SUNDAY AFTER NATIVITY
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LITURGY: 9:30 a.m.
PROSFORA: Anna Tsagaris
PANGARI: Team D: George E Loucas, Clay White, Gus Kallergis
EPISTLE READING: Acts 6:8-15, 7:1-5,47-60
GOSPEL: Matthew 2:13-23
(GREEK TEXT p. 214, black books)
Seventh Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from John 20:1-10
On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.
Prokeimenon. Plagal 4th Tone. Psalm 18.4,1.
Their voice has gone out into all the earth.
Verse: The heavens declare the glory of God.
The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 6:8-15; 7:1-5, 47-60.
In those days, Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, arose and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they secretly instigated men, who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us." And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
And the high priest said, "Is this so?" And Stephen said: "Brethren and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, 'Depart from your land and from your kindred and go into the land which I will show you.' Then he departed from the land of the Chaldeans, and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living; yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him in possession and to his posterity after him, though he had no child.
"But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands; as the prophet says, 'Heaven is my throne, and earth my footstool. What house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?'
"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth against him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together upon him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Sunday after Nativity
The Reading is from Matthew 2:13-23
When the wise men departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more." But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaos reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."
Mon, Dec 28th - 7:30 p.m. - Gamblers Anonymous
Fri, Jan 1st - 9:30 a.m. - Liturgy (St. Basil)
- 7:30 p.m. - Gamblers Anonymous
Sat, Jan 2nd - 9:30 a.m. - Liturgy (St. Seraphim)
Sun, Jan 3rd - 8:15 a.m. - Matins
9:30 a.m. - Liturgy
Those wishing to follow the livestreamed services with a written text may do so using the links below.
Electronic Version of Orthros (Matins) on Dec 27:
https://www.agesinitiatives.com/dcs/public/dcs/p/s/2020/12/27/ma/gr-en/se.m12.d27.ma.pdf
Electronic Version of Divine Liturgy on Dec 27:
https://www.agesinitiatives.com/dcs/public/dcs/p/s/2020/12/27/li/gr-en/se.m12.d27.li.pdf
Our parish strives "To lead people to God through Orthodox Christianity and to provide ways for them live and share God's love." It does so in good days and in bad, such as we now experience. Church attendance may be difficult or impossible for you, but we endeavor to spread the "good news" as best we can. Any financial help that you might offer is deeply appreciated.
Tithe.ly is an online giving tool that makes it simple to safely/securely give to our church anywhere at any time. You can download the Tithe.ly giving app onto your phone, or click the green "Give Now" button on the church website. Your gift goes directly to the church. Plus, you can track all your gifts, setup recurring donations, and more!
Many thanks to those of you who have been lifelong members of Philoptochos, and a warm welcome to all the new parishioners who have just joined us! If you have not already done so, please join Philoptochos as we start our 2021 year. Forms are now available in the church office or online at http://stsconstantine.com/outreach/philoptochos/ For more updates on the work of Philoptochos, you can visit the Philoptochos, Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Community, Cleveland Ohio Facebook page.
We have closed our livestreaming service on Facebook in favor of using YouTube for all future livestreaming of services. To continue participating with our livestream services, please visit, subscribe, & bookmark our channel at YouTube.com/stsconstantine.
In addition to Sunday services, there will be livestreaming for the services of Jan. 1, 5 & 6.
The Orthodox Christian Women of Akron have scheduled a retreat for January 23, 2021. Once again, because of the COVID virus, it will be held as a free ZOOM event. Speaker Joe May will present "St. Basil & His New City" - an Orthodox Christian response of love to the issue of poverty. Contact Nikki Bober (330 409-3552, or email at nlbober@gmail.com) or Nancy Studebaker (330 655-9638) with any questions or for information regarding the Zoom link.
Bible Study
You can join us for 30 minutes of weekly Bible Study - all are welcome. If you are interested in an invite, or for current dates and topics, please email peter.poulos@case.edu.
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Prayer Team
You can join the prayer team and keep others in your daily prayers. If you are interested, 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. If you have any requests for our prayer team, or if you have questions about other activities, please send them to peter.poulos@case.edu
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Thank you and keep the faith!
“Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:18)
THANK YOU!!!
Thanks to your generosity, Philoptochos was able to provide Christmas gifts for over 100 children and their parents, who are currently living at the Zelma George Family Center. This is the largest number of families we have been able to help to date. We couldn't have done it without you!
1) GOYA/Teenage Winter Retreat: GOYAns are invited to participate in an online event focused on St. Herman of Alaska who was glorified as a saint 50 years ago. The retreat will be hosted by the OCA, and it will be Wednesday, December 30th starting at 11:30 a.m. Registration and information is at linktr.ee/nyjocayouth. See Ted with any questions.
2) CrossRoad is accepting applications until January 4th, 2021. CrossRoad "prepares high school juniors and seniors to make big life decisions and invites them to connect with the Orthodox Christian theological and spiritual tradition." Our own Angelique Myers will serve on staff as part of this year's program too. To learn more or register, go to https://www.crossroadinstitute.org/
3) Virtual YAL Conference: young adults (ages 21 - 35ish) are invited to participate in an online retreat hosted by the Metropolis of San Francisco. The event will be Saturday, January 9th - Sunday, January 10th. No cost to attend; register at cvent.me/ZQ2bzr.
4) Orthodoxy on Tap will have its next young adult event (ages 21 - 35ish) on Thursday, January 21st @ 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. The guest speaker will be Christian Gonzalez, the young adult coordinator of the entire Archdiocese. RSVP by Wednesday, January 20th to gorealcleveland@gmail.com.
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Due to the inceased pandemic restrictions in Cuyahoga County, Orthodox Education classes are returning to internet-only platforms for the time being. There will be a 2-week break as usual after Sunday; classes will resume January 10th.
Zoom events:
Jan. 17th -- speaker TBD
Contact Maria at orthodox_education@stsconstantine.com with any questions or comments.
As part of a series of events to celebrate the Bicentennial of Greece's Independence, the Metropolis of Pittsburgh is collaborating on a project to uncover unknown heroes. We are asking for children to ask their grandparents, great grandparents, etc. last names and first names, villages in Greece where they were born or grew up or going back as far as they know. Maybe their families participated in the Greek War of Independence.
A project team will work on uncovering as much as they can. Families will be honored in March of 2021. Please look at the attached flyers. This is open to Greek School Students and Goyans; the deadline is December 15, 2020. Send their information to contact@panhellenicfoundation.org
The Orthodox Christian tradition presents many opportunities for worship outside of Sunday morning services, especially Liturgies on the feast days of beloved saints. In light of the current crisis, the number will increase to at least one Liturgy per week in addition to the Sunday service. As the restrictions on Sunday attendance are loosening up, those with special concerns may consider attending a weekday service, where the typical attendance is in the range of 10-20.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Cross Press
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
Your Apostle among the Rulers, St. Constantine, who once beheld in the sky the image of Your Cross, and who like Paul received his calling not from man, once entrusted the Ruling City into Your hand. We entreat You to restore it in peace forever, at the intercession of the Theotokos, O Lord who loves humanity. (Copyright Fr. Seraphim Dedes, used by permission. All rights reserved)
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Transfiguration Monastery