:1-14 Epistle: Acts 20:16 18, Gospel: John 17:1 13 Services This Week Tuesday 5/19 at 7pm وداع عيد الفصح Pascha Leavetaking of Wednesday 5/20 at 7pm عيد الصعود Lord The Ascension of Our Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian The Ascension of Our Thursday May 21 T he Great Feast of the Glorious Ascension is the root of our confidence in much of our Christian life. If you lack confidence you need to celebrate and ponder the Glorious Ascension. The Glorious Ascension is the root of our confidence that we can be saved. When we feel overcome by sinful habits and find them so difficult to break, we need only remember our Lord s words, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (St. Matt. 28:18). Christ has ascended to the right hand of the Father. He has all authority in heaven and on earth, and on the basis of that authority he has commissioned His Church to make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them to observe all that He has commanded. Our Savior has Ascended and Reigns to accomplish the task of making us disciples, regenerating us by the Mystery of Holy Baptism, and teaching us to observe His every word. We are His project. He has great interest in our progress, and He has every resource and all power to fulfill the miraculous promises of baptism, and to overcome our weaknesses and powerful destructive habits. Whatever lack in spiritual power you possess, Christ has, and will give to you from the right hand of the Father. When you despair of obtaining heaven remember that human flesh, this dust of the

2 earth, now sits on the throne of the universe. Humanity belongs in heaven. The Glorious Ascension is our confident joy. What could make a lover happier than knowing that the beloved is in a blessed place? If we love Christ, if we have witnessed His unjust and cruel betrayal, trial, mockery, scourging, crucifixion and burial, how can we not now rejoice with joy inexpressible that our Savior, so violently mistreated here on earth, has been exalted to the premier position of the universe at the right hand of the Father, has been vindicated by God before the entire angelic host, and now as the God-Man rules all? This is the meaning of our Lord s words to His disciples, You have heard Me say to you, I am going away, and coming back to you. If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, I am going to the Father (St. Jn. 14:28). The Ascension is the Father s reversal of the judgment of unjust men. Men judged Christ worthy of an ignominious death, but the Father has judged the Son worthy of all authority in heaven and earth. The Glorious Ascension is our confidence to approach the throne of God in worship. What is our confidence that we shall be accepted into the Throne-Room of the Great King? What is the cause of our boldness to go in worship where spotless angels dare to tread? The answer to that is The Glorious Ascension. We have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens so we are able to draw near with confidence (Heb. 4:14-16). May God look from heaven and grant to you every blessing which flows from the Glorious Ascension of Christ. And may we all obtain to that place where Christ has exalted our nature, heaven itself. Christ is ascended! From earth to heaven! خميس الصعود - ٢١ ايار في هذا اليوم. الخميس من األسبوع السادس من الفصح. ن عي د لصعود رب نا وإلهنا ومخل صنا يسوع المسيح إلى السم اء وجلوسه عن يمين اآلب بالمجد. م ثب ت ا تالميذ ه بموعد انسكاب الر وح القدس. فبعد أربعين يوم ا من قيام ت ه وظهوره للت الميذ. يعود الر ب بالمجد إلى أبيه لي عد لنا مكان ا )يو 1- : 14 3(. حامال معه طبيعت نا التي أل ه ها. وواع د ا إي انا بالروح الق د س. ع ربون ذلك المجد ومبدإ تأل ه نا. هذا ما ن سم يه الهوت التأل ه. فقد صار هللا إنسان ا. ألصير أنا اإلنسان إله ا. فيا من صعد بمجد إلى الس ماوات. أي ها المسيح إله نا ارحمنا. آمين Saints This Week Thursday 5/21 (5/8) Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian Who shall declare your greatness, O Virgin disciple? For as a fountain of healing you flow with miracles, Interceding for our souls as Theologian and friend of Christ! عظائمك ايها البتول م ن يصفها. ألنك تفيض عجائب. وتنبع اشفية. وتتشفع من اجل نفوسنا. بما انك متكلم بالالهوت وصفي المسيح Saturday 5/23 (5/10) Holy Apostle Simon the Zealot With praise let us all bless Simon, the herald of God, who established the doctrines of wisdom securely in the souls of the pious. Now he stands before the throne of glory, and rejoicing with the angels, he unceasingly prays for us all. لنغبط كلنا بالتسابيح سمعان الالهج باهلل الذي غرس عقائد الحكمة في نفوس المؤمنين متأصلة ثابتة. فأنه ماثل اآلن لدى عرش المجد يبتهج مع المالئكة ويتشفع بال فتور من اجلنا جميعا.

3 Congratulations and best wishes to our beloved The Very Rev. Fr. Giris Hanna for his 20 th Anniversary of ordination into priesthood this Sunday May 24 th. For Many years with your blessings Abouna!!! Making Home-Made Candles New Date This Saturday May 23 Attention Parents and Friends of 2015 Graduates! *** 5 Weeks Until Deadline *** We plan to make more home-made candles for our church. We will meet at the church hall this Saturday starting at 10am. Please feel free to come and give a hand! Absolutely no experience is necessary. Anyone can do it we just need many hands so we can make as many candles as possible. Come and spend few hours of blessed time with other St. James family members with this blessed work of making church candles. It also saves the church a lot of money. Scrip Scrip Scrip For Grads Graduations are just around the corner. Please consider buying Scrip gift cards for your graduates. Big variety of restaurants and department stores. Complete list of retailers at Please allow one week for delivery. See or call Lilian (408) to place your order early. Lunch This Sunday May 24 will be provided by Francis & Rima Nijmeh and family Thank you and God bless you. You can post a FREE personal congratulation message to your graduates in the bulletin. Just your greetings to sjoc@earthlink.net Graduates: Please your graduation picture or regular pictures to sjoc@earthlink.net to be posted in the bulletin. Graduates pictures and greetings will be posted during the week of June 22. Sunday School Summer Break Sunday May 31 is the last day Sunday School classes will be on break June September Room Wanted For 2 Months A male parishioner needs to rent a room for 2 months (June 1 July 31) preferably in North San Jose, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, or Mountain View areas. Will spend most of his time traveling for work. If you have such accommodation please send an to sjoc@earthlink.net.

4 This Was From Me I have entrusted these difficulties to you and as the Lord God I will bless all your works, in all your paths. In everything I, your Lord, will be your guide and teacher. Remember always that every difficulty you come across, every offensive word, every slander and criticism, every obstacle in your work, which would cause frustration and disappointment, this is from Me. Dunlap / Hume Lake Trip August 5 8, 2015 We plan to have a short trip, 3-nights/4-days, to visit the Life Giving Spring monastery and also head to the summit to Hume Lake and enjoy a day at the lake and beautiful nature. We need a minimum of 15 people to book St. Nicholas Ranch Retreat Center. Please sjoc@earthlink.net or contact Amal Khoury for details or to sign-up if interested. We would like to have a headcount as early as possible! GOOD WORKS The fruit of a good deed is love and humility, from which is born peace and a clear conscience. - St. Macarius sjoc@earthlink.net for your bulletin personal announcements, comments, or feedback.

5 Feast of the Ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Thursday 5/21 The Feast of the Ascension of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated each year on the fortieth day after the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha (Easter). Since the date of Pascha changes each year, the date of the Feast of the Ascension changes. The Feast is always celebrated on a Thursday. The Feast itself commemorates when, on the fortieth day after His Resurrection, Jesus led His disciples to the Mount of Olives, and after blessing them and asking them to wait for the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit, He ascended into heaven. The story of the Ascension of our Lord, celebrated as one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Church, is found in the book of the Acts of the Apostles 1:3-11. It is also mentioned in the Gospels of Mark (16:19) and Luke (24:50-53). The moment of the Ascension is told in one sentence: "He was lifted up before their eyes in a cloud which took Him from their sight" (Acts 1:9). Christ made His last appearance on earth, forty days after His Resurrection from the dead. The Acts of the Apostles states that the disciples were in Jerusalem. Jesus appeared before them and commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the "Promise of the Father". He stated, "You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). After Jesus gave these instructions, He led the disciples to the Mount of Olives. Here, He commissioned them to be His witnesses "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). It is also at this time that the disciples were directed by Christ to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). Jesus also told them that He would be with them always, "even to the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). As the disciples watched, Jesus lifted up His hands, blessed them, and then was taken up out of their sight (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9). Two angels appeared to them and asked them why they were gazing into heaven. Then one of the angels said, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him going into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Icon of the Feast The icon of The Ascension of Our Lord is a joyous icon. It is painted with bright colors. Christ is shown ascending in His glory in a mandorla. A mandorla is a design which is almond-shaped or round. Inside the mandorla is the figure of a holy person. Christ blesses the assembly with His right hand. In His left is a scroll. The scroll is a symbol of teaching. This icon shows that the Lord in heaven is the source of blessing. In addition, Jesus is the source of knowledge. The icon reminds us that Christ continues to be the source of the teaching and message of the Church, blessing and guiding those to whom He has entrusted his work.

6 The Theotokos occupies a very special place in this icon. She is in the center of the icon, immediately below the ascending Christ. The gesture of her hands is gesture of prayer. She is clearly outlined by the whiteness of the garments of the angels. The Theotokos is depicted in a very calm pose. This is quite different from the appearance of the Disciples. They are moving about, talking to one another and looking and pointing towards heaven. The entire group, the Theotokos and the disciples represent the Church. The icon of the Ascension includes some who did not witness the Ascension. St. Paul is shown to the left of the Theotokos, but we know that he was not present at the Ascension. At that time, St. Paul did not yet believe in Jesus. But he became a Christian and one of the greatest Apostles and missionaries of Church. The icon expresses the sovereignty of Christ over His Church; He is its Head, its guide, its source of inspiration and teaching; it receives its commission and ministry from Him, and fulfils it in the power of the Holy Spirit. O Christ our God, You ascended in Glory and gladdened Your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit. Your blessing assured them that You are the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian Thursday 5/21 (5/8) The Holy, Glorious All-laudable Apostle and Evangelist, Virgin, and Beloved Friend of Christ, John the Theologian was the son of Zebedee and Salome, a daughter of St Joseph the Betrothed. He was called by our Lord Jesus Christ to be one of His Apostles at the same time as his elder brother James. This took place at Lake Gennesareth (i.e. the Sea of Galilee). Leaving behind their father, both brothers followed the Lord. The Apostle John was especially loved by the Savior for his sacrificial love and his virginal purity. After his calling, the Apostle John did not part from the Lord, and he was one of the three apostles who were particularly close to Him. St John the Theologian was present when the Lord restored the daughter of Jairus to life, and he was a witness to the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor.

7 During the Last Supper, he reclined next to the Lord. He also asked the name of the Savior's betrayer. The Apostle John followed after the Lord when they led Him bound from the Garden of Gethsemane to the court of the iniquitous High Priests Annas and Caiphas. He was there in the courtyard of the High Priest during the interrogations of his Teacher and he resolutely followed after him on the way to Golgotha, grieving with all his heart. At the foot of the Cross he stood with the Mother of God and heard the words of the Crucified Lord addressed to Her from the Cross: "Woman, behold Thy son." Then the Lord said to him, "Behold thy Mother" (John 19:26-27). From that moment the Apostle John, like a loving son, concerned himself over the Most Holy Virgin Mary, and he served Her until Her Dormition. After the Dormition of the Mother of God the Apostle John went to Ephesus and other cities of Asia Minor to preach the Gospel, taking with him his own disciple Prochorus. They boarded a ship, which floundered during a terrible tempest. All the travellers were cast up upon dry ground, and only the Apostle John remained in the depths of the sea. Prochorus wept bitterly, bereft of his spiritual father and guide, and he went on towards Ephesus alone. increased with each day. On the fourteenth day of his journey he stood at the shore of the sea and saw that the waves had cast a man ashore. Going up to him, he recognized the Apostle John, whom the Lord had preserved alive for fourteen days in the sea. Teacher and disciple went to Ephesus, where the Apostle John preached incessantly to the pagans about Christ. His preaching was accompanied by such numerous and great miracles, that the number of believers During this time there had begun a persecution of Christians under the emperor Nero (56-68). They took the Apostle John for trial at Rome. St John was sentenced to death for his confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but the Lord preserved His chosen one. The apostle drank a cup of deadly poison, but he remained alive. Later, he emerged unharmed from a cauldron of boiling oil into which he had been thrown on orders from the torturer. After this, they sent the Apostle John off to imprisonment to the island of Patmos, where he spent many years. Proceeding along on his way to the place of exile, St John worked many miracles. On the island of Patmos, his preaching and miracles attracted to him all the inhabitants of the island, and he enlightened them with the light of the Gospel. He cast out many devils from the pagan temples, and he healed a great multitude of the sick. The Apostle John withdrew with his disciple Prochorus to a desolate height, where he imposed upon himself a three-day fast. As St John prayed the earth quaked and thunder rumbled. Prochorus fell to the ground in fright. The Apostle John lifted him up and told him to write down what he was about to say. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty" (Rev 1:8), proclaimed the Spirit of God through the Apostle John. Thus in about the year 67 the Book of Revelation was written, known also as the "Apocalypse," of the holy Apostle John the Theologian. In this Book were predictions of the tribulations of the Church and of the end of the world. After his prolonged exile, the Apostle John received his freedom and returned to Ephesus, where he continued with his activity, instructing Christians to guard against false teachers and their erroneous teachings. In the year 95, the Apostle John wrote his Gospel at Ephesus. He called for all Christians to love the Lord and one another, and by this to fulfill the commands of Christ. The Church calls St John the "Apostle of Love", since he constantly taught that without love man cannot come near to God. In his three Epistles, St John speaks of the significance of love for God and for neighbor. Already in his old age, he learned of a

8 youth who had strayed from the true path to follow the leader of a band of robbers, so St John went out into the wilderness to seek him. Seeing the holy Elder, the guilty one tried to hide himself, but the Apostle John ran after him and besought him to stop. He promised to take the sins of the youth upon himself, if only he would repent and not bring ruin upon his soul. Shaken by the intense love of the holy Elder, the youth actually did repent and turn his life around. St John was more than a hundred years old. He far outlived the other eyewitnesses of the Lord, and for a long time he remained the only remaining eyewitness of the earthly life of the Savior. When it was time for the departure of the Apostle John, he went out beyond the city limits of Ephesus with the families of his disciples. He bade them prepare for him a cross-shaped grave, in which he lay, telling his disciples that they should cover him over with the soil. The disciples tearfully kissed their beloved teacher, but not wanting to be disobedient, they fulfilled his bidding. They covered the face of the saint with a cloth and filled in the grave. Learning of this, other disciples of St John came to the place of his burial. When they opened the grave, they found it empty. Each year from the grave of the holy Apostle John on May 21 (5/8) came forth a fine dust, which believers gathered up and were healed of sicknesses by it. Therefore, the Church also celebrates the memory of the holy Apostle John the Theologian on May 21 (5/8). The Lord bestowed on His beloved disciple John and John's brother James the name "Sons of Thunder" as an awesome messenger in its cleansing power of the heavenly fire. And precisely by this the Savior pointed out the flaming, fiery, sacrificial character of Christian love, the preacher of which was the Apostle John the Theologian. The eagle, symbol of the lofty heights of his theological thought, is the iconographic symbol of the Evangelist John the Theologian. The appellation "Theologian" is bestowed by Holy Church only to St John among the immediate disciples and Apostles of Christ, as being the seer of the mysterious Judgments of God Holy Apostle Simon the Zealot Saturday 5/23 (5/10) Saint Simon was from Cana in Galilee, and was known to the Lord and His Mother. Tradition says that he was the bridegroom at the wedding where the Savior performed His first miracle. After witnessing the miracle of the water which had been turned into wine, he became a zealous follower of Christ. For this reason, he is known as St Simon the Zealot. St Simon was one of the twelve Apostles, and received the Holy Spirit with the others on Pentecost. He traveled to many places from Britain to the Black Sea, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ. After winning many pagans to the Lord, St Simon suffered martyrdom by crucifixion. وحده لوقا في إنجيله كن اه ب "الغيور" )6: 15(. سفر أعمال الرسل أيضا ذكره بهذه الصفة )1: 13(. قيل أنه كان من قانا وأنه هو إياه العريس الذي حضر يسوع عرسه برفقة والدته وتالميذه. وقد ترك بيته وذويه وعروسه وتبع المعل م بعدما عرف بما جرى بشأن تحويل يسوع الماء خمرا. قيل أنه كان من قبيلة زبولون أو نفتالي. وقد ع رف سمعان بهذه الغيرة بعدما عرف الرب يسوع وغار له غيرة مباركة. أما عما جرى لسمعان بعد العنصرة فإن هناك من يد عي أنه بش ر في مصر أو في موريتانيا وليبيا وأجزاء من إفريقية. وثم ة من يجعل نطاق بشارته بالد ما بين النهرين أو فارس أو حتى بالد اإلنكليز. عن موته قال بعضهم أن كهنة وثنيين شق وه شق ا وآخرون أنهم صلبوه, والتقليد يجعل مكان استشهاده في "صوفيان" غربي الرها.فبشفاعاته أيها الرب يسوع المسيح إلهنا ارحمنا وخل صنا. آمين.

9 New Martyr St. Epraim of Nea Makri Monday 5/18 (5/5) The holy New Martyr and wonderworker Ephraim was born in Greece on September 14, His father died when the saint was young, and his pious mother was left to care for seven children by herself. When Ephraim reached the age of fourteen, the all-good God directed his steps to a monastery on the mountain of Amoman near Nea Makri in Attica. The monastery was dedicated to the Annunciation and also to St Paraskeva. Here he took on his shoulders the Cross of Christ, which all His followers must bear. Being enflamed with love for God, St Ephraim eagerly placed himself under the monastic discipline. For nearly twenty-seven years he imitated the life of the great Fathers and ascetics of the desert. With divine zeal, he followed Christ and turned away from the attractions of this world. By the grace of God, he purified himself from souldestroying passions and became an abode of the All-Holy Spirit. He was also found worthy to receive the grace of the priesthood, and served at the altar with great reverence and compunction. On September 14, 1425, the barbarous Turks launched an invasion by sea, destroying the monastery and looting the surrounding area. St Ephraim was one of the victims of their frenzied hatred. Many of the monks had been tortured and beheaded, but St Ephraim remained calm. This infuriated the Turks, so they imprisoned him in order to torture him and force him to deny Christ. They locked him in a small cell without food or water, and they beat him every day, hoping to convince him to become a Moslem. For several months, he endured horrible torments. When the Turks realized that the saint remained faithful to Christ, they decided to put him to death. On Tuesday May 5, 1426, they led him from his cell. They turned him upside down and tied him to a mulberry tree, then they beat him and mocked him. Where is your God, they asked, and why doesn t he help you? The saint did not lose courage, but prayed, O God, do not listen to the words of these men, but may Thy will be done as Thou hast ordained. The barbarians pulled the saint s beard and tortured him until his strength ebbed. His blood flowed, and his clothes were in tatters. His body was almost naked and covered with many wounds. Still the Hagarenes were not satisfied, but wished to torture him even more. One of them took a flaming stick and plunged it violently into the saint s navel. His screams were heartrending, so great was his pain. The blood flowed from his stomach, but the Turks did not stop. They repeated the same painful torments many times. His body writhed, and all his limbs were convulsed. Soon, the saint grew too weak to speak, so he prayed silently asking God to forgive his sins. Blood and saliva ran from his mouth, and the ground was soaked with his blood. Then he lapsed into unconsciousness. Thinking that he had died, the Turks cut the ropes which bound him to the tree, and the saint s body fell to the ground. Their rage was still not diminished, so they continued to kick and beat him. After a while, the saint opened his eyes and prayed, Lord, I give up my spirit to Thee. About nine o clock in the morning, the martyr s soul was separated from his body. These things remained forgotten for nearly 500 years, hidden in the depths of silence and oblivion until January 3, By then a women s monastery had sprung up on the site of the old monastery. Abbess Makaria was wandering through the ruins of the monastery, thinking of the martyrs whose bones had been scattered over that ground, and whose blood had watered the tree of Orthodoxy. She realized that this was a holy place, and she prayed that God would permit her to behold one of the Fathers who had lived there.

10 After some time, she seemed to sense an inner voice telling her to dig in a certain spot. She indicated the place to a workman whom she had hired to make repairs at the old monastery. The man was unwilling to dig there, for he wanted to dig somewhere else. Because the man was so insistent, Mother Makaria let him go where he wished. She prayed that the man would not be able to dig there, and so he struck rock. Although he tried to dig in three or four places, he met with the same results. Finally, he agreed to dig where the abbess had first indicated. In the ruins of an old cell, he cleared away the rubble and began to dig in an angry manner. The abbess told him to slow down, for she did not want him to damage the body that she expected to find there. He mocked her because she expected to find the relics of a saint. When he reached the depth of six feet, however, he unearthed the head of the man of God. At that moment an ineffable fragrance filled the air. The workman turned pale and was unable to speak. Mother Makaria told him to go and leave her there by herself. She knelt and reverently kissed the body. As she cleared away more earth, she saw the sleeves of the saint s rasson. The cloth was thick and appeared to have been woven on the loom of an earlier time. She uncovered the rest of the body and began to remove the bones, which appeared to be those of a martyr. Mother Makaria was still in that holy place when evening fell, so she read the service of Vespers. Suddenly she heard footsteps coming from the grave, moving across the courtyard toward the door of the church. The footsteps were strong and steady, like those of a man of strong character. The nun was afraid to turn around and look, but then she heard a voice say, How long are you going to leave me here? She saw a tall monk with small, round eyes, whose beard reached his chest. In his left hand was a bright light, and he gave a blessing with his right hand. Mother Makaria was filled with joy and her fear disappeared. Forgive me, she said, I will take care of you tomorrow as soon as God makes the day dawn. The saint disappeared, and the abbess continued to read Vespers. In the morning after Matins, Mother Makaria cleaned the bones and placed them in a niche in the altar area of the church, lighting a candle before them. That night St Ephraim appeared to her in a dream. He thanked her for caring for his relics, then he said, My name is St Ephraim. From his own lips, she heard the story of his life and martyrdom. Since St Ephraim glorified God in his life and by his death, the Lord granted him the grace of working miracles. Those who venerate his holy relics with faith and love have been healed of all kinds of illnesses and infirmities, and he is quick to answer the prayers of those who call upon him Happy Birthdays Mazin & Ola Kafeety 5/20 For Many Years! Nadim Khoury 5/18 Faten Wahhab 5/18 Khalil Ganim 5/19 Spiros Koutsorinakis 5/19 Elias Dahdah 5/20 Peter Isaid 5/22 Hindry Hina 5/23 Amanda Raie 5/24 عقبال المئة سنة!!! St. James Orthodox Church 195 N. Main Street Milpitas, CA

11 Gifts for your St. James Bookstore **NEW** Sterling Silver Jewelry for Women & Men *Rings, Icon Lockets, Bracelets & More! *Don t forget our great collection of Icons & books for all ages Shop our store for all your Graduation Gifts! Special Orders Welcome!

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