Saints and Feasts

January 05

Eve of the Theophany of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

January 06

The Theophany of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

About the beginning of our Lord's thirtieth year, John the Forerunner, who was some six months older than Our Saviour according to the flesh, and had lived in the wilderness since his childhood, received a command from God and came into the parts of the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins. Then our Saviour also came from Galilee to the Jordan, and sought and received baptism though He was the Master and John was but a servant. Whereupon, there came to pass those marvellous deeds, great and beyond nature: the Heavens were opened, the Spirit descended in the form of a dove upon Him that was being baptized and the voice was heard from the Heavens hearing witness that this was the beloved Son of God, now baptized as a man (Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:1-22). From these events the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and the great mystery of the Trinity were demonstrated. It is also from this that the present feast is called "Theophany," that is, the divine manifestation, God's appearance among men. On this venerable day the sacred mystery of Christian baptism was inaugurated; henceforth also began the saving preaching of the Kingdom of the Heavens.

January 07

Synaxis of John the Holy Glorious Prophet, Baptist, & Forerunner

Today we celebrate the Synaxis in honour of the most sacred Forerunner, since he ministered at the Mystery of the Divine Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rest from labour. Fish allowed.

Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Fourth Mode

When the women Disciples of the Lord had learned from the Angel the joyful message of the Resurrection and had rejected the ancestral decision, they cried aloud to the Apostles triumphantly: Death has been despoiled, Christ God has risen, granting His great mercy to the world.

Apolytikion for Eve of Epiphany in the Fourth Mode

River Jordan was turned back by Elisseus' mantle once, when the fiery man of zeal Elias had been taken up; then were its waters divided hither and thither. The running streams became dry passage unto him, truly as a sign and type of Baptism, whereby we pass to the other side of the shifting stream of this fleeting life. Christ hath appeared in the Jordan River, to sanctify the waters.

Apolytikion for St. Anna (Dec. 9) in the Fourth Mode

Today the bonds of childlessness are loosed; for God hearkened to Joachim and Anna. And though it was beyond hope, He clearly promised them that they should bear a divine child, from whom was born the Uncircumscribable One Himself Who became a mortal, and through an Angel commanded them to cry unto her: Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with thee."

Seasonal Kontakion in the Fourth Mode

In the running waters of the Jordan River, on this day the Lord of all crieth to John: Be not afraid and hesitate not to baptize Me, for I am come to save Adam, the first-formed man.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Plagal Second Mode. Psalm 27.9,1.
O Lord, save your people and bless your inheritance.
Verse: To you, O Lord, I have cried, O my God.

The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to Timothy 4:5-8.

TIMOTHY, my son, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.

For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Gospel Reading

Sunday before Epiphany
The Reading is from Mark 1:1-8

The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophets, 'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.' John was baptizing in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Wisdom of the Fathers

It is the sole and peculiar property of the Substance that transcends all, to be able to bestow on men the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and make those that draw near unto It partakers of the divine nature.

St. Cyril of Alexandria

Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke, Homily 10., 4th Century

But this exists in Christ, not as a thing received, nor by communication from another, but as His own, and as belonging to His substance, for He baptizes in the Holy Spirit.

St. Cyril of Alexandria

Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke, Homily 10., 4th Century

Ministry News

TODAY Sunday School classes resume.

TODAY Fellowship Hour is sponsored by the Diver family.

Church Calendar:

Monday, January 6: Epiphany & Blessing of Waters - Orthros / Liturgy, 9 am

Tuesday, January 7: Synaxis of St. John the Baptist- Orthros / Liturgy, 9 am

Friday, January 17: St. Anthony - Orthros / Liturgy, 9 am

Friday, January 17: St. Athanasios - Great Vespers, Paramus Church, 7 pm

Saturday, January 18: Sts. Athanasios & Cyril Patriarchs Alexandria–Orthros/Liturgy, 9 am

Saturday, January 25: St. Gregory the Theologian - Orthros / Liturgy, 9 am

Saturday, January 25: Metropolis Greek Letters / 3 Hierarchs Celebration – Cathedral of St. John The Theologian, Tenafly, 6 pm (RSVP required – please see Fr. A if you would like to attend)

Thursday, January 30: Three Hierarchs - Orthros / Liturgy, 9 am

Saturdays, February 22 & February 29 & March 7: Saturday of Souls-Orthros/Liturgy,9 am

Education - Thank you to all who assisted with the Christmas Pageant, Greek School Program, Choir Concert, and PTO Christmas festivities on December 22. We cherish these events and memories, and their abiding impact on our community.

GOYA - Our GOYA 'Let It Snow' Christmas Dance was a tremendous success! Almost 400 GOYAns from 15 churches enjoyed lots of parea meeting up with friends and dancing all night. Our gym was beautifully decorated and looked spectacular! It was transformed into a winter wonderland, complete with snow canopy and snowflakes. For those who have photos/videos, please post and share with others!

Your GOYA advisors and Father wish to thank all the parents and volunteers who contributed to this successful event - too many to list here. From design and decorating, layout and setup, shopping, cooking and serving, security and registration, and cleanup - everyone worked together to host a safe and fun event for our entire northern New Jersey GOYA family. We wish you all a safe and healthy new year. Thank you again.

Fellowship Hour Sponsors - Please consider sponsoring Fellowship Hour in the new year! There is a need for sponsors, particularly in the next two months. Sign up at the Church office, or by contacting John Giannouris at john.giannouris@comcast.net or (610) 680-7507.

Youth Safety Registration - In order to be able to participate in any Youth Activities like GOYA, Sports, Schools, Athletics, etc the Archdiocese of North America requires that you must be REGISTERED, TRAINED and SCREENED for the Youth Safety program.

Our Parish has until January 15, 2020 to register all of our youth program administrators.

If we do not have enough people registered, trained and screened to run the programs, we run the risk of not being able to maintain our Church Youth Programs.

Please register TODAY at Fellowship Hour. If you are unable to register, please send the following information to John Kaldes (PS President and Youth Safety Coordinator).

Email: jskaldes@aol.com

First name

Middle Initial

Last name

Address, Zip code

Phone number

Email Address

Cyber Security Watch Bulletin (provided by the Departments of Internet Ministries and Information Technology): Cybercrime has been infiltrating our parishes and religious communities lately. Recently, parishes around us are being targeted by a phishing scam where the attacker poses falsely as the parish priest and asks the recipient for money

usually in the form of gift cards. Please note that a clergyman will NEVER reach out to his parishioners via email to request financial assistance, or in this case, gift cards. If email requests ever seem questionable:

first and foremost, do not reply to the message,
do not click on any links, or download any attachments
do not use contact information provided in an email or a website connected to the request

LEARN MORE by visiting blogs.goarch.org/internet-ministries by contacting the Departments of Internet Ministries and Information Technology with your questions at techsupport.goarch.org.

Stewardship

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.

Pick up your 2020 Stewardship Cards at the table in the Narthex today!

We need everyone’s participation to meet this year’s stewardship and ministry goals!

…Remember a rich man is not one who has much, but one who gives much

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