Attending services at Saint Andrew

Below are the links for upcoming services.

Registration to services will be open until allowed seating has been reached.

Just Click on the Eventbrite Link  below and make your Reservation.

You will then get a confirmation that you may attend the service. For Sunday’s Liturgy please come to church by 10:15am. Late arrivals will lose their reservation if we have people waiting to be seated.  If you are not able to attend please cancel 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).

SUNDAY, 12/20 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/131394106309

Sunday Before the Nativity

@8:45am Orthros & @10:15am Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom

A 40-Day Memorial Service will be held for the repose of the soul of +Vasilios “Bill” Paleokostas, beloved father of: Steven (Ashley), Vicky (Billy), Sandy, and Dimitri; grandfather of: Loula, Zoe, Demetra, Alexander, Mila, Christiana, and Adriana; brother of: Alexandra and Fotini; brother in-law of Gus and Effie, uncle of: Angie, Billy, Dimitri, Chris, Sotiris, Rania, and Vicky.

A One-Year Memorial Service will be held for the repose of the soul of +Margarita Rita Stavrakis, beloved mother of Nicholas & Bill Stavrakis 

An Annual Memorial Service will be held for the repose of the soul of: +Aikaterini & +Demetrios Rotsides, +Demetrios Rotsides +Mary & +Andreas Boyadjis, beloved family members of Stelios, Zacharias, Nikos, Andreas, Petros, Eleni, Maria, Yiota, and Rikka  

An Annual Memorial Service will be held for the repose of the soul of: +Maria +Ioannis +Panagiota Mpakarakis beloved family members of Betty and Jack Kelly and Tom Mpakarakies.

A Trisagion Service will be held for the repose of the soul of +Andriana & +Nikola Shiambelos beloved parents of Flora Frangoudis. 

A Trisagion Service will be held for the repose of the soul of +Margarita Prassinos, beloved mother of Maria and Anna.

A Trisagion Service will be held for the repose of the soul of +Margarita Paxos, beloved wife of Andrea and mother of Irene Sergonis (Sergio), Kitsa Jobeless (Ronald), John Paxos (Janet), Voula Evangelis and Tina Huelsenbeck (Roger). Funeral Service will be held on Friday at 10am

A Trisagion Service will be held for the repose of the soul of +Kyriaki KayLewis, beloved mother of Lia Lewis, Georgia (Benjamin) Haglund and grandmother of Eleanor and George Haglund. Funeral Servicewill be held on Saturday at 9:30am.   

May their memory be eternal

Tuesday, 12/22

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/131776144997

+Saint Anastasia the Great Martyr

@8am Orthros & @9am Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom

Thursday, 12/24 am

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/131778716689

+Eve Of The Nativity Of Christ, +Eugenia the Righteous  

@8am Orthros, Great Hours, Great Vesperal Liturgy of St Basil the Great

Thursday, 12/24 pm   

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/131780293405

+Holy Nativity of Our Lord

@7pm Orthros & Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom

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

Stewardship 2020 Update

As of December 10^th  a total of 376 families committed $318,428 towards their membership in the church. 59 families gave $25,575 without a pledge and 318 families pledged $293,503 ($30,144 unfulfilled to date). The average pledge for the year 2020 is $929.

If you have not submitted your stewardship 2020 or fulfilled your commitment to Saint Andrew, please do so as our ministries depend on your support.

Stewardship 2021 Update

On December 10, 2020 58 families made their 2021 Pledge to Saint Andrew Greek Orthodox Church totaling $80,518.  The average pledge for 2021 is $1388

Saint Andrew Family News issues are on our Web site :  https://www.standrewgonj.org/

 Attending services at Saint Andrew

1. Wear your mask throughout the service

2. Social distancing is 6 feet please

3. No seating where indicated..

.... see more in attached flyer.. 

Live Stream of Services : From the Church's Facebook Page

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 

The Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Youths: Ananias, Azarias and Misael

Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Youths (Feast Day - December 17)

                                                              By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

All four were of the royal tribe of Judah. When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed and plundered Jerusalem, Daniel, as a boy, was carried away into slavery together with the Jewish King Jehoiachim and countless other Israelites. An account of his life, sufferings and prophecies can be found in detail in his book.

Completely devoted to God, St. Daniel from his early youth received from God the gift of great discernment. His fame among the Jews in Babylon began when he denounced two lecherous and unrighteous elders, Jewish judges, and saved the chaste Susanna from an unjust death. But his fame among the Babylonians began from the day he deciphered and interpreted the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. For this, the king made him a prince at his court.

When the king made a golden idol on the Plain of Dura, the Three Children refused to worship it, and for this they were cast into a fiery furnace. But an angel of God appeared in the furnace and cooled the fire so that the children walked around the furnace unharmed by the fire, singing: "Blessed art Thou, Lord God of our fathers" (Daniel 3:26). The king saw this miracle and was amazed. He then brought the children out of the furnace and bestowed upon them great honors.

In the time of King Belshazzar, when the king was eating and drinking with his guests at a banquet from consecrated vessels taken from the Temple in Jerusalem, an invisible hand wrote three words on the wall: "Mene, Tekel, Upharsin" (Daniel 5:25-28). No one was able to interpret these words except Daniel. That night, King Belshazzar was killed.

Daniel was twice thrown into the lions' den because of his faith in the One, Living God, and both times the Lord saved him and he remained alive. Daniel beheld God on a throne with the heavenly hosts; saw angels; discerned the future of certain people, of kingdoms, and of the whole human race; and prophesied the time of the coming of the Savior on earth.

According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, Daniel and the three children lived to old age in Babylon and were beheaded for the true Faith. When they beheaded Ananias, Azarias stretched out his cloak and caught his head; following this, Misael caught Azarias's head and Daniel caught Misael's head. An angel of God translated their bodies to Judea, to Mount Gebal, and placed them under a rock. According to tradition, these four God-pleasers arose at the time of the death of the Lord Christ, appeared to many and again fell asleep.

Daniel is numbered among the four great prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel). He lived and prophesied five hundred years before Christ.

Reflection From the Life of Daniel and the Three Youths

Bodily purity is primarily attained by fasting, and, through bodily purity, spiritual purity is also attained. Abstinence from food, according to the words of that son of grace, St. Ephraim the Syrian, means: "Not to desire or ask for various foods, either sweet or costly; not to eat anything outside the designated time; not to succumb to the spirit of gluttony; not to excite hunger in oneself by looking at good food; and not to desire at one moment one kind of food and at another moment another kind of food." Great is the fallacy that fasting and Lenten food harm the health of the body. It is a known fact that the ascetics lived the longest and were the least prone to illness. St. Daniel and the Three Children in Babylon offer us an example of this. When the king ordered his eunuch to feed these young men food from the royal table and to give them good wine to drink, Daniel told the eunuch that they did not want to accept the royal food and wine but wanted only vegetables for food (for Daniel did not want to eat the food sprinkled with the blood of the idolatrous sacrifices). The eunuch, fearing that the youths would be weakened by the fasting foods, related his fear to Daniel. Then the prophet suggested that he make a test and convince himself that the fasting food would not weaken them: to nourish the other youths at the royal court with food from the king's table, and to feed the four of them only on pulse for the course of ten days, and then make a comparison. The eunuch heeded Daniel and did what he suggested. After ten days, the faces of the four ascetic youths were more radiant and their bodies were stronger than the bodies of the Babylonian youths who ate and drank from the king's table.

Read also: A Homily on the Steadfastness of Daniel the Prophet

HYMN OF PRAISE: The Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Youths

Whoever fears the true God
Is not afraid of men or demons.
The Lord rewards faithful servants
And guards them from every evil.
Among the lions,
Holy Daniel remained unharmed;
In the fiery furnace,
The Three Youths remained alive;
In the midst of the fire, they glorified God,
With an angel, God's messenger.
Like Noah in the evil world,
Like holy Lot in wild Sodom,
And like Joseph in decadent Egypt,
So Daniel in the middle of Babylon
Remained faithful and righteous
With three of his young friends:
Ananias and Azarias
And the faithful young Misael.
The tortures came and the tortures passed.
The martyred were gloriously glorified
In the Immortal Kingdom of Christ.

Apolytikion in the Second Tone
Great are the achievements of faith! In the fountain of flame, as by the water of rest, the Three Holy Children rejoiced. And the Prophet Daniel proved a shepherd of lions as of sheep. By their prayers, O Christ our God, save our souls.

Kontakion in the Third Tone
Since thy pure and hallowed heart had been made pure by the Spirit, it became His dwelling-place and clearest prophecy's vessel; for thou didst behold things far off as near and present, and when cast into the den, thou didst muzzle lions; for which cause, O blessed Prophet, glorious Daniel, we all revere thee in faith

12/27 Sunday After Nativity |+St. Stephen, Archdeacon & First Martyr

12/27 Memorial Service: +Katie Sedereas, +Petra Knox, +Gregory_+Photini ‘Sikolas & +Konstantinos_+Garifalia Skoufi 

12/31 Circumcision Of Our Lord & Commemoration St. Basil | Great Vespers @3:30pm 

2021

1/1 Circumcision Of Our Lord & Commemoration Of  St. Basil @8:45am

1/3 Sunday before Epiphany

1/5 Eve of the Theophany of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: + Orthros, Great Hours, Great Vespers, & Divine Liturgy Of St. Basil The Great, Great Agiasmos  (Fasting Day) 

1/6 Holy Theophany, Baptism Of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ , Orthros, 

Divine Liturgy & The Great Agiasmos

1/7 The Synaxis Of The Holy Prophet +St. John The Baptist

1/10 Sunday after Epiphany

1/10 Memorial Service: +Anastasios "Ernie" Stamoutsos 

1/10 Cutting of Vasilopita 

1/17 12^th Sunday of Luke | +St. Anthony the Great

1/18 +St. Athanasios the Great & Cyril, Patriarchs of Alexandria

1/20 + St. Euthymios the Great

1/23 Divine Liturgy Youth & Family Worship @ 9:00AM

1/24 14^th Sunday of Luke 

1/30 +Synaxis of The Three Hierarchs: |+Basil the Great, +Gregory the Theologian, & +John Chrysostom

1/31 15^th Sunday of Luke 

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.

Maria, Stavroula, Joe,  Catherine, Mark, Vasiliki-Christina, Christina, Eleni, Fr_Konstantine, Prz_Spiridoula,  Linda, Jeremy, Angeliki, Alexandra, Nikolaos, Ismini, Kyriacos, Olga, Antonia, Angeliki, Constantinos, Panagiotis, Fevronia, Maria, Anastasia, Kleio, Sofie, Marina, Vasiliki, Klaus, Lori, Despina, Bob, Isabella, Julie, Kyriaki, Sergios, Nikoletta, Roger, Constantinos, Ioanna, Alexandra, Dimitri, Maria, Eleni, Anastasia, George,  Vasiliki, Jeff, 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, , 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, Aristea, Konstantinos,….  

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