Weekly Services
(Please note schedule subject to change. Please call church office to confirm times.)
Sunday Services: Orthros 8:15 am; Divine Liturgy 9:15 am. Followed by Sunday School and Fellowship Hour in our Community Center.
Weekly Feastday / Major Saint Day Liturgies: 9 am Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy.
This great Father and Teacher of the Church was born in 329 in Arianzus, a village of the second district of Cappadocia, not far from Nazianzus. His father, who later became Bishop of Nazianzus, was named Gregory (commemorated Jan. 1), and his mother was named Nonna (Aug. 5); both are among the Saints, and so are his brother Caesarius (Mar. 9) and his sister Gorgona (Feb. 23). At first he studied in Caesarea of Palestine, then in Alexandria, and finally in Athens. As he was sailing from Alexandria to Athens, a violent sea storm put in peril not only his life but also his salvation, since he had not yet been baptized. With tears and fervour he besought God to spare him, vowing to dedicate his whole self to Him, and the tempest gave way to calm. At Athens Saint Gregory was later joined by Saint Basil the Great, whom he already knew; but now their acquaintanceship grew into a lifelong brotherly love. Another fellow student of theirs in Athens was the young Prince Julian, who later as Emperor was called the Apostate because he denied Christ and did all in his power to restore paganism. Even in Athens, before Julian had thrown off the mask of piety; Saint Gregory saw what an unsettled mind he had, and said, "What an evil the Roman State is nourishing" (Orat. V, 24, PG 35:693).
After their studies at Athens, Gregory became Basil's fellow ascetic, living the monastic life together with him for a time in the hermitages of Pontus. His father ordained him presbyter of the Church of Nazianzus, and Saint Basil consecrated him Bishop of Sasima (or Zansima), which was in the archdiocese of Caesarea. This consecration was a source of great sorrow to Gregory, and a cause of misunderstanding between him and Basil; but his love for Basil remained unchanged, as can be plainly seen from his Funeral Oration on Saint Basil (Orat. XLIII).
About the Year 379, Saint Gregory came to the assistance of the Church of Constantinople, which had already been troubled for forty years by the Arians; by his supremely wise words and many labours he freed it from the corruption of heresy, and was elected Archbishop of that city by the Second Ecumenical Council, which assembled there in 381, and condemned Macedonius, Archbishop of Constantinople, the enemy of the Holy Spirit. When Saint Gregory came to Constantinople, the Arians had taken all the churches and he was forced to serve in a house chapel dedicated to Saint Anastasia the Martyr. From there he began to preach his famous five sermons on the Trinity, called the Triadica. When he left Constantinople two years later, the Arians did not have one church left to them in the city. Saint Meletius of Antioch (see Feb. 12), who was presiding over the Second Ecumenical Council, died in the course of it, and Saint Gregory was chosen in his stead; there he distinguished himself in his expositions of dogmatic theology.
Having governed the Church until 382, he delivered his farewell speech - the Syntacterion, in which he demonstrated the Divinity of the Son - before 150 bishops and the Emperor Theodosius the Great; in this speech he requested, and received from all, permission to retire from the see of Constantinople. He returned to Nazianzus, where he lived to the end of his life, and reposed in the Lord in 391, having lived some sixty-two years.
His extant writings, both prose and poems in every type of metre, demonstrate his lofty eloquence and his wondrous breadth of learning. In the beauty of his writings, he is considered to have surpassed the Greek writers of antiquity, and because of his God-inspired theological thought, he received the surname "Theologian." Although he is sometimes called Gregory of Nazianzus, this title belongs properly to his father; he himself is known by the Church only as Gregory the Theologian. He is especially called "Trinitarian Theologian," since in virtually every homily he refers to the Trinity and the one essence and nature of the Godhead. Hence, Alexius Anthorus dedicated the following verses to him:
Like an unwandering star beaming with splendour,
Thou bringest us by mystic teachings, O Father,
To the Trinity's sunlike illumination,
O mouth breathing with fire, Gregory most mighty.
Prokeimenon. Grave Mode. Psalm 149.5,1.
The saints shall rejoice in glory.
Verse: Sing to the Lord a new song.
The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 4:6-15.
Brethren, it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, "I believed, and so I spoke," we too believe, and so we speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
12th Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 17:12-19
At that time, as Jesus entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said: "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus's feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then said Jesus: "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him: "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."
TODAY we welcome Fr. Nicholas and Presvytera Alexandra ("Sandy") Pastrikos once again to our parish. Fr. Nicholas recently retired from our neighboring parish of St. George in Piscataway and he is serving today while Fr. Anastasios is out of town for a wedding. (Fr. A will be back on Tuesday)
The Funeral for Anthony "Tony" Staikos will be held here on Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 10:30 AM (preceded by a viewing time starting at 9 am). Interment will be at Prospect Hill Cemetery here in Flemington. We all extend our heartfelt condolences to the Staikos family during this time. May his memory be eternal!
Church Calendar:
Please contact Fr. Anastasios before March 1 if you would like your home or business blessed.
Friday, January 25: St. Gregory the Theologian. Orthros and Divine Liturgy 9 am
Wednesday, January 30: Three Hierarchs. Orthros and Divine Liturgy 9 am
HOLD THE DATE: St. Anna’s will be hosting a TRIVIA NIGHT on Friday, March 1st. This will be a fun adult event! More information to come.
Sunday School: Sunday School is on our regular schedule. A reminder that Grades Pre-K and Grades 1-2 are dismissed at 11:15 am. Parents, please pick up your children from their classrooms. All other classes (Grades 3+) are dismissed into Fellowship Hour at 11:30 am.
Greek School: No Greek School on Monday, January 21.
ARCHONS VIRTUAL TOWN MEETING ON UKRAINE AUTOCEPHALY on SATURDAY, JANUARY 26This Town Hall will be conducted via telephone conference call on January 26, from 1 to 3 p.m. Instructions to join are as follow:
For more details, go to website: Archons.org/townhall.
PC CORNER:
2019 Dates:Please mark your calendar with these important 2019 dates. We will need volunteers to chair and help drive some of the fundraising events. Much of the planning should start now so please see any PC member if you are interested in helping.
March 1 - Trivia night
March 24 - Spring General Assembly
May 18-19 - Bistro
Sept 6-7-8 - OPA
Nov 3 - Fall General Assembly
Nov 16-17 - Eat & Shop
We have issued our new Parish Directory. Please see a PC member to get one and after you had a chance to review it please let us know if your name missing or any other information is not correct. We will collect the information and will issue a supplement page(s).
Fellowship Hour: Please sign up outside the office or contact John Giannouris at (610) 680-7507 or john.giannouris@comcast.net if you are interested in sponsoring Fellowship Hour. Thank you.
Instructions to join the Archons virtual town hall
Flyer
Stewardship is the sharing of the talents and treasures that God has provided for us. An Orthodox Christian Steward is an active participant in the life of the Church. The parish encourages all who accept the Orthodox Faith to become practicing Stewards.
2019 Stewardship Drive: Please remember to fill out your 2019 Stewardship card
…Remember a rich man is not one who has much, but one who gives much