April 12, 2020
PALM SUNDAY
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PROSFORA: Maria Misthos
EPISTLE READING:St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians 4:4-9
GOSPEL: John 12:1-18 (Greek text, p. 200, black books)
LITURGY: 9:30 a.m.
PALM SUNDAY
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PROSFORA: Maria Misthos
EPISTLE READING:St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians 4:4-9
GOSPEL: John 12:1-18 (Greek text, p. 200, black books)
LITURGY: 9:30 a.m.
Palm Sunday
The Reading is from Matthew 21:1-11; 15-17
At that time, when Jesus drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If any one says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
"Tell the daughter of Zion,
Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat thereon. Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee." But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant; and they said to him, "Do you hear what they are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read,
'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings,
you have brought perfect praise'?"
And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
Prokeimenon. 4th Tone. Psalm 117.26,1.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Verse: Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His mercy endures forever.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians 4:4-9.
BRETHREN, rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.
Palm Sunday
The Reading is from John 12:1-18
Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazaros was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazaros was one of those at table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it. Jesus said, "Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."
When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazaros, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazaros also to death, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" And Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it; as it is written, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazaros out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
SATURDAY OF LAZAROS - SAT 11 APR
8:30 am – Matins
9:30 am – Liturgy
PALM SUNDAY - SUN 12 APR
8:15 am – Matins
9:30 AM – Liturgy
7:00pm – Bridegroom Service
HOLY MONDAY - MON 13 APR
7:00 pm – Bridegroom Service
7:30 PM – Gamblers Anonymous
HOLY TUESDAY - TUE 14 APR
7:00 PM – Bridegroom Service
HOLY WEDNESDAY - WEDS 15 APR
7:00 pm – Matins
HOLY THURSDAY - THU 16 APR
7:00 PM – Matins of the 12 Gospels
HOLY FRIDAY - FRI 17 APR
3:00 pm – Vespers
7:00 pm – Epitaphios Service
HOLY SATURDAY - SAT 18 APR
9:30 am – Vespers & Liturgy
11:00 pm – Vigil
PASCHA - SUN 19 APR
12:15 am – Liturgy
We regret that the church will not be as accessible as we would like for Holy Week.
Parishioners are welcome to visit, to pray and to light candles this week, Monday thru Thursday from 10:00 AM 'til 4:00 PM and on Friday, 10:00 AM 'til 2:00 PM.
The worship services are closed to all except the 4-5 people needed to perform the service or to enable the live streaming.
By order of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese we are unable to offer palms, Holy Unction, flowers, antidoron and Easter eggs. We are unable to offer Holy Communion except to those near death or to those physically present at the service.
Instructions for participating in the services by means of live streaming are included in the bulletin today. A revised schedule is also presented herein.
These extreme measures are intended to prevent communal gatherings that might spread the coronavirus. We pray that the crisis end swiftly so that we may return to more normal way of community life.
Live streaming of our services will be available on both Facebook and YouTube. Our pages/channels are listed here. Please join, like, subscribe, and follow for future services.
(1) You can find, like, and subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/stsconstantine
(2) the new Facebook page is located at https://www.facebook.com/stsconstantineCLE/live/ Look for the live stream on that page on Sunday mornings.
(3) As a member, you may also see the live stream automatically on your own Facebook feed on Sunday mornings (if you follow the group).
During the course of our health emergency, parishioners are encouraged to keep Lent even though attendance at church services is being limited at this time. A live stream of our Sunday Liturgy can be viewed from the church's facebook page. If you are not a member of our facebook group, please ask to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/stsconstantine/
We are also exploring other ways of bringing the service to you while you are confined at home. We do send updates out via email during the week. If you haven't gotten an email from us lately, it may be because we don't have an updated email address for you. You can contact the office at office@stsconstantine.com or by phone at (216) 932-3300 to keep your contact information current.
Parishioners can also take advantage of the following online aids:
- Spend time at the appropriate moments to participate in the services via video. You can find online services at https://www.goarch.org/live-broadcasts
- Those with newer AppleTV devices, Roku, or Amazon Fire can find the Archdiocesan channel: https://www.goarch.org/tv
- Utilize the Archdiocesan Online Chapel for texts of services, daily readings, and lives of the Saints: https://www.goarch.org/chapel
- Utilize the various service texts available on AGES Initiatives: http://www.agesinitiatives.com/dcs/public/dcs/servicesindex.html, singing or reading the hymns.
- Replace the litanies of petitions by saying "Lord, have mercy" three times, and replace the Priest's exclamations or blessings with "Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God have mercy on us and save us. Amen."
- There are many edifying bible studies and educational podcasts available via Ancient Faith Ministries ( https://www.ancientfaith.com/ ) or Orthodox Christian Network ( http://myocn.net )
- Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis offers a wonderful daily message through his “Prayer Team” ministry. Sign up using the following link: https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin
All Orthodox Education activities have been suspended until further notice. E-ministry will continue to greatest degree possible. Contact Maria at orthodox_education@stsconstantine.com with any questions or suggestions.
All in-person youth ministry has been suspended until further notice. E-ministry will continue to greatest degree possible. Contact Ted at tcherpas@stsconstantine.com with any questions or suggestions.
FAITH IN ACTION - Activities for April 2020
A Call to Action - sign up for Instacart and have frozen dinner meals delivered to St. Herman's. You can have Instacart pick up the meals from the Dave's Market located in Ohio City. Even if it is just one dinner meal, it helps. I know the men of St. Herman's would appreciate the meal, whether it be beef, chicken or vegetarian.
Thanks and if you have any questions, please let us know - Peter and Denise Poulos
Prayer Team - join the prayer team and keep others in your daily prayers. (Prayer Requests - If you have any prayer requests for our prayer team, or if you have questions about other activities, please send them to peter.poulos@case.edu).
Our team has been holding evening prayers via Zoom every other night at 8 p.m. If you are interested in participating, you should either email pmp17@case.edu or text 216 288 1972 ahead of time to receive the link. You will need to provide your name and email address to receive the Zoom invite.
REMEMBER - we are the Church. And we haven’t gone anywhere.
“Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:18)
Coffee Hosting: For the time being, coffee hours are being cancelled but you can still get on the calendar for hosting coffee and keeping this beautiful tradition of our church going. June 7, July 5, 12, 26, all of August, September, October 11 and October 18, and November 15, 22, and 29 are open. Host coffee in memory of your loved ones or in honor of your family's birthdays, anniversary, or namedays. See Christina Callos to sign up for your Sunday or email: ctcallos@gmail.com
The Lenten Retreat has been rescheduled for Sat. Oct. 3. Fr. Nicholas Louh will be the speaker. Please mark your calendars.
Each week the deadline for entries for the Sunday bulletin will be Wednesday by Noon. Any submissions after that will be included in the bulletin for the following week.
Calling all Chiotes! We are excited to bring Chios to Ohio by hosting the 65th National Chian Convention in Cleveland, Ohio from October 9th-12th. If you are interested in helping, joining a committee, or to learn more please call: Kosta Almiroudis: 216.970.1413, Kelli Almiroudis: 216.798.6150, Despina Matheos: 440.309.6752 or Peggy Kachevas: 440.554.0425.
1) Join the "Search the Scriptures" live call-in show hosted by Dr. Jeannie Constantinou, Professor at the University of San Diego on Monday evenings from 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Link: ancientfaith.com/radio/live. Call in to the show: 1-855-237-2346.
3) Join ""The Whole Counsel of God" online Bible study hosted by Father Stephen de Young on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Link for live stream: facebook.com/TheWholeCounselOfGod/ Podcast Link: ancientfaith.com/podcasts/wholecounsel
4) Join "3 Men & a Bible" livestream show Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fr. Panagiotis Boznos, Nick Lionas, and Steve Christoforou meet every week to discuss the Sunday Gospel and Epistle readings. Link: goarch.zoom.us/j/249935036
Donations of pure olive oil for the vigil lamp on the Holy Altar.
Candles are one way to express our prayers and our presence in worship. During the crisis, you may make a request to light a candle by (1) calling the church office during regular hours, M-F, 10:00 am-4:00 pm, (2) making an email request to office@stsconstantine.com, no later than 3:00 pm on a day of regular business hours, (3) coming to the church during regular office hours and purchasing a candle to take with you or leaving the candle (lit or not) in the candle stands, or (4) making a request thru the Facebook live stream during a service. This is an honor system in which we trust that you will make a monetary gift for your candle.
This parish strives "To lead people to God thorugh Orthodox Christianity and to provide ways for them live and share God's love." It does so in good days and in difficult ones, such as we now expeience. Our doors may be closed to the general public, but we endeavor to spread the "good news" as best we can. Any financial help that you might offer is deeply apprciated.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Narthex Press