Epistle Reading of the Day | |
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians 3:4-11
Brethren, when Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.
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Gospel Reading for the Day | |
The Gospel According to
Luke 17:12-19
At that time, as Jesus entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said: "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus's feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then said Jesus: "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him: "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."
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Πρὸς Κολοσσαεῖς 3:4-11 τὸ ἀνάγνωσμα
Ἀδελφοί, ὅταν ὁ Χριστὸς φανερωθῇ, ἡ ζωὴ ἡμῶν, τότε καὶ ὑμεῖς σὺν αὐτῷ φανερωθήσεσθε ἐν δόξῃ. Νεκρώσατε οὖν τὰ μέλη ὑμῶν τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, πορνείαν, ἀκαθαρσίαν, πάθος, ἐπιθυμίαν κακήν, καὶ τὴν πλεονεξίαν, ἥτις ἐστὶν εἰδωλολατρεία, διʼ ἃ ἔρχεται ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας· Ἐν οἷς καὶ ὑμεῖς περιεπατήσατέ ποτε, ὅτε ἐζῆτε ἐν αὐτοῖς. Νυνὶ δὲ ἀπόθεσθε καὶ ὑμεῖς τὰ πάντα, ὀργήν, θυμόν, κακίαν, βλασφημίαν, αἰσχρολογίαν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν· μὴ ψεύδεσθε εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἀπεκδυσάμενοι τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον σὺν ταῖς πράξεσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐνδυσάμενοι τὸν νέον, τὸν ἀνακαινούμενον εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν κατʼ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτόν· ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ καὶ ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, ἐλεύθερος· ἀλλὰ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν Χριστός.
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Ἐκ τοῦ Κατὰ Λουκᾶν 17:12-19 Εὐαγγελίου τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα
Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, εἰσερχομένου αὐτοῦ εἴς τινα κώμην ἀπήντησαν αὐτῷ δέκα λεπροὶ ἄνδρες, οἳ ἔστησαν πόρρωθεν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἦραν φωνὴν λέγοντες· ᾿Ιησοῦ ἐπιστάτα, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς. καὶ ἰδὼν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· πορευθέντες ἐπιδείξατε ἑαυτοὺς τοῖς ἱερεῦσι. καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ὑπάγειν αὐτοὺς ἐκαθαρίσθησαν. εἷς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἰδὼν ὅτι ἰάθη, ὑπέστρεψε μετὰ φωνῆς μεγάλης δοξάζων τὸν Θεόν, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον παρὰ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ εὐχαριστῶν αὐτῷ· καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν Σαμαρείτης. ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς εἶπεν· οὐχὶ οἱ δέκα ἐκαθαρίσθησαν; οἱ δὲ ἐννέα ποῦ; οὐχ εὑρέθησαν ὑποστρέψαντες δοῦναι δόξαν τῷ Θεῷ εἰ μὴ ὁ ἀλλογενὴς οὗτος; καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἀναστὰς πορεύου· ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέ σε.
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READINGS OF OUR ORTHODOX SAINTS | |
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Saint Neophytos the Martyr of Nicaea - January 21
The Martyr Neophytos, who was from Nicea in Bithynia, was the son of pious parents, Theodore and Florence. Led by grace from his childhood, he took up his dwelling in a cave upon Mount Olympus at the age of nine and lived there in asceticism and prayer. At the age of fifteen, during the reign of Diocletian about the year 290, he presented himself to the local Governor named Decius. Roused to fury by his unexpected boldness, Decius had him scourged, then laid out on a bed of fire. When he had been preserved by grace through these torments, he gave him up to wild beasts. But since the Saint remained unharmed, a certain pagan fell on him with a sword and slew him.
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Saint Maximos the Confessor - January 21
The divine Maximus, who was from Constantinople, sprang from an illustrious family. He was a lover of wisdom and an eminent theologian. At first, he was the chief private secretary of the Emperor Heraclius and his grandson Constans. When the Monothelite heresy became predominant in the royal court, out of hatred for this error the Saint departed for the Monastery at Chrysopolis (Scutari), of which he later became the abbot. When Constans tried to constrain him either to accept the Monothelite teaching, or to stop speaking and writing against it - neither of which the Saint accepted to do - his tongue was uprooted and his right hand was cut off, and he was sent into exile where he reposed in 662. At the time only he and his few disciples were Orthodox in the East (See also August 13).
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 |  | SAINT GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN - JANUARY 25 - This great Father and Teacher of the Church was born in 329 in Arianzus, a village of the second district of Cappadocia, not far from Nazianzus. His father, who later became Bishop of Nazianzus, was named Gregory, and his mother was named Nonna; both are among the Saints, and so are his brother Caesarius and his sister Gorgona. At first he studied in Caesarea of Palestine, then in Alexandria, and finally in Athens. As he was sailing from Alexandria to Athens, a violent sea storm put in peril not only his life but also his salvation, since he had not yet been baptized. With tears and fervour he besought God to spare him, vowing to dedicate his whole self to Him, and the tempest gave way to calm. At Athens Saint Gregory was later joined by Saint Basil the Great, whom he already knew; but now their acquaintanceship grew into a lifelong brotherly love. Another fellow student of theirs in Athens was the young Prince Julian, who later as Emperor was called the Apostate because he denied Christ and did all in his power to restore paganism. Even in Athens, before Julian had thrown off the mask of piety; Saint Gregory saw what an unsettled mind he had, and said, "What an evil the Roman State is nourishing". After their studies at Athens, Gregory became Basil's fellow ascetic, living the monastic life together with him for a time in the hermitages of Pontus. His father ordained him presbyter of the Church of Nazianzus, and Saint Basil consecrated him Bishop of Sasima, which was in the archdiocese of Caesarea. This consecration was a source of great sorrow to Gregory, and a cause of misunderstanding between him and Basil; but his love for Basil remained unchanged, as can be plainly seen from his Funeral Oration on Saint Basil. About the Year 379, Saint Gregory came to the assistance of the Church of Constantinople, which had already been troubled for forty years by the Arians; by his supremely wise words and many labours he freed it from the corruption of heresy, and was elected Archbishop of that city by the Second Ecumenical Council, which assembled there in 381, and condemned Macedonius, Archbishop of Constantinople, the enemy of the Holy Spirit. When Saint Gregory came to Constantinople, the Arians had taken all the churches and he was forced to serve in a house chapel dedicated to Saint Anastasia the Martyr. From there he began to preach his famous five sermons on the Trinity, called the Triadica. When he left Constantinople two years later, the Arians did not have one church left to them in the city. Saint Meletius of Antioch, who was presiding over the Second Ecumenical Council, died in the course of it, and Saint Gregory was chosen in his stead; there he distinguished himself in his expositions of dogmatic theology. Having governed the Church until 382, he delivered his farewell speech - the Syntacterion, in which he demonstrated the Divinity of the Son - before 150 bishops and the Emperor Theodosius the Great; in this speech he requested, and received from all, permission to retire from the see of Constantinople. He returned to Nazianzus, where he lived to the end of his life, and reposed in the Lord in 391, having lived some sixty-two years.
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Ο ΑΓΙΟΣ ΜΑΞΙΜΟΣ Ο ΟΜΟΛΟΓΗΤΗΣ - ( 21 Ιανουαρίου )
Ο άγιος Μάξιμος τιμήθηκε από την Εκκλησία με τον τίτλο του «Ομολογητού» για τους αγώνες του, την «καλήν ομολογίαν» και τις διώξεις που υπέστη για την Ορθόδοξη πίστη στα χρόνια των αιρέσων. Είναι ο υψηλός θεωρητικός του μυστικισμού της Ορθοδοξίας, αλλά μαζί κι ο πιστός διάκονος στα φλέγοντα ζητήματα που αντιμετωπίζει η Εκκλησία.
Ο ΑΓΙΟΣ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΟΣ ΤΙΜΟΘΕΟΣ - (22 Ιανουαρίου )
Η αρετή του αγίου Τιμοθέου, ο ζήλος του, η ένθερμη πίστη του, η πολλή ψυχική του ευγένεια, του έδωσαν λίαν διακεκριμένη θέση στην αγάπη, την εκτίμηση και το έργο του αποστόλου Παύλου, τον ονομάζει «γνήσιον τέκνον εν πίστει» (Α΄Τιμ.α΄2), «τέκνον αγαπητόν και πιστόν εν Κυρίω» (Α’ Κορ. Δ’ 17). Στην Α΄προς Θεσσαλονικείς επιστολή, «αδελφόν και διάκονον του Θεού και συνεργόν εις το Ευαγγέλιον του Χριστού».
Ο ΑΓΙΟΣ ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΣ Ο ΘΕΟΛΟΓΟΣ - (25 Ιανουαρίου )
Ένας εκ των τριών μεγάλων Ιεραρχών της Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας.
Γεννήθηκε το329 μ.Χ. στην Αριανζό της Καππαδοκίας. Πολυσπουδασμένος σπούδασε στην Καισάρεια στην Παλαιστίνη, στην Αλεξάνδρεια και στην Αθήνα.
Το 379 μ.Χ. πηγαίνει στην Κωνσταντινούπολη, αφού πρίν είχε χειροτονηθεί πρεσβύτερος στη Ναζιανζό, καθώς και επίσκοπος Σασόμων, με σκοπό να συμβάλλει στον αγώνα της Εκκλησίας ενάντια στην αίρεση των «αριανών».
Εκλέγεται Αρχιεπίσκοπος Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ενώ παροιμιώδεις έχουν μείνει, οι λόγοι του περί θεότητας του Λόγου, εξαιτίας των οποίων του προσδώθηκε και το προσωνύμιο Θεολόγος. Επειδή μάλιστα σε κάθε έργο του κάνει αναφορά στην Αγία Τριάδα, αποκαλείται και «Θεολόγος Τριαδικός». Ήταν στενός φίλος του Μεγάλου Βασιλείου και έχει αφήσει πίσω του πολλούς Λόγους, Επιστολές και Έπη. Οι αγώνες του αγίου Γρηγορίου του Θεολόγου υπέρ της Ορθοδόξου πίστεως, τον ανέδειξαν Αρχιεπίσκοπο Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. Οταν όμως αμφισβητήθηκε η εκλογή του, ο Άγιος προτίμησε να πραιτηθεί, παρά να τραυματίσει την ενότητα της Εκκλησίας. Πόσο άραγε διδασκόμεθα εμείς οι σημερινοί χριστιανοί από τη στάση αυτή του Αγίου; Είναι δε ο άγιος Γρηγόριος ο Θεολόγος ο επιφανέστερος, ο «άριστος» Θεολόγος της Εκκλησίας, μετά τον Ευαγγελιστή Ιωάννη. Το θεολογικό του βάθος και η έντονη ποιητικότητα στο έργο του, τον ήψωσαν σε πρότυπο μοναδικού κάλλους και λάμψεως. Είναι ο πρώτος μεταξύ των θεολόγων πρίν το 372, που θεμελίωσε την αλήθεια ότι το Άγιο Πνεύμα είναι Θεός, όπως ακριβώς ο Πατήρ και ο Υιός, κι αποβαίνει έτσι ο κορυφαίος Πνευματολόγος της Εκκλησίας.
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GIFT OF LIGHT
This week’s Gift of Light is given for the health and well being of Bill and Peggy Vranas.
| Oath of Office - Congratulations to our Parish Council Members who were elected to serve for the 2024-2025 term. | |
COFFEE HOUR
Please join us for coffee hour in Plato Hall following the Divine Liturgy. Today’s coffee hour is sponsored by an anonymous donor. Thank you for hosting!
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BAPTISM
2:30 p.m. - Child of Mr. and Mrs. Stefanos Karavolos
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS THIS WEEK:
Monday, January 22 - 6:30 p.m., Orthodox Studies in Saint Catherine’s. Father Apostolos will present on the Second Beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn…” followed by, “Mourning for those who grieve”.
Wednesday, January 24 - 10:00 a.m., Small Paraklesis - Supplicatory Service
Winter Family Weekend Retreat at Saint Iakovos Retreat Center on January 26-27, 2024. Skiing at Wilmot Mountain, Wisconsin.
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WELCOME TO OUR VISITORS
We welcome you to worship with us today. Whether you are an Orthodox Christian, or this is your first visit to an Orthodox Church, we are pleased to have you with us. Although Holy Communion and other Sacraments are offered only to baptized and Chrismated (confirmed) Orthodox Christians, all are invited to receive the antidoron (blessed bread) from the priest at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy. The antidoron is not sacramental but is reminiscent of the agape feast that followed worship in the ancient Christian Church.
After the Divine Liturgy this morning, please join us in Plato Hall for fellowship, refreshments and visit with our Clergy, our Parish Council and the Stewards of our Parish.
We hope that you will return often to worship with us and to grow in faith.
SPONSORS NEEDED FOR COFFEE HOUR
Please contact the Church office at:
773.626.3114 or email at: office@assumptionchicago.org if you would like to sponsor a coffee hour in memory of a loved one, a special occasion or just because.
Available dates: February 4, 25 – March 3, 10, 24, 31
Great Lent March 18 – May 5. Please Lenten items only.
Thank you to our beloved parishioners and friends of Assumption Panagia for your continued love and support!
GIFT OF LIGHT
Please give the “Gift of Light” to Assumption Panagia’s Church. We need a family or an individual to sponsor, per week, the lighting of our vigil lamps and candles in both of our holy Altars of Panagia and Saint Catherine. This includes the daily lighting of both of our Holy Altars throughout the week. Suggested donation for this ministry is $100.00. Through our Church’s Website, sign up can be made through our Tithe.ly platform. simply click on the big green GIVE button, request your week and make your donation.
Available weeks: March 10 - April 7, 14, 28
Please contact the church office for May - December 2024 availability.
Please contact the church office to sponsor a week for the health and well-being of your family or in loving memory of a loved one.
PHILOPTOCHOS CORNER
We welcome all returning members and prospective members to join us for coffee and doughnuts next Sunday, January 28 in Plato Hall during coffee hour. Learn about the good works we do together as a team. Receive a small ‘blooming’ gift with membership!
STEWARDSHIP PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, Thou are the Good Steward, who redeemed Adam and Eve of their failed stewardship by offering Thyself for the life of the world. Thou didst teach us in the feeding of the multitudes that whatever we give to God is returned to us manifold. Thou didst praise those good and faithful servants in the parable of the talents who returned to the Master their gifts multiplied. So help us to learn the joy of stewardship, remembering that everything we have comes from Thee. For Thou art the Good Steward and to Thee we offer thanksgiving, praise and glory, together with Thy Father who is everlasting and Thine all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit now and ever and onto the ages of ages. Amen.
2024 STEWARDSHIP
Stewardship packets for 2024 have been mailed out. Please fill out the pledge card (it is important that you enter a pledge amount) and the information card completely and return it in the enclosed envelope. Thank you for supporting our beautiful parish of Panagia!
DID YOU KNOW? - Many people think that a non-Orthodox Christian becomes an Orthodox Christian when they get married in the Greek Orthodox Church. This is false. The only time a person becomes an Orthodox Christian is when they are Catechized, Baptized and Chrismated in the Orthodox Church. Otherwise, they cannot partake of any of the Sacraments or the service of the Funeral.
Here is another false notion. Many people think that a Greek Orthodox Christian remains Greek Orthodox even if they marry outside of the Church (i.e. Civil Hall, any non-Orthodox Christian Church or Religious Cults). This again is false. The reason why it is wrong is because he or she has severed their life from the Sacramental life of the Church, meaning that they cannot receive any of the Sacraments or be buried properly in the Orthodox Faith.
If you have a civil divorce, you are not in good standing ecclesiastically until you apply for and receive an Ecclesiastical Divorce. Persons who have received only a civil divorce are not allowed to receive any of the Sacraments in the Church; this includes the Funeral Service. If you or another person(s) have fallen into any of these (or other) predicaments, please contact Fr. Apostolos and he will direct you with information needed to attain complete restoration in the Church.
A Word about Cremation
Orthodox Christians should reject cremation, in accordance with the Church’s teachings about the sanctity of the human body and its role in our salvation. Orthodox Christians believe that in the General Resurrection, our bodies and souls will be restored to each other. Cremation is the deliberate desecration and destruction of what God has made and is viewed as the denial of the Resurrection. Cremation treats the body violently, without the respect due to it as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Those who voluntarily request cremation upon death will not receive an Orthodox funeral, either in the church, or the funeral home or any other place. Memorial services with kolyva are not allowed since the connection of the “kernel of wheat” as a sign of the Resurrection has been intentionally destroyed. It is an honor for Orthodox Christians to have a church funeral - our salvation and the state of our souls and bodies should always be at the forefront in our lives and for the lives of our loved ones.
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**Flyers located in the Narthex.
Monday, January 29 - 12:30 p.m., Tenderhearted Ministry in Saint Catherine’s. Presenter, George Demas, Pastoral Assistant.
Sunday, February 11 - Godparents Sunday following the Divine Liturgy. Please see flyer.
Saturday, February 17 - Austin Community Meal in Plato Hall.
Sunday, February 18 - Saint Euphrosynos’ Kitchen Meal. Please contact the church office if you would like to volunteer or if you know of someone who would benefit from this ministry.
March 10 - Parish Oratorical Festival
March 10 - Apokreatiko Glendi
May 12 - Mother’s Day Luncheon
May 20 - Golf Outing
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A blessed week to you and your families!!!
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Assumption Panagia Greek Orthodox Church of Chicago
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