Orthodox A parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America His Eminence Metropolitan , Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America His Grace Bishop John, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Worcester

300 West Street, Dedham, Massachusetts 02026-5594 781.326.3046; www.stjohnd.org

Pastoral Staff: Archpriest John K. Teebagy, Pastor Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday [email protected] & Friday: 9:30 am – 2:30 pm Rev. Christos Hatzopoulos Andrew Hazerjian, Choir Director Church Office: [email protected] Anthony Hamwey, Chanter Erin DeSista, Parish Secretary Bulletin Deadline: Wednesday at 2 pm

Regular Sunday Services: Confessions: 8:40 am - 9:40 am; : 9 am; : 10 am

ST. JOHN OF DAMASCUS MISSION STATEMENT We worship and glorify God, by loving and caring for each other, providing a safe, thriving and life-long home, from which we spread the teaching and good works of our Orthodox Christian Faith. Being God’s stewards, we celebrate our faith by:  participating fully in the sacramental and liturgical life of the church.  responding to the needs of all by living the message of the through outreach to each other and to the community at large.  fostering our God-given talents as stewards to strengthen God's church.

“Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)

A NOTE TO OUR VISITORS

WELCOME! We are glad to have you worshipping with us today. We hope that you will complete one of our visitor cards and will introduce yourself to Fr. John after the service. Please also join us for coffee following the Liturgy. Since the Orthodox Church understands to be a sign of our unity of faith, only Orthodox Christians who have prepared themselves through prayer, fasting and periodic confession are permitted to participate in Holy Communion. All present, however, are welcome to partake of the blessed bread and receive a blessing at the end of liturgy. 31 March 2019 Third Sunday of (Holy Cross)

After the Little :

RESURRECTIONAL -Tone 3: Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad, for the Lord hath done a mighty act with His own arm. He hath trampled down death by death, and become the first-born from the dead. He hath delivered us from the depths of Hades, granting the world the Great Mercy.

APOLYTIKION FOR THE HOLY CROSS-Tone 1: (CHANT) (CHORAL) O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting to Thy people victory over all their enemies, and by the power of Thy Cross preserving Thy commonwealth.

Troparion of St. John of Damascus – Tone 8: Thou hast shown thyself, O God-inspired John, as a guide to the Orthodox Faith, a teacher of true worship and purity, O star of the universe and companion of monastics, O wise one. Through thy light thou hast enlightened all, O harp of the Spirit. Therefore intercede with Christ God to save our souls.

KONTAKION FOR SUNDAYS IN GREAT LENT-Tone 8: (CHANT) (CHORAL) To thee, the Champion Leader, do I offer thanks of victory, O , thou who hast delivered me from terror; but as thou that hast that power invincible, O Theotokos, thou alone can set me free: from all forms of danger free me and deliver me, that I may cry unto thee: Hail, O Bride without Bridegroom.

THE ANTI- (CHANT) (CHORAL): Before Thy Cross we bow down in worship, Master, and Thy Holy Resurrection we glorify. (THRICE) Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. And we glorify Thy Holy Resurrection. Dynamis! Before Thy Cross we bow down in worship, Master, and we glorify Thy Holy Resurrection.

THE O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance. To Thee, O Lord, have I cried, O my God. The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews (4:14-5:6) Brethren, since we have a High Priest, Who has passed through the heavens, , the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One Who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt Himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by Him Who said to Him, “Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee”; as He says also in another place, “Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.

THE GOSPEL The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. (8:34-9:1) The Lord said, “If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” And Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God come with power.”

And the rest of the Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great

Memory Eternal

+ The Offerings – Holy Bread +

 Prayers of Oblation are offered in beloved memory of our dear mother and grandmother Rachel F. Mazares (7yrs) by Joan & Michelle Mazares. We miss your beautiful smile and will always keep you in our hearts.

 Prayers of Oblation are offered in beloved memory of father & Jiddo Dr. Elias R. Nawfel by Richard Nawfel, Nico & Rose Marie Stamboulides, Elias & Eleni Nawfel and family. Forever in our hearts!

Great Lent – Week 4 (April 1-8)

Monday, April 1: Great @ St. George, WR @ 6:30 pm.

Wednesday, April 3: Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts @ 5:30 pm. Please begin your Eucharistic fast after a light Lenten luncheon.

Friday, April 5: Akathist @ 6:30 pm.

Sunday, April 7: The Fourth Sunday of Great Lent – St. John of the Ladder

Monday, April 8: Great Compline @ St. Michael, Cape Cod @ 7 pm.

Announcements…

 Reminder: Please remember to contact Fr. John (781.326.3046 or [email protected]) at your earliest convenience, if you or a loved one has a pastoral need. Thank you.

 Friendly Reminder: Please let the church school staff and students go to communion first. Thanks!

 March is Antiochian Women’s Month: VMS will read the Epistle and take collections. TODAY, a special collection will be taken to support the Antiochian Women special project, “Building A New Cathedral for our Archdiocese at the Antiochian Village”. We thank you for your support.

 ATTENTION ST. JOHN’S TEENS!! It’s Bible Bowl time and we are looking to put together a team of 3 or 4 students, age 13 – 19. Participating in Bible Bowl is fun and exciting! We practice during Church School time to be ready for the regional competition in June. Please contact Nancy Close to join or for any questions.

 Choir: Interested in joining the choir? New members are always welcomed! Please see Andrew Hazerjian for more information.

 Leave your mark! The Tree of Life Leaves and the Legacy Walkway Pavers are now open if you wish to donate one in memory of loved ones or for other reasons. Order forms are available at the Bengari area or on our church website. Any questions, please call Erin at the church office (781-326-3046) or contact Mike Tawa at [email protected] Your support will be greatly appreciated. It is a beautiful legacy to leave our children and grandchildren…

 Archdiocese Convention: The bi-annual archdiocese convention will take place from July 21-28 in Grand Rapids, MI. Complete information can be found at https://ac2019gr.org/.

 Altar Servers: John Najjar, Dean of Altar Servers. Serving today: St. Mark’s Team.

 Looking for a spiritual home? If you would like more information about joining this parish, please contact Fr. John. You would be most welcomed!

FROM THE FATHERS – “Passion was not planted by God in nature, for He is not the Creator of passions. God is not the cause of evil. Those who teach that passions are natural to the soul are wrong, not realizing that it is we who have turned natural things into passions. For example, by nature we have within us the seed necessary for childbearing – but we have perverted this into lust. Nature gave us the feeling of anger, which we are supposed to use against the Evil One – instead we use it against our neighbor.” St.

Donations for Lent and Holy Week

The Lenten Season will soon be under way and soon Holy Week and Pascha will be here as well. There are many things, as you know, that the Church will need for all of the special services coming up, and we ask for your participation and support.

If you would like to offer a donation to the Church of St. John of Damascus for the health of or in memory of any of your family members or friends, please fill out the form below and mail it back to the church office as soon as possible.

We thank you and pray that you experience a most joyfully rewarding and fruitful Lenten season and celebration of our Lord's Holy Pascha.

Dear Fr. John,

It would be a great joy for me/us (envelope # ) to offer a donation of $______for my Paschal gift to the church. Please accept this donation for:

(please circle one)

for the health of or in memory of:

______

Given by: ______

______

____Please list in the Palm Sunday bulletin

or

____Please list in the Pascha (Easter) Bulletin

Deadline for donations is Sunday, April 14, 2019