Special points of interest: Epistle Reading : Galatians 6:11-18 Gospel Reading: John 3: 13-17 Tone: 8 Liturgical Color: Blue September 23, 2018 61 Canada Road Painted Post, NY 14870 Schedule for Week Sunday, September 23, 2018 9:30am Divine Liturgy Blessing of Students/Teachers for New School Year Panachida memory of +Helen Kozey Watlock on her 10th Anniversary of falling asleep in the Lord offered by Nancy Chris & Stacy Gabel SPECIAL COLLECTION TODAY FOR THE PREGNANCY RESOURCE CTR CHURCH SCHOOL STARTS TODAY Coffee Social S A I N T M A R Y ' S O R T H O D O X C H U R C H The Theotokian Wednesday, September 26, 2018 pm Vesperal Liturgy Elevation of the Precious Cross Thursday, September 27, 2018 Feast of the Elevation of the Precious Cross NO LITURGY STRICT FAST TODAY Saturday, September 29, 2018 4:30pm Parastas memory of +Anna Soraparu offered by Chuck, Helen & Noah Coons pm Vespers/Confession WELCOME! Welcome to all our visitors and guests who participate in our celebration of the Divine Liturgy today. We are glad you are here. While Holy Communion may only be received by prepared Orthodox Christians, our guests are welcome to join us in venerating the cross and receiving blessed bread at the conclusion of the Liturgy. We also hope you will join us for the Coffee Social afterward. Parish Contact Information Rev. Father Daniel Mahler Presiding Priest Parish Office: 607-962-5285 Father s Cell: 607-377-0587 Canada Road: 607-936-0689 Charles (Chuck) Coons Council President/Cantor: 607-368-1309
Page 2 THE THEOTOKIAN Epistle Reading: Galatians 6: 11-18 Brethren, See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that would compel you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who receive circumcision do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh. But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule, upon the Israel of God. Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you spirit, brethren. Amen. Gospel Reading: Saint John 3: 13-17 Let us attend, The Lord said, No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in hin should bot perish, but have eternal life. For God sent the Son unto the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
THE THEOTOKIAN Page 3 By Stanley S. Harakas BISHOP Q: Why does the Bishop carry around that staff? A: As head of the Orthodox church in the Diocese, the bishop is the chief shepherd of the Christian flock. In the Bible, our Lord calls Himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:14) and the Bible refers to Him as the great shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20). The clergy are instructed by the scriptures as the shepherds of God s flock, to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising oversight (1 Peter 5:2). Orthodox bishops have two kinds of staffs which represent the shepherd s crook, or staff which the shepherd uses to care for the sheep. One is ornate, capped by a double headed eagle as a symbol of his pastoral authority. This is used in worship services. The other is a simple, usually black in color with a more plain metal top. This is used outside the worship setting. Thus, the staff is a symbol of the bishop s pastoral responsibility for the church. It is sometimes referred to as a bishop s crosier. In Greek the ornate on is called the episkopikos ravdos, and the shorter, black one is a pateritsa. Q: Why is the Bishop so important? A: The Office of the Bishop begins from Apostolic times. The Apostles set Bishops over the Churches which they established. Thus in St. Paul s letter to Timothy, we read: The saying is sure: if any one aspires to the office bishop, he desires a noble task; and there follows a list of qualifications for the office of the Bishop. There are several things which comes from the Greek word Episkopos which means overseer. The Bishop is the overseer of the work of the Church in any given place. One of the early Fathers of the Church put it this way: Where the Bishop is, there is the Church. The Bishop embodies the Apostolic faith, discipline, and sacramental existence of the Church, in communion with all of the other Bishops of the Church. We know that we belong to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ when we are in communion with and under the direction of a canonical Bishop. All these dimensions of church life (faith, discipline, sacramental life) are guaranteed to us through the Apostolic Succession of the Bishop, his membership in a synod of canonical Bishops, and the fact that the Bishop (see Philippians 1:1) whose task it is to be God s steward, overseeing the life of His Church (Titus 1:7). So the early Church Father was right: without a Bishop, there is no continuity with the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Chirst. That is why the Bishop is so important. ELEVATION OF THE Venerable and Life-giving Cross Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the cross, about the year 325. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up by the Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place where the saving Passion had been suffered. The venerable Helen had the statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed revealing the Tomb of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must be that of our Lod, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Wood of our salvation. At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, a lady of Jerusalem, who was already at the point of death from a certain disease, was brought to touch the crosses, and as soon as she came near to the Cross of our Lord, she was made perfectly whole. Consequently, the precious Cross was lifted on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood on the ambo, and when the people beheld it, they cried out, Lord have mercy. It should be noted that after its discovery, apportion of the venerable Cross was taken to Constantinople as a blessing. The rest was left in Jerusalem in the magnificent church built Saint Helen, until the year 614. At that time, the Persians plundered Palestine and took the Cross to their own country. Late, in the year 628, Emperor Heraclius set out on a military campaign, retrieved the Cross, and after bring it to Constantinople, himself escorted it back to Jerusalem, where he restored it to is place. Rest from labour. A Fast is observed today, whatever day of the week it maybe.
Page 4 THE THEOTOKIAN GOD S NEWS vs 24/7 NEWS CYCLE Your Nativity, O Virgin Theotokos, has proclaimed joy to the whole universe! The Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, has shone from You! Having annulled the curse. Having destroyed death. He has granted us eternal Life. Troparion of the feast of The Nativity of the Theotokos) The birth of a baby-girl to an elderly and heretofore childless Jewish couple, Joachim and Anna, over 2,000 years ago in a small village called Nazareth, did proclaim joy to the whole universe. But at the time it happened, few people heard about it. Nor did those few who did hear about it, at that time, understand what a universe-changing, death-destroying joy and blessing the birth of this little girl was, who was to become the Blessed Among Women and Mother of Our God. Unlike the new that almost-instantly reaches us in our 24/7 news cycle, the good news that God has proclaimed to us throughout the centuries, and continues to proclaim to us, like the joy of the birth of our inimitable Lady, the Most Holy Theotokos, is often far more slow to reach us. Why? Because we need to be ready to receive it; to have the ears to hear it. In fact even we, believing Christians, who have heard many times about the birth of the Theotokos, might not experience this historical fact as a source of joy and blessing. That s why the Church invites us wholeheartedly to celebrate it, year after year, on the great feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, (celebrated this year on Friday, September 21st for those of us on the Old Julian Calendar), not just like another historical fact or bit of information to file away in the mental database of our theological educations, no. We are rather invited to partake of it, like of a source of joy and blessing, in the liturgical and sacramental celebration of the Church. And we grow, year after year, as we walk our cross-carrying journeys, in our capacity to open up to, and receive, the joy and blessing of the Feast, more and more. Thank You, God, for leading us gradually, by the hand of our beautiful Tradition, into the mysteries of Your good news, year after year, even while we choose to overwhelm ourselves with the Too Much information of our 24/7 news-cycle, the joys and sorrows of which we just don t have the time to process. Nonetheless, thanks to Tradition, today I can allow myself to rejoice, and to be blessed, by just one little factoid of Salvation History, the birth of Your Mother in Nazareth. By the prayers of the Theotokos,, Saviour, save us!
THE THEOTOKIAN Page 5 CONTACT US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Church Website: Saintmarysorthodoxchurchcorning.org Follow our Diocese On-Line Diocesan Website acrod.org Camp Nazareth campnazareth.org Facebook: facebook.comacroddiocese Twitter: twitter.com/acrodnews YouTube youtube.com/archdiocese DECORATED CROSS The decorated holy Cross for the Feast for the Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross that will be placed on the Tetropod will be offered by CAROL TELEHANY In loving memory of DECEASED FAMILY MEMBERS CONFRONTING CHANGE In HUMILITY And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the humility of his maidservant; For behold, thenceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. (Lk 1: 46-49) As those of us on the Older Calendar prepare to celebrate the great feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos tomorrow, I am thinking about the Song of Mary. It s an outpouring of gratitude from the depths of a young woman s soul, even though her life had just become extra- complicated. Having received unexpected news of the most problematic kind, specifically, of an unexpected pregnancy the Holy Virgin ducks under the wave of humility, and praises the great things of God. Le me make myself extra-small under the wave of humility, in gratitude for God s greatness, when I am confronted with unexpected or troublesome change. When people and situations are not going my way, or the way I somehow envisioned or expected, let me get extra-mindful of God s loving, abiding Presence in my life. I mustn t get crippled by gratitude or fear or resentment, all of which tend to cut me off from God and others, blocking me from growing as God intends me to grow, sometimes amidst new circumstances. So let me re-embrace faith today, in gratitude and humility, particularly if I m confronted with unexpected change. For he who is might has done great things for me, And holy is his name. Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
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Page 7 THE THEOTOKIAN BIRTHDAYS September 27 Sam Powers ANNIVERSARIES September 30 Fr Dan & Pani Joan O God, grant your servants celebrating their special day good health, happiness for many blessed years! The Eternal Light and this weeks Church Bulletin is sponsored by NANCY, CHRIS, STACY GABEL In memory of +HELEN KOZEY WATLOCK On the 10th Anniversary of her falling asleep in the Lord May her memory be eternal! Vichnaja jema Pamjat! His Grace, Bishop GREGORY; Protopresbyter Frank Miloro; Protopresbyter John Duranko; Protopresbyter Jim Dutko; Protopresbyter Luke Mihaly; Protopresbyter Lawrence Barriger; Protopresbyter Kenneth Bachofsky; V. Rev. Thomas Kadlek; V. Rev. Michael Kleban; Very Rev. John Baranik; V. Rev. Michael Psenechnuk; Rev. James Gleason; V. Rev. Jason Kappanadze; Rev. Basil Hutsko; Deacon Charles Ellis; Deacon Donald Koch; Mother Ralphaela; Pani Joan; Pani Kathleen Dutko; Pani Patricia Duranko; Pani-Matka Julia Romanchak; Sally Ellis; Judy Koch; Michael Banik; Helen Verno; Eleanor Adzima; Stan Lewek; Michael & Delores Kundrat; Vasyl & Lyudmyla Hayova; Helen Coons; Mary Benyo; Anna Chudanic; George Officer; Michael Matzkevich; Marlene Wheet; Mae Mary Shonak; Helen Molson; Donna Blazosky; Art Gallant; Nancy Murphy-Teed; Joyce Nissen; Chelsea Roman; Gloria Ewsuk; Andrew Chudanic; Tammy Pierson; Jeanne Zimmer; Denise Topichak; Linda Sambursky; John Cowherd; Raymond Corbett; Erica Tibeau; Sylvia Serdula; Malcolm Clarke; Stephen Brancho; Carole Herrlich; Gary Herrlich; Joyce Merletti To Jonathan Share who is serving in the United States Navy; Tyler Colburn serving in the United States Army; Douglas Linsey serving in the United States Army, George Worobey serving in the United States Navy and to all of our men and women who are serving and protecting our country both at home and abroad.
Saint Mary s Orthodox Church September 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Panachida Paul Mertus Birthdays 3 4 5 6 7 8 Vespers 9 Coffee Social Altar Society 10 Ves/Lit Behead St. John 11 St Fast Behead St. John NO LIT 12 13 14 NEW LITURGICAL YEAR BEGINS 15 Vespers 16 Potluck/Pantry 17 18 19 20 Ves/Lit Nat. Theo tokos 21 Nat. of Theotokos NO LIT 22 Vespers 23 Coffee Soc 24 25 26 Ves/ Lit Elev. Cross 27 Elev. Of Holy Cross NO LIT 28 29 Vespers 30 Coffee Soc