St. John Orthodox Church A Parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America 1663 Tutwiler Ave. Memphis, TN 38107 www.stjohnmemphis.org 901.274.4119 “…the Disciples were called Christian first in Antioch!” Acts 11:26
His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH V. Rev. Fr. Philip Rogers, Pastor Archbishop of New York & V. Rev. Fr. John Troy Mashburn, Jr., Metropolitan of all North America Pastor Emeritus
His Grace Bishop NICHOLAS V. Rev. Fr. Basil Cushman, Associate Pastor Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Miami V. Rev. Fr. Don Berge, Attached and the Southeast
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Genealogy Sunday Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ ~ December 20, 2020 ~
Epistle: Hebrews 11:9-10, 32-40 Gospel: Matthew 1:1-25
Welcome to all those visiting St. John Orthodox Church. We are honored by your presence. It is our sincere desire that your participation today in the Divine Liturgy will draw you closer to Christ and His Church.
If you are from a non-Orthodox background you may see new things such as icons, incense, the sign of the cross, the veneration of saints, and a great deal of standing. These can be perplexing to the uninitiated eye. Rest assured that everything we do has a solid biblical foundation and a long history among Christian people. Please feel free to participate where you feel comfortable and feel equally as free only to observe when you prefer.
The Orthodox Church understands the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper, to be – among other things – the paramount expression of Christian unity. While it is our deepest hope that Christendom will one day fulfill Christ’s desire for true unity among all those who claim His name (John 17:21), the unfortunate reality of our day is that the various segments of Christendom are not unified with the historic Orthodox faith. Since participation in the Eucharist expresses a unity with all the dogma and practice of the Orthodox Church, non-Orthodox guests do not receive Holy Communion. The Holy Eucharist is reserved for those members of the Orthodox Church who have prepared themselves by prayer, fasting, and recent confession. All visitors and unprepared Orthodox are invited to partake of the blessed bread as they come forward to venerate the cross at the end of the Liturgy. Thank you for your understanding.
ST. JOHN CALENDAR Dec. 20 - 27 (Strict Fast through 12/24; NO fast 12/25-1/4)
Sunday -Teen Group, 1pm -Middle School, 1pm Monday -First Hour, 6:45am BAPTISM -Advent Paraklesis, 6pm Jan. 10: Julian McGee Tuesday -Third Hour, 9am Wednesday -Third Hour, 9am CHRISMATION Thursday -Royal Hours, 9am Jan. 17: Rhy Williams -Divine Liturgy, 10:30am ------Festal Orthros, 9:15pm -Divine Liturgy, 10:30pm Friday -OFFICE CLOSED Saturday -Ninth Hour and Great Vespers, 6pm Sunday -Atrium Prayer Table, 9:30am -Orthros, 9am -Divine Liturgy, 10am
DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS Birthdays, Anniversaries, Namedays
Sunday Hebrews 11:9-10; 32-40 Sunday, 12/20 Isaac George Matthew 1:1-25 Righteous Sarah: Sarah Monday Hebrews 3:5-11, 17-19 Finley Mark 9:42-50; 10:1 Joseph, the Patriarch: Tuesday Hebrews 1:1-13 Joe Hodges Mark 10:2-12 Monday, 12/21 Wednesday Hebrews 5:11-14; 6:1-8 Mark 10:11-16 Tuesday, 12/22 Thursday Hebrews 1:1-12 Weston Sanderlin, Amal Luke 2:1-20 Rustom
Friday Galatians 4:4-7 Wednesday, 12/23 Matthew 2:1-12 Thursday, 12/24 Saturday 1Timothy 6:11-16
Matthew 12:15-21 Friday, 12/25
Sunday Acts 6:8-15; 7:1-5, Kristina Romero
47-60 Saturday, 12/26 Matthew 2:13-23
Remember in Your Prayers Our catechumen: Page Walley; Austin Brown; Rhy Williams; Joel Gulledge; Travis, Maggie, Sophie, Kenneth, Nate, & Bella Harms; Carole Sneed; John Pecoraro; Jake Sparks; Jeff Bennett Prayer Requests: Nicholas Hill, Ernestine Pruitt (Nicholas Hill’s mother), Chris Hodges, Mickey Hodges, Elizabeth Allie (Buddy Bowick’s mother/Lawson’s grandmother), Brenda Thomas (Tupelo), Shukurat Nasanga Kisakye, Jay Brownlow, Bill Thomas (Kathryn McWhorter’s father), St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, victims of the wildfires in CA, those suffering in the Middle East, most especially the Christians. Expecting: Sophia Garrison, Chelsea Yadron, Sarah Ortwein, Sally Boyle, Irene Hodges, Hillary Klimksowski, Whitney Klimkowski
ST. JOHN COMMUNITY
Website News - The library’s collection is accessible to you anywhere without having to make a trip to church. The entire database of books, DVDs, and CDs is online on the church website! Look for the LIBRARY link under PARISH LIFE. The catalogs are organized by subject, author and title so you can search for specific subjects and saints even if you don’t know the authors’ names or the titles. Thank you, Judy, for your hard work!
Wednesday Night Bible Study – Bible Study will return the Wednesday after Christmas, December 30, at 7pm.
What's Cooking with the New St. John Cookbook? The Women's Council of St. Nonna and the Cookbook Committee are getting very excited about our new parish cookbook, but we would like to include some more recipes! Please submit your favorite appetizers, veggies/sides, soups and salads, main dishes, fasting meals, desserts, cocktails, or liturgical/festal dishes (that were not included in the previous cookbook from 2006). We can't wait to try them! Send your recipe submissions to Anne Castrodale, [email protected] by Jan. 15, 2021!
Stay Vigilant – Thank you for your continued respect and love and adhering to all of the current guidelines for attendance. Please continue be mindful of those around you. In particular, please be mindful of congregating on or around the stairs after the services as people leave the building. Thank you!
Parish Council Update: Thanks be to God, we are coming to the end of another year and the beginning of a new one! Thank you for all of your support of St. John over this year. It has been a very difficult year for many, but the Church has been able to continue to minister to the needs of the faithful because of your generosity. Thank you! If you would like to still make an end of the year donation, you are still able. May the Lord continue to guide and protect our community for many years to come!!
Nativity Fast – Today begins the 2nd period of the fast, December 20th through 24th, when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish, wine and oil) is observed with katalysis for wine and oil only on Saturday and Sunday. There is NO fasting Dec. 25 – Jan. 4.
Women of St. John Calendar Young Adults
12/16 (Wed.) Teaching, 10am 12/31 (Fri.), 3pm: Join the Young Adults We will be continuing All is Well by Dr. Al Rossi. outside of the church for a socially distant 1/11 (Mon.) AWSJ Book Club, 7pm celebration of the Nativity with food and We will be discussing Song of Sirin by Nicholas drinks! Young Adults will provide the meat Kotar and drinks. Please RSVP by December 29th to [email protected] or to a Young 1/16 (Sat.) AWSJ Winter Get-Together, 2 – 4pm Adult leadership member with a number Join us next to the fire pit (and heaters) in the attending and if you have a side or dessert courtyard at St. John for hot beverages and you are able to bring and share. Please wear conversation. your masks and dress for the weather! There will be a box for you to drop your suggestions for AWSJ 2021 and an opportunity for you to submit 2/7 (Sun.), 5pm: Socially distanced/masked your last-minute recipes for the new cookbook. Most Doctrine on Draft outside of the church of all it’s a time for you to connect with your St. John (virtual option available-link in email) friends in a casual, socially distanced manner.
Special Services through Theophany
Monday, December 21 Paraklesis, 6:00 PM
Thursday, December 24 Royal Hours, 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, 10:30 AM ~~~ Orthros for Nativity, 9:15 PM Divine Liturgy of St. Basil for Nativity, 10:30 PM
Thursday, December 31 Great Vespers for the Feast of St. Basil, 6:00 PM
Tuesday, January 5 Royal Hours, 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy of St. Chrysostom, 6:00 PM followed by the Great Sanctification of the Water
Wednesday, January 6 Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, 9:00 AM
Saturday, January 9 Blessing of the Mississippi River with Annunciation GOA
*December 24 & January 5 are fast days. There is NO fasting from December 25 - January 4.
COMMEMORATIONS
December 20: Hieromartyr Ignatios the God-bearer, bishop of Antioch; New-martyr John of Thasos; Daniel II of Serbia.
December 21: Virgin-martyr Juliana of Nicomedia; Martyr Themistokles of Myra in Lycia; Peter, metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia.
December 22: Great-martyr Anastasia and her teacher the Martyr Chrysogonos.
December 23: Ten martyrs of Crete; New-martyr Nicholas; Venerable Nahum of Ochrid, enlightener of the Bulgarians.
December 24: Venerable-martyr Eugenia of Rome and those with her; Martyrs Achaikos and Basillia; New-martyr Ahmed of Constantinople.
December 25: The Nativity in the Flesh of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
December 26: The Synaxis of the Theotokos; Euthymios the Confessor, bishop of Sardis; Hieromartyr Constantios the Russian of the Great Lavra on Athos.
December 27: Commemoration of Joseph the Betrothed, David the Prophet and King, and James the Brother of the Lord. Proto-martyr Stephen the archdeacon; Venerable-confessor Theodore the Branded.
LIBRARY LINES
Today we commemorate St. Ignatius the God-Bearer (12/20), a disciple of our own patron, St. John the Evangelist. Tradition tells us that Christ held the young saint in His arms when He said, "Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." It is also said that he began the practice of antiphonal singing in church after seeing a vision of angels alternately giving their praises to God. Perhaps he is best known for actively desiring to die for Christ. On the road to martyrdom in Rome, he continually repeated the name of Jesus. When asked about this he said that the Name was written on his heart. St. Ignatius was devoured by lions who left only his heart and some bones. The pagans cut open his heart and saw "Jesus Christ" in gold letters. Learn more about him in Fathers of the Church (HAG - - - WUE), Pillars of the Church (HAG - - - GRE), and in For Christ and the Church: St. Ignatius of Antioch (PAT COM IGN).
St. Juliana (12/21) was one of many women saints who refused a pagan suitor and dedicated her life to Christ. Her father handed her over to torture in the presence of a large crowd, many of whom professed Christ and joined her in receiving martyrs' crowns. According to the OCA website, she was the subject of an Anglo-Saxon poem which was penned by Cynewulf in the 8th century.
Tuesday, we honor St. Anastasia (12/22). Anastasia was forced into marriage with a pagan. He locked her in their home after learning that she donned a disguise and visited Christians who had been imprisoned because of their faith. After her husband's death, she gave away her money and visited and nursed the Christians who were in prison in several cities. She received the name, Deliverer from Potions because she healed many from the effects of poisons. She was arrested, starved, and martyred by being burned alive. Read more about her in The Encyclopedia of the Major Saints and Fathers (HAG - - - ELE) and in Married Saints of the Church (HAG - - - MOS).
On December 25 we also commemorate the three Magi who presented gifts to Christ. Their names were first recorded in the middle ages. According to the OCA website, St. John Chrysostom says that the star was a “manifestation of divine energy.” We also honor the shepherds who heard the announcement from the angels of Jesus’s birth. St. Cyprian tells us that it was the archangel Gabriel who appeared to them.
From the Fathers:
Having God, fear nothing, but cast all of your care upon Him, and He will take care of you. Believe undoubtingly, and God will help you according to His mercy. -St. Barsanuphius the Great
“Faith, indeed is of two kinds. Thus, ‘Faith cometh by hearing, (Rom. 10:17) for, when we hear the sacred Scriptures, we believe in the teaching of the Holy Spirit. And this faith is made perfect by all those things which Christ has ordained; it believes truly, it is devout, and it keeps the commandments of Him who has renewed us. For he who does not believe in accordance with the tradition of the Catholic Church or who through untoward works holds communion with the Devil is without faith. Then again, there is a faith ‘which is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.’ (Heb. 11:1) This is an undoubting and unquestioning hope both for the things promised us by God and for the success of our petitions. The first kind of faith comes from our faculty of judgment, whereas the second is one of the gifts of the Spirit.” -St. John of Damascus
The fear of God illumines the soul, annihilates evil, weakens the passions, drives darkness from the soul and makes it pure. The fear of God is the summit of wisdom. Where it is not you will find nothing good. Whoever does not have the fear of God is open to diabolical falls. -St. Ephraim Syrian
Wherefore also the Lord Jesus Christ, wishing to make us more strong against the temptations of the devil, fasted when about to contend with him, that we might know that we may in no other way overcome the enticements of evil. -St. Ambrose of Milan
If a man has no worries about himself at all for the sake of love toward God and the working of good deeds, knowing that God is taking care of him, this is a true and wise hope. But if a man takes care of his own business and turns to God in prayer only when misfortunes come upon him which are beyond his power, and then he begins to hope in God, such a hope is vain and false. A true hope seeks only the Kingdom of God... the heart can have no peace until it obtains such a hope. This hope pacifies the heart and produces joy within it. -St. Seraphim of Sarov
God gave people the word "love" so that they could call their relationship to Him by this name. When people misuse this word to refer to their relationship with earthly things, it loses its meaning. -St. Nicholas of Serbia
It is much better to think that our death will come sooner than the end of the world, rather than that the end of the world will come before our death.” -St. Seraphim of Sarov
If someone puts his trust in God in a matter, let him not argue with his brother about it. -St. Mark the Ascetic