Welcome

Jesus Christ taught us to love and serve all people, regardless of their ethnicity or nationality. To understand that, we need to look no further than to the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Every time we celebrate the Divine Liturgy, it is offered "on behalf of all, and for all." As Orthodox Christians we stand against racism and bigotry. All human beings share one common identity as children of God. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatian 3:28)

Members of our Parish Council are:
Joseph Barbera - Council Member at Large
Susan Davis- Council Member at Large
Carolyn Neiss - President
Marlene Melesko - Vice President
Susan Egan - Treasurer
Dn Timothy Skuby - Secretary

Parish Shared Folder - http://bit.ly/St-Alexis
Parish Members' Directory - https://stalexischurch.sharepoint.com (See Fr Steven for login information)

Pastoral Care - General Information

Emergency Sick Calls can be made at any time. Please call Fr Steven at (860) 866-5802, when a family member is admitted to the hospital.
Anointing in Sickness: The Sacrament of Unction is available in Church, the hospital, or your home, for anyone who is sick and suffering, however severe.
Marriages and Baptisms require early planning, scheduling and selections of sponsors (crown bearers or godparents). See Father before booking dates and reception halls!
Funerals are celebrated for practicing Orthodox Christians. Please see Father for details. The Church opposes cremation; we cannot celebrate funerals for cremations.

Announcements

Christ is risen!

May 11, annually, is the Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius.

We shall be marking the feast, here at Saints Cyril and Methodius Church in Terryville, with the celebration of Vespers with Divine Liturgy ("Vesperal Liturgy") on Tuesday evening, May 10, the Eve of the Feast, beginning at 6:30 pm. If you, or any of your parishioners, would like to join us that evening, you are most welcome. Please, let me know if you plan to be with us. Thank you.

Respectfully, in Christ,

Fr. John H.

Archpriest John Hopko, Rector
Saints Cyril and Methodius Orthodox Church, Terryville, CT

COVID Update

Hartford, Middlesex and New Haven counties are in the High warning level, according to the CDC. They recommendation is for people to wear masks indoors while in public. "This latest CDC update is a reminder that CT is in the midst of a swell from a subvarieant of omicron. While I don't expect to receive any further guidelines from the Hierarchy of the NE Diocese, I am recommending that you follow your level of comfort, inoculation recommendations. While I am not ready to move "back" to multiple spoons, my current recommendation is to wear a mask throughout services. Please be sure to use the disinfectent for handwashing that we have provided as well.

Many have asked about unlocking the rear door of the church during services. While we started this practice of locking this door during the upswing of the pandemic, keep it locked has also been about safety. We will discuss this at our upcoming council meeting. If you have a strong opinion, one way or the other, please attend and make it known to the council.

Prayers, Intercessions and Commemorations

Archpriest Dennis, Archpriest Michael, Priest Ceraphim, Deacon Timothy, Evelyn, Katheryn, Anne, Aaron, Veronica, Richard, Nancy, Susanne, Gail, Kelley, Nina, Ellen, Maureen, Elizabeth, Christopher, Joshua, Jennifer, Petra, Olivia, Jessica, Sean, Sarah, Justin, Edward, Dayna and Maria.

Please pray for our catecumen David.

Many Years to: All our Mothers, God-Mothers and Grand Mothers; to Luba Martins and Katerina Hoehnebart on the occasion of their birthdays.

Memory Eternal: Archbishop Paul, Archpriest Paul Lazor

___

Pray for: All those confined to hospitals, nursing homes, and their own homes due to illness; for all those who serve in the armed forces; widows, orphans, prisoners, victims of violence, and refugees;
All those suffering chronic illness, financial hardship, loneliness, addictions, abuse, abandonment and despair; those who are homeless, those who are institutionalize, those who have no one to pray for them;
All Orthodox seminarians & families; all Orthodox monks and nuns, and all those considering monastic life; all Orthodox missionaries and their families.
All those who have perished due to hatred, intolerance and pestilence; all those departed this life in the hope of the Resurrection.

___

Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian (98-117). Myrrhbearing Women. Ven. Arsenius the Great (449-450). Ven. Arseny the Lover-of-Labor (14th c.) and Pimen the Ascetic, of the Kiev Caves (Far Caves—12th c.).

Prayer for family and friends in the Ukraine and Russia

Hope, Myron, Daniel, Stepan, Galina, Maria, Vladislav, Juliana, Oksana, Novel

If you have specific names of anyone you would like to have included here, please send them to Fr Steven.

Parish Calendar

Schedule of Services and Events

May 8 to May 16, 2022

Sunday, May 8

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women

9:30AM Divine Liturgy

Monday, May 9

3rd Monday after Pascha

Tuesday, May 10

Simon the Zealot & Apostle

4:30AM Akathist to St Simon the Zealot

Wednesday, May 11

3rd Wednesday after Pascha

4:30PM Open Doors

Thursday, May 12

3rd Thursday after Pascha

Luba Martins

Elisha Liam Watson

8:30AM Daily Matins

6:00PM Parish Council Meeting for May — meeting date and request for agenda items

Friday, May 13

3rd Friday after Pascha

Saturday, May 14

3rd Saturday after Pascha

Katerina Hoehnebart

5:30PM Great Vespers

Sunday, May 15

Sunday of the Paralytic

9:30AM Divine Liturgy

Monday, May 16

Alan Hayes

4th Monday after Pascha

Saints and Feasts

May 08

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women

About the beginning of His thirty-second year, when the Lord Jesus was going throughout Galilee, preaching and working miracles, many women who had received of His beneficence left their own homeland and from then on followed after Him. They ministered unto Him out of their own possessions, even until His crucifixion and entombment; and afterwards, neither losing faith in Him after His death, nor fearing the wrath of the Jewish rulers, they came to the sepulchre, bearing the myrrh-oils they had prepared to annoint His body. It is because of the myrrh-oils, that these God-loving women brought to the tomb of Jesus that they are called the Myrrh-bearers. Of those whose names are known are the following: first of all, the most holy Virgin Mary, who in Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40 is called "the mother of James and Joses" (these are the sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, and she was therefore their step-mother); Mary Magdalene (celebrated July 22); Mary, the wife of Clopas; Joanna, wife of Chouza, a steward of Herod Antipas; Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus; and Susanna. As for the names of the rest of them, the evangelists have kept silence (Matt 27:55-56; 28:1-10. Mark 15:40-41. Luke 8:1-3; 23:55-24:11, 22-24. John 19:25; 20:11-18. Acts 1:14).

Together with them we celebrate also the secret disciples of the Saviour, Joseph and Nicodemus. Of these, Nicodemus was probably a Jerusalemite, a prominent leader among the Jews and of the order of the Pharisees, learned in the Law and instructed in the Holy Scriptures. He had believed in Christ when, at the beginning of our Saviour's preaching of salvation, he came to Him by night. Furthermore, he brought some one hundred pounds of myrrh-oils and an aromatic mixture of aloes and spices out of reverence and love for the divine Teacher (John 19:39). Joseph, who was from the city of Arimathea, was a wealthy and noble man, and one of the counsellors who were in Jerusalem. He went boldly unto Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and together with Nicodemus he gave Him burial. Since time did not permit the preparation of another tomb, he placed the Lord's body in his own tomb which was hewn out of rock, as the Evangelist says (Matt. 27:60).

May 08

Synaxis of the Holy Powder (or manna) which emitted from the tomb of Saint John the Theologian

The feast today in honour of the holy Apostle John commemorates the miracle taking place each year in Ephesus, in which a certain dust or powder, called manna, suddenly poured forth from his tomb and was used by the faithful for deliverance from maladies of both soul and body. For an account of his life, see September 26.

May 09

The Holy Prophet Esaias (Isaiah)

The Prophet Esaias, the son of Amos, was descended from a royal tribe. He prophesied in the days of Ozias (who is also called Azarias), Joatham, Ahaz, and Hezekias, Kings of Judah. About 681 B.C, in the reign of Manasses, the son and successor of the most pious Hezekias, when this Prophet was censuring Manasses' impiety and lawlessness, he was sawn asunder with a wooden saw, and thus received a martyr's end.

Of all the Prophets, he is called the most eloquent because of the beauty and loftiness of his words. His book of prophecy, divided into sixty-six chapters, is ranked first among the greater Prophets. The Fifth Ode of the Psalter, "Out of the night my spirit waketh at dawn unto Thee, O God . . ." is taken from his book. It was this holy Prophet who foretold that a Virgin would conceive in the womb (7:14); that not an ambassador, nor an angel, but the Lord Himself would save fallen man (63:9); that the Messiah would suffer, bearing our sins (ch. 53). His name means "Yah is helper."

May 10

Simon the Zealot & Apostle

This Apostle was one of the Twelve, and was called Simon the Cananite by Matthew, but Simon the Zealot by Luke (Matt. 10:4; Luke 6:15). The word "Cananite" used by Matthew is believed to be derived from kana, which in the Palestinian dialect of Aramaic means "zealot" or 'zealous"; Luke therefore translates the meaning of "Cananite." Later accounts say that he was the bridegroom at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, where the Lord Jesus changed the water into wine, making this the first of His miracles (John 2:1-11); according to some, he is called Cananite because he was from Cana (according to others, from the Land of Canaan). Simon means "one who hears."

May 11

Methodius & Cyril, Equal-to-the Apostles Illuminators of the Slavs

Born in Thessalonica, Saint Methodius was a military man before becoming a monk on Mount Olympus. His brother Constantine, known as the Philosopher because of his erudition, was Librarian at the Church of the Holy Wisdom in Constantinople; he later became a monk with the name of Cyril. The Emperor Michael sent him with his brother Methodius to the Khazars in response to their petition for teachers to expound to them the Christian Faith. On their way, they stayed in Cherson, where they recovered from the Black Sea the relics of Saint Clement of Rome. Later, they were called by Prince Rostislav of Moravia to instruct his people in the Orthodox Faith (Saint Rostislav died a martyr's death and is celebrated Oct. 15). The Saints devised an alphabet for the Slavs, and used it to translate the Greek books into the language of the people. In their apostolic labours throughout the Balkans, the holy brothers were slandered by certain Germanic bishops who opposed the use of the vernacular in the church services. Summoned to court at Rome in 867, they presented their Slavonic translations to Pope Adrian II, who received them with love and full approval. Two years later, Saint Cyril reposed in Rome on February 14 and was buried in the Church of Saint Clement. Saint Methodius was made Bishop of Moravia, but at the intrigues of certain Latin clergy, was cast into prison by the "Holy Roman Emperor" (the Germanic Emperor of the West), where he was cruelly tormented for some three years. In 874, through the defence of Pope John VIII, he was freed and made Archbishop of Moravia. Because he reproved the lax morals of the German priests in Moravia, he was soon accused of heresy by them, and was forbidden to celebrate the Liturgy in Slavonic. Summoned to Rome again in 879, he was completely exonerated and allowed once again to use the Slavonic tongue for the divine services. He reposed on April 6, 885.

May 12

Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus

Saint Epiphanius was born about 310 in Besanduc, a village of Palestine, of Jewish parents who were poor and tillers of the soil. In his youth he came to faith in Christ and was baptized with his sister, after which he distributed all he had to the poor and became a monk, being a younger contemporary of Saint Hilarion the Great (see Oct. 21), whom he knew. He also visited the renowned monks of Egypt to learn their ways. Because the fame of his virtue had spread, many in Egypt desired to make him a bishop; when he learned of this, he fled, returning to Palestine. But after a time he learned that the bishops there also intended to consecrate him to a widowed bishopric, and he fled to Cyprus. In Paphos he met Saint Hilarion, who told him to go to Constantia, a city of Cyprus also called Salamis. Epiphanius answered that he preferred to take ship for Gaza, which, despite Saint Hilarion's admonitions, he did. But a contrary wind brought the ship to Constantia where, by the providence of God, Epiphanius fell into the hands of bishops who had come together to elect a successor to the newly-departed Bishop of Constantia, and the venerable Epiphanius was at last constrained to be consecrated, about the year 367. He was fluent in Hebrew, Egyptian, Syriac, Greek, and Latin, and because of this he was called "Five-tongued." He had the gift of working miracles, and was held in such reverence by all, that although he was a known enemy of heresy, he was well nigh the only eminent bishop that the Arians did not dare to drive into exile when the Emperor Valens persecuted the Orthodox about the year 371. Having tended his flock in a manner pleasing to God, and guarded it undefiled from every heresy, he reposed about the year 403, having lived for ninety-three years. Among his sacred writings, the one that is held in special esteem is the Panarion (from the Latin Panarium, that is, "Bread-box,") containing the proofs of the truth of the Faith, and an examination of eighty heresies.

Hymns of the Day

Priest: “Blessed is the Kingdom…”
Choir: “Amen.”
Priest: “Christ is risen… “ (2 ½ times)
Choir: “and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!”
(The Divine Liturgy is begun in this manner until the Leavetaking of Pascha.)

Tone 2 Troparion (Resurrection)

When You descended to death, O Life Immortal,
You slew hell with the splendor of Your Godhead.
And when from the depths You raised the dead,
all the powers of heaven cried out://
“O Giver of life, Christ our God, glory to You!”

Tone 2 Troparion (Pentecostarion)

The noble Joseph,
when he had taken down Your most pure Body from the Tree,
wrapped it in fine linen and anointed it with spices,
and placed it in a new tomb.
But You rose on the third day, O Lord,//
granting the world great mercy.

Tone 2 Troparion (St. John)

Beloved Apostle of Christ our God,
hasten to deliver a defenseless people!
He Who allowed you to recline on His breast,
receives you as you bow before Him.
Implore Him, O John the Theologian,
to disperse the persistent threat from the heathens,//
entreating for us peace and great mercy!

Tone 2 Kontakion (St. John)

Who shall declare your greatness,
O virgin disciple,
for you pour forth wonders and are a source of healings,//
and pray for our souls as theologian and friend of Christ.

Tone 2 Kontakion (Pentecostarion)

You commanded the Myrrhbearers to rejoice, O Christ God.
By Your Resurrection, You stopped the lamentation of Eve, the first mother.
You commanded them to preach to Your Apostles://
“The Savior is risen from the tomb!”

(Instead of “It is truly meet…,” we sing:)

The Angel cried to the Lady, full of grace:
“Rejoice, O pure Virgin! Again, I say: Rejoice,
your Son is risen from His three days in the tomb!
With Himself He has raised all the dead.”
Rejoice, O ye people!

Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem!
The glory of the Lord has shone on you.
Exult now, and be glad, O Zion!
Be radiant, O pure Theotokos,
in the Resurrection of your Son!

Communion Hymn

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the highest! (Ps. 148:1)
Their proclamation has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of
the universe. (Ps. 18:4)
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Priest: “In the fear of God…”
Choir: “Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord… “
Priest: “O God, save Your people… “
Choir: “Christ is risen from the dead… “ (sung once, instead of “We have seen the True Light…)
Priest: “Always, now and ever…”
Choir: “Let our mouths be filled…”

At the Dismissal, the Priest says: “Glory to You, O Christ…” and the choir sings “Christ is risen from the dead…” (thrice).

And unto us He has given eternal life.
Let us worship His Resurrection on the third day!

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Gospel Reading

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women
The Reading is from Mark 15:43-47; 16:1-8

At that time, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. And he bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Wisdom of the Fathers

They [the women] had followed Him ministering to Him, and were present even unto the time of the dangers. Wherefore also they saw all; how He cried, how He gave up the ghost, how the rocks were rent, and all the rest.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 88 on Matthew 27, 4th Century

And these [the women] first see Jesus; and the sex that was most condemned, this first enjoys the sight of the blessings, this most shows its courage. And when the disciples had fled, these were present.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 88 on Matthew 27, 4th Century

The second [Sunday after Pascha] is dedicated to the women who visited the tomb of Christ, hoping to anoint his body with myrrh, but they found an empty tomb instead. In many ways, this reflects the content of every Sunday and every Divine Liturgy: we come to church to celebrate the sacrifice of Christ, which takes place on the altar, a symbol of the tomb of Christ. Our testimony, every time, is that the tomb is empty, a reflection of the revelation to the Myrrh bearers.

Rev. Dr. Andreas Andreopoulos

Gazing on God: Trinity, Church and Salvation in Orthodox Thought and Iconography. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 2013, 55-56.

Beyond the Sermon

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
SUNDAY OF THE MYRRH -BEARING WOMEN
April 21, 1991

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
We remember today the Myrrh-bearing women, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, people who in the course of the Gospel are hardly mentioned, yet who, when Christ was seemingly defeated, when death, rejection, betrayal and hatred had conquered, proved to be people of faithfulness and courage, the faithfulness of the heart and the courage that can be born only of love. At the moment of the Crucifixion all the Apostles had fled save one, John, who stood at the foot of the Cross with the Mother of God. Everyone else had abandoned Christ, only a small group of women stood at a short distance from the Cross, and when He had died, they came to anoint His Body which Joseph of Arimathea had sought from Pilate, unafraid of being recognised as a disciple, because in life and in death love and faithfulness had conquered.
Let us reflect on this. It is easy to be Christ's disciples when we are on the crest of the wave, in the security of countries where no persecution, no rejection is endured, no betrayal can lead us to martyrdom, or simply to becoming the victims of mockery and rejection.
Let us think of ourselves not in regard to Christ alone but with regard to one another, because Christ has said that what we have done to any one of us, to the smallest, to the most insignificant, we have done to Him.
Let us ask ourselves how we behave when someone is rejected, mocked, ostracised, condemned by public opinion or by the opinion of those who mean something to us, whether at that moment our heart remains faithful, whether at that moment we find courage to say, ‘He was, and he remains my friend whether you accept or reject him’. There is no greater measure of faithfulness than that faithfulness which is made manifest in defeat. Let us consider this, because we all are defeated, we are defeated in so many ways. We all strive, with whatever energy we have - a little or much, to be what we should be, and we are defeated at every moment. Should we not look at one another not only with compassion, but with the faithfulness of friends who are prepared to stand by a person who falls, falls away from grace, falls away from his own ideal, frustrates all hopes and expectations which we have set on him or her. At that time let us stand by, at that time let us be faithful and prove that our love was not conditioned by the hope of victory but was a wholehearted gift, gratuitous, joyful, wonderful. Amen.

Bulletin Inserts

FORCC Pascal Lectures

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