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Bulletin for Sunday, December 31, 2023
Sunday after Nativity
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Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia
January 1
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. 10), 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 poverty and strict asceticism, having no other care than to defend holy Orthodoxy as a worthy successor of the Apostles.
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Hymns of the Day
Apolytikion of the Feast. Mode 4.
Your nativity, O Christ our God, has caused the light of knowledge to rise upon the world. For therein the worshippers of the stars were by a star instructed to worship You, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know You as Orient from on high. Glory to You, O Lord.
Resurrectional Apolytikion. Mode pl. 1.
As the Father and Spirit are unoriginate, * so the Word, who was born from the Virgin for us. * Let us praise Him, O believers, and let us worship Him. * For our salvation He was pleased * to be crucified in the flesh, * and to undergo death, * and to resurrect the dead, by His glorious resurrection.
For the Ancestors of God. Mode 2.
Annunciate the miracles to David the ancestor of God, O Joseph. You saw the Virgin pregnant. You glorified with the shepherds. You worshipped with the Magi. And you were warned by an Angel. Entreat Christ God to save our souls.
Apolytikion for the Church, St. John Chrysostom, Mode pl. 4
The grace that from your mouth shone forth like a torch illumined the universe. It deposited in the world the treasures of the absence of avarice. It showed us the height that is attained by humility. Now you instruct us by your words, Father John Chrysostom. Intercede with Christ God, the Word Himself, entreating Him to save our souls.
Kontakion. Mode 3.
On this day the Virgin Maid * goes to the grotto to give birth * to the pre-eternal Word * in an ineffable manner. * Dance for joy, all the inhabited earth, on hearing. * Glorify along with Angels and with the shepherds * Him who willed that He appear as * a newborn Child, * the pre-eternal God.
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The reading is from Paul's Second Letter to Timothy.
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
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The reading is from the holy Gospel according to Mark.
The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, '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 the baptizer appeared 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."
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“Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which He hath given thee.” Deuteronomy (16:17) | | |
We are stewards of the Gospel and the stewards of our parish. We see our church, not as it is, but as it could be. We offer our treasure and ourselves sacrificially, so that, as members of the Body of Christ, we may reach our full potential in Him. | |
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December 2023 (Jan. 1st) Schedule of *Services and Meetings*
Dec. 31st, SUNDAY (after Nativity) Orth.& Div. Liturgy, 9-11:15AM
Commemoration of the Feast of St Stephen, first martyr.
Jan. 1st, MONDAY, St. Basil the Great, Orthros & Divine Liturgy 9:30-11:15AM
Jan. 6th, SATURDAY, THEOPHANY, Orthros beginning at 9:30AM followed by Divine Liturgy
and the Great Blessing of the Waters
Jan. 7th, SUNDAY, Orthros & Divine Liturgy 9:00- 11:15AM
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St. JOHN’S CHURCH PRAYER CIRCLE
Please include the following names of our brothers and sisters in our parish and families, along with others who are in need of our prayers. If you have or know of someone who needs to be included in our regular prayers, please let us know. If you know of someone whose name should be on our list, (a relative, friend or an acquaintance), please feel free to submit their name (s) to Father Andrew.
Mimi, John, Voula, Mary, Helen, Mary, William, Jeanette, Alfred, Nikki, Yianni, Diana, Mary, Peter, Pauline, John, Mary, Peter, Elizabeth, Helen, Jean, Vie, Dionysios, Saadia, Roger, Maryanne, Deborah, Sophie, Leo, Vasilios.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you
trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the
power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)
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