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St. Andrew Church
Publish Date: 2020-08-23
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St. Andrew Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (973) 584-0388
  • Fax:
  • (973) 584-3573
  • Street Address:

  • 1447 Sussex Turnpike

  • Randolph, NJ 07869-1830
  • Mailing Address:

  • 1447 Sussex Turnpike

  • Randolph, NJ 07869-1830


Contact Information








Services Schedule

On Sunday we celebrate

Orthros at 8:45 am & Divine Liturgy at 10am

Weekday Orthros and Liturgies begin at 8am 

 

 


Past Bulletins


Services at St. Andrew

Attending services at Saint Andrew

Below are the links for upcoming services.

Registration to all services will be open until 5 pm prior to the service

Just Click on the Eventbrite Link and make your Reservation.

If you are having problems with link or do not have access to the internet call the church office 973-584-0388 (leave a message and we’ll get back to you). 

If you attended liturgy last Sunday, we kindly ask that you wait until Friday to reserve again, in order to allow an opportunity for other parishioners to attend a Sunday service.

SUNDAY 8/23 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/113972526896

+ 11th Sunday of the Matthew

At 8:45am  +Orthros & 10am +Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

A Three Month Memorial Service will be held on Sunday 8/23/20  for the repose of the soul of+Anna Maria Pappas beloved mother of  Christina Maria (Michael) Juliano; daughter of: Gus and Christine Pappas; sister of:  Chris (Davina)Pappas, and Peter Pappas 

A Two Year Memorial Service will be held on Sunday August 23rd  for the repose of the soul of +John E. Giokas, Father of Katherine Giokas-Marshall, Anthula Giokas & Argie Sokoli, as well as a Two Year Memorial Service for the repose of the soul of +Maria Aivaliotis (Giokas), Wife of John Aivaliotis; and Mother of Elena Tsatsaros and Stacey Aivaliotis

A Three Year Memorial Service will be held on Sunday August 23rd  for the repose of the soul of +Vagios (Van) Paftinos, beloved husband of Angeliki, devoted father of: Peter (Linda) Paftinos, Jane (Demetrios) Speros, and Christina Paftinos.

A Five Year  Memorial Service will be held on Sunday August 23rd  for the repose of the soul of +Chrisostomos Dimitriou,  beloved husband of Angeliki, devoted father of: Patricia, James, Thomas (Dana) and Steven (Linda) Dimitriou.

May their memory be eternal. Αιωνία η μνήμη αυτών

On Sunday August 23rd  at 1:30pm Christopher and Kristiana (Schuster) LaSpada will baptize their daughter.

 

SUNDAY 8/30 Eventbrite Link TBA 

+ 12th Sunday of the Matthew

At 8:45am +Orthros & 10am +Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

 

Prayers/Liturgy can always be found at: https://www.agesinitiatives.com/dcs/public/dcs/dcs.html

 

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Announcements

 Attending services at Saint Andrew

 • If you cannot attend please cancel your reservation by using your Eventbrite confirmation or calling the church office and leaving a message

• Parishioners must sanitize their hands upon entering the Church.

• Parishioners must wear protective masks throughout the Services.

 • Parishioners must adhere to the social distancing guidelines of keeping a six foot distance from other parishioners at all times in the pews and throughout the Church. The only exception being for families that have quarantined together, as they will be able to sit together in a designated section of the Church.

 • Parishioners are not to wander in the Church, in the Parish facilities, or outside on the parish grounds.

 • Small children shall not be allowed to roam the aisles.

 • Parishioners must leave the Church premises, including the parking lot and exterior grounds, upon conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, all the while maintaining social distancing standards.

 

OPENING THE CHURCH

At this phase, our Church occupancy is limited during the  service and is on a first come, first serve basis and we will adhere to the protocols outlined in our web site. In order to attend a service you MUST pre-register using the link which will become available a few days prior to the service or by calling the church during office hours (If NO Answer: please leave a message and we will return your call). You will then get a confirmation that you may attend the service. Please bring that with you when you come to church. If you are not able to attend, we invite you to participate in the celebration of the Divine Services through live streaming services that are available.

  

Live Stream of Services

From the Church's Facebook Page

From the Church's Website

From the Church's YouTube channel

 

Prayers/Liturgy can always be found at:

https://www.agesinitiatives.com/dcs/public/dcs/dcs.html

 

Light a Virtual Candle

We know we can't physically be at church, but if you're following the live video stream of the services and would like to continue to light a candle as you "enter" the church or would like to "drop some money in the basket" please consider a donation by lighting a "virtual candle".

Just go to the church's Facebook page and select "posts". You can light your virtual candle via the Facebook donate button which you should be able to see.

If you don't have Facebook or prefer not to donate through Facebook, you can always go to the Saint Andrew Website and select either PayPal or WeShare from the home page.

 

Father John will pray for the living and the reposed during Liturgy.

Just email him at prayersstandrew@gmail.com  PLEASE indicate Living or Reposed 

 

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Fr. John's Message

Dormition of the Theotokos 2020


The Very Reverend and Reverend Clergy

Esteemed Members of the Metropolitan Council, Esteemed Members of the Parish Councils, Philoptochos Sisterhood, Faculty and Students of the Catechetical and Greek Afternoon Schools, Directors and Participants of all Youth Organizations, and all devout Orthodox Christians of the Communities of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey


My Beloved in the Lord,


There are a multitude of saints and holy people who we venerate in the Orthodox Church who received recognition by the Church as saints for various reasons. Throughout the history of the Church there have been hierarchs, priests, ascetics, martyrs, theologians, and emperors whose lives inspire us and whose deeds prove to be examples for us in our daily devotion to our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ. But there is no greater saint of the Church nor is there any saint who shares more in our struggles than the person of the Theotokos––the Mother of God. It is for this reason that, she who have birth to God in the flesh is known to be “…more honorable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim.”


In commemorating the Dormition of the Theotokos today, we are reminded of the various reasons we honor her and why she is so revered in the Orthodox Church. One of the reasons we honor her is because she is the representative of all humanity before her Son and her God. God did not desire to intervene and to infringe upon humanity’s freedom, even when humanity had fallen. However, it was the pureness of the person of the Panagia and her freely saying “Yes” to God and “Yes” to bearing Christ in her womb that allowed the ancient curse on humanity to be reversed. It was her free-will decision that opened the door of salvation to humanity once more, providing us with a path to become inheritors of the Kingdom of God. Thus, as the one who gave her entire self freely in response to this particular call from God, she has the special position of being the representative for all of humanity as she continually intercedes on our behalf.


Another reason she is so revered by the Orthodox everywhere is because she is not only the Mother of God, but she also is the mother to each and every one of us. One of the most comforting and tender words in any language is that of “mother”. While the role of a mother is usually limited to her own children, the Theotokos took on this role and included all persons as her children. It is her to whom we flee when we are afflicted, when we are in pain, and when we are in despair precisely because in her motherly love that nurtured God, she also guards, protects, and nurtures us. Having endured the horror of seeing her Son and her God crucified on the Cross, she empathizes with us in our agony and she soothes our pain with her loving motherly care and her intercessions before Christ.


Therefore, as we commemorate her Dormition today and although we mourn her falling asleep, we should also rejoice since she provides us a ladder to Paradise. Let us extol her not only for her motherly attributes or the favor she has with her Son as she intercedes for all of humanity, but let us follow her example of her devotion to God. It is this example that we should strive towards every day of our lives as we seek to “commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.” Praying the Theotokos continues to guard, guide, and protect you all, I remain,

With Paternal Love and Blessings,
† E V A N G E L O S
Metropolitan of New Jersey

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Daily Calendar

we will be live-streaming the services on the church’s Facebook page

 Saturday 8/22 at 9am FAITH KITCHEN: DOP

 

SUNDAY 8/23  
+ 11th Sunday of the Matthew
at 8:45am +Orthros & 10am +Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

On Sunday August 23rd  at 1:30pm Baptism LaSpada

 

MON 8/24 at 7:30pm Stewardship  Virtual Meeting

TUE 8/25 at 7:30pm  Education Committee Virtual Meeting

WED 8/26 at 7:30pm  GOYA Advisors’ Virtual Meeting

THU 8/27 at 7:30pm  Religious Education Virtual Meeting

 

SUNDAY 8/30 
+ 12th Sunday of the Matthew
at 8:45am +Orthros & 10am +Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

8/31 at  7:30 Parish Council Virtual Meeting

Tuesday 9/1 +Ecclesiastical New Year

9/6 Sun @1:30 Baptism Warren_Constantinides

Sunday 9/6 13th Sunday of Matthew

Tuesday 9/8 +The Nativity of the Theotokos 

Wednesday 9/9 +Holy & Righteous Ancestors of God, Joachim and Anna

9/10 Thursday  @3pm Belmont_Jaghab Wedding

Sunday 9/13 Sunday before the Holy Cross

9/13 Sun @1:30pm Baptism Paskas_Hunsiker

Monday 9/ 14 +Exaltation Of The Holy Cross

Wednesday 9/16 +St. Euphemia the Great martyr

9/19 Sat @12pm Baptism Spiropoulos_Talamini

9/19 Sat @3:30pm Baptism Bakker

Sunday 9/20 Sunday after the Holy Cross

Tuesday 9/22 + Phocas the Martyr, Bishop of Sinope* Relics

Saturday 9/26 +Falling Asleep of John the Theologian and Evangelist

9/26/20 Sat @3pm wedding Melekos_D'Andrea

Sunday 9/27 1st Sunday of Luke

 9/27/20 Sun@3pm Wedding Umina_Kritharis 

 

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News - Flyers - Registrations - Other

    Holy Communion

    Holy Communion

    Archpastoral Message from His Eminence, Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey concerning COVID-19 and Holy Communion


    Reopening the churches

    Reopening the churches

    Saint Andrew welcomes you back to our beautiful church.


    Reopening the churches

    Reopening the churches

    in GREEK| Sunday June 14 In order to attend a service you MUST pre-register by clicking on the following link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/108940407692


    Tsoureki Bread

    Tsoureki Bread

    Tsoureki Bread |$10.00 per braided loaf | Proceeds to benefit St. Andrew Church Pick-up after Service in church parking lot or contact Betty Kelly 973-704-0377


    Festival Fund Update

    Festival Fund Update

    182 families have committed $120,260 to supporting our St. Andrew! We have achieved 60% of our goal. Please consider making your commitment to our community and join us by donating now at https://www.standrewgonj.org.


    Dormition

    Dormition

    Encyclical in English from His Eminence, Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey for the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos


    Dormition

    Dormition

    Encyclical in Greek from His Eminence, Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey for the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos


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Prayer List

If you would like us to remember you or your loved one in our prayers, please contact the office. 973-584-0388 or send us an email to info@standrewgonj.org 

Names will be kept on this list for approximately 3 months. Please resubmit Names if needed.   Fr. John will pray for the Names above during the Proskomide “Offering of gifts” during the first part of the Divine Liturgy when our priest prepares the mystical gifts of bread and wine. Please keep these names in your prayers as well.

Fevronia, Alexandra, Eleni, Anastasia, George, Mary, Vasiliki, Jeff, Kleio, George, Eugenia, Joanna, Eliana, Constantinos, Elena, Nicholas, Konstantinos, Georgia,Vasileke, Jutta, Irene, George, Eftihia, Athena, Christina, Athanasios,  Anna, John, Rick, Christine, John, Freda, Estelle, Christina, Fotios, Julie, Joanna, Efthymios, Evangelos, John, Joanna, Lisa, Rich, Magdalini, Irini, Christos, Fr. Christos, Nancy, Brian, Thomas, Vasilios,  Evanthia,  Athanasios, Angeliki, Christian, Olga,  Demitra, Antonia, Aikaterini, John, Stavroula, Anna Christina, Manny, Mary, George, Susan, Dimitrios, Peter, Michael, Ryan, Ioannis, Monica, Katerina, Tasia, Christina, Andrew, Andrew, Margaret, Eleni, Paraskevi, Panagotis, Maria, Caroline, Demetrios, Konstantinos, Susan, Afrodite, Cassandra, Aristea, Konstantinos, George, Mary, Holly, Gary, Roye, Cristos, Panagiota, Anna, Panagiotis, John, Nicos, Hannah, Christos, Theoseva, George, Genevieve, Christine, Anna, Louis, Marilyn, Suriana, Antonios, John, Maria, Dimitry Elias, Evangelia, George, Kyriaki, John,  Evmorfia, Fr. Konstantine, Fr. Demetri, Prz Spyridoula, Eugenia, Constantinos, Eftychia, Kyzoula, Lukas, Spyridoula, Maria, Eugenia

Prayer for a Sick Person:

Heavenly Father, physician of our souls and bodies, who have sent Your only-begotten Son and our Lord Jesus Christ to heal every sickness and infirmity, visit and heal (me) Your servant from all physical and spiritual ailments through the grace of Your Christ. Grant (me) patience in this sickness, strength of body and spirit, and recovery of health.  Lord, You have taught us through Your word to pray for each other that we may be healed.  I pray that You heal (me) as Your servant and grant (me) the gift of complete health. For You are the source of healing and to You I give glory, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

 

 
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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

Eleventh Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from John 21:14-25

At that time, Jesus revealed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead, and he said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go." (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, "Follow me."

Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" So, the word went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die; but Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?" This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

Eleventh Orthros Gospel
Κατὰ Ἰωάννην 21:14-25

Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ἐφανερώθη ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ἐγερθεὶς ἐκ νεκρῶν, καὶ λέγει τῷ Σίμωνι Πέτρῳ· Σίμων ᾿Ιωνᾶ, ἀγαπᾷς με πλεῖον τούτων; λέγει αὐτῷ· ναί, Κύριε, σὺ οἶδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε. λέγει αὐτῷ· βόσκε τὰ ἀρνία μου. λέγει αὐτῷ πάλιν δεύτερον· Σίμων ᾿Ιωνᾶ, ἀγαπᾷς με; λέγει αὐτῷ· ναί, Κύριε, σὺ οἶδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε. λέγει αὐτῷ· ποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατά μου. λέγει αὐτῷ τὸ τρίτον· Σίμων ᾿Ιωνᾶ, φιλεῖς με; ἐλυπήθη ὁ Πέτρος ὅτι εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὸ τρίτον, φιλεῖς με, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Κύριε, σὺ πάντα οἶδας, σὺ γινώσκεις ὅτι φιλῶ σε. λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς· βόσκε τὰ πρόβατά μου. ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ὅτε ἦς νεώτερος, ἐζώννυες σεαυτὸν καὶ περιεπάτεις ὅπου ἤθελες· ὅταν δὲ γηράσῃς, ἐκτενεῖς τὰς χεῖράς σου, καὶ ἄλλος σε ζώσει, καὶ οἴσει ὅπου οὐ θέλεις. τοῦτο δὲ εἶπε σημαίνων ποίῳ θανάτῳ δοξάσει τὸν Θεόν. καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν λέγει αὐτῷ· ἀκολούθει μοι. ἐπιστραφεὶς δὲ ὁ Πέτρος βλέπει τὸν μαθητὴν ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς ἀκολουθοῦντα, ὃς καὶ ἀνέπεσεν ἐν τῷ δείπνῳ ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπε· Κύριε, τίς ἐστιν ὁ παραδιδούς σε; τοῦτον ἰδὼν ὁ Πέτρος λέγει τῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ· Κύριε, οὗτος δὲ τί; λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς· ἐὰν αὐτὸν θέλω μένειν ἕως ἔρχομαι, τί πρὸς σέ; σὺ ἀκολούθει μοι. ἐξῆλθεν οὖν ὁ λόγος οὗτος εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ὅτι ὁ μαθητὴς ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἀποθνήσκει· καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς ὅτι οὐκ ἀποθνήσκει, ἀλλ᾽ ἐὰν αὐτὸν θέλω μένειν ἕως ἔρχομαι, τί πρὸς σέ; Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ μαθητὴς ὁ μαρτυρῶν περὶ τούτων καὶ γράψας ταῦτα, καὶ οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀληθής ἐστιν ἡ μαρτυρία αὐτοῦ. ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ὅσα ἐποίησεν ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς, ἅτινα ἐὰν γράφηται καθ᾽ ἕν, οὐδὲ αὐτὸν οἶμαι τὸν κόσμον χωρῆσαι τὰ γραφόμενα βιβλία. ἀμήν.


Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Second Mode. Psalm 117.14,18.
The Lord is my strength and my song.
Verse: The Lord has chastened me sorely.

The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 9:2-12.

Brethren, you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to our food and drink? Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a wife, as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law say the same? For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of a share in the crop. If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? If others share this rightful claim upon you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

Προκείμενον. Second Mode. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 117.14,18.
Ἰσχύς μου καὶ ὕμνησίς μου ὁ Κύριος.
Στίχ. Παιδεύων ἐπαίδευσέ με ὁ Κύριος.

τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πρὸς Κορινθίους α' 9:2-12.

Ἀδελφοί, ἡ σφραγὶς τῆς ἐμῆς ἀποστολῆς ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐν κυρίῳ. Ἡ ἐμὴ ἀπολογία τοῖς ἐμὲ ἀνακρίνουσιν αὕτη ἐστίν. Μὴ οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν φαγεῖν καὶ πιεῖν; Μὴ οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν ἀδελφὴν γυναῖκα περιάγειν, ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἀπόστολοι, καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ Κηφᾶς; Ἢ μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρνάβας οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι; Τίς στρατεύεται ἰδίοις ὀψωνίοις ποτέ; Τίς φυτεύει ἀμπελῶνα, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ καρποῦ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐσθίει; Ἢ τίς ποιμαίνει ποίμνην, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ γάλακτος τῆς ποίμνης οὐκ ἐσθίει; Μὴ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον ταῦτα λαλῶ; Ἢ οὐχὶ καὶ ὁ νόμος ταῦτα λέγει; Ἐν γὰρ τῷ Μωϋσέως νόμῳ γέγραπται, Οὐ φιμώσεις βοῦν ἀλοῶντα. Μὴ τῶν βοῶν μέλει τῷ θεῷ; Ἢ διʼ ἡμᾶς πάντως λέγει; Διʼ ἡμᾶς γὰρ ἐγράφη, ὅτι ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι ὀφείλει ὁ ἀροτριῶν ἀροτριᾷν, καὶ ὁ ἀλοῶν τῆς ἐλπίδος αὐτοῦ μετέχειν ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι. Εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῖν τὰ πνευματικὰ ἐσπείραμεν, μέγα εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῶν τὰ σαρκικὰ θερίσομεν; Εἰ ἄλλοι τῆς ἐξουσίας ὑμῶν μετέχουσιν, οὐ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς; Ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐχρησάμεθα τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ταύτῃ, ἀλλὰ πάντα στέγομεν, ἵνα μὴ ἐγκοπήν τινα δῶμεν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ.


Gospel Reading

11th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 18:23-35

The Lord said this parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the torturers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

11th Sunday of Matthew
Κατὰ Ματθαῖον 18:23-35

Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος τήν παραβολὴν ταύτην· Ὡμοιώθη ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ βασιλεῖ, ὃς ἠθέλησε συνᾶραι λόγον μετὰ τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ. ἀρξαμένου δὲ αὐτοῦ συναίρειν προσηνέχθη αὐτῷ εἷς ὀφειλέτης μυρίων ταλάντων. μὴ ἔχοντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀποδοῦναι ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ πραθῆναι καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ πάντα ὅσα εἶχε, καὶ ἀποδοθῆναι. πεσὼν οὖν ὁ δοῦλος προσεκύνει αὐτῷ λέγων· κύριε, μακροθύμησον ἐπ᾿ ἐμοὶ καὶ πάντα σοι ἀποδώσω. σπλαγχνισθεὶς δὲ ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου ἐκείνου ἀπέλυσεν αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ δάνειον ἀφῆκεν αὐτῷ. ἐξελθὼν δὲ ὁ δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος εὗρεν ἕνα τῶν συνδούλων αὐτοῦ, ὃς ὤφειλεν αὐτῷ ἑκατὸν δηνάρια, καὶ κρατήσας αὐτὸν ἔπνιγε λέγων· ἀπόδος μοι εἴ τι ὀφείλεις. πεσὼν οὖν ὁ σύνδουλος αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ παρεκάλει αὐτὸν λέγων· μακροθύμησον ἐπ᾿ ἐμοὶ καὶ ἀποδώσω σοι. ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἤθελεν, ἀλλὰ ἀπελθὼν ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς φυλακὴν ἕως οὗ ἀποδῷ τὸ ὀφειλόμενον. ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ σύνδουλοι αὐτοῦ τὰ γενόμενα ἐλυπήθησαν σφόδρα, καὶ ἐλθόντες διεσάφησαν τῷ κυρίῳ ἑαυτῶν πάντα τὰ γενόμενα. τότε προσκαλεσάμενος αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ λέγει αὐτῷ· δοῦλε πονηρέ, πᾶσαν τὴν ὀφειλὴν ἐκείνην ἀφῆκά σοι, ἐπεὶ παρεκάλεσάς με. οὐκ ἔδει καὶ σὲ ἐλεῆσαι τὸν σύνδουλόν σου, ὡς καὶ ἐγώ σε ἠλέησα; καὶ ὀργισθεὶς ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν τοῖς βασανισταῖς ἕως οὗ ἀποδῷ πᾶν τὸ ὀφειλόμενον αὐτῷ. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ ἐπουράνιος ποιήσει ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ ἀφῆτε ἕκαστος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν καρδιῶν ὑμῶν τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν.


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Saints and Feasts

Allsaint
August 23

38 Martyrs of Thrace


Theway
August 23

11th Sunday of Matthew


Dormitio
August 23

Apodosis of the Dormition of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary

Concerning the Dormition of the Theotokos, this is what the Church has received from ancient times from the tradition of the Fathers. When the time drew nigh that our Savior was well-pleased to take His Mother to Himself, He declared unto her through an Angel that three days hence, He would translate her from this temporal life to eternity and bliss. On hearing this, she went up with haste to the Mount of Olives, where she prayed continuously. Giving thanks to God, she returned to her house and prepared whatever was necessary for her burial. While these things were taking place, clouds caught up the Apostles from the ends of the earth, where each one happened to be preaching, and brought them at once to the house of the Mother of God, who informed them of the cause of their sudden gathering. As a mother, she consoled them in their affliction as was meet, and then raised her hands to Heaven and prayed for the peace of the world. She blessed the Apostles, and, reclining upon her bed with seemliness, gave up her all-holy spirit into the hands of her Son and God.

With reverence and many lights, and chanting burial hymns, the Apostles took up that God-receiving body and brought it to the sepulchre, while the Angels from Heaven chanted with them, and sent forth her who is higher than the Cherubim. But one Jew, moved by malice, audaciously stretched forth his hand upon the bed and immediately received from divine judgment the wages of his audacity. Those daring hands were severed by an invisible blow. But when he repented and asked forgiveness, his hands were restored. When they had reached the place called Gethsemane, they buried there with honor the all-immaculate body of the Theotokos, which was the source of Life. But on the third day after the burial, when they were eating together, and raised up the artos (bread) in Jesus' Name, as was their custom, the Theotokos appeared in the air, saying "Rejoice" to them. From this they learned concerning the bodily translation of the Theotokos into the Heavens.

These things has the Church received from the traditions of the Fathers, who have composed many hymns out of reverence, to the glory of the Mother of our God (see Oct. 3 and 4).


Jbaptbhd
August 29

Beheading of the Holy and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John

The divine Baptist, the Prophet born of a Prophet, the seal of all the Prophets and beginning of the Apostles, the mediator between the Old and New Covenants, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, the God-sent Messenger of the incarnate Messiah, the forerunner of Christ's coming into the world (Esaias 40: 3; Mal. 3: 1); who by many miracles was both conceived and born; who was filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb; who came forth like another Elias the Zealot, whose life in the wilderness and divine zeal for God's Law he imitated: this divine Prophet, after he had preached the baptism of repentance according to God's command; had taught men of low rank and high how they must order their lives; had admonished those whom he baptized and had filled them with the fear of God, teaching them that no one is able to escape the wrath to come if he do not works worthy of repentance; had, through such preaching, prepared their hearts to receive the evangelical teachings of the Savior; and finally, after he had pointed out to the people the very Savior, and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world" (Luke 3:2-18; John 1: 29-36), after all this, John sealed with his own blood the truth of his words and was made a sacred victim for the divine Law at the hands of a transgressor.

This was Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee, the son of Herod the Great. This man had a lawful wife, the daughter of Arethas (or Aretas), the King of Arabia (that is, Arabia Petraea, which had the famous Nabatean stone city of Petra as its capital. This is the Aretas mentioned by Saint Paul in II Cor. 11:32). Without any cause, and against every commandment of the Law, he put her away and took to himself Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, to whom Herodias had borne a daughter, Salome. He would not desist from this unlawful union even when John, the preacher of repentance, the bold and austere accuser of the lawless, censured him and told him, "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife" (Mark 6: 18). Thus Herod, besides his other unholy acts, added yet this, that he apprehended John and shut him in prison; and perhaps he would have killed him straightway, had he not feared the people, who had extreme reverence for John. Certainly, in the beginning, he himself had great reverence for this just and holy man. But finally, being pierced with the sting of a mad lust for the woman Herodias, he laid his defiled hands on the teacher of purity on the very day he was celebrating his birthday. When Salome, Herodias' daughter, had danced in order to please him and those who were supping with him, he promised her -- with an oath more foolish than any foolishness -- that he would give her anything she asked, even unto the half of his kingdom. And she, consulting with her mother, straightway asked for the head of John the Baptist in a charger. Hence this transgressor of the Law, preferring his lawless oath above the precepts of the Law, fulfilled this godless promise and filled his loathsome banquet with the blood of the Prophet. So it was that that all-venerable head, revered by the Angels, was given as a prize for an abominable dance, and became the plaything of the dissolute daughter of a debauched mother. As for the body of the divine Baptist, it was taken up by his disciples and placed in a tomb (Mark 6: 21 - 29). Concerning the finding of his holy head, see February 24 and May 25.


Mgenthroned1
August 30

12th Sunday of Matthew


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Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Second Mode

When Thou didst descend unto death, O Life Immortal, then didst Thou slay Hades with the lightning of Thy Divinity. And when Thou didst also raise the dead out of the nethermost depths, all the powers in the Heavens cried out: O Life-giver, Christ our God, glory be to Thee.
Ὅτε κατῆλθες πρὸς τὸν θάνατον, ἡ Ζωὴ ἡ ἀθάνατος, τότε τὸν ᾅδην ἐνέκρωσας τῇ ἀστραπῇ τῆς Θεότητος, ὅτε δὲ καὶ τοὺς τεθνεῶτας ἐκ τῶν καταχθονίων ἀνέστησας, πᾶσαι αἱ Δυνάμεις τῶν ἐπουρανίων ἐκραύγαζον·Ζωοδότα Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν δόξα σοι.

Apolytikion for Apodosis of the Dormition in the First Mode

In giving birth, thou didst preserve thy virginity; in thy dormition, thou didst not forsake the world, O Theotokos. Thou wast translated unto life, since thou art the Mother of Life; and by thine intercessions dost thou redeem our souls from death.
Εν τή Γεννήσει τήν παρθενίαν εφύλαξας, έν τή Κοιμήσει τόν κόσμον ού κατέλιπες Θεοτόκε, Μετέστης πρός τήν ζωήν, μήτηρ υπάρχουσα τής ζωής, καί ταίς πρεσβείαις ταίς σαίς λυτρουμένη, εκ θανάτου τάς ψυχάς ημών.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Second Mode

Neither the grave nor death could contain the Theotokos, the unshakable hope, ever vigilant in intercession and protection. As Mother of life, He who dwelt in the ever-virginal womb transposed her to life.
Τήν εν πρεσβείαις ακοίμητον Θεοτόκον, καί προστασίαις αμετάθετον ελπίδα, τάφος καί νέκρωσις ουκ εκράτησεν, ως γάρ ζωής Μητέρα, πρός τήν ζωήν μετέστησεν, ο μήτραν οικήσας αειπάρθενον.
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Wisdom of the Fathers

Wherefore then did He not do this, nor forgive the debt before the account? Desiring to teach him, from how many obligations He is delivering him, that in this way at least he might become more mild towards his fellow servant .... He gave more than he asked, remission and forgiveness of the entire debt.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 61 on Matthew 18, 4th Century

When then you are minded to be revengeful, consider that against yourself are you revengeful, not against another; that you art binding up your own sins, not your neighbors ....
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 61 on Matthew 18, 4th Century

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