LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST/FAITHFUL

12. THE GREAT ENTRANCE (4-25-2004; 1-13-2018)

   After celebrating the great Feasts of our Lord’s Nativity and Baptism, we return to our sermon series on Worship and the Divine Liturgy. On December 16^th we covered the catechumenate including the petitions and prayer for the catechumens—those preparing for baptism and chrismation. This completed our review of the first half of the Divine Liturgy, also known as the Liturgy of the Word. This more didachtic-educational part of the liturgy lays the foundation and preparation for the second half—what we call the Liturgy of the Faithful and the Eucharist.

   The transition from the Word to the Eucharist begins with what we call the Great Entrance. It is contrasted with the earlier Small Entrance of the Gospel book (only on the solea) because it is a longer--going through the entire sanctuary, and more majestic--involving all the clergy, acolytes and sacred instruments. The centerpiece of the Great Entrance is the procession of the holy gifts of bread and wine in the chalice and paten.

   As we mentioned in our earlier discussion of the Proskomide, the gifts of bread and wine are the offering of the people. In the early Church, the gifts were brought to a chapel outside the sanctuary, much like baptisteries were originally located outside the nave. Just like the ancient Small Entrance retrieved the gospel from the narthex, the ancient Great Entrance retrieved the gifts from this outside altar. In recent centuries, probably because of Ottoman-Muslim persecution, this outside Prothesis table was relocated inside the holy altar.

   Before the actual procession, two prayers are read before the chanters and choir begin to sing the Cherubic Hymn. In both the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, these are called the Prayers of the Faithful.

First Prayer of the Faithful

   “We give thanks to You O Lord God of the Powers, who has made us worthy to stand even now before Your holy altar and to fall down before Your compassion for our sins and the ignorance of the people.  Receive our supplication O God; make us worthy to offer to You prayers and supplications and bloodless sacrifices for all Your people; enable us also, whom you have placed in this Your ministry, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, blamelessly and without offense, in the pure witness of our conscience, to call upon You at all times and in every place; that hearing us, You may show mercy upon us according to the fullness of Your goodness.”

   Like almost all the prayers of the liturgy, it is read by the chief celebrant clergy. As exemplified in this prayer, even though the bishop or priest says the prayer, he is saying it on behalf of the rest of the clergy as well as the laity (the lay people). This prayer in particular, asks God to make all the faithful to be worthy to offer prayers supplications and that God would receive them, and that He would have mercy on the clergy who pray. The second prayer repeats the pattern and adds some more specific, unique requests.

Second Prayer of the Faithful

“Again we bow before You and pray to You O good and loving God. Hear our supplication: cleanse our souls and bodies from every defilement of flesh and spirit and grant that we may stand before Your holy altar without blame or condemnation. Grant also, O God, progress in life, faith and spiritual discernment to the faithful who pray with us so that they may always worship You with reverence and love, partake of Your Holy Mysteries without blame or condemnation and become worthy of Your heavenly kingdom.”

   In the last three weeks we have celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, who was a fourth century contemporary of Chrysostom. Basil’s liturgy was written first. Then a few years later, Chrysostom slightly modified its petitions and prayers. The Great Entrance prayers of the faithful is where we first encounter the divergence. Basil’s prayers here center more on the clerical celebrants.

First Prayer of the Faithful (Basil)

   You, Lord, showed us this great mystery of salvation; You have made us worthy, Your humble and unworthy servants, to be ministers of Your holy altar; Enable us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to do this service; so that without condemnation we may stand before Your glory, we bring before You a sacrifice of praise; for You are the one who works all things in all people. Grant also O Lord, our sacrifice to be acceptable, as well, for our sins and for the ignorance of the people, also to be acceptable before You.

Second Prayer of the Faithful (Basil)

   O God, the one who visits our humility in mercy and compassion; the One who establishes Your humble, sinful and unworthy servants, to come before Your holy glory.  We minister at Your holy altar; You strengthen us, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, in this service and grant us the word in the opening of our mouth, to call the grace of Your Holy Spirit upon the intention of the coming gifts.

   What can we learn from these prayers? First, God is the one who makes us worthy of Him. We do not make ourselves worthy of God. In fact, one of the conditions for becoming worthy is to acknowledge our sinfulness and considering ourselves unworthy. Second, genuine prayer to God is not our own action but the action of God, specifically the Holy Spirit, within us. That is why the main building block of prayer, both personal and communal, the Trisagion Prayers, begin with the Prayer to the Holy Spirit. Thirdly, it is God, not us, that grants progress and growth in life, faith and spiritual discernment.

   Thirdly, three different postures of prayer are mentioned—standing, bowing, and falling down. Along with sitting, kneeling, prostrating and making the sign of the cross, these speak to the integration of the body in the worship of God. Eastern Orthodox Christian spirituality incorporates the whole body and all its senses as we seek to commune with our Creator. The unique beauty and mysticism of God is touched in these postures of prayer, seen in the icons, heard in the hymnology, smelled in the incense and myrrh, and tasted in the Holy Eucharist of His Body and Blood.

   As we draw to a close today, we recall the readings of today’s liturgy on this the Sunday after Theophany. The Epistle from Ephesians 4:7-13, speaks to the action of God’s grace within us that constitutes the ‘Ekklesia’ – the people called out by God to be separate from the world, yet seeking to evangelize and minister to it and its people:

¹¹And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

   The Gospel from Matthew 4:12-17, speaks to the sensory experience of God and our subsequent response to Him.

¹⁶The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death; Light has dawned.” [Isaiah 9:1-2] ¹⁷From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Amen!

ST. GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

 Rev. Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews, Presbyter

1111 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105, (651) 222-6220, www.stgeorgegoc.org

January 20, 2019                                                                                                               12^th SUNDAY OF LUKE

TODAY’S EVENTS Basketball practice at St. Paul Downtown YMCA 12:30pm; Greek dance practice4:30pm.

Epistle Reader: Stephen Kanavati                                       Prosfora: anonymous

Fellowship: Thanasi & Panorea Contolatis                        Head Greeters: Andrea Walkush, Bill Clemons

Monday        01-21     Catechism Class “God-Holy Trinity” with Dcn. Jason Ketz                                  7:00PM

Tuesday       01-22     DIVINE LITURGY – ST. TIMOTHY                                                                    8:30AM

                                   Sanctity of Life Service/March at Cathedral of St. Paul & State Capitol              10:30AM

Wednesday 01-23     Bible Study                                                                                                      1:30PM

Thursday     01-24     Glad Tidings mailing – volunteers needed                                                      10:00AM

Saturday     01-26     DIVINE LITURGY in Eau Claire, WI                                                                   9:30AM

                                   Ukraine Autocephaly Townhall meeting (go to www.archons.org)                      12:00PM

                                  VESPERS                                                                                                         5:00PM

Sunday        01-27     ORTHROS (8:15am) &DIVINE LITURGY – 15^th SUNDAY OF LUKE                       9:30AM

                                   Festival of Nations committee meeting                                                          12:00PM

                                   Youth basketball practice at St. Paul Downtown YMCA                                      12:30PM

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

New Parish Council Officers! Congratulationsto President- George Mastrogiorgis, Vice President- Stephen Kanavati, Treasurer- John Simon, Assistant Treasurer- Lily Zahariades, Secretary- Steve Arsenault.

March for Life- this Tuesday January 22, 2019 Orthodox Christians in the Twin Cities will join with thousands across the country to bear witness that all life is sacred. After Divine Liturgy here for the Apostle Timothy, a bus will pick up (10am) and transport people to the Catholic Cathedral of St. Paul for a 10:30am service and then a march to the State Capitol building for the rally and return to St. George approximately 1pm.

Think About It: Let us be satisfied with what sustains our present life, not with what pampers it.     St. Maximos the Confessor (+662)

Share the Light Sunday Today: strengthen Orthodox evangelism and outreach in the Digital Age by supporting Orthodox Christian Network (OCN). OCN comforts, inspires, interacts and informs Orthodox Christians and seekers with their live streaming Rudder Byzantine chant station, The Anchor talk radio station, news programs, blogs, and live weekly social media programs. Visit www.myocn.net.

Intro to Orthodoxy- the cooperative catechism program of classes began January 14^th and will continue on Monday evenings 7-9pm for twelve weeks. This is an excellent opportunity to refresh the knowledge of our Orthodox Christian Faith. Classes are open to everyone but required for those planning to convert. For more info and to register online, visit https://tinyurl.com/yccynqsr

Bible Study: meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 1:30-3pm in the conference room at church. RSVP or questions to Kathy Ryan 651-292-9948 or Kathy.aeiou@gmail.com. All are welcome!

Festival of Nations: Organizational meeting after liturgy on Sunday January 27th in the conference room, everyone is welcome. Topics include 2018 Lessons Learned and 2019 plans such as menu, prices, shifts, check list review/next steps, hygiene/hand washing reminders. Save the date! FON is May 2-6.

Sunday Social Hour Coordinator needed- Volunteer from home. Work at your pace. Get to know parishioners. Past coordinator will work with you for questions. Written instructions provided.

New Metropolis Youth Director: the Metropolis of Chicago appointed Fr. Kosmas Kallis as Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. He succeeds Fr. Chris Avramopoulos and will work to expand leadership opportunities within the various youth ministry programs; to broaden youth and young adult engagement beyond the Chicago area; to roll out the Archdiocesan Youth Protection Policy in the Metropolis; and to participate in the Metropolis’ Strategic Planning Process as it relates to youth engagement.

Church Fathers Speak: For the Christian the cross gradually becomes lighter and more joyful, while for the nonbeliever it becomes heavier and more burdensome. Why is this so? Because where the one carries their cross with faith and devotion to God, the other carries it with grumbling and anger.              St. Innocent of Alaska (+1879)

Exterior Restoration- Brick, block and tuckpointing have been completed. Cost of project is $118,647. We have raised over $72,505 from our parishioners and friends. Please join us in this important work. Thank you!

Youth Minister Position Open: applications are now being accepted for this part time position. To apply, email a resume, cover letter and two references to Fr. Rick at fatherrick@stgeorgegoc.org.

Basketball Practices: Sundays Jan 6-Feb 3 from 12:30-2:30pm at St. Paul Downtown YMCA, 194 Sixth St E, St Paul, MN 55101. Coaches for Boys- Milam Paraschou & George Mastrogiorgis, JOY Coed- Elena Condos, Men- Luke Simon. Register for the tournament and book hotels now! Contact Dan Simon to confirm registration.

2019 Basketball Tourney: hosted by Annunciation Church, Milwaukee, February 8-10. Player Registration, click here. Meal registration is separate click here. Weekend Package is $110/adult, $60/child until Jan 28. Rooms $119/night at the Brookfield Hotel, 262-364-1100 or here. Questions? 2019greekbball@gmail.com.

Patristic Wisdom: The Mystery of Confession is the practical way to show obedience and therefore, a necessary duty because it also needs humility, which is something inseparable from the Christian life.      Elder Joseph of Vatopedi (+1959)

IOCC Job Opening in Minneapolis: the IOCC US Field Office is hiring a full time Administrative Project Assistant. Please see posting in social hall or https://www.iocc.org/careers/administrative-project-assistant. Deadline for application is January 18.

New Office Hours: starting February 1st, the church office will be open Tuesday-Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Pan-Orthodox Ethnic Dance Party- Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019 at 7pm, St. Mary’s GOC in Minneapolis; all ages invited. Instruction in at least one Arab, Bulgarian, Greek, Romanian, Russian and Serbian dance. If possible, please bring an appetizer or dessert to share. A cash bar priced to cover expenses will be provided. Event is free; but rsvp at  https://stmarysgoc.org/pan-orthodox-ethnic-dance-party/

Wisdom from the Fathers: If we keep remembrance of wrongs which humans have done to us, we destroy the power of the remembrance of God. But if we remind ourselves that the demons are authors of evil deeds, then we shall become invulnerable.                                                             St. Makarios the Great (+391)

Youth Ministry Updates: next Youth & Family night will be February 23^rd focusing on St. Photini the Samaritan Woman. Future youth & family events will be March 23^rd, April 20 & 26, and May 11. Next organizational planning meeting will be Wed. Feb.27^th 6:30pm, then Mon. March 25^th 7pm, & Wed. May 15^th.

Metropolis Clergy Laity: The St. George and St. Mary Church communities will co-host in the Twin Cities September 25-29, 2019. Alexis Bighley will co-chair. Hotel is Hyatt Regency in Bloomington.

Welcome Visitors Thank you for joining with us in prayer and fellowship. The worship of the Orthodox Church is deeply rooted in and very similar to that of the early Christian Church. Unique sensory stimuli and mystery are elements that go back even to the liturgy of the Jewish temple. Everything in an Orthodox Christian church communicates the majestic presence of God the Holy Trinity with His Saints. It is literally heaven on earth. It is a sad consequence of the divisions in Christianity that we cannot extend a general invitation to receive Holy Communion. Visitors are invited to receive the blessed bread (antithoron) at the conclusion of the liturgy. We pray and work for the reconciliation and unity of all Christians. If you are interested in learning more about Orthodoxy, please contact Fr. Rick at fatherrick@stgeorgegoc.org. We are proud of our Greek heritage, but one does not have to be of Greek descent, nor speak Greek to be a Greek Orthodox Christian.

Note to Orthodox about Holy Communion: Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ is one of the most Holy experiences for a Christian in order to be granted the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. We are never worthy to partake of Divine Nature. Yet, it is essential that we prepare ourselves for this sacred Communion by constant prayer, reading the Scriptures, regular fasting and periodic Confession. At a minimum, we should fast all morning before Communion, arrive at the beginning of Liturgy, and come for Confession at least once a year. In addition, we should not have separated ourselves from the Church through serious sin. Otherwise, please refrain from Communion to avoid “judgment…not discerning the Lord’s body” (1Cor. 11:29). Contact Fr. Rick for pastoral guidance.

Glad Tidings deadline: The 10th of each month. Glad Tidings email: gladtidings@stgeorgegoc.org  Sunday Bulletin Deadline: Wednesday Noon each week.  Email: office@stgeorgegoc.org