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Assumption Church
Publish Date: 2020-04-12
Bulletin Contents
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Saints and Feasts
Weekly Bulletin
Palmsunday
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Assumption Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (203) 748-2992
  • Fax:
  • (203) 748-7747
  • Street Address:

  • 30 Clapboard Ridge Road

  • Danbury, CT 06811

Contact Information

Proistamenos Father Nikolas Karloutsos


frnikolas@agoc.us

Services Schedule

Services Schedule:
Orthros at 8:45 am - Sundays
Divine Liturgy at 10am - Sundays
 
Weekday Divine Liturgies without Orthros begin with the Doxology at 9:50 am
 
Summer Services Schedule (Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend):
Orthros at 8:30 am - Sundays
Divine Liturgy at 9:30 am - Sundays
 
Summer weekday Divine Liturgies without Orthros begin with the Doxology at 9:20 am

Past Bulletins


Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Fourth Mode. 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.

Gospel Reading

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.

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Saints and Feasts

Palmsunday
April 12

Palm Sunday

On Sunday, five days before the Passover of the Law, the Lord came from Bethany to Jerusalem. Sending two of His disciples to bring Him a foal of an ass, He sat thereon and entered into the city. When the multitude there heard that Jesus was coming, they straightway took up the branches of palm trees in their hands, and went forth to meet Him. Others spread their garments on the ground, and yet others cut branches from the trees and strewed them in the way that Jesus was to pass; and all of them together, especially the children, went before and after Him, crying out: "Hosanna: Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord, the King of Israel" (John 12:13). This is the radiant and glorious festival of our Lord's entry into Jerusalem that we celebrate today.

The branches of the palm trees symbolize Christ's victory over the devil and death. The word Hosanna means "Save, I pray," or "Save, now." The foal of an ass, and Jesus' sitting thereon, and the fact that this animal was untamed and considered unclean according to the Law, signified the former uncleanness and wildness of the nations, and their subjection thereafter to the holy Law of the Gospel.

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Weekly Bulletin

Holy Week Schedule

Subject to Change – Note adjusted start times for most services

  • SU 4/12 @ 6:00PM Nymphios (Bridegroom) Service 
  • M 4/13 @ 6:00PM Nymphios (Bridegroom) Service 
  • T 4/14 @ 10:00AM Pre-Sanctified Liturgy
  • T 4/14 @ 6:00PM Nymphios (Bridegroom) Service
  • W 4/15 @ 6:00PM Holy Unction 
  • TH 4/16 @ 10:00AM Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great 
  • TH 4/16 @ 6:00PM The Crucifixion of Our Lord - The Twelve Gospel Lessons 
  • F 4/17 @ 1:00PM Reading of the Royal Hours
  • F 4/17 @ 3:00PM The Apokathilosis Service (Removing Christ’s Body from Cross) 
  • F 4/17 @ 7:00PM Service of Lamentations
  • ST 4/18 @ 10:00AM Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great - Holy Saturday 
  • ST 4/18 @ 7:00PM The Canon of Pascha 
  • ST 4/18 @ 8:00PM Resurrection Gospel and Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
  • SU 4/19 @ 10:00AM Agape Service (Great Vespers) 

Covid-19 Guidelines 

NEW YORK – On Monday, April 6, 2020, the Holy Eparchial Synod convened, via teleconference, in order to discuss significant matters that affect the Archdiocese of America, and unanimously decided the following:

1)    The sacred services of our Orthodox tradition for Holy Week and Easter will continue to be observed in the Parishes and the Monasteries following the directives of the local Metropolitans and in accordance to the mandates of the respective State and Health authorities. Therefore, the “closed-doors” policy will be strictly enforced, the services will be broadcasted via the internet and they will be celebrated only with the participation of the priest, the chanter, and the acolyte. 

2)    Abiding by the regulations of the aforementioned State and Health authorities, there will be absolutely no distribution of the traditional material offerings to the faithful, including palms, candles, Holy Unction, flowers, eggs and the Paschal Light.

3)    Spiritual guidance may be provided remotely using technological means, but the Sacrament of Holy Confession and the Prayer of Absolution cannot be offered via the telephone or via electronic media.

4)    This year’s National Clergy-Laity Congress will be held through an internet teleconference forum on a date to be announced in the near future.

FROM THE CHIEF SECRETARIAT OF THE HOLY EPARCHIAL SYNOD

Updated Covid-19 Guidelines from the Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (date: April 10, 2020)

Holy Week is upon us and, while we will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord as we have for centuries, we must also keep in mind the restrictions we are following to combat the spread of COVID-19.  We are not relaxing these restrictions for Holy Week. Indeed, we must be as vigilant as ever.

For Holy Week:

  • Churches must remain closed to the general public and to parishioners at all times.  All doors to the Church and to other parts of a parish campus must remain secured at all times.  For the safety of all, the Church facilities are to remain closed.
  • For the Divine Liturgy/Presanctified Liturgy, you must limit attendees to 3 people, including the priest.
  • Each of the three people in the church should remain at least 6 feet apart, unless the altar server is handing the priest a liturgical object.
  • The Faithful may participate in Services only by live stream, not in person.
  • Nor should anyone congregate around the church.  We must avoid gathering of people at all costs, whether it is inside the church or outside the church on the sidewalk or church parking lot.

Agape Vespers

If you can read any foreign language and would like to participate and assist in advance of our Agape Vespers on Sunday, April 19, 2020 [where the Gospel according to St. John (20:19-25) is read], please contact Fr. Nikolas.  We are looking for willing participants to record themselves (audio only or audio+video) in proclaiming the Good News of the Resurrection all over the universe without discrimination!

Daily Prayer service by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America is leading a series of daily prayers for those faithful of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America who have either passed away or are suffering from complications related to the coronavirus COVID19.

Conducted daily at 12:30pm in the Chapel of Saint Paul at the Archdiocesan Headquarters in New York City, His Eminence invites the faithful to submit names of departed faithful and of those who are in need of healing from the devastating impact of COVID19. These prayers will continue to be read daily and live streamed on Facebook (search Archbishop Elpidophoros of America or Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America) to the faithful for the duration of this pandemic crisis.

To submit names of those departed due to COVID19 or those currently suffering from it, please fill out the submission form at https://bit.ly/covid19-prayerlist.

Watch Andrea Bocelli Easter concert live from the Duomo Cathedral in Milan today, Sunday April 12 at 1pm

https://www.classicfm.com/artists/andrea-bocelli/watch-music-for-hope-online-concert/

Ladies Philoptochos Society News:

Continued prayers being sent to our beloved sisters of Philoptochos and all parishioners. As we enter into Holy Week, we are saddened that all Pascha preparations are cancelled. Please consider ways to prepare at home with your loved ones (even if is it virtually). We are available to help. We are continuing our outreach to church family members to offer support and "stay in touch."  We encourage all parishioners to think of fellow parishioners to reach out to with a phone call or email. Should you want to share recipes or need recipes for tsourekia, please email philoptochos@agoc.us or contact Caryn Flannery, caryn23@sbcglobal.net or Fevri Gkanatsios, fevri@exodose.com and we will facilitate the sharing. At our recent Philoptochos meeting, many ladies shared they are busy making masks for our health care workers or others in need. We also donated to our National Philoptochos COVID-19 Emergency Fund, and we are working on other ways to donate to food banks as well as support some the courageous "heroes" (healthcare workers, childcare staff, grocery store clerk, restaurateurs, and many more) who are helping us get through this COVID-19 pandemic. May God bless us all.

Link to latest National Ladies Philoptochos Society Newsletter:

https://mailchi.mp/philoptochos.org/philanthropy-witness-april-2020?e=f65be0b376

Link to new Philoptochos promo video:

https://youtu.be/E_Xm0EAyYCU

Birthdays/Name days/Anniversaries/Special events:

Your Assumption Church Community wants to celebrate with you! Please let us know of any upcoming events in your life so we can (virtually) share the joy! Your submissions will be announced in future weekly bulletins. Email details to: creationcare@agoc.us

April Birthdays (received as of 4/11)

April 5- Margot Racano; April 17-Michaele (Giannoutsos); April 18-Chryse Terrill

Volunteer Opportunity:

Please consider sending cards and notes to Danbury Hospital staff during this time of crisis. All cards received are delivered to staff on all nursing floors and also may be displayed for staff to see in special areas of the hospital. Sign your name (if you like) and please note that you are a member of AGOC. The hospital would like track the organizations participating and will send us photos of their displays.

Address envelope as follows:
Danbury Hospital

Attn:  Kathy Hearty, Volunteer Services

24 Hospital Avenue

Danbury, CT 06810

Assumption Church 2020 Stewardship Ministry:

In this time of social distancing we'd like to remind our parishioners of the Church's new ability to accept online donations by CLICKING HERE. You will be taken to Assumption Church's secure payment portal through Vanco, a reputable and leading provider of electronic payment and donation processing solutions (https://www.vancopayments.com).  This link is also on our website www.agoc.us – just click “WE NOW ACCEPT ONLINE DONATIONS” or the “DONATE ONLINE” buttons on our home page.  More than 40,000 churches, faith-based groups, nonprofits, schools and educational organizations trust Vanco to simplify administrative processes, organize events and securely complete transactions every day.  A shorter link to our Parish's giving page is here: http://bit.ly/3a8YvJj.

Assumption Church Virtual Archive Project/Fanari Newsletter:

The Fanari newsletter is asking for your contributions to compile a virtual archive of images related to the coronavirus pandemic to chronicle our Assumption Church family’s experiences throughout this crisis. We know the value of communication in these difficult times and see this living archive as a way of fostering community and telling our story. We would love to see your story in this moment. 

Are you or a family member a healthcare professional, first responder or essential businessperson leaving home every day? How are you maintaining your connection with family, friends and church while sheltering at home? How do you maintain your worship practice? Have you created a “home altar?” How is your family celebrating Pascha? What does work and home schooling look like? What creative solutions have you designed for these new challenges?

Many of these photos will be featured in upcoming Fanari newsletters and all will be anthologized for future reference. Please send your photos with names/caption, as individual jpegs if possible, to creationcare@agoc.us.

Youth Ministry:

Virtual Family Activities and Resources link from GOARCH/Y2AM:

https://www.y2am.org/en/athome

Virtual Sunday School link and Weekly Meditations for Orthodox Families from Tending the Garden of our Hearts

https://tending-the-garden.com/virtualsundayschool/

Creation Care Message: 

“Turn every house into a small church and pray, asking for the immense grace and mercy of God on mankind. Abide by the self-protection measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Our Church is with you and by your side. She loves all of you and prays for you all. We act responsibly because we love, not because fear knocks at our door. We are looking forward, praying, to Easter. And then the whole Creation will shine in the light of Resurrection, joy, hope. Take courage, my brothers, The Lord is with you.” 

HE Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens, March, 2020 

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