THIS SUNDAY, January 13, 2019 Orthros 9:00am Divine Liturgy 10:00am. The Sunday after Epiphany.
Epiphany means "manifestation": Christ has manifested (revealed) himself to the world. Jesus reveals himself as God. The last of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, points him out: Jesus is the Lamb of God, the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets, the expected Messiah. At the wedding feast in Cana Jesus reveals himself to his apostles when he changes the water into wine. The water in the jars is the baptismal water. This water beomes the festal wine, the eucharist. Thus, baptism and eucharist, the sacraments of life, open for us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven, where Jesus promises to give us the new wine of the eucharist which is the blood of his sacrifice, the blood of Christ that was shed for the life of the world.
As the water is changed, so the world is called to transform, to transfigure itself and we, too, are to be renewed, illumined through union with Christ. After the baptism we can know the mystery of the three persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
At the Feast of Lights (a popular name for Epiphany or Theophany), water is blessed for use by the faithful. It quenches our thirst, purifies ourself, blesses our homes. From the heart of the Church, the body of Christ, "flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38).
Troparion Of Epiphany: "When You O Lord were baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. For the voice of the Father bore witness to You, calling You His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of His Word. O Christ our God who has revealed yourself, and has enlightened the world glory to You."
GREETER COVERAGE SCHEDULE: .......(not available yet)
Email to Fr. Don: FrDonatAugusta@mail.goarch.org.
Email to St. Basil Church can be sent to: office@stbasil.ct.goarch.org. Your questions or comments can be sent to this email and will be forwarded to the parish priesst or the parish council members for a response.
Visit our St. Basil parish website: www.stbasil.ct.goarch.org. You will find many interesting links. Especially visit the "Orthodox Marketplace" where you will find an excellent selection of icons, books, and gift ideas for birthdays and holidays. Also, you can link to our Parish Facebook page. Thanks to Arven Saunders for managing the parish website.
On Facebook do a search for: "Saint Basil Greek Orthodox Church." You will find lots of information about parish activities, photos, and updates. Thanks to Athena Nomikos for her work posting photos and information on our parish Facebook site.