ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST ORTHODOX CHURCH January 13, 2019 Sunday before Theophany Epistle: 2 Timothy 4:5-8 Gospel: Mark 1:1-8 Weekly Schedule of Services/Events Sunday, January 13 9:00AM Divine Liturgy Epistle: Lynne Goetz Coffee: Goodwin/Chirsky Church School Rescue Mission Monday, January 14 9:00AM St. Basil/Circumcision 5:00PM Prospect House 7:00PM Choir Rehearsal Thursday, January 17 9:00AM Monthly Pirohi 9am 7:00PM Officers Meeting Friday, January 18 9:00AM Monthly Pirohi 7:00PM Theophany Eve Service Saturday, January 19 9:00AM Theophany Sunday, January 20 9:00AM Divine Liturgy Epistle: Christopher Greenhill Church School Coffee: Fuentes Food Bank Service Schedule Divine Liturgy 9am Weekday Eve Service 7pm General Information www.stjohnsmillhill.com Street Address 384 Mill Hill Ave Bridgeport, CT 06610 Mailing Address 40 Beaver Dam Road Stratfor, CT 06614 Contact Information Fr. David Cochran H: 203-385-1020 C: 203-339-1913 pauldcochran@gmail.com Carol Feduik, President carolcfeduik@yahoo.com John Galpin, Choir Dir choir@stjohnsmillhill.com Diocesan Resources Diocesan Website www.acrod.org Camp Nazareth www.campnazareth.org Facebook www.facebook.com/acroddiocese Twitter www.twitter.com/acrodnews YouTube www.youtube.com/aroddiocese
Weekly Announcements THEOPHANY: We will celebrate the Theophany of our Lord this Friday and Saturday. We will bless Holy Water on Friday Evening as part of the Diocesan Service. HOUSE BLESSING: House Blessings will begin the week after the Feast of Theophany. Please use the form in the bulletin to schedule a time to have your home blessed. CHURCH OFFICERS MEETING: There will be a Church Officers meeting this Tursday at 7pm MONTHLY PIROHI: We will be making pirohi this Thursday and Friday. Please consider coming down to help. PLEASE NOTE: A new Envelope Voluntary Contribution Towards Dues, has been added to each month of the year. You may use this envelope to make monthly donations towards your Church dues. This is meant as a way to make paying your dues easier as you can spread it out through the year. Scripture Readings for Sunday Epistle Reading 2 Timothy 4:5-8 TIMOTHY, my son, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry. For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. Gospel Reading Mark 1:1-8 The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John was baptizing in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the
country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. St. Basil/Circumcision of our Lord Saint Basil the Great was born about the end of the year 329 in Caesarea of Cappadocia, to a family renowned for their learning and holiness. His parents names were Basil and Emily. His mother Emily (commemorated July 19) and his grandmother Macrina (Jan. 14) are Saints of the Church, together with all his brothers and sisters: Macrina, his elder sister (July 19), Gregory of Nyssa (Jan. to), Peter of Sebastia (Jan. 9), and Naucratius. Basil studied in Constantnople under the sophist Libanius, then in Athens, where also he formed a friendship with the young Gregory, a fellow Cappadocian, later called the Theologian. Through the good influence of his sister Macrina (see July 19), he chose to embrace the ascetical life, abandoning his worldly career. He visited the monks in Egypt, in Palestine, in Syria, and in Mesopotamia, and upon returning to Caesarea, he departed to a hermitage on the Iris River in Pontus, not far from Annesi, where his mother and his sister Macrina were already treading the path of the ascetical life; here he also wrote his ascetical homilies. About the year 370, when the bishop of his country reposed, he was elected to succeed to his throne and was entrusted with the Church of Christ, which he tended for eight years, living in voluntary pov- erty and strict asceticism, having no other care than to defend holy Orthodoxy as a worthy suc- cessor of the Apostles. The Emperor Valens, and Modestus, the Eparch of the East, who were of one mind with the Arians, tried with threats of exile and of torments to bend the Saint to their own confession, because he was the bastion of Ortho- doxy in all Cappadocia, and preserved it from heresy when Arianism was at its strongest. But he set all their malice at nought, and in his willingness to give himself up to every suffering for the sake of the Faith, showed himself to be a martyr by volition. Modestus, amazed at Basil s fear-
lessness in his presence, said that no one had ever so spoken to him. Perhaps, answered the Saint, you have never met a bishop before. The Emperor Valens himself was almost won over by Basil s dignity and wisdom. When Valens son fell gravely sick, he asked Saint Basil to pray for him. The Saint promised that his son would be restated if Valens agreed to have him baptized by the Orthodox; Valens agreed, Basil prayed, and the son was restored. But afterwards the Emperor had him baptized by Arians, and the child died soon after. Later, Valens, persuaded by his counsellors, decided to send the Saint into exile because he would not accept the Arians into communion; but his pen broke when he was signing the edict of banishment. He tried a second time and a third, but the same thing happened, so that the Emperor was filled with dread, and tore up the document, and Basil was not banished. The truly great Basil, spent with extreme ascetical practices and continual labours, at the helm of the church, departed to the Lord on the 1st of January, in 379. at the age of forty-nine. His writings are replete with wisdom and erudition, and rich are these gifts he set forth the doctrines concerning the mysteries both of the creation (see his Hexaemeron) and of the Holy Trinity (see On the Holy Spirit). Because of the majesty and keenness of his eloquence, he is honoured as the revealer of heavenly things and the Great. Circumcision of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Since the Mosaic Law commands that if a woman give birth to a male child, he should be circumcised in the foreskin of his flesh on the eighth day (Lev. 12:2-3), on this, the eighth day from His Nativity, our Saviour accepted the circumcision commanded by the Law. According to the command of the Angel, He received the Name which is above every name: JESUS, which means Saviour (Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:31 and 2:21). From the Church Fathers [Christ] is baptized not as Himself requiring purification but as making my purification His own, that He may break the heads of the dragons on the water, that He may wash away sin and bury all the old Adam in water, that He may sanctify the Baptist, that He may fulfill the Law, that He may reveal the mystery of the Trinity, that He may become the type and example to us of baptism. But we, too, are baptized in the perfect baptism of our Lord, the baptism by water and the Spirit. read less St. John of Damascus An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book 4: Chapter 9; Eerdmans pg. 79, 8th century
Preparation for Blessing of Homes The central sign of God s sanctification of all things through the feast of Theophany is the act of blessing the homes of faithful Christians. The priest visits all members of the Church to pray with them in the place where they live, and to bless their surroundings with Holy Water. He asks God to have mercy on the house, to rid it of every evil and to fill it with every blessing. Thus the house itself, together with the living persons of the family, is filled with all the fullness of God. To prepare for the priest visit: On your dining room table or family altar, place a white tablecloth, a lighted candle, an icon, and a wide bowl for holy water. Have a list of the living and dead members of the family from your for whom you would like the priest to pray for. family Turn on a light in each room, so the priest can see where he is going. Turn off all TV s, stereos, and computers, and take the telephone off the hook. There should be as few distractions as possible when the priest is blessing your home. Refrain from smoking, drinking or eating until after the service is over. Secure any pets that might jump up on the priest or family, or get underfoot as you move from room to room. When the priest arrives, everyone in the house should gather around the table and join in the singing of the service. House Blessing Form Blessing of Homes Anyone who is interested in having your home blessed please fill out the form below and give it to Father David, return it to the church office on Sunday or on Tuesday at Seniors. Fr. will call to set-up an appointment Name: Phone Numner: Address: City: