SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

Icon of Saint Stephen Proto-Martyr – December 27

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Vol. 60, No. 52 DECEMBER 27, 2015 AD

SUNDAY AFTER (AND POST-FEAST OF) NATIVITY OF CHRIST DECEMBER 27 BRIGHT VESTMENTS. On the Sunday after Christmas, we always remember the

holy and righteous: Joseph, the Betrothed of the Theotokos; and David, Prophet, Psalm-writer and King; and James, the brother of the Lord according to the Flesh. The Dec. 27th commemoration of the Holy Apostle, First Martyr and Arch-deacon Stephen (1st century) is combined. We transfer to another day, or omit, the memory of the other saints of December 27: Our Venerable Fathers and Confessors for the Faith in Christ: Theodore the “Branded One” (844) and his brother, Theophane, Bishop of Nicaea and composer of canons.

Matins Gospel # 9: John 20:19-31 (page 50). For the liturgical propers for an English Divine Liturgy, we use the Troparion

of Tone 6 in the blue Anthology: p. 349; in Ukrainian: p. 472, continuing with propers for the Sunday after Christmas, pp. 765-768; and also, the Propers for the St. Stephen, pp. 769-771.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26

4:00-4:30 PM – Fr. Ivan will be available for Holy Mystery of Confession for those who wish to make use of it. Of course, one may confess in the presence of any other Catholic priest, as well; and, if anyone should be in need of an additional time slot, all you have to do is ask any priest. 5:00 PM – VESPERS w/ DIVINE LITURGY (all English, congregational or recited) God’s Blessings on Parishioners (Fr. Ivan Chirovsky) Fr. Ivan Chirovsky SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27 7:45 AM – LITURGY OF MATINS (English, congregational) 9:00 AM – DIVINE LITURGY (bi-lingual, choral) +Anastasia Szagala (Julie Polletta) Fr. Ivan Chirovsky English EASTERN CHRISTIAN FORMATION classes (Although CLASSES for children and adults, will resume on January 10, 2016, parents are reminded that their children’s presence at Christmas and Theophany worship services still remains as an integral and vital part of “Eastern Christian Formation.”)

WEEKDAY SERVICES AND EVENTS (Epistle: 32nd week, Gospel: 32nd week)

Post-feast of the Nativity of Christ (MONDAY) DECEMBER 28 (from Christmas to Theophany: free from fasting and/or abstinence)

Holy 20,000 Martyrs Who Were Burned in Nicomedia, esp. the priest Glycerius, the deacons Zenon and Theotheles, and Domna (303); holy apostle Nicanor of the Seventy-two (34); Passing into eternal life (1945) of Blessed Hryhoriy (Gregory) Khomyshyn, Bishop of Stanys-laviv (Ivano-Frankivs’k) and martyr. No Divine Liturgy On This Morning Church office opened today, as usual

Post-feast of the Nativity of Christ (TUESDAY) DECEMBER 29 (from Christmas to Theophany: free from fasting and/or abstinence)

Holy 14,000 Children, Who Were Murdered by Herod in Bethlehem in Judea, for the sake of Christ; Our Venerable Father Marcellus, Hegumen of the Monastery of the Sleepless Ones (c.

3470); our ven. Father George, archbishop of Nicomedia and hymn writer (9th century); our ven. Fathers Mark, the grave digger, and Theophil and John, of the Kyiv caves (11th-12th cen-turies) No Divine Liturgy On This Morning

Post-feast of the Nativity of Christ (WEDNESDAY) DECEMBER 30

CHURCH OFFICE OPENED TODAY, INSTEAD OF ON JANUARY 1.

(from Christmas to Theophany: free from fasting and/or abstinence) Holy Martyr Anysia, the Virgin (286-305); and Holy Martyr and Presbyter, Zoticus, Protector of Orphans (4th century); our ven. Mother Theodora of Caesaria (8th century); holy Theodora, the merciful widow of Constantinople (940). No Divine Liturgy on This Morning

Leave-Taking of the Nativity of Christ (THURSDAY) DECEMBER 31 (from Christmas to Theophany: free from fasting and/or abstinence)

Our Venerable Mother Melania the Roman (439, this is why the eve of the civil New Year’s day in Ukraine was known as “Melanie’s Eve – Malanka”); the holy apostle Timon, of the Seventy (1st century) No Divine Liturgy On This Morning

NO PYROHY MAKING AND SELLING until January 13, 2016

FEASTDAY (FRIDAY) JANUARY 1 (from Christmas to Theophany: free from fasting and/or abstinence)

CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD, GOD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. Our father among the saints, Basil the Great (+379), archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia; holy martyr Basil of Ankyra (+362). BRIGHT (WHITE) VESTMENTS.

9:30 AM – DIVINE LITURGY Spec. Int. for Chirovsky Family (June & Frank Papciak) Fr. Ivan Chirovsky

CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 1

Saturday before Theophany & Fore-feast of Theophany (SATURDAY) JANUARY 2 Our Holy Father Sylvester, Pope of Rome (335); the passing of the venerable Father Sera-phim of Sarov (1833), miracleworker; our father among the saints, Sylvester of the Kyiv Caves (12th cen.) 9:30 AM - Akathist for Children and Grandchildren

SUNDAY BEFORE (AND FORE-FEAST OF) THE “ENLIGHTENMENT”, ALSO KNOWN AS “THEOPHANY” JANUARY 3

BRIGHT VESTMENTS. We also commemorate the saint(s) of January 3: Holy Prophet Malachi (5th c. BC); the Holy Martyr Gordius (313-24); the holy and Venerable Mother Gene-vieve (Jenny, Genny) of Paris (502/512).

Matins Gospel # 10: John 21:1-14 (pages 50-51). For the liturgical propers for an English Divine Liturgy, we use the Troparion

of Tone 7 in the blue Anthology: p. 353; in Ukrainian: p. 474, continuing with propers for the Sunday before Theophany, pp. 765-768. Since the Pre-Feast of Theophany (Jan. 2-5) propers are omitted in the Anthology, we will print them in the bulletin.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 2 4:00-4:30 PM – Fr. Ivan will be available for Holy Mystery of Confession for those who wish to make use of it. Of course, one may confess in the presence of any other Catholic priest, as well; and, if anyone should be in need of an additional time slot, all you have to do is ask any priest.

4 5:00 PM – VESPERS w/ DIVINE LITURGY (all English, congregational or recited) God’s Blessings on Parishioners (Fr. Ivan Chirovsky) Fr. Ivan Chirovsky SUNDAY, JANUARY 3 7:45 AM – LITURGY OF MATINS (English, congregational) 9:00 AM – DIVINE LITURGY (bi-lingual, choral) +Stephen Burke (McCauley Family) Fr. Ivan Chirovsky English EASTERN CHRISTIAN FORMATION classes (Although CLASSES for children and adults, will resume on January 10, 2016, parents are reminded that their children’s presence at Theophany worship ser-vices still remains as an integral and vital part of “Eastern Christian Formation.”)

Forefeast of the THE “ENLIGHTENMENT”, ALSO KNOWN AS “THEOPHANY” (MONDAY) JANUARY 4

(from Christmas to Theophany: free from fasting and/or abstinence) Synaxis (Gathering-Собор-Sobor) in honor of the Seventy(-two) Holy Apostles; Our Ven. Fr. Theoctistus (800), Hegumen (Abbot) of the Cucomo Monastery in Sicily. No Divine Liturgy on This Morning

However, at 700 pm – 8:45 pm:

“ROYAL HOURS-OFFICE OF READINGS” FOR THEOPHANY OF OUR LORD. We are ready to conduct this service in Ukrainian and in English, but the

decision regarding language is made right before the service begins when the priest and cantor look around and see who actually showed up.

This most important Liturgy of the Word teaches everyone how to meditate properly on the scriptures implied by the Feast of our Lord’s Theophany. Using Septuagint Greek text and numbering for Old Testament, these are: (First Hour) Psalms 5, 22 and 26, Isaiah 35:1-10, and Acts of the Apostles 13:25-33 with Matthew 3:1-11; (Third Hour) Psalms 28, 41 and 50, Isaiah 1:16-20, and Acts of the Apostles 19:1-8 with Mark 1:1-8; (Sixth Hour) Psalms 73, 76 and 90, Isaiah 12:3-6, and Romans 6:3-11 with Mark 1:9-15; and (Ninth Hour) Psalms 92, 113 and 85, Isaiah 49:8-15, and Titus 2:11-14 and 3:4-7 with Matthew 3:13-17.

Attendance at this Office of Readings does not satisfy the obligation/privilege to gather for the Feast of Theophany. Strictly speaking, these ROYAL HOURS (without Typika) are supposed to be celebrated on the morning of Jan. 5th from about nine to eleven am, so that these extra prayers can naturally go hand-in-hand with that whole day’s extra fasting. Alas today the mandatory rules for fasting on this particular day have been mitigated to include only abstinence from meat and some people have no choice but to go to work on this morning or afternoon. And those who do not work outside the home are often laboring quite extensively to prepare the home and foods for the traditional Ukrainian twelve course meatless Generous Supper on Generous Eve. Therefore, we will be serving ROYAL HOURS on Monday evening, Jan. 4th, so that those, who must labor, are not prevented from attending this most important Liturgy of the Word that teaches us how to meditate properly on the scriptures implied by the Feast of our Lord’s Theophany.

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Theophany Eve. (TUESDAY) JANUARY 5 ABSTINENCE FROM MEAT on Jan. 5 is OBLIGATORY, while

ABSTINENCE FROM DAIRY PRODUCTS is ENCOURAGED Holy Martyrs Theopemptus and Theonas (284-305); the Venerable Syncletica of Alexandria (c. 350). NO DIVINE LITURGY on this day in the morning

All are invited to come and join our parish family for

the Supper of Generous-Bountiful Eve (Щедрий Вечір) on January 5th. We ask that everyone start arriving no sooner than 5:00 pm, but also so that we

may begin the Dinner no later than 5:30 pm. In this way we hope that the volunteers/responders may be ready

to clean up at 6:15 pm and thus be able to participate in worship services by 7:00 PM

THE FEAST OF THE “ENLIGHTENMENT”, ALSO KNOWN AS “THEOPHANY”

IS ONE OF THE TWELVE MAJOR FEASTDAYS AND A HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION / PRIVILEDGE

ALL SHOULD DO THEIR BEST TO ATTEND

THE “ROYAL HOURS” ON MONDAY EVENING AT 7:00PM.

ATTENDING ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TWO SERVICES IS OBLIGATORY: TUESDAY EVENING (mostly English, congregational) JANUARY 5th

6:45 PM – Altar servers are asked to arrive by this time. 7:00 PM – Segment of Great Compline. 7:15 PM – 9:45 PM – First Divine Liturgy of Theophany will be the Vigil Service (first part of Vespers of Theophany with Epistle, Gospel and remainder of the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great for Theophany, ending with First (Great) Water Blessing. According to St John Chrysostom, we should come prepared for this service by having read at home and by reflecting upon the scriptures of this day: (1) Genesis 1:1-13; (2) Exodus 14:15-18, 21-23, 27-29; (3) Exodus 15:22-16:1; (4) Joshua 3:7-8 and 3:15-17; (5) 2[4] Kings 2:6-14; (6) 2[4] Kings 5:9-14; (7) Isaiah 1:16-20; (8) Genesis 32:1-10; (9) Exodus 2:5-10; (10) Judges 6:36-40; (11) 1[3] Kings 18:30-39; (12) 2 [4] Kings 2:19-22; (13) Isaiah 49:8-15; (Prokeimenon verses) Ps 26[27]:1; (14) Epistle: 1 Corinthans 9: 19-27 (1 Corinthians 10:1-4 if Jan 5 is on a Saturday or Sunday); (Alleluia verses) Ps 44 [45]:1a, 3a; (15) Luke 3:1-18. At the water blessing: (16) Isaiah 35:1-10; (17) Isaiah 55:1-13; (18) Isaiah 12:3-6. (Prokeimenon verses) Ps 26[27]:1; Epistle: (19) 1 Corinthans 10:1-4; (Alleluia verses) Ps 28 [29]:3, Ps 113 [114]:5; Gospel: (20) Mark 1:9-11. God’s blessings on Parishioners (Fr. Ivan) Fr. Ivan Chirovsky NOTE FOR ROMAN (LATIN) RITE CATHOLICS: the vespers part of the Thursday evening service is not a “prelude to the Mass.” The vespers at the beginning & the water blessing at the end are both integral parts of this special “First Mass” of this very holy and very great feast day. WEDNESDAY MORNING (mostly Ukrainian, congregational) JANUARY 6th

10:45 AM – Altar servers are asked to arrive by this time. 11:00 AM – Segment of Great Compline. 11:15 AM – Second Divine Liturgy of Theophany will be the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, with heavily shortened Second (Lesser) Water Blessing, if it is deemed necessary. According to St John Chrysostom, we should come prepared for

6 this service by having read at home and by reflecting upon the scriptures of this day: (Matins) Mark 1:9-11; (Divine Liturgy) (Prokeimenon verses) Ps 117 [118]:26,27,1; (Epistle) Titus 2:11-14,3:4-7; (Alleluia verses) Ps 28:1,3; (Gospel) Matthew 3:13-17. God’s blessings on Parishioners (Fr. Ivan) Fr. Ivan Chirovsky

Post-feast of Theophany (no fasting or abstinence) (THURSDAY) JAN. 7 Коли хтось, бажаючи святкувати Різдво за старим (Юліянським) календарем,

прибуде на цю службу, отець Іван радо відслужить Літургію із змінними частинами Різдва. В іншому випадку, служба буде за новим (Григоріянським) календарем.

If someone who celebrates Christmas on the Julian (old) Calendar comes to attend this Divine Liturgy, then Father Ivan will gladly celebrate using the propers for December 25 for them. Otherwise, the propers for Jan. 7 on the Gregorian (New) Calendar are those of the Synaxis (Gathering-Собор-Sobor) in honor of the Holy and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John.

9:30 AM, DIVINE LITURGY in Chapel: +Lubomyr Kuzmak (Roxana Kuzmak) (Fr. Ivan Chirovsky) NOTE ABOUT JAN. 8, 2016: Normally, for the Feast of Theophany, from January 6 until January 14, inclusive, there is a general dispensation from all abstinence & fasting; also we do not kneel or prostrate for prayers, either at home or at church. However, although some Byzantine Typikons may prescribe that January 8 should also be a fast free day, the rule currently being observed in our Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church considers that Friday to be a day of abstinence from meat, or equivalent pen-ance.

Question: What’s does the use of “CHORAL” and “CONGREGATIONAL” in the above listings of the Sunday 9:00 am Divine Liturgy mean? Answer: “Choral” means that the choir, directed by Steve Zinski, will lead in singing the responses: for example, Ukrainian for the liturgical propers and “Old Church Slavonic” choral melodies for songs like the Cherubic Hymn, etc. The “Lord’s Prayer” is sung chorally in OCS and then recited (or sung) in English. “Congregational” means that Steve and/or other cantor(s) lead the people in singing the responses: for example, Anthology English for the liturgical propers and melodies for songs like the Cherubic Hymn. The “Lord’s Prayer” is sung in English and then recited (or sung) in OCS (or Ukrainian).

ЗМІННІ ЧАСТИНИ НА ЛІТУРГІЯХ дня 2015 – 12 – 27 ЧИТАННЯ ІЗ СВЯТОГО ПИСЬМА, у неділю між 26-31 ГРУДНЯ:

НЕДІЛЯ ПІСЛЯ РІЗДВА ХРИСТОВОГО коли випадає 27 ГРУДНЯ: св. Апостола, Перво-мученика й Архи-Диякона Стефана

(по грецькому Στέφανος-Stephanos, у перекладі означає: “Crown-Вінець”)

На Вечірній Літургії: коли головний священослужитель цього бажає, беремо читання: Або Три (а, б, в), що знаходяться у мосулському синаксарійоні, Або Два (1 й 2), що пов’язані тематично із Євангелієм: Матей 2:13-23. (а) ПЕРШОЇ КНИГИ МОЙСЕЯ ЧИТАННЯ (LXX: Буття 25:21-34). (б) КНИГИ МУДРОСТИ, ІСУСА, СИНА СИРАХА ЧИТАННЯ (LXX: Сирах 7:1-28). (в) КНИГИ ПРОРОКА ЗАХАРІЇ ЧИТАННЯ (LXX: Захарія 8:3-11) (1) КНИГИ ПРОРОКА ОСІЇ ЧИТАННЯ (LXX: Осія 11:1-4. 8-11). (2) КНИГИ ПРОРОКА ЄРЕМІЇ ЧИТАННЯ (LXX: Єремія 31:15-20) *****************************************************************

(3) Дев’яте Утренне Євангеліє: ВІД ІВАНА СВЯТОГО ЄВАНГЕЛІЯ (БЛАГОВІСТУВАН-НЯ) ЧИТАННЯ: Коли настав вечір, того самого дня, першого в тижні, а двері були замкнені там, де були учні, зі страху перед юдеями, прийшов Ісус, став посередині й каже їм: « Мир вам! »

7Сказавши це, показав їм руки й бік. І зраділи учні, побачивши Господа. І знову Ісус їм каже: « Мир вам! Як мене послав Отець, так я посилаю вас. » Сказавши це, дихнув на них і каже: « Прийміть Духа Святого. Кому відпустите гріхи — відпустяться їм, кому ж затримаєте — затримаються. » Тома ж, один з дванадцятьох, на прізвище Близнюк, не був з ними, коли прийшов Ісус. Інші учні йому сказали: « Ми бачили Господа. » Він відповів: « Як не побачу на його руках ран від цвяхів і не вкладу мого пальця у місце, де були цвяхи, і коли руки моєї не вкладу в його бік, не повірю! По вісьмох днях учні його знову були в домі, і Тома був з ними. Увіходить Ісус — а двері були замкнені — і стає посередині й каже: « Мир вам! » Потім каже до Томи: « Подай твій палець сюди і глянь на мої руки. І простягни твою руку і вклади її у мій бік. І не будь невіруючий, але віруючий! » Тома відповів і сказав до нього: « Господь мій і Бог мій! » Каже йому Ісус: « Тому що ти бачив мене, віруєш. Блаженні-щасливі ті, які не бачили й увірували! » Багато ще й інших чудес сотворив Ісус на очах своїх учнів, що їх не записано в цій книзі. А ці записано, щоб ви увірували, що Ісус — Христос (Месія-Помазаник), Син Божий, та, увірувавши, щоб ви мали життя в його ім’я. (20:19-31). *****************************************************************

На Божественній Літургії, подаємо лише те, що бракує в Антології, на стор. 388-460. AMONG THE HYMNS SUITABLE FOR THE FEAST, SEE ANTHOLOGY ON PP. 982-999, 958-963. ON PAGE 394, 396: МОЛИТВА 1-шого Антифону Боже й Отче Господа нашого Ісуса Христа ! Чудесним способом Ти створив нас на Свій

образ й подобу, а тепер ще більш дивним способом Ти встановлюєш нам зновубуття, і спасаєш нас. Бо як і твій Єдинородний Син зодягнувся в нашу людську природу, так і сподоби нас стати учасниками Його Божественної природи. Бо Ти єси істинно Бог наш, і ми Тобі славу возсилаємо, + Отцю, і Сину, і Святому Духові, нині, і повсякчас, і на віки віків.

1-ший Антифон, РІЗДВА Стих 1: Ісповімся тобі, Господи, всім серцем моїм, *

розповім про всі чуда твої (Пс. 9,2). Приспів: Молитвами Богородиці, * Спасе, спаси нас. Стих 2: На раді праведних і соньмі - великі діла Господні, *

явлені в усіх волях його (Пс. 110,1-2). Приспів: Молитвами Богородиці, * Спасе, спаси нас. Стих 3: Ісповідування і велич – діло його, *

і правда його перебуває повік віку (Пс. 110,3). Приспів: Молитвами Богородиці, * Спасе, спаси нас.

* * * * * * * ON PAGE 400, 402: МОЛИТВА 3-того Антифону Боже й Отче Господа нашого Ісуса Христа ! Благодаримо тебе за Різдво по плоті Твого

Єдинородного Сина, бо Його прихід є джерелом й вдосконаленням нашого християнського життя й Бого-почитання. Зачисли нас до Його народу, бо в Ньому – спасіння всього людського роду. Благодаримо тебе за невимовне Таїнство котре Ти нам являєш через святкування цього празника. Даром Духа Твого Святого надіхни нас завжди жити на стежках тієї дороги котра об'являє Твою доброту й любов до всього світу. Бо Ти єси істинно Бог наш, і ми Тобі славу возсилаємо, + Отцю, і Сину, і Святому Духові, нині, і повсякчас, і на віки віків.

3-тий Антифон, воскресний, з приспівом Різдва: Стих 1: Прийдіте, возрадуємося Господеві, *

воскликніть Богу, Спасителеві нашому. (Пс. 94,1) Приспів: Спаси нас, Сину Божий, * що родився від Діви, співаємо Тобі: Алилуя Стих 2: Ідім перед лицем його з ісповіданням *

і псалмами воскликнім йому. (Пс. 94,2) Приспів: Спаси нас, Сину Божий, * що родився від Діви, співаємо Тобі: Алилуя Стих 3: Бо Бог – великий Господь *

і цар великий по всій землі. (Пс. 94,3) Приспів: Спаси нас, Сину Божий, * що родився від Діви, співаємо Тобі: Алилуя

ON PAGE 404: Tропарі й Кондаки оспівують тему дня. Тропар Воскресний, глас 6: стор. 472.

І відразу:

8 Тропар празника, глас 4: Різдво Твоє, Христе Боже наш, * засвітило світові світло

розуміння: * в ньому бо ті, що звіздам служили, від звізди навчилися * поклонятися Тобі – Сонцю правди, * і пізнавати Тебе – Схід з висоти. ** Господи, слава Тобі.

Тропар святим, глас 2: Благовістуй, Йосифе, чудеса Давидові, богоотцю. * Ти бачив Діву, що родила; * з пастирями славословив Ти, * з волхвами поклонився Ти, від ангела вістку прийнявши. ** Моли Христа Бога спасти душі наші.

Тропар Стефанові, глас 4: Подвигом добрим змагався Ти, первомученику Хрис-товий і апостоле, * і нечестя мучителів виявив Ти, * бо, камінням побитий з рук беззаконних, * вінець прийняв Ти з високої десниці * і до Бога взивав Ти, кличучи: ** Господи, не постав їм цього гріха.

Слава: Кондак святим, глас 3: Днесь радости сповняється божественний Давид, * а

Йосиф хвалу з Яковом приносить; * вінець бо прийнявши через споріднення з Христом, радуються, * і несказанно на землі родженого оспівують, і кличуть: ** Щедрий, спасай тих, що Тебе почитають.

I нині: Кондак празника, глас 3: Діва днесь преістотного родить * і земля вертеп

неприступному приносить. * Ангели з пастирями славословлять, * а волхви зо звіздою подорожують, ** бо ради нас родилося дитя мале – превічний Бог.

ON PAGE 410: Щоб приготовитися на читання із Апостола, співаємо: Прокімен Воскресний, глас 6: стор. 472. Стих Воскресний, глас 6: стор. 472.

Прокімен святим, глас 4: Дивний Бог у святих Своїх, Бог Ізраїлів. (Пс. 67, 36).

Стих святим: В церквах благословіть Бога, Господа, ви – з джерел ізраїлевих. (Пс. 67, 27).

ON PAGE 410 of the “Blue Book”, this Reading is taken: В НЕДІЛЮ ПІСЛЯ РІЗДВА, СВЯТИX ЙОСИФА ОБРУЧНИКА, ДАВИДА І ЯКОВА, ЗАВЖДИ ЧИТАЄМО

ЦЕЙ АПОСТОЛ 20-ТОЇ НЕДІЛІ ПІСЛЯ П’ЯТИДЕСЯТНИЦІ: (Апостол, Рим – 1991, стор. 295, до Галатів, зачало 200, 1:11-19), Й 27-ГО ГРУДНЯ, СВ. СТЕФАНОВІ, ЦЕЙ АПОСТОЛ 3-ГО ПОНЕДІЛКА ПІСЛЯ ПАСХИ: (Апостол, Рим – 1991, стор. 28-29, 33-34, Діяння, зачало 17, 6:8-7:5 та 7:47-60). Verses in brackets, if any, added here for the sake of clarity and context. Text in parenthesis and italics, if any, is an alternate translation.

ДО ГАЛАТІВ ПОСЛАННЯ СВЯТОГО АПОСТОЛА ПАВЛА ЧИТАННЯ. (4-1) Браття !

Сповіщаю вас, що “Блага Вістка” (Євангелія), яку я вам проповідував, не від людей; бо ж я її не прийняв, ні навчився від людини, а через об'явлення Ісуса Христа. Ви чули про мою поведінку колись у юдействі, про те, що я жорстоко переслідував Церкву Божу та руйнував її. Я визначався серед багатьох ровесників з мого роду, бувши запеклим прихильником передань моїх предків. Та коли той, хто вибрав мене вже від утроби моєї матері і покликав своєю благодаттю, зволив об'я-вити в мені Сина свого, щоб я проповідував його між “язичниками” (поганами, народами), я не-гайно, ні з ким не радившись, не пішов у Єрусалим до тих, що були апостолами передо мною, але пішов в Арабію і потім повернувся в Дамаск. Три роки після того пішов я в Єрусалим відвідати “Кифу” (Петра, Скелю). Іншого ж з апостолів я не бачив, крім Якова, брата Господнього.

ДІЯНЬ СВЯТИХ АПОСТОЛІВ ЧИТАННЯ. (4-2) В тих днях,

...Стефан же, повний віри і сили, робив великі знаки і чуда в народі. Піднялися ж деякі зі збору, що називається Ливертинським, і Киринейським, і Александрійським, і ті, що з Килікії і Азії, що сперичалися зі Стефаном і не могли протиставитись премудрості і Духові, яким говорив. Тоді вивели мужів, що говорили, що чули, як він говорив хульні слова проти Мойсея і проти Бога. Вони ж підбурили народ, і старців, і книжників і, вставши, схопили його та привели на збір. Поставили ж фальшивих свідків, що говорили, що “цей чоловік не перестає говорити хульні слова проти цього святого місця і закону. Адже ми чули, як він говорив, що цей Ісус Назорей знищить це місце і змінить звичаї, які нам передав Мойсей.” І поглянувши на нього, всі, що сиділи на зборі, побачили його обличчя, наче обличчя ангела. Сказав же архиєрей: “Чи, отже, це так є?” Він же сказав: “Мужі, брати, і батьки, послухайте! Бог слави з’явився нашому батькові Авраамові,

9коли він був у Месопотамії перед тим, як він поселився у Харрані, і сказав до нього: “Вийди з твоєї землі, і від твого роду, і від дому твого батька і прийди в землю, яку Я тобі покажу.” Тоді він вий-шов з Халдейської землі, поселився в Харрані. І звідти, по смерті його батька, Бог його переселив в цю землю, на якій ви сьогодні живете. І Він не дав йому насліддя в ній ані на стопу ноги і обіцяв дати її в посідання йому і його насінню по ньому. … ...Соломон же збудував Йому храм. Але Всевишній не живе в рукотворних церквах, так як каже пророк: “Небо Мені є престолом, земля ж – підніжжям моїх ніг. Який храм Мені збудуєте, – каже Господь, – або яке місце мого спочинку? Чи не моя рука зробила це все?” Твердошиї і необрізані серцями і вухами, ви завжди противитеся святому духові, так як ваші батьки, так і ви! Кого з пророків не прогнали ваші батьки? І вони убили тих, що наперед звістили про прихід правед-ника, якого ви нині стали зрадниками і вбивцями. Ви, що одержали закон з наказу ангелів і не зберегли!” Слухаючи ж це, вони лютували своїми серцями і скреготали на нього зубами. Стефан же, будучи повний Святого Духа, поглянувши на небо, побачив божу славу й Ісуса, що стояв по правиці Бога, і сказав: “Ось бачу відкриті небеса і Людського Сина, що стоїть по правиці Бога!” Закричавши ж великим голосом, вони затулили свої вуха і кинулися однодушно на нього. І вивів-ши поза місто, били його камінням. І свідки поклали одіж при ногах хлопця, що називався Савло. І вони камінням били Стефана, що молився і говорив: “Господи Ісусе, прийми мого духа!” Схиливши ж коліна, він крикнув великим голосом: “Господи не постав їм цього гріха!” І сказавши це, він заснув.

ON PAGE 410: Щоб приготовитися на слухання Святого Євангелія (Благовістування), співаємо “Алилуя” за гласом поданим тут, або на іншу мелодію:

Стихи святим, глас 4: Пом’яни, Господи, Давида * і всю кротость його; Бо клявся він Господеві, * обіцявся Богові Якова. (Пс. 131,1-2).

Стихи Стефанові, глас 1: Ісповідять небеса чуда Твої, Господи, * і істину Твою в церкві святих; Бог прославлюваний * на раді святих (Пс. 88,6 й 8).

ON PAGE 412 of the “Blue Book”, this Reading is taken: В НЕДІЛЮ ПІСЛЯ РІЗДВА, СВЯТИX ЙОСИФА ОБРУЧНИКА, ДАВИДА І ЯКОВА, ЗАВЖДИ ЧИТАЄМО ЦЕ

“ЄВАНГЕЛІЄ” (БЛАГОВІСТУВАННЯ): (Святе Євангеліє, Рим – 1990, стор. 16-17, Матея, зачало 4, 2:13-23), Й 27-ГО ГРУДНЯ, СВ. СТЕФАНОВІ, ЦЕ ЄВАНГЕЛІЄ 13-ТОЇ НЕДІЛІ ПІСЛЯ П’ЯТИДЕСЯТНИЦІ: (Святе Євангеліє, Рим – 1990, стор. 113-114, Матея, зачало 87, 21:33-42, стихи 43 й 44 тут додано для закінчення повної думки та важливості слів Господа).

ВІД МАТЕЯ СВЯТОГО ЄВАНГЕЛІЄ ЧИТАННЯ: (5-1) В той час, як відійшли “волхви” (мудреці), ангел Господній з’явився у сні Йосифові і

каже: « Устань, візьми дитятко і його матір, і втікай у Єгипет, і пробудь там, поки я тобі не скажу, бо Ірод розшукуватиме дитя, щоб його вбити. » Вставши, Йосиф узяв уночі дитятко та його матір і пішов у Єгипет, де пробув до смерти Ірода, щоб збулось сказане Господом через пророка: « З Єгипту я покликав мого сина (Осія 11:1). » Тоді Ірод, побачивши, що мудреці насміялися з нього, розлютився вельми і послав убити у Вифлеємі й по всій окрузі всіх дітей, що мали менше, ніж два роки, згідно з часом, що пильно вивідав був від мудреців. Тоді збулось те, що сказав був пророк Єремія (31:15): « В Рамі чути голос, плач і тяжке ридання: то Рахиль плаче за дітьми своїми і не хоче, щоб її втішити, бо їх немає. » Якже вмер Ірод, ангел Господній з’явився у сні Йосифові в Є-гипті і каже: « Встань, візьми дитятко та його матір і вернися в ізраїльську землю, бо вмерли ті, що чигали на життя дитятка. » Встав він, узяв дитятко та його матір і прийшов в ізраїльську зем-лю, але почувши, що в Юдеї царює Архелай замість Ірода, батька свого, боявся іти туди. Попере-джений же в сні, він пішов у галилейські сторони і, прибувши туди, оселився в місті, що зветься Назарет, щоб збулось сказане пророками (Ісая 11:1 та Суддів 13:5 і 7), що « Назорей » назветься.

(5-2) Каже Господь притчу оцю: “Був один чоловік-господар, що насадив виноградник. Він обвів його огорожею, видовбав у ньому чавило, вибудував башту, найняв його виноградарям і відійшов. Коли ж настала пора винозбору, послав він слуг своїх до виноградарів, щоб узяли від них належні плоди. А виноградарі, схопивши його слуг, кого побили, кого вбили, кого ж укаменували. Тоді він послав інших слуг, більше від перших, та ті вчинили з ними те саме. На-решті послав до них свого сина, кажучи: Матимуть пошану до мого сина. Та виноградарі, узрівши сина, заговорили між собою: Це спадкоємець. Ходімо, вб’ємо його і візьмемо собі його спадщину. І, взявши його, вивели геть з виноградника, і вбили. Отож, коли прибуде господар виноградни-

10 ка, що зробить з тими виноградарями? — Лютих люто вигубить, відповіли йому, а виноградник найме іншим виноградарям, що будуть давати йому своєчасно його плоди. Тоді Ісус сказав їм: “Чи ви в Писанні (Пс. 118:22) ніколи не читали: “Камінь, що відкинули будівничі, став наріжним каменем. Від Господа це сталось, і дивне воно в очах наших ? ” [ Томý кажу вам: Відніметься від вас Царство Боже й дасться народові, що буде приносити плоди його. Хто впаде на цей камінь, розіб'ється, а на кого він упаде, того роздушить.” ]

ON PAGE 414, THE FOLLOWING MAY BE INSERTED:

PETITIONS FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2015, FROM UNIVERSAL and EVANGELIZATION PRAYER INTENTIONS ENTRUSTED BY POPE FRANCIS

TO APOSTLESHIP OF PRAYER Диякон: Ще мóлимось: Загальний намір: Bідчути Боже Милосердя: щоб, усі ми відчули Боже Милосердя, яке ніколи не

втомлюється прощати; тa… Намір Євангелізації: Різдво Христове, надія родинам: щоб, родини, а особливо ті, що терплять, знайшли в

народженні Ісуса Христа знак безпечної надії, … мóлимось Тобі, Господи, вислухай й помилуй. AND TWO PETITIONS DUE TO THE CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES IN UKRAINE: FROM HIS GRACE BISHOP JOHN BURA: SEE BELOW FOR ENGLISH:

Ще молимося, Милосердний Христе Чоловіколюбче, зглянься на народ України і почуй наші щирі молитви, бо Ти сказав: “Що би ви не просили в молитві, вірте, що отримаєте”. Даруй своє благословення народу України в його пошуку миру та єдності; зміцненні суверенітету й здійсненні добрих намірів з шукання та розпізнання шляхів будівництва свобідної та процвітаючої держави; збережи людей своїх до кінця їхніх днів в добробуті та здоров’ї, молимося, Господи, вислухай й помилуй.

Ще молимося, Добрий і милосердний Господи, просимо Тебе вислухай наші молитви за Україну та її людей. Зішли свого Святого Духа на український народ, щоб Твоє божественне провидіння наділило його стійкою любов’ю, згуртованістю, взаємоповагою й зрозумінням, щоб в єдності він домігся спільних цілей та ідеалів. Нехай ці зусилля досягнуть успіху, подолають всі перешкоди на славу Твою, молимося Тобі, Господи, вислухай нас й помилуй.

ON PAGE 436-438: від 27-го до 31-го грудня співаємо: Український Переклад 1966 р.Б.: Замість « Достойно »: Приспів та Ірмос Різдва Христового

приспів: Величай, душе моя, у вертепі народженого царя – Христа. І ірмос, глас 1: Таїнство чудне бачу і преславне: небо – вертеп, престол

херувимський – Діву, ясла – вмістилище, в яких возліг невмістимий Христос Бог. Його оспівуючи величаємо.

ON PAGE 446:

1-ий Причасний Стих на “Алилуя”: неділі: заради Воскресіння Хваліте Господа з небес, * хваліте Його в вишніх. (Пс. 148,1) 2-ий Причасний Стих на “Алилуя”: святим: Радуйтеся, праведні, у Господі, правим належить похвала. (Пс. 32,1) Алилуя, Алилуя, Алилуя.

В разі потреби, можна співати решта стихів оцих псалмів, за перекладом “Трипіснець”, як слідує тут: Псалом 148-мий (In English in Anthology on pages 1080-1081) Хваліте Йогó, всі Ангели Йогó, * хваліте Йогó, всі Си́ли Йогó. Хваліте Йогó, сóнце й місяцю; * хваліте Йогó, всі зóрі і світло. Хваліте Йогó, небесá небéс і водá пóнад ви́ссю небéс: хай восхвáлять Ім’я́ Госпóднє, бо Він сказáв – і вони́ ви́никли, * Він повелів – і були́ ствóрені. Поставив їх повік і повік-віку, * повеління віддáв – і не минéться.

Псалом 32-гий: (In English, see below on page 24)

Радуйтеся, праведні, у Господі, правим належить похвала. (Пс. 32,1)

11Хай вся земля боїться Господа, а від Нього хай зрушаться всі, що замешкують вселенну. Бо Він сказав, і сталося, Він наказав, і було зроблене. (Пс. 32,8-9)

Господь розбиває ради народів, відкидає помисли народів і відкидає ради володарів. А господня рада остається на віки, задуми його серця з роду і до роду. (Пс. 32,10-11)

Ось господні очі на тих, що Його бояться, * що поклали надію на Його милосердя, (Пс. 32, 18)

щоб спасти їхні душі від смерті * і перегодувати їх у голоді. (Пс. 32, 19) А наша душа очікує Господа, * бо Він є нашим помічником і оборонцем, (Пс. 32, 20) бо в ньому розвеселиться наше серце. * І ми поклали надію на Його святе ім’я. (Пс.

32, 21) Будь, Господи, милість твоя на нас, * бо уповали ми на Тебе (Пс. 32,22)

ON PAGES 452, 454 AND 458: Замість “Ми бачили:” (один раз)

Замість “Нехай сповняться:” (тричі) Замість “Нехай буде:” після“Амінь” (тричі)

співаємо на глас 2, булгарський: Все сьогодні сповнилося радістю, Христос бо родиться від Діви.

* * * * * * * ON PAGE 456: For Amvon Prayer for St. Stephen, in English, see Anthology, p. 770 OTHERWISE, THE FOLLOWING PRAYER MAY ALSO BE USED: Amvon Prayer for

Sunday after Christmas, in English, see Anthology, p. 768)

ЗА-АМВОННА МОЛИТВА, НЕДІЛІ ПІСЛЯ РІЗДВА ХРИСТОВОГО:

Христе, Спасителю наш ! Сьогодні ангели на висотах хвалять і прославляють Твоє Різдво від Матері й Приснодіви, а ми на землі, приєднюємося до них нашою "жертвою хваління (до Євреїв 13:14) ", згідно з Твоєю заповіддю (Матей 26:26-28; Maрко 14:22-24; Лука 22:17-20; 1 до Кор. 11:23-30). Сьогодні, крізь віки святий пророк Давид радується вірою і весело танцює, бо тверда обіцянка, дана Йому Тобою, нині сповняється (2 Самуїл 6:14; Псалом 110:1, Mатей 22:44). Воплочений Бог вселюється у Сіоні, щоб вічно царював Давидовий нащадок, " Той, що є, і був, і приходить (Одкровення 1:8). " Сьогодні, Йосиф ретельно хоронить новонароджене немовлятко, і, вірний своїм снам, приймає Діву за свою жінку, щоб захистити дитятко перед гнівом безбожного Ірода. Сьогодні, святий всехвальний апостол Яків свідчить своєю вірою в Бога, що став його братом, і таким чином " одержує вінець життя, якого Бог обіцяв тим, що Його люблять (Яків 1:12). " Сьогодні, ми благодаримо і славословимо Тебе, О Господи, Якого ми прийняли. Дай нам "породитися словом правди Твоєї (Яків 1:18; Іван 3:1-21). ", щоб, зберігаючи Твої заповіді, ми залишилися назавжди Твоїми братами й сестрами. Бо Тобі належить усяка слава, честь і поклоніння, + Отцю, і Сину, і Святому Духові, нині і повсякчас, і на віки віків.

ON FEBRUARY 6, 2015, HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN STEFAN (SOROKA), ARCHBISHOP OF PHILADELPHIA, REQUESTED THAT ALL OUR PARISHES IN THE USA RECITE THIS PRAYER AFTER EACH LITURGICAL WORSHIP SERVICE.

Молитва за спокій в Україні – Prayer for Peace in Ukraine [ In English, page 25, below ]

Отче Небесний, Твій Син учив нас [словами] : “ Блаженні миротворці, бо вони синами Божими назвуться ”. [А відтак, учив нас ділами, коли вознісся на хрест волею своєю, щоб ми пізнали у хресті - у свідоцтві терпіння, наше знамено непоборної перемоги й наш посібник у боротьбі за мир й правду. ] У цей час ми гаряче молимося, щоб Твій Дух Святий надихав людей в Україні ставати миротворцями. Щоб вони шукали примирення і діа-логу, та припинилися гостра конфронтація та убивства. Щоб на цій багато-страждальній землі запанував мир в народі, відродилися людські права, принципи демократїі та релігійної свободи. Боже, Отче наш, молимо Тебе: заспокой страждання, зціли поранених і прийми душі полеглих у Твоєму Царстві Небесному. Пресвята Мати Божа, накрий своїм благословенним та захисним покровом всю Україну. І нехай кожний з нас живе так, щоб наші життя були знаряддями Твого Миру. [Бо Ти єси Бог милости, і щедрот, і чоловіколюбія, і Тобі славу возсилаємо з єдинородним Твоїм Сином і пресвятим, і благим, і животворящим твоїм Духом, нині і повсякчас, і на віки віків.]

Всі: Амінь. “Будь ім’я Господнє...”

12 ON PAGE 456:

ВІДПУСТ, НЕДІЛІ ПІСЛЯ РІЗДВА ХРИСТОВОГО, КОЛИ ВИПАДАЄ 27 ГРУДНЯ:

Христос, що воскрес із мертвих, істинний Бог наш, що зволив народитися в вертепі у Вифлеємі Юдейськім від Діви, і в яслах нерозумних тварин возлягти, спасення нашого ради, молитвами пречистої своєї Матері, [святого] чесного і славного пророка, предтечі і хрестителя Івана, якого є храм, святого первомученика й архидиякона Стефана, якого є день, та всіх славних і всехвальних апостолів, во святих отця нашого Івана Золотоустого, архиєпископа Константино-града, святих і праведних Йосифа Обручника, Давида пророка, псалмопівця й царя, і Якова брата Божого, яких є неділя, і всіх святих, помилує і спасе нас, як благий і чоловіколюбець.

ON JUNE 17, 2014, HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV, PATRIARCH OF KYIV-HALYCH AND ALL RUS’-UKRAINE, ACT-ING ON BEHALF OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS OF THE UGCC REQUESTED THAT EACH DIVINE LITURGY END WITH LYSENKO’S HYMN “БОЖЕ, ВЕЛИКИЙ, ЄДИНИЙ-BOZHE VELYKYJ YEDYNYJ”

PROPERS (changeable parts) AT THE LITURGICAL WORSHIP SERVICES FOR 2015 – 12 – 27

SCRIPTURE READINGS WHEN THE SUNDAY BETWEEN DECEMBER 26-31: SUNDAY AFTER THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD:

FEAST OF THE HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS: JOSEPH, THE BETROTHED OF THE MOST-HOLY THEOTOKOS; AND DAVID, THE PROPHET, PSALM-SINGER AND KING; AND JAMES, THE

BROTHER IN THE FLESH OF THE LORD OCCURS ON DECEMBER 27 (Feast of Holy Apostle, Proto-Martyr and Arch-Deacon, Stephen):

(the Greek Στέφανος-Stephanos, in translation means: “Crown-Вінець”)

ON SATURDAY EVENING: At a Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, with Vespers:

The priest vests in all of his vestments, serves the Proskomydia as usual and then the incensation (method 2) occurs in silence.

We begin on pg. 5 in the Vespers Booklet. The priest says, “Blessed be the kingdom…” instead of “Blessed be our God …” or “Glory be to the holy,…”

The rest is as indicated in the Vespers Booklet, pp. 5-8.

We shorten Psalm 103 by going to pp. 13-16, and then pp. 19-26, as usual.

On Pg. 21, this prayer from Sighs of the Spirit, (Cambridge, New York: New Skete, 1997), page 320:

THE PRAYER OF PSALM 104 (103) Всемогучий, чоловіколюбний Боже. Ти з високого жилища Твого зіслав нам найцінніший дар

Сина свого, щоб через нього привернути нас до Себе. У цю [ вечірню, ранішню ] годину, в цьому часі коли святкуємо Різдво Христа Твого, молимо Тебе: натхни нас істинною любов'ю для цього чудесного таїнства, яке увінчує Твоє благовоління до нас. Сподоби нас накормитися видінням слави Твоєї, яку Ти об’явив через Сина Свого воплоченого. Дай нам цього вечора, ранку молитися не-оскверненим умом, щоб завжди радіючи Твоєю несказанною милістю, ми сподобилися вічного [ блаженного щастя, щасливого блаженства ] для якого Ти створив нас. Бо Тобі, Боже наш, належить милувати й спасати нас, і ми Тобі славу возсилаємо, + Отцю, і Сину, і Святому Духові, нині, і повсякчас, і на віки віків.

Almighty, ever-loving God: From Your towering palace You sent us Your only [ -Begotten ] Son as the most precious of gifts, that through Him You might lead us back to Yourself. As [ evening falls, morning dawns ], during this season when we celebrate the birth of Your Christ, we ask You to inspire in us a true love for this marvelous mystery that crowns Your benevolence toward us. Make us worthy, as well, of being nourished by the vision of Your glory manifested in Your incarnate Son. Enable us this [ morning, evening ] to pray with clear minds, so that, ever delighting in Your ineffable loving-kindness, we may one day attain the eternal [ blessed happiness, happy blessedness ] for which You created us. For You are the One to have mercy on us and to save us, O our God, and we give You glory, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

13On Pp. 25-26, this prayer from Sighs of the Spirit, pages 320-321:

THE PRAYER OF THE INCENSE PSALMS (Choose one) Lord, our God! By the mystery of Your unfathomable goodness, You deigned to let Your [ only-

Begotten ] Son, the fragrance of Your divinity, dwell in the womb of the virgin for nine months, that, becoming one of us, He might be born into our midst and perfume our lives with the sweet scent of His wisdom and holiness. So now, accept this incense we have offered You in celebration of His birth, and fill our lives with peace and tranquility, that we may respond to His truth and His love at all times. For You are indeed our God, and we give You glory, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

Lord, our God: Throughout the ages, You received the prayers and sighs of all the just as they waited for the renewal of the world through the coming of the Promised One. So, now, accept the fragrance of this incense we have offered You with our own prayers and sighs, and, as we celebrate the birth of Your [ only-Begotten ] Son, renew in us a never-ending thirst for His word and His truth. For You are God, the Saviour of our souls, and we give You glory, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

On pg 27, intro verses to Psalm 140, Tone SIX, and then pp. 36-37.

On pp. 38-40, the Liturgical Propers for the Lamp-lighting Psalms are: In ancient times, the way to emphasize that something was important was to sing it two or three times. This also made sense when the choirs were divided up to sing in such a way that the Christ side of the Church sang the even numbered stikhera and the Theotokos side of the church sang the odd numbered stikhera.

In Tone SIX, for the RESURRECTION, from the “Octoechos-Book of the Eight Tones” edited and partially authored by St. John Damascene: 10. Lead my soul forth from prison * that I may give thanks to Your name.

10. O Christ, You won the victory over Hades, * You ascended the Cross so that You might raise up with Yourself * all those who dwelt in the darkness of death. * Almighty Saviour, You are free from death * and bestow life by Your divine light. ** We, therefore, beseech You to have mercy on us.

9. The just shall gather around me * when You have been good to me.

9. Today Christ has conquered Death. * He has risen from the grave as He foretold, * bestowing great joy upon the world. * Therefore, let us all lift up our voices and sing: * O Fount of Life, O Light Whom no one can approach, ** Almighty Saviour, have mercy on us !

8. Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord, * O Lord, hear my voice.

8. O Lord, where can we sinners flee from You, * for You are present in all creation? * You are present in heaven, for it is Your dwelling place. * Your power prevails in Hades where You conquered Death. * O Master, Your sustaining hand touches even the depths of the sea. * Where, then, can we take refuge except in You? * We, therefore, prostrate ourselves before You and pray: ** O Lord, risen from the dead, have mercy on us.

In Tone TWO, for Post-feast of the Nativity of our Lord: 7. Let Your ears be attentive * to the voice of my prayer.

7. Come, let us greatly rejoice in the Lord * as we tell of this present mystery. * The middle wall of partition has been destroyed; * the flaming sword turns back, the cherubim withdraw from the tree of life, * and I partake of the delight of Paradise * from which I was cast out through disobedience. * For the express Image of the Father, the Imprint of His eternity, * takes the form of a servant, * and without undergoing change He came forth from a Mother who knew not wedlock. * For what He was, He has remained, true God: * and what He was not, He has taken upon Himself, * becoming man through love for mankind. * Unto Him let us cry aloud: ** God born of a Virgin, have mercy on us.

6. If You mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand? * But with You is forgiveness that You may be revered.

6. When the Lord Jesus was born of the holy Virgin, * all the world was enlightened. * The shepherds watched in the fields, * the Magi adored and the angels praised in song; * but Herod was troubled: * for God has appeared in the flesh, ** the Saviour of our souls !

5. I have waited for You, as You have commanded; * my soul patiently relies on Your promise, for it

14 has trusted in the Lord.

5. Your Kingdom, O Christ our God, is a Kingdom of all the ages, * and Your rule is from generation to generation. * Made flesh of the Holy Spirit and made man of the ever-Virgin Mary, * You have enlightened us by Your coming. * Light of Light, Brightness of the Father, * You made the whole creation shine with joy. * All that has breath praises You, the Image of the glory of the Father. * O God who are, and who have ever been, * who have shone forth from a Virgin, ** have mercy on us !

4. From the morning watch until night * from the morning watch let Israel trust in the Lord.

4. What shall we offer You, O Christ, * who for our sakes has appeared on the earth as man? * Every creature made by You offers You thanks. * The angels offer You a hymn; the heavens, a star; * the Magi, gifts; the shepherds, their wonder; * the earth, its cave; the wilderness, the manger: * and we offer You a Virgin Mother. ** O pre-eternal God, have mercy on us !

In Tone FOUR, for Dec. 27: holy Apostle, Proto-Martyr and Arch-Deacon Stephen: 3. For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him there is plentiful redemption; * and He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

3. Your soul was illumined with the grace of the Holy Spirit; * your face shone as an angel, Stephen. * Your body was made radiant by the brightness within you: * Contemplation of God’s light was your only joy: * Therefore the heavens were wondrously opened to you, ** leader and glory of the martyrs.

2. Praise the Lord, all the nations, * proclaim His glory, all you people.

2. The torrent of stones became a ladder for you: * on its steps you ascended to the gates of heaven. * You beheld the Lord standing at the right hand of the Father; * He offered you a crown with his own life-giving hand; * truly you have fulfilled the meaning of your name! * Now you stand before Him, glorious conqueror; ** the first warrior offered in battle.

1. Strong is the love of the Lord for us, * eternally will His truth endure.

1. Renowned with signs, wonders, and heavenly preaching, * you destroyed the malice of the wicked council. * As they stoned you to death, you begged God to forgive them, * using the words of the Saviour as He hung upon the cross, ** commending your pure spirit into His hands, blessed Stephen.

In Tone TWO, a Doxastikheron for December 27: + Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

To the King and Lord of all who is born on earth * today is offered the all-beautiful Stephen, * adorned in the crimson of his own blood as with precious gems. * Come, lovers of the martyrs, * weave the flowers of song into a crown, * honouring the Protomartyr of Christ our God, * for his spirit is radiant with wisdom and love: ** Through his prayers we will receive peace and great mercy!

For the Resurrection, the DOGMATIKON, 1 from the Octoechos, in the Tone of the Week: now and ever, * and unto ages of ages. Amen. (Tone Six): Who would not call you blessed, O Virgin most-Holy? * Who would not sing a hymn

of praise to the glory of your giving birth without pain or travail? * The Only-begotten Son Himself, * begotten of the Father before all ages, * was made flesh out of you in a manner that cannot be ex-plained, O Woman most-Pure ! * And for our sake He Who Is God by nature assumed the nature of man. * He is not divided into two persons; * He is understood to have two natures without comixtion or confusion. * O noble and blessed woman, ** intercede with Him that He may have mercy on our souls.

Go back to pg. 40-44 of Sunday Vespers Booklet for Saturday evenings.

On Pp. 40, this prayer from Sighs of the Spirit, page 319-320:

1 These English dogmatika are from Byzantine Daily Worship (Alleluia Press, 1969), which was set to the Galician Znamenny chant found in the L’viv Heirmolohion, by Archpriest Roman Galadza and published most recently in the third edition of Great Vespers with Propers for Saturday Evening (Sheptytsky Institute, 1999). The “stars” were inserted here by Steve Zinski as a convenience for those who would rather sing them instead in the usual Samohlasny melodies.

15THE PRAYER FOR THE HYMN OF LIGHT Слава Тобі на висотах, Боже, а на землі мир усім Твоїм людям ! В цей [ ранок, вечір ], коли

ми святкуємо Різдво у плоті Твого Єдинородного Сина - Твого вічно-сіяючого Світла - сподоби й нас оточитися звідусіль Його блискотою. Тому, що Він є рівночасно нашим братом і другом, а то й світлом, котре звільняє нас від влади темр'яви, ми маємо сміливість Його іменем благати у Тебе: Благослови [ Його ] Церкву по всьому світі, щоб вона завжди могла запалювати лямпади Твоєї надії і миру в наших серцях та в серцях усіх людей по всьому світі. Бо Ти святий єси, Боже наш, і ми Тобі славу возсилаємо, + Отцю, і Сину, і Святому Духові, нині, і повсякчас, і на віки віків.

Glory to You in the heights, O God, and on earth, peace to all Your people! This [ morning, evening ], as we celebrate the birth in the flesh of Your only [ -Begotten ] Son — Your eternal, radiant light — be pleased to surround us with His brilliance. Since He is both our brother and friend, as well as the light that liberates us from the power of darkness, in His name we beseech you: Bless the church all over the world, that she may always light the lamps of hope and peace in our hearts and in the hearts of all people everywhere. For You are holy, O our God, and we give You glory, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

OPTIONAL READINGS, choose either three ancient (A, B and C), or two contemporary (1 and 2):

The following optional THREE Readings are meant to open a fuller reading of the Old Testament for the Saturday evening Vigil. They are taken from the Syrian Catholic Synaxarion of Mossoul (researched by A. J. Vermeulen, "Pericopes bibliques des Églises de langue syriaque," L'Orient Syrien 12 (1967), 211-240, 371-388, 525-548) origi-nally from the tradition of the Syro-Antiochean Church, which exhibits certain ancient features, and are recom-mended for use in the 2014 Typicon of Rev. Dr. David Petras SEOD. (A) A READING FROM THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES (Genesis 25:21-34). (B) A READING FROM THE WISDOM OF JESUS, SON OF SIRACH (Sirach 7:1-28). (C) A READING FROM THE PROPHECY OF ZECHARIAH (8:3-11).

The two readings, which follow here, may be omitted. They are a contemporary proposal by the Priest Theodore Pulcini, based on the Sunday Gospels (Old Testament Lectionary for Use in the Byzantine Tradition at Great Vespers on Saturday Evening, 2005):

In the Gospel reading of Matthew 2:13-23 for the Sunday between December 26-31: holy and righteous: Joseph, David and James, we read about: the flight into Egypt, the slaughter of the holy innocents, and the return to Nazareth.

In the 1st OT lesson the Holy Spirit inspires the holy prophet Hosea to say that “Our of Egypt I called my son…” In the 2nd OT lesson, the Holy Spirit inspires the holy prophet Jeremiah to record Rachel’s lament:

(1) A READING FROM THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA (11:1-4 and 8-11). (2) A READING FROM THE PROPHECY OF JEREMIAH (31:15-20)

We continue with the Little Ektenia in the Anthology, pp. 106-107. Instead of the Third Antiphon Prayer on page 107, the priest says the Prayer “of the Trisagion” which is on page 117. The Trisagion is sung today.

The Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom continues, using the propers as indicated in this church bulletin on page 20, and following.

Whenever Great Vespers is being served without the Divine Liturgy, the following propers would be inserted into the Sunday Great Vespers booklet:

At the THE AITESIS - EKTENIYA OF PETITION - Augmented Litany, this prayer from Sighs of the Spirit, pages 322-323: (Choose one) Be blest forever, Lord God of our fathers, for the mercy You bestow on us through the incarnation of Your [ only-Begotten ] Son. As we come to the [ close of another day, beginning of another day ], we are grateful to You that Christ did not shrink from becoming one of us, but consented to clothe himself in our flesh by dwelling in the womb of the virgin Mary. While we ponder the mysteries of these blessed days, we ask You to keep watch over us, not only [ tonight, today ] but through all the days and nights of our life, that we may live to prove our love for You by our faithfulness to Your [ only-Begotten ] Son. For You are ever ready to have mercy on us and save us, O God, and we give You glory, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

16 O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: [ Tonight, Today ] at the celebration of the birth in the flesh of Your only [ -Begotten ] Son, we hasten to wreathe the portals of our hearts with love and desire, that Your Holy Spirit may be drawn to enter and dwell within us, sanctifying us by His very presence. Let His inspiration help us accomplish Your will in all things, so that, Just as Your Son deigned to dwell in the womb of the virgin in a bodily way, so will He deign to dwell in our souls in a spiritual way. By the grace and mercy and love for us of your only [ -Begotten ] Son, with whom You are blest, together with Your + all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages. At the BOWING OF OUR HEADS, this prayer from Sighs of the Spirit, page 323: Lord God eternal: Through Your tender loving-kindness, Your co-eternal word came forth in the flesh from the womb of the virgin. As we bow our heads before You this [ morning, evening ], breathe forth Your Spirit into us once more, that our lives may proclaim Your Son to all the world. For You are indeed our God, and we give You glory, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages. ON PP. 53-54, AT THE APOSTIKHERA FOR THE RESURRECTION, ON A SUNDAY OF TONE SIX: 4. O Christ our Savior, * the angels in heaven sing the praises of Your resurrection; * make us, on earth, also worthy ** to extol and glorify You with a pure heart. 3. The Lord reigns, He is clothed in majesty. Robed is the Lord, and girt about with strength. 3. Almighty God, You destroyed the brazen gates and bars of Hades, * and raised up fallen mankind. * Therefore, with one accord, we cry out: ** O Lord, risen from the dead, glory to You ! 2. For He has made the world firm, which shall not be moved ! 2. Christ willed to renew us from our corruption of old * by being nailed to a cross and placed in a tomb. * When the women came to anoint His body they tearfully cried out: * O, what sorrow afflicts us! * O Savior of All, how could You consent to occupy a grave? * If You truly willed this, then why did You allow Your body to be stolen? * How were You removed? * What place now conceals Your life-bearing body? * O Lord, appear to us as You promised * and put an end to our tears. * As they were lamenting, an angel appeared and cried out to them: * Do not weep, but tell the apostles that the Lord is risen, ** granting sanctification and great mercy to the world. 1. Holiness befits your house, O Lord, for the length of days! 1. O Christ, You were crucified of Your own free will, * and by Your burial You imprisoned Death. * As God, You rose in glory on the third day, ** granting life and great mercy to the world. In Tone SIX, a Doxastikheron for December 27: + Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Blessed Stephen, the adornment of Christ’s warriors, * first of deacons and first of martyrs, * joy of the faithful and glory of the righteous, * as you stand before Christ, the Lord of all, * pray for us who celebrate your honourable memory * that we may receive remission of our sins ** and be accounted worthy of the Kingdom of heaven. In Tone SIX, a Doxastikheron for the Post-Feast of the Nativity: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. Today the invisible nature is united with our visible nature through the Virgin. * Today the infinite Essence is wrapped in swaddling clothes in Bethlehem. * Today God is guiding the Magi by a star * so that they might worship Him. * With the gold, frankincense, and myrrh, * He is foretelling His three-day burial. * Let us cry out to Him: * Having become incarnate from the Virgin, ** save our souls, O Christ God. ON P. 56, THE FOLLOWING TROPARIA: For the Resurrection: Tone 6, Anthology, pg. 349: Angelic powers were upon Your tomb * and the guards became like dead men; * Mary (Magdalene) stood before Your tomb * seeking Your most pure body. * You captured Hades without being overcome by it. * You met the Virgin and granted life. * O Lord, risen from the dead, ** glory be to You! + Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. For Dec. 27: Tone 4, Anthology, p. 769: O apostle and first martyr for Christ, * you fought the good fight * and exposed your persecutors’ wickedness. * For when you were killed by stoning at the hands of the lawless * you received a crown from on high from God’s right hand, * while crying out to Him: ** “O Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

Now and ever, * and unto ages of ages. Amen.

For Dec. 26-31: Tone 4, Anthology, p. 756: Your Nativity, O Christ our God, * made the light of knowledge dawn on the world: * through it, those who worshipped the stars were taught by a star * to worship You, the Sun of Righteousness, * and to know You, the Dawn from on high. ** Glory to You, O Lord.

17

At the Liturgy of Matins: THE OPENING PRAYER from Sighs of the Spirit, (Cambridge, New York: New Skete, 1997),

pp. 323-324: Be blest forever, Lord God of our fathers, for the salvation that has dawned in our midst. Now that

You have graced us with the light of another day, grace us also. with openness of mind and heart, that, in celebrating the mystery of the birth in the flesh of your only [ -Begotten ] Son, we may glean from these days the nourishment You intend. For You are indeed our God, and we give You glory, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

(3) Matinal Gospel Gospel # 9: John 20:19-31, Divine Liturgy: an Anthology for Worship, pg. 50.

THE PRAYER OF PSALM 51 (50) from Sighs of the Spirit, p. 324: O Lord and Master, Heavenly Father: Glory to You for all You have done for us, but especially for the

mercy You show us in spite of our continued failures. As we celebrate the glorious birthday of Your [ -Begotten ] Son, when He embraced our frail humanity and made our wounded world whole again, en-able us to persevere in repentance, that we may enjoy this same healing in our own lives. For You are good and full of love for us, O God, and we give You glory, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and for-ever, and unto ages of ages.

When the usual Synaxarion reading is not available, the following may suffice: “A Reading from the The Year of Grace of the Lord, by A Monk of the Eastern Church [Hieromonk Lev (Gillet)]”: 2

“The Sunday which follows December 25th is dedicated to the commemoration of three members of Christ's earthly family: the prophet David; the apostle James, 'brother' of the Lord; and St Joseph, the husband of Mary, and foster-father of Jesus.

David is not only an ancestor of Christ. As a shepherd, he prefigures Jesus the Good Shepherd. As King, he mysteriously announces the royalty of Christ. As an adulterer and murderer, he is the type of the repentant sinner. As the author of the psalms (or, at any rate, some of them), he has bequeathed to the synagogue and to the Christian Church a type of prayer, of adoration in spirit and in truth, that Jesus Himself used, and in which all generations have found expression for the deepest longings of their souls.

James, 'brother' of the Lord 27, was head of the first Christian community in Jerusalem. His name reminds us of the link which connects us with the Church of Jerusalem, with that of the first century as much as with that of the twentieth century. Antioch and Alexandria, Rome and Constantinople are great and venerable names in the history of the Christian Church; but it is from Jerusalem that we are first of all descended. The epistle for the day is a passage from Paul's letter to the Galatians (1. 11-19), chosen because of one sentence in which Paul recalls that after his conversion he saw James the Lord's brother'

2 This commentary is excerpted from: A Monk of the Eastern Church [Hieromonk Lev (Gillet)], The Year of Grace of the Lord, (ISBN 0-913836-68-0), (Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1980, pp. 72-73, 99-100). Fr. Lev (Gillet) explains the meaning of today's Gospel and Epistle for the Sunday after the Nativity of our Lord in light of our Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church's liturgy and calendar. (Fr. Lev, a French convert to Ukrainian Catholicism, was a Studite monk in L'viv, ordained to the priesthood by the Servant of God, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, in 1924. (For more information about Fr. Gillet, please read: Brian R. Keleher, “Sheptyts’kyi and Three Converts from the West”, in Paul Magosci, et. al., ed., Morality and Reality: The Life and Times of Andrei Sheptyts’kyi, (Edmonton, Alberta: Ca-nadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, 1989), pp. 227-243). Since Year of Grace was published, in June of 2013, Pope Francis inserted the name of St. Joseph in the Prayer offered by every Roman priest in the world when they offer Eucharistic Prayers II, III, and IV during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. St. Joseph was already included in Eucharistic Prayer I. Some Ukrainian Catholics, for example Archimandrite Boniface (Luykx) of blessed memory, also customarily added the name of St Joseph to the Byzantine dismissals along with Sts. Joachim and Anna. 27 The New Testament mentions several people with the name of James: thus, the apostle James, son of Zebedee and brother of John; another James, son of Mary the wife of Cleopas; James, brother of the apostle Jude. James, 'brother' of Jesus and head of the Church in Jerusalem, seems to have to been identified with the apostle James, the son of Al-pheus. It is possible, however, that Cleopas and Alpheus are two different transcriptions of the Aramaic name Halpai; following this, James son of Alpheus, James 'brother of the Lord', and James son of Cleopas and Mary, would be one and the same person. Following Semitic custom, the word 'brother' can be used of a cousin: this would be the kinship between James and Jesus. The 'legend' of the apostle we are dealing with now-called James the Minor, to distinguish him from James the Major, the son of Zebedee - is contained in numerous extra-canonical documents: it shows him as a just man of a rigorously ascetic life, who was put to death for his faith. The Acts of the Apostles emphasise several times the leading role that James played in the life of the Church in Jerusalem. The Judaising party, whose views dif-fered from those of Paul, quoted him as an authority. There are very strong reasons for admitting that this James is the author of the epistle which bears his name. On the other hand, he cannot be connected with those apocryphal texts entitled the 'Proto-gospel of James' and 'Liturgy of St James'.

18 in Jerusalem. But this feast should inspire us to read the 'catholic' epistle 28 of St James again, in which

we find so many precious words, such as these: 'Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil,

neither tempteth he any man.’ (James 1:13)

'Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.' (James 1:27)

'As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.' (James 2:26)

'If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.' (James 3:2)

'Ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.' (James 5:1)

The person of St Joseph has had less attention and homage paid to him in the east than in the Roman west. We know veryfew things about Joseph 34. But the gospel tells us, that he was a just man, obedient to the angelic messages, careful to protect Jesus and Mary. We could, with advantage, grant him a greater place in our devotion. He is the most eminent representative of what one might call the holiness of the layman, which is neither the holiness of an apostle, nor that of a bishop or a priest, nor that of a monk — all of whom are so abundantly commemorated in the ecclesiastical calendar - but is that of the head of a family, of the man who plies a trade and earns his daily bread. St Joseph is the natural protector of Christian families, of workmen, of those whose food is not assured. For he fed Jesus and Mary, as formerly the patriarch Joseph, in Egypt, fed his brothers and father in the time of famine. Tradition also links the name of St Joseph with Egypt: the flight into Egypt is the theme of the gospel for this day (Matt 2. 13-23). This episode is not without its difficulties for historical exegesis 35, but we can find in it a very clear spiritual teaching for ourselves. The angel commands us, as he did Joseph: 'Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt'. That is to say: renounce your sin and your slackness; take into your soul the Jesus you saw at Bethlehem and Mary, whom you must never separate from her son; flee the evil and the temptations that surround you; set yourself a hidden, retired, silent life, a life of intimacy with the small child and his mother — and also with Joseph. May the life of the Holy Family, whether in Egypt, or later on at Nazareth, become an inspiration and a model for us.” By the prayers of the holy and righteous Joseph, the Betrothed of the Most-Holy Theotokos, David, the Psalm-singer and King, and James, the brother in the flesh of our Lord, O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

28 Those letters which are addressed by the apostles not to one or other local church, but to the faithful of all the Churches, are called 'catholic' or universal epistles. 34 There is an abundance of apocryphal literature concerning St Joseph; but these legends, by which the Fathers of the Church have sometimes been inspired, have no historical authority. We know nothing more about Joseph than what is related in the gospels according to Matthew and Luke. We are ignorant of his life before he married Mary; we are ig-norant of the place and date of his death. It is not even certain that he was a carpenter, for the Greek word tekton can mean a mason as well as a carpenter or a joiner (we notice, moreover, that Jesus, who several times alludes to the skills of a builder, never speaks of work with wood). The veneration of St Joseph seems to have started in the fourth century, in the Coptic Church. Joseph was not included in the Greek menology until after the eighth century. In the west, his name appears in the martyrologies of the ninth century, and his feast was fixed for the 19th March by Pope Sixtus IV, in the fifteenth century. The devotion to St Joseph made great strides in the Roman Church. Pius IX pro-claimed Joseph 'patron of the universal Church' (1870). Modern Roman theology has endeavoured to plumb the mys-tery of the connection between Joseph and the Incarnation more deeply; without its conclusions having any value for dogma, it attributes to Joseph a supereminent sanctity (superior even to that of John the Baptist) and a perpetual vir-ginity; it does not base these affirmations on historical research, but on the necessities of doctrinal deduction. 35 The chronologies of Matthew and Luke do not seem, at first glance, very easy to harmonise with each other. Follow-ing Matthew (who alone mentions the flight into Egypt), the Holy Family took refuge in Egypt after the visit of the Magi, and settled in Nazareth after their return from Egypt. Following Luke, Jesus is taken from Bethlehem to Jerusa-lem, to be presented in the Temple; from Jerusalem, the Holy Family returns to Nazareth and lives there. This appar-ent divergence has led several exegetes to treat the flight into Egypt as one of the cases (the episode of Jonah in the whale would be another) when Jewish writers set out teaching of a moral or spiritual order in the form of a historical account which does not correspond literally with the facts. This is not to say that these accounts are not true, but that their truth is of the literary type to which they belong. Their truth must be judged by the rules of the type: allegorical and poetic truth differ from actual historical truth. Thus the flight into Egypt would be, in historical guise, a poetic am-plification of the text from Hosea (11. 1): 'I . . . called my son out of Egypt'. It is not for us to settle these questions. But the chronological difficulty sketched out above does not seem to us insoluble. One could allow that the return to Galilee from Jerusalem indicated by Luke (2. 39) did not take place immediately, and need not have been direct, but could have involved a long delay and long detours: after the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, the Holy Family could first have gone back to Bethlehem, and only then would the adoration of the Magi have taken place which would have been followed by the flight into Egypt; then, when Herod had died, the Holy Family would have returned to Naz-areth.

19THE PRAYER OF INCENSE from Sighs of the Spirit, p. 324-325: (Choose one)

Our minds, O Lord, are much too barren to give birth to a hymn that would truly honor this day, for the dullness of our spirits leaves our hearts cold and uninspired. Nevertheless, we desire to shake off this apathy and welcome Your [ -Begotten ] Son's birthday with a warm and responsive devotion. Therefore, as the sweet fragrance of this [ morning, evening ] offering ascends before Your throne in honor of this great feast, let the power of His incarnation touch our minds and hearts by bringing a new creativity and fruitfulness to our lives. By the grace and mercy and love for us of Your only [ -Begotten ] Son, with whom You are blest, together with Your + all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

You, O Christ, are the sweet fragrance that fills all the world. As we offer You our [ morning, evening ] worship during these days wherein we celebrate Your birth in the flesh, receive the perfume of our incense and, in turn, make us grow in holiness. Let its sweetness win for us the pardon of all our sins, the strength to persevere in faithfulness to You, and the light for our minds and hearts to pursue You with ever greater determination. For You are indeed our God, and we give You glory, together with Your eternal Father and Your + all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages

O Lord, our God and Saviour, maker of all things: Be pleased by the fragrance of this incense we offer You this [ morning, evening ] during our celebration of the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant that whenever our faith is tested by trials, our lives may always give off the attractive fragrance of goodness that is the hallmark of all who love You, the very same life-giving fragrance that perfumes the world with the coming of Your [ -Begotten ] Son in the flesh. For blest and glorified is Your most honorable and magnificent name, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

THE PRAYER OF THE PRAISES from Sighs of the Spirit, pp. 326: No one can contemplate Your wondrous creation, O Lord, our God, without being swept away by

the brilliance of Your wisdom and genius. Nor can we contemplate the birth in the flesh of Your only [ -Begotten ] Son without being touched in the depths of our being by the power of this mystery. Because of this, and in spite of our being so inept, we join our voices with all creation in praising You with the words of the prophet David. For You deserve all praise, all honor and worship, all thanksgiving and glory, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

THE PRAYER OF THE LITANY from Sighs of the Spirit, p. 326-327: O eternal, everlasting God: Today, in celebrating the incarnation of Your only [ -Begotten ] Son,

our minds are astounded by Your tenderness, and our spirits are drawn beyond the reach of thought in an effort to attain some insight into Your benevolence toward us. All this is simply too much for our finite powers to absorb, and yet we are drawn ever more deeply into pondering the mystery. As we bring our [ morning, evening ] worship to a close, we beseech You: Help us treasure this gift of contemplation You have bestowed on us, so that we may bring forth its fruits in our lives. For You deserve all glory, honor, and worship, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

THE PRAYER OF INCLINATION from Sighs of the Spirit, p. 327-328: (Choose One) Behold us as we bow our heads to You, O eternal Father, and dispose us to receive a share in

that love that made Your Son descend from where He is to where we are. By the mercies and compassion of Your only [ -Begotten ] Son, with whom You are blest, together with Your + all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

To You do we bow our heads, O incarnate Word, and we beseech You to bless us, O You Whose coming has made the yoke easy and the burden light. For You are indeed our God, and we give You glory, together with Your eternal Father and Your + all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

20

FOR THE LITURGICAL PROPERS AT TODAY’S DIVINE LITURGY: AS WE PREPARE FOR THE DIVINE LITURGY, WE MAY PRAY ALONG WITH THE READER/LECTOR, AS

HE/SHE: (A) READS THE PRE-COMMUNION PRAYERS ON PAGES 29FF, OR (B) 35FF, OR (C) HEEDING THE DIRECTIONS ON PAGE 54 - RECITES ONE OF THE HOURS. AFTER THE HOLY DOORS ARE OPENED, WE MAY SING ONE OF THE HYMNS ON PAGES 958-963, OR A CHRISTMAS CAROL (SUCH AS THE ONES ON PAGES 982-999), OR ANOTHER HYMN CAN ALSO BE SUNG.

USING THE “BLUE BOOK”, THE ANTHOLOGY: WE BEGIN ON PAGE 97. On page 99: THE PRIEST’S PRAYER OF THE FIRST ANTIPHON from Sighs of the Spirit, p. 328: O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: How marvelous is the way You created us in Your own image and likeness, and even more wondrous is how You renew us and save us. Just as Your only [-Begotten] Son took our humanity on Himself, so let us share in His divinity. For You are indeed our God, and we give You glory, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and ever and unto ages of ages.

Instead of pages 100-103: The first antiphon is that of Christmas: (Ps. 110 - p. 765)

On page 107: THE PRIEST’S PRAYER OF THE THIRD ANTIPHON from Sighs of the Spirit, p. 329: O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: We give You thanks for the ineffable mystery You reveal to us in the celebration of this feast. By Your Holy Spirit, inspire us to live always in a way that reveals Your goodness and love to all the world. For You are indeed our God, and we give You glory, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages.

Instead of pages 108-113: The third antiphon is that of Sunday with refrain from Christ-mas: (Psalm 94 - p. 766)

On page 114-115, for the Entrance Hymn, we sing the usual “Come let us worship,…” and we add the refrain from Christmas (p. 766).

ON PAGE 115: FOR THE TROPARIA, KONDAKIA, WE SING: TROPARION OF TONE 6 FOR RESURRECTION ON PAGE 349 OR 473.

AND THEN: Troparion of Christmas, Tone 4: page 766 (music on page 756). Troparion of Saints, Tone 2: page 766-767. Troparion of Stephen, Tone 4: page 769. GLORY, Tone 3: (music on page 337). Kondakion of Saints, Tone 3: page 767. NOW and EVER, Tone 3: (music on page 338). Kondakion of Christmas, Tone 3: page 767 (music on page 757).

ON PAGE 120: Prokeimenon of Resurrection, Tone 6: page 352 or 473. Verse of Resurrection: page 352 or 473. Prokeimenon of Saints, Tone 4: page 767. Verse of Saints: page 767. Prokeimenon of Saints, Tone 4: page 767.

ON PG. 123, At the Divine Liturgy: FOR THE EPISTLE READING: FOR THE SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, WHICH IS THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOSEPH, DAVID AND JAMES,

WE ALWAYS READ: pericope 200; Galatians 1:11–19; which is also read on the 20th Sunday after Pen-tecost. FOR DECEMBER 27, WHICH IS THE FEAST OF THE HOLY APOSTLE, PROTOMARTYR AND ARCHDEA-CON STEPHEN, WE ALWAYS READ: pericope 17; Acts 6:8-7:5 та 7:47-60; which is also read on the 3rd Monday after Pascha.

Only the first reading is announced, the second is read immediately afterwards.

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE GALATIANS (though uncertain, most agree that it was written either in 49 AD or circa 53-56 A.D.)

(4-1) “Brethren !” (Brothers and Sisters !) … …I make known to you that the “gospel” (Good News) which was preached by me is not according

21to man; for neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me by revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my manner of life in time past in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and destroyed it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age within my nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me, even from my mother's womb, and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the “nations” (Gentiles), immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and again I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit “Képhas” (Peter, the Rock) and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles, except James, the Lord's brother.

A READING FROM THE ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES (written by Saint Luke and com-monly known as “The Gospel of the Holy Spirit”, and most agree that it was written between 61 AD and 63 A.D.)

(4-1) In those days, … …Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. But some men from what was called the “Synagogue of the Freedmen”, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. And yet they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God." And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and dragged him away, and brought him before the Council. And they put forward false witnesses who said, "This man incessantly speaks against this holy place, and the Law; for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us." And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel. And the high priest said, "Are these things so?" And he said, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, “Depart from your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.” “Then he departed from the land of the Chaldeans, and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, God removed him into this country in which you are now living. And He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground; and yet, even when he had no child, He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his offspring after him. … But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is the footstool of My feet; what kind of house will you build for me?” says the Lord; “or what place is there for My repose? Was it not My hand which made all these things?” You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears, and they rushed upon him with one impulse. And when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they went on stoning Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” And falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And having said this, he fell asleep.

(translation from Antiochian “The Book of the Epistles”) ON PAGE 124: WE SING THE GOSPEL HYMN “ALLELUIA” IN TONE FOUR (p. 344), IN ANY ONE OF

THE MELODIES GIVEN ON PAGES 124-125 AND 210-211: AND THE VERSES ARE THOSE “OF THE SAINTS” PAGES 767-768

ON PG. 127, AT THE DIVINE LITURGY: FOR THE GOSPEL READING: FOR THE SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, WHICH IS THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOSEPH, DAVID AND JAMES,

22

WE ALWAYS READ: pericope 4, Matthew 2:13-23. FOR DECEMBER 27, WHICH IS THE FEAST OF THE HOLY APOSTLE, PROTOMARTYR AND ARCHDEACON STEPHEN, WE ALWAYS READ: pericope 87, Matthew 21:33-42; verses 43 & 44 added here for the sake of closure of thought and emphasis. Only the first reading is announced, the second is read immediately afterwards.

A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW (according to

some scholars: in its present form, this is a Greek work written circa 65 to 75 A.D., wherein a Chris-tian scribe in Matthew’s community, with his blessing and spiritual imprimatur, made use of the original Aramaic work of Matthew from circa 50 AD (or its Greek translation), as well as the Gospel of Mark, which was based on the preaching of St. Peter in Rome.)

(5-1) At that time, when the wise men from the East had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son (Hosea 11:1)." Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more (38:15-Greek; 31:15-Hebrew)." Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets (Іsaiah 11:1 and Judges 13:5 & 7), “He shall be called a Nazarene."

(5-2) The Lord says this parable: "There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did like-wise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in “the Scriptures” (Psalm 117:22-23): ‘The stone which the builders rejected has be-come the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? [“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”] 3 (Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved).

3 Footnotes in Orthodox Study Bible: “21:31 and 41 Using their own principles, the elders convict themselves in their answer to Christ's parable. 21:33-42 In this parable, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard refers to God's people. The vinedressers are the leaders of the Jews entrusted to care for the people. Each servant (vv. 34-36) sent by the owner stands for an OT prophet who comes to call people back to God, while the beloved son (v. 37) refers to Christ Himself. When the Son is cast out of the vineyard (v. 39) to be killed, this is understood on two levels: (1) that Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem; and (2) that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not by those of His own vineyard. The others (v. 41) who later receive the vineyard are the Gentiles brought into the Church. 21:44 This stone is Christ. According to St. John Chrysostom, this saying illustrates the two ways of destruction. Those falling on the stone are people who suffer the consequences of their sins while yet in this life, whereas those on whom the stone falls are unrepentant people suffering utter destruction in the final judgement.”

23ON PAGE 128, THE FOLLOWING MAY BE INSERTED AT the INSISTENT LITANY (EKTENIYA OF

FERVENT SUPPLICATION):

PETITION COMMONLY USED IN MANY OF OUR EPARCHIES: Deacon: We also pray, since the Lord, Jesus Christ, Our God, told us to pray for

vocations to the spiritual life, saying; "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. Ask the harvest master to send out workers to gather his harvest" (Mat. 9: 37-38), that our Lord would call and send our Church, good and generous souls from among our youth to become good and fervent sisters, brothers, nuns, monks, deacons, and priests, Lord, hear us and have mercy.

PETITIONS FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2015, FROM UNIVERSAL and EVANGELI-ZATION PRAYER INTENTIONS ENTRUSTED BY POPE FRANCIS TO APOSTLESHIP OF

PRAYER Deacon: We also pray: Experiencing God’s Mercy That, all may experience the mercy of God, who never tires

of forgiving; and… Families That, families, especially those who suffer, may find in the

birth of Jesus a sign of certain hope, … we implore You, O Lord, hear us and have mercy.

PETITIONS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2016, FROM UNIVERSAL and EVANGELIZA-

TION PRAYER INTENTIONS ENTRUSTED BY POPE FRANCIS TO APOSTLESHIP OF PRAYER

Deacon: We also pray: Interreligious Dialogue That, sincere dialogue among men and women of different

faiths may produce the fruits of peace and justice; and… Christian Unity That, by means of dialogue and fraternal charity and with

the grace of the Holy Spirit, Christians may overcome divi-sions, … we implore You, O Lord, hear us and have mercy.

AND THESE PETITIONS DUE TO THE CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES IN UKRAINE MAY BE ADDED AS WELL: FROM HIS GRACE BISHOP JOHN (BURA):

Deacon: We also pray, O merciful Master and Lover of Mankind, look upon the people of Ukraine and hear our prayers offered in faith, for You Yourself said, “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you will receive it.” Grant Your blessings to the Ukrainian nation as they seek to find peace and unity, strengthen their sovereignty, fulfill their good intentions in their quest and discernment to build a free and prosperous state and preserve them for the rest of their days in goodness and health, hasten to hear us, O Lord, and have mercy.”

Deacon: We also pray, O good and compassionate Lord, asking You to listen to our prayers for Ukraine and its people. Send down Your Holy Spirit upon the Ukrainian people that through Your divine guidance they may find lasting love, unity, mutual respect and understanding, as they work together for common goals and ideals. Make their endeavor successful, overcoming all obstacles, for the glory of Your name: we pray to You, O Lord, hear us and have mercy.”

PETITION mandated by His Grace Bishop Robert in a letter dated 9-18-2008, at the request of the League of Ukrainian Catholics, modified for 2015:

Deacon: We also pray, that our Righteous Father Andrey (Sheptytsky), together with all of our Church’s holy Martyrs and Confessors of Faith in Christ, be glorified among the saints, hasten to hear us, O Lord, and have mercy.

ON PAGE 150-152: Instead of “it is truly right…” we sing the Refrain and the Heirmos from the Ninth

Song of the First Canon at Matins for the Nativity of our Lord SYNODAL 1988 TRANSLATION

24 (under musical notation in Anthology on p. 760-761):

REFRAIN: O my soul, magnify Christ the King born in a manger. HEIRMOS, TONE 1: A strange and glorious mystery do I behold:* the cave is heaven;* the Virgin, the throne of the cherubim;* the manger, a dwelling place* in which is laid Christ, the God Whom nothing can contain.* Singing His praises, we magnify Him.

ON PAGE 158: AT THE COMMUNION HYMN: As Catholics, we believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, feeds us with His Word and with His Body and Blood. Thus the same hymn is used for both the Gospel Reading and for receiving Holy Communion: “Alleluia”, a superlative expression of thanksgiving, joy, and triumph, which means literally: “Let us Praise God”. However, the psalm verses in between the “Alleluia” do vary between Gospel and Communion and with the saint of the day, or the season, or the Tone of the Week.

TODAY, WE USE THOSE PSALM/SCRIPTURE VERSES FOR THE COMMUNION HYMN “ALLELUIA” WHICH ARE FOR THE RESURRECTION, NAMELY PSALM 148:1; AND, FOR THE FEAST OF STS. JOSEPH, DAVID AND JAMES, FROM PSALM 32 (33):1, ON PAGE 768.

IF SUPPLEMENTAL VERSES FROM PSALM 148 ARE NEEDED, THEY CAN BE FOUND ON PAGES 1080-1081.

IF SUPPLEMENTAL VERSES FROM PSALM 32 (33) ARE NEEDED, THE FOLLOWING MAY BE USED. Rejoice in the Lord, O you just; * praise befits the righteous. (Ps. 32, 1) Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp, with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs. * O sing

him a song that is new, play loudly, with all your skill. For the word of the Lord is faithful and all his works to be trusted. * The Lord loves justice

and right and fills the earth with his love. By the Lord’s word the heavens were established; by the Breath of his mouth, all their

host. * He collects the waves of the ocean; he stores up the depths of the sea. Let all the earth fear the Lord, and due to Him, let all the inhabitants of he world be

shaken. * Because He it was that spoke; and they came to be. He it was that commanded; and they were created. (Ps. 32, 8-9)

The Lord scatters counsels of nations, and He frustrates thoughts of peoples, and frus-trates counsels of rulers. * But the counsel of the Lord remains forever, thoughts of his heart to generation and generation. (Ps. 32, 10-11)

They are happy, whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as his own. * The Lord has looked down from heaven and beheld the whole human race.

From the place where he dwells he gazes on all the dwellers on the earth; * he who shapes the hearts of them all; and considers all their deeds.

A king is not saved by his army, nor a warrior preserved by his strength. * A vain hope for safety is the horse; despite its power it cannot save.

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, * On those who hope in His mercy, (Ps. 32, 18)

To deliver their soul from death, * And to keep them alive in famine. (Ps. 32, 19) Our soul waits for the LORD; * He is our help and our shield, (Ps. 32, 20) For our heart shall rejoice in Him, * Because we have trusted in His holy name. (Ps. 32,

21) Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, * as we have hoped in You (Ps. 32,22)

ON PAGES 162-163: AS WE PARTAKE OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST, WE MAY SING THE HYMNS ON PAGES 964-973, OR ANOTHER HYMN.

AS GIVEN IN THE GRAY BOXED AREA:

Instead of “We have seen:” ON PAGES 164-165 - ONCE Instead of “May our mouths:” ON PAGES 166-168 - THRICE

after the “Amen” Instead of “Blessed be:” ON PAGES 172-173 - THRICE We sing in Tone 2, Bulgarian:

All creation is filled with rejoicing today, * for Christ is born of a Virgin.

25ON PAGES 170-171: SPECIAL REMINDER FOR CANTORS: WHENEVER THERE IS TO BE A SECOND PRAYER OR

BLESSING, THE “BLESSED BE THE NAME…”, OR ITS SUBSTITUTE, IS NOT SUNG AFTER THE AMVON PRAYER, BUT IS POSTPONED UNTIL AFTER THE SECOND PRAYER OR BLESSSING.

FOR THE AMVON PRAYER FOR SAINT STEPHEN, SEE ANTHOLOGY, PAGE 770; OTHERWISE, USE THE

AMVON PRAYER FOR SAINTS JOSEPH, DAVID AND JAMES, ANTHOLOGY, PAGE 768.

ON FEBRUARY 6, 2015, HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN STEFAN (SOROKA), ARCHBISHOP OF PHILADELPHIA, REQUESTED THAT ALL OUR PARISHES IN THE USA RECITE THIS PRAYER AFTER EACH LITURGICAL WORSHIP SERVICE.

Молитва за спокій в Україні – Prayer for Peace in Ukraine [In Ukrainian, page 11, above ]

Heavenly Father, Your Son taught us [by words] “Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called Sons of God.” [And then in order to teach us also by deed, He willfully ascended the cross that we may recognize in the cross - in the witness of suffering, our invincible sign of victory and our weapon of peace and truth.] Therefore, at this hour, we fervently pray that Your Holy Spirit may inspire men and women in Ukraine to become Peacemakers. May they seek reconciliation and dialogue and end the violent confrontation and killing. May they restore tranquility to their nation and restore human rights, democratic principles and religious liberty to their troubled land. God, our Father, we beseech you to comfort the suffering, heal the wounded and accept the souls of the departed into Your Heavenly Kingdom. And may the Most Holy Mother of God, extend her Blessed Mantle of Protection over Ukraine. And may each of us always live our lives as instruments of Your Peace. [ For You are the God of mercy, goodness and love for mankind, and we give glory to You, together with Your Only-Begotten Son, and Your + Most-Holy, Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. ] Amen.

On page 175: Dismissal: Christ, our true God, risen from the dead, whose good will it was to be born of the Virgin in a cave in Bethlehem of Judea and to be placed in a manger of dumb animals for the sake of our salvation, through the prayers of His “immaculate” (Most-Pure) Mother, of the holy, honorable and glorious prophet, forerunner and baptizer of the Lord, John, whose church this is, of the holy apostle, protomartyr and archdeacon Stephen, whose day it is, and the other holy, glorious and all-praiseworthy apostles, of our father among the saints, John Chry-sostom, archbishop of Constantinople, of the holy and righteous Joseph the Betrothed of the Most Holy Theotokos, David, the Psalmwriter and King, and James, the brother of the Lord in the flesh, whose Sunday it is, and of all the saints, will have mercy and save us, for He is good and loves mankind.

AS WE CONCLUDE THE DIVINE LITURGY, WE MAY SING THE HYMNS ON PAGES 958-963, 974-976, OR A CHRISTMAS CAROL (SUCH AS THE ONES ON PAGES 982-999), OR ANOTHER HYMN. WE SHOULD ALSO PRAY ALONG WITH THE READER AS HE OR SHE READS THE THANKSGIVING PRAYERS AFTER COMMUN-ION, ON PAGES 324-326.

ON JUNE 17, 2014, HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV, PATRIARCH OF KYIV-HALYCH AND ALL RUS’-UKRAINE, ACTING ON BEHALF OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS OF THE UGCC REQUESTED THAT EACH DIVINE LITURGY END WITH LYSENKO’S HYMN “БОЖЕ, ВЕЛИКИЙ, ЄДИНИЙ-BOZHE VELYKYJ YEDYNYJ”

BLESSED ARE THE “COMPASSIONATE” (MATTHEW 5:7) The Greek word for “compassionate” or “merciful” in this phrase is derived from the Greek word for “mercy”. Furthermore, the words for “mercy” (eleos) and “oil” (elaion) are so similar, that when the Greek says “with oil” (elaiō) and “will have mercy” (eleō), only spelling can tell them apart; to the ear they sound almost the same. When oil is applied to the skin it ceases to exist, being absorbed into the skin, so must we learn to decrease for the sake of another in order for us to be compassionate or merciful. May the following excerpt help us to be compassioinate to those who may find the holy days and New Year’s Day difficult to live through.

Kathryn Hermes, in her book, Surviving Depression: A Catholic Approach, pp. 132-135, suggests the following:

“If someone were to ask you if you thought of yourself as a compassionate person, you might reply yes, or at least, "I believe so." However, the true meaning of the word compassion is more than

26 mere sympathy or pity. It comes from the Latin root "to suffer with." To show compassion means

sharing in the suffering "passion" of another. In his book, Never Forget, Henri Nouwen describes com-passion as the capacity to enter into another's dark moments, into their pain, without running away. The great contribution Nouwen made to the caring profession was to call us to stay with people in the places in which they suffer without offering quick fixes, explanations, or promises. A lack of compassion often comes from the all too human rejection of suffering characteristic of our times. It is difficult to be truly compassionate. Your journey of walking with someone in his or her pain begins with both com-passionate and respectful silence. Here are some compassionate words that you might say: "I love you." "I care." "You're not alone in this." "I'm not going to leave you." "Do you want a hug?" "You are important to me." "We can ride this out together." "When all this is over, I'll still be here and so will you." "All I want to do now is give you a hug and a shoulder to cry on." "You're not crazy." "I can't imagine how hard this must be." "I'm sorry you're going through this." "I'm never going to say, 'I know how you feel' unless I truly do, but if I can do anything to help, I will." Listed below are examples of uncompassionate words that should never be said to someone suffering with depression: "It's all in your mind." "I thought you were stronger than that." "Don't think about your problems. You should be grateful for what you have. There are other people who have nothing." “Happiness is a choice." "Well at least it's not that bad." "Get a grip." "There are other people worse off than you." "You are what you think." "The only one you're hurting is yourself." "Why don't you smile more?" "You're always worried about your problems." "Go have some fun for a change." "I want the old you back. I don't like the way you are now." "Maybe you need to trust God more." "Just hang in there." "You are your own worst enemy." "My life isn't fun either." "What's your problem?" "Will you stop that constant whining?" "Haven't you gotten tired of all this me-me-me stuff?"”

“Your friendship with someone who is depressed can become a new form of prayer. We spend most of our adult life analyzing and calculating. Neither of these, however, are building blocks of prayer. Prayer is about observing, contemplating, wondering, imagining. As you develop a friendship that leaves the other be, you may find the following suggestions helpful: (1) Remember occasions on which God has rescued you. Write them down. Offer gratitude to God for them. Contemplate what God has done in your own life. (2) Before meeting with your friend, spend some time in silence. Relax. Be calm and serene. Tell God that you want to contemplate what he will be doing while you and your friend are together. (3) Thank God in your heart every time you realize God has been helping your friend, even if your friend cannot see it. You will begin to see that God will help your friend in his own time. He has no timetable, no agenda. God is a mystery. And so is your friend. Let God do the rescuing. You can count on God. (4) Pray for your friend. (5) Tell your friend you are praying for him or her. Occasionally point out what you see God doing in your friend's life. "It seems to me that God is letting you remember some beautiful times in your life when you felt loved by others." "You seem much more peaceful.” “God has given you a tremendous gift." ”

PROPOSAL for ACOLYTE ASSIGNMENTS If servers would like this to be modified, they are asked to notify the office: 5:00 PM — SATURDAYS: currently, we have no one committed to serving

9:00 AM — SUNDAYS: Yuriy Bidochko, Kris Boyer, Andrew McCauley; Peter McCauley, Joseph Levy, Michael Levy, Kevin Young

LECTOR ASSIGNMENTS FOR DECEMBER 2015SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS: FEAST OF the holy and righteous: Joseph, the Betrothed of the Theotokos; and David, the Psalm-writer and King; and James, the brother of the Lord

according to the Flesh, and St Stephen. Galatians 1:11-19 and Acts 6:8-7:5.47-60 Saturday, December 26, 2015 – 5:00 PM - Rich Vargo, Stephanie Vargo

Sunday, December 27, 2015 – 9:00 AM – Irene Borodycia, Sophia Bidochko

LECTOR ASSIGNMENTS FOR JANUARY 2016

FEAST OF CIRCUMCISION and NAMING OF OUR LORD: Colossians 2:8-12 COMMEMORATION OF ST. BASIL THE GREAT: Hebrews 7:26-8:2

Friday, January 1, 2016 - 9:30 AM – TBA

SUNDAY BEFORE THEOPHANY: 2 Timothy 4:5-8 Saturday, January 2, 2016 - 5:00 PM – Stephanie Vargo

Sunday, January 3, 2016 – 9:00 AM – Irene Borodycia, or Linda or Catherine Chomko, Sophia Bidochko

27MAJOR FEAST OF THE THEOPHANY OF OUR LORD: Titus 2:11-14 & 3:4-7

Monday, January 4, 2016 – 7:00 – 8:45 PM – readers are needed to volunteer for the “Royal Hours-Office of Readings” for Theophany of our Lord.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016 - 5:30 PM – “Generous Eve” Supper in Church Hall

Tuesday, January 5, 2016 - 7:00 PM – readers are needed to volunteer for The First Divine Liturgy of Theophany which will be the Vigil Service (first part of Vespers of Theophany with Epistle, Gospel & remainder of the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, with First Water Blessing).

Wednesday, January 6, 2016 - 11:00 AM – The Second Divine Liturgy of Theophany will be the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, with (if necessary) a second Water Blessing.

CHRISTMAS ON JULIAN CALENDAR: Thursday, January 7, 2016 – 9:30 AM – TBA, as in previous years, if the people who come to this liturgy would wish to do so then Father Ivan will most gladly serve

a Julian calendar Christmas Liturgy for them; if they do not come, then the celebration will be that of the SYNAXIS OF ST JOHN: Acts 19:1-8.

ARCHEPARCHIAL – ARCHDIOCESAN NEWSPAPER: Our Philadelphia Archdiocesan newspaper, The Way, is available in both languages; Ukrainian and English but is no longer printed and sent out to people’s homes. However, those who wish, may ac-cess it at www.ukrarcheparchy.us or you can sign up to receive it in your emails by writing to theway@ukrarcheparchy.us

CULTURE-HERITAGE BOOTH - Please see Diane Vargo. The Culture-Heritage glass cases in the upper church hall by the stage, are available for parishion-ers to view the selection of spiritual books, Pysanky, Easter cards, gifts, etc.

HELP SUPPORT ST. JOHN’S LEGAL DEFENSE FUND While it is true that we were successful in defending our parish’s position against the building

of a gas station at 700 E. Carson Street by LEAH Holdings, LP, this effort did not come for free. Between 8/13/2012 and 7/14/2014 our parish incurred an expense of $ 28,187.15 to retain the legal services of Babst, Calland, etc. To help offset this unforeseen expense, one of our parishioners, Andrew McCauley, developed a fundraising video, with Fr. Alex’s assistance, which can be viewed online at www.gofundme.com/SaintJohnBaptist. Please view this video online and consider making a donation online to help offset our legal fees. If you don’t have internet access and you would like to make a donation, please feel free to include your gift in a separate envelope in our Sunday collection, which you may mark with your envelope number, name, and also please write “St. John Legal Defense” on the envelope and in the memo line of the check.

ONGOING St. John’s CHURCH AUXILIARY PROJECTS

SARRIS “Candy Sales” Our St John’s Church Auxiliary is selling a variety of Sarris chocolate bars (Dark Chocolate, Pret-

zel Rods and Caramel bars) are $2.00 each. (Milk Chocolate, Almonds, Peanut Butter and Crispy chocolate bars) are $1.00 each. Normally sales are on Thursdays and Sundays after the Divine Litur-gies. If you attend Saturday evening services, please see Margie Klimko or Diane Vargo if you wish to buy some delicious candy at a bargain price.

“HERE AND THERE” (Nov. 15 to Dec. 20) Once again, our St John’s Church Auxiliary conducted collections during the season of St. Philip's

Fast. This project was labeled "Here and There" because we asked parishioners to join us in donating to programs both "here" in Pittsburgh (St Paul’s Monastery Food Bank) and "there" in Ukraine. (or-phanage). Many thanks to those who contributed!

November 30 – COMMEMORATION OF THE HOLY AND GLORIOUS APOSTLE ANDREW, THE FIRST-CALLED: АНДРІЇВ ГРІШ - АNDREW’S PENCE

У кожну неділю грудня можна зложити пожертву на благочинну збірку «Андріїв гріш», щоб допомогти нашому Синодові “огорнути духовною опікою всіх вірних нашої Церкви, хоч би на якому континенті вони перебували і хоч би з яких причин покинули батьківщину, …

28 забезпечуючи опіку нашим вірним там, де ще немає тривалих структур нашої Церкви.” Просимо використати спеціяльну конверту із датою 30-го листопада.

On every Sunday of December, please feel free to make your donation for the charitable col-lection of our Synod of Bishops, known as “Andrew’s Pence”. It is our desire to envelop all the faithful of our church with their own Church’s spiritual care, no matter what continent or for what-ever reasons they emigrated from Ukraine. To that effect our Church is collecting funds especially “TOWARDS SUSTAINING EXARCHATES IN EASTERN UKRAINE AND CLERGY LIVING IN TERRI-TORIES WITHOUT OFFICIAL CHURCH STRUCTURES.” Please use the Gold Envelope in your boxed sets for November 30 which is marked “Andrew’s Pence”. If you wish you can also use a plain envelope but please clearly mark your name on that envelope. Thank you and God bless you for your generosity.

WHAT’S THE TEMPERATURE IN CHURCH? During the winter months, our church and chapel will be heated for Divine Worship

Services to 63˚F/17˚C. Otherwise, the buildings will be at about 50˚F/10˚C. Please re-member to dress accordingly.

PYROHY MAKING AND SELLING AT OUR OWN ST. JOHN’S PARISH CHRISTMAS BREAK: December 18, 2015 - January 11, 2016. Orders will be taken again on

January 12/13, 2016. Making/selling season resumes January 14, 2016. Many deep and heartfelt “THANK YOU” and recognition to our devoted Pyrohy-making team for

coming these past weeks! It was hectic and tiring but your dedication pulled you together and such a wonderful result for the good of our community was achieved. May the Lord God bless you all a hun-dredfold !

PARISHIONERS’ PRAYER LIST Our parish’s listing for people IN NEED OF OUR PRAYERS especially during the holy days

has been updated recently. This would include those who might be suffering from some illness, or who might simply - for whatever reasons - be unable to attend church services. This may be because they are caregivers at home, or may themselves have some temporary minor illness, or they may be shut-ins at home, or in hospitals and nursing homes due to age or infirmity.

The names reported to us were: Ahafia Berketa, Catherine Coughenour, Irene Dragan, Bazyli Dytko, Alice Haritan, Frances Hladonik, Sophia Hodowanec, Anna Hodowanec, Anna Holowatyj, Vera Holubiak, Helen Hoskowicz, Katherine Iwanonkiw, Pauline Iwasiw, Sis-ter Andrew Kallok, Leo & Verna Karchut, Julia Kostiuk, Maria Kupchak, Ruth Postol, Donald Scott, Anna Szmul, Helen Sywyj.

Please keep these people and their families in your prayers. Any additions (or mistakes) should be submitted to the church office (412) 431-2531, as soon as they become available.

MANY THANKS! Many thanks to all those who beautifully decorated our church for the Nativity of Our Lord. Our

church looks exquisite! May God bless you all for your time, dedication and talents!

SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 2016: ATTENTION: PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS AUNTS AND UNCLES, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, ETC.

Inspired by the spiritual biography of Saint Nonna in the August 5, 2007 church bulletin, a num-ber of men and women have created a special prayer group for satisfying the need to intercede in prayer for the welfare of our children and grandchildren. Whenever he can, Father Ivan facilitates this prayer gathering for us. Currently we use the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God in her miraculous icon, known as Vospitanie – Воспитание – Vikokhuvatel’ka Deetey – Викохувателька Дітей – Nurturer of Children (venerated on March 5) and then add spontaneous prayers, if necessary. If you are inter-ested, then please call Irene Borodycia at 412-881-4635. For the time being, it has been decided that we will meet IN THE CHAPEL on first or second Saturday of each month, at 9:30 am.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2016 – 5:30 PM – THEOPHANY EVE “SHCHEDRYJ-GENEROUS” MEAL/EVE

On Tuesday, January 5, 2016, we would like to gather together as a parish family to share a special meal in celebration of the Theophany, the second holiest feast of the year after Pascha (Easter). Since this feastday is a holy day of obligation/privilege, one may of course stay for the worship services afterwards, which will begin at 7:00 PM. We are asking people to bring a

29covered dish from the traditional items listed below. It is very important that you tell us ahead of time what you will be bringing so that we can properly plan. The eve of Theophany (Jan 5) is a day of obligatory abstinence from meat products. If you are unable to prepare one of the items listed below, a cash donation would be appreciated, however, everyone is welcome at this feast, so please join us.

1 dozen holubtsee made with kasha / buckwheat or rice; 1 quart of mushroom gravy; 1 quart of mushroom soup; ½ gallon of borshch; 1 quart of kapusta (your specially prepared sauerkraut dish); ½ gallon mashed potatoes – homemade – not instant; 1 dozen Ukrainian “pampushky” (similar to Polish pączki) – plain or fruit filled; ½ gallon fresh fruit cocktail; fresh fruit; dried fruit; One 12 inch nut roll or apricot roll or poppy seed roll; “Kutya” – recipe made using about 1/2 pound of wheat with poppy seeds and honey; Braided bread centerpiece; Fish; Herring; Shrimp; Nuts; Khrustyky (fried pastries); Fruit filled pastries; Makivnyk (poppy seed cake); Medivnyk (honey cake); Chocolate candy; Halushky; Pop; Uzvar (Fruit Compote); 2 bags of ice cubes.

Our church will provide the pyrohy, prosphora, honey, garlic, holy water, tea, coffee, utensils, plates, cups, napkins and wax candle.

Please call Irene Matthews at 412-884-2594, or Margie Klimko at 412-431-0430, by January 3, 2016, to tell them if you will attend and what you will bring.

10:30 AM - SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2016: DIOCESAN RESOURCE COMMITTEE (DRC) BRAINSTORMING.

Since the late 1980s and the organizing meeting of the Diocesan Resource Committee under the auspices of Bishop Robert M. Moskal, a small number of persons have participated in DRC planning activities. With the first anniversary of the installation of Most Reverend Bohdan J. Danylo as Bishop, the DRC is looking for a broader impetus to implement the new ideas and programs of Bishop Bohdan. A meeting (open to all interested Ukrainian Catholics of the Saint Josaphat Eparchy) has been scheduled in the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church auditorium at 730 Washington Avenue, Carnegie, PA 15106 (412-279-4652). The purpose of this meeting is to "BRAINSTORM" new ideas and programs for the DRC to assist the eparchy and the Bishop. Father Ivan Chirovsky has been asked to select two (2) persons from our parish, and have them attend this meeting. If you are interested please contact Father ASAP.

BIBLE STUDY AT ST. SYLVESTER’s R. C. CHURCH If you are interested in attending this Bible Study at 3754 Brownsville Road, Brentwood, PA

15227, please register/contact Dr. Ross Cafaro at 412-885-1625. Classes will resume on TUESDAY, Jan. 5, 2016 - 6:30-8:30 pm.

WHEN DO WE START USING THE LENTEN TRIODION for worship services in 2016?

In 2016, the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee occurs on January 16-17; the Sunday of the Prodigal Son occurs on January 23-24; Meatfare Saturday/Sunday occurs on January 30-31; and then we make use of the Lenten Triodion on a daily basis, beginning with Cheesefare Monday (February 1) until the end of Holy and Great Week (March 25). The Great Fast (i.e. Lent) begins on February 8.

ALL SOULS SATURDAYS in 2016 January 30, February 20, 27, March 5, May 14.

SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2016 DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME will start again on the Fifth Sunday of the Great Fast:

MARCH THIRTEENTH, 2016: at 2:00 am clocks reset to 3:00 AM.

SUNDAY, MARCH 27, 2016 – PASCHA (EASTER) Mark your calendars. In 2016, the Sunday of the Feast above all Feasts, the “Pascha” (Passover)

of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, from Death to Life, comes early.

SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2016 – PENTECOST Sunday of Pentecost with General Pannakhyda and Blessing of Graves at Cemetery.

THE SUMMARY OF INCOME: 12/19-20/2015

Currently, this income report includes funds deposited into the Main Church Operating Ac-count. In the future, we hope to have it reflect also the income to Church Auxiliary, Py-rohy, as well as St. John’s Stewardship donation and property accounts. RE: Sunday Col-lection. We ask that if you are submitting a BLANK ENVELOPE instead of using your as-

30 signed envelope that you INCLUDE YOUR ENVELOPE NUMBER. Please, also include an

envelope number when just submitting a personal check. Thank you.

WEEKLY SUNDAY OFFERINGS 1,018.00 WEEKLY CANDLES, including MEMORIAL CANDLES 61.84 REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE (1st Sunday) 15.00 MEMBERSHIP DUES (2nd Sunday) 10.00 UTILITIES & INSURANCE (3rd Sunday) 309.00 DIOCESAN OBLIGATIONS & ASSESSMENTS (4th Sunday) 40.00 BOOKS/JOURNALS 10.00 GRAVE LOT PURCHASE 2,000.00 CEMETERY MAINTENANCE 80.00 UCC MISSION (Andrew’s Pence) FUND - 11/29/2015 20.00 RETIRED CLERGY FUND – 12/6/2015 25.00 CONCEPTION OF THEOTOKOS BY ST. ANNA - 12/9/2015 35.00 NATIVITY OF OUR LORD – 12/25/2015 190.00 SEMINARY FUND – 12/25/2015 65.00 TOTAL 3,878.84

MEMORIAL FUND

All donations collected in this fund will be used to purchase new Liturgical items, including any new vestments or repairs to existing liturgical items. In the meantime, as we use what we have for the greater glory of God, please remember that we still paying off certain items from the last ten years. Your generosity, as always, will be greatly appreciated.

No donations this week

MEMORIAL CANDLES If you would like to sponsor a candle in front of the copy of the miraculous Pochayiv Mother of God Icon or in front of the Icon of the Cross of Our Lord, or four lamps at the iconostas icons, or seven lamps in the seven-branched candlestick at our Altar (Holy Table), for whatever intention you desire, at $5.00 per week, please write to or call the parish office at: 412-431-2531.

IN MEMORY OF KAROL AND MARY BODZIUCH: (Copy of the Miraculous Icon of Pochayiv)

$5.00 - John Bodziuch (This will occur weekly until 8/14/2016)

St. JOHN’S STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL – CHURCH REPAIRS FUND With much gratitude we acknowledge receiving:

IN MEMORY OF THOMAS J. MATHEWS and MAKSYM & MARIA CZORNIJ

$ 100.00 – from Irene Mathews and Family

Many thanks to Peter Yaremko at Renew International, for providing the following reflections for us:

JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY: Announcement for December 27: The Old Testament book of Exodus warns us that no one can see God and live. But during these days of celebration of the Nativity, we are mindful that in his mercy, God

has, in fact, showed us his face. It is the innocent and inviting face of an infant. In Jesus, we see the face of God and we do not die, but find eternal life.

Francis of Assisi pointed out that, “Every day he humbles himself just as he did when he came from his heavenly throne into the virgin's womb; every day he comes to us and lets us see him in lowliness, when he descends from the bosom of the Father into the hands of the priest at the altar.”

In his book, “Jesus of Nazareth,” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI tells us what the birth of Christ means. “He has brought God, and now we know his face. Now we know the path that we human

31beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about where we are going and where we come from.”

Our prayer today: “In your mercy, Eternal Father, you sent your son as the dawn from on high to shine on those who dwell in darkness. May his light shine on us and guide our way.”

TWO Year of Mercy CONFERENCES IN OUR AREA: One to be hosted at Holy Trinity UC Church (Carnegie, PA) in the Pittsburgh area on Saturday, March

5, 2016; and, one to be hosted at Pokrova UC Church (Parma, OH) in the Cleveland area on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Both conferences in ENGLISH start with registration at 9:30 am and will end at 3 pm. The day will unfold with three talks followed by insights and discussion by the audience on: "What do we know about Mercy from the Scriptures?" "Do we pray for Mercy in the entire Liturgical Tradition?" "How can we practice Mercy in our lives and parishes?" (These topics follow Christ Our Pascha's three sections of Faith, Prayer and Action.) Confessions will be available around the clock during the day....More information to follow as it becomes available.

Many thanks to Steve Zinski for providing the following reflections for us:

THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT Were there really Magi who followed a mysterious star from the east to a stable in tiny Bethlehem?

Did the wicked King Herod really make an attempt on the life of the infant Jesus and kill the baby boys of the town in the process? Did Joseph and Mary actually foil his plan by escaping to Egypt in the nick of time?

These are legitimate and understanding questions in on age like ours with its mania for historicity. However, they betray a mentality which narrowly equates truth with history, which says, in effect that if something is historical it is true. If it is not, forget it. This is unfortunate for there are many kinds of truth besides historical truth, which, furthermore, is not the most important kind of truth.

With regard to Sacred Scripture, the bishops of the world reminded us, at the Second Vatican Council, that "in determining the intention of the sacred authors, attention must be paid, interalia, to 'literary forms' for the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression. Hence the exegete must look for that meaning which the sacred writer, in a determined situation and given the circumstances of his time and culture, intended to express and did in fact express, through the medium of a contemporary literary form" (Constitulion of Divine Revelation, par. 12).

Suppose that one could verify the historical reality of the Magi, the star of Bethlehem, the flight into Egypt and all the other details of the birth narrative, where would that leave us? With a handful of fascinating facts surrounding the early Infancy of Jesus. But was the author of Matthew intent on com-municating such data — or did he have something much more important in mind? Careful, responsible scholarship has concluded that his intention was profoundly theological rather than just interestingly biographical. To accomplish his end, he used traditional stories as a means of expressing a faith-inspired Christology.

Using "a contemporary literary form," one very close to folklore or legend, Matthew tried to answer questions like: "Who, in fact, was Jesus? What was His mission? How was He received?" Having such substantive issues in mind, he would undoubtedly be annoyed by frantic attempts to identify the star with a recorded celestial phenomenon, attempts which completely divert people's attention from the meaning he wanted to convey by the star as a symbol of messianic dignity, of royalty, of divinity, thus pointing to the identity of the Child.

His narrative of the Flight into Egypt portrays in story form a truth expressed in another way in the Prologue to the Fourth Gospel: "The light shines on in darkness, a darkness that did not overcome it.... To His own He came, yet His own did not accept Him" (John 1:5 & 11). It is a story which, like all really good stories, is quite true to life. We know the kind of person Herod was. The Jewish historian Josephus has left us a rather authoritative account of his personality and career. Neurotic, paranoid, insanely jealous, he maintained his position on the throne only by hint of a reign of terror. Anyone who looked at all longingly at the throne was executed without further ado — and that included three of his own sons. The list of his victims, even within his own family, is appalling.

Against this background, the Magi would have asked the one question no one should ever have asked during his reign: "Where is the newborn king of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2). And his reaction is perfectly in character. What would the murder of "village babies mean to a man who hadn't scrupled to execute his own sons?

Again, Egypt had long been the traditional destination for political refugees. But the evangelist had a much more serious reason for getting Jesus to Egypt. He wanted to identify Him symbolically as the new Moses, the new Israel, coming out of Egypt in a new and surpassing Exodus. To this end he quoted Hosea 11:1, "Out of Egypt I have called My son" which, in the context, is not a prophecy at all, but a reminiscence

32 of God's having liberated His people from bondage in Egypt. But even more importantly, Matthew wanted

to proclaim the real identity of Jesus as God's Son. It is a profession of the faith of his community. Jesus' return from Egypt is, in turn, a forecast of God's ultimate vindication of Him in the resurrection.

The new Moses, the renewed Israel, the very Son of God, Jesus is the object of the Father's loving care. On a broader scale, the story tells of the ongoing conflict between good and evil, of the incredible hatred and violence with which evil pursues good. It tells, too, of God's care for those who, in every age, have the courage to resist evil and risk everything in the pursuit of good.

JOSEPH: A chaste and just man There is no saint about whom so little is written as Saint Joseph. Not a single word uttered by him has

ever been recorded. We meet him in the pages of Holy Scripture as a poor carpenter, a chaste and just man, always fulfilling with implicit obedience the commands of God. Yet a picture of the Nativity is not complete without this humble artisan who enjoyed the great and enviable privilege of being the first to adore the Infant Jesus.

Traditions and apocryphal literature which abounded in the first and second centuries have many and lengthy stories about events in the life of the Joseph, the Most-Holy Theotokos and our Lord, which were left untouched by the canonical writings. It is next to impossible to sift true history from the fanciful. In the fourth century Saint Jerome styled some of them dreams and void of any authority since he had his own theory to propose that didn’t fit some of them. Nevertheless it was from them that many artists and writers drew their inspirations.

Joseph was "a just man." This praise is bestowed upon him by the Holy Spirit, and his privileges as foster-father of Jesus and the Spouse of the Virgin Mother granted him by God's choice are the foundations for the honor paid him by the Church.

Saint Teresa writes thus of Saint Joseph: "Would that I could persuade all men to be devout to this glorious saint: for I know by long experience what blessings he can obtain for us from God. I have never known any one who was really devoted to him, and who honored him by particular services who did not visibly grow more and more in virtue; for he helps in a special way those souls who commend themselves to him."

THE FATHER The gospel reading for the Feast of the Circumcision on January 1st calls to mind the last time Saint

Joseph appears in the Gospel: the poignant moment when he and Mary found the boy Jesus in the Temple, after searching for Him for three harrowing days. Pious legend, handed down from generation to generation, takes up the story of Joseph where Saint Luke's Gospel ends.

The legend I like the best is told from the point of view of Gamaliel, learned Doctor of the Law, and opens as he approached the little white house in Nazareth where the Holy Family lived. Suddenly the errand which brought him from Jerusalem seemed difficult: it was not easy to separate a father from his son.

Now Gamaliel could see a smaller building and the figure of a man. He was old, his hair and beard almost white. A big man and broad-shouldered. The Doctor of the Law saw him lift a heavy hammer and bring it down on a wooden wedge. He heard the log screech like a live thing. The air was pungent with aromatic odor, like the incense the priests offered in the Temple.

Gamaliel's sudden doubt vanished — a poor carpenter would be content to have his son educated to be a doctor of the law. "Joseph, Joseph," he cried.

Despite the rough garments, the toil-worn hands, there was something majestic, patriarchal about the carpenter. Gamaliel had been informed that the blood of David, the great king, flowed in his veins.

Together they sat in the clean, tidy shop. Gamaliel could not bring himself to ask for Jesus. He must prepare the way with pleasant but guileful talk. He spoke of their strange meeting, when a boy of twelve had disputed with learned doctors of the law. A trace of sadness swept Joseph's noble features at the memory of that day and again the thought smote Gamaliel — this man will never give up his son.

Joseph looked up, a smile lighted his venerable face. "They are home. Would you eat with us, Gamaliel, Doctor of the Law?"

The visitor was mystified. How did the father know that the boy and His mother had arrived at the house? Joseph answered the unspoken question. "I always know. I feel their presence."

They bowed their heads for a blessing from the illustrious guest. A simple meal — barley cakes, figs, dates, goat's milk cooled in the well. Gamaliel could not keep his glance from the boy. He seemed different from the prodigy in the Temple. He looked like His beautiful young mother, whose shy smile grew fond when she spoke to the boy.

When it was time to leave, Gamaliel had made up his mind. The little house of Joseph the carpenter was a better place than a temple school to learn true wisdom of a gentle, loving, blessed family. "Peace be with you," said Gamaliel, though it seemed a superfluous farewell. This day he had beheld fatherhood — yes, fatherhood unsurpassed in Joseph, the carpenter.

Anne Heagney

33CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD, GOD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST and the

COMMEMORATION OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS, BASIL THE GREAT, ARCHBISHOP OF CAESAREA IN CAPPODOCIA: January 1

Christ had come to teach us obedience to the law of God, so He consented to be circumcised as an example for us to obey all laws. It was on this day that He received the name of “Jesus”, which means “He saves”. Those who see both baptism and circumcision as sources of justification would say that the Sacrament of Baptism in Christianity replaces the sacrament of Circumcision in the Law of Moses. But we cannot overlook the fact that theologians have debated the spiritual effects of circumcision at the time of the Mosaic Law. The majority of the Western Church Fathers and of the Latin scholastics admitted that circumcision, the Sacrament of the Old Covenant, effaced what the Latin Church calls “original” sin: this was the opinion of St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Bernard, Peter the Lombard, and St. Thomas Acquinas; amongst many others. Today this opinion seems much less common in the Latin/Roman Church. The Eastern Fathers, on the whole, thought that Circumcision, unlike baptism, did not justify. St. John Chrysostom insisted on the fact that Abraham was justified not by circumcision, but by his faith, since faith comes before circumcision. This is supported heavily by the writings of St. Paul the Apostle. So it comes as no surprise that those who say that Circumcision does not justify are interpreting the Scriptures in a literal sense: they do not see in Circumcision anything but a sign of the covenant between God and His people. The supporters of the theory that Circumcision justifies give a spiritual meaning to the words of Scripture: they see in Circumcision a prefiguring of Christ's Passion, a sign of the redemption and of the grace brought by Him to replace the Mosaic Law.

Commenting on this feast in practical terms for the average person, the priest-monk Lev (Gillet), a dis-ciple of our Righteous Father Andrey (Sheptytsky), Metropolitan of Kyiv-Halych and Archbishop of L’viv, and writes very well:

“Our Lord, in submitting to the law of circumcision, wants both to humiliate himself in his flesh and to mark that he is the fulness and completion of the Old Covenant: the perpetual sign of the Covenant was on his flesh more than on any other flesh; his circumcision prefigured that other bloody consecration which his body was to receive on the cross. Moreover, even if (as Christians) we no longer have to submit to physical circumcision, we still have to submit to a true spiritual circumcision. Our covenant with God, the new covenant in Jesus Christ, must bring about in us the complete submission of our flesh and of its desires to God, the complete consecration and sanctification of our body and of its natural functions (especially of those connected with the organ submitted to circumcision, which plays such an important part in the ascetic battle). And it is not only our flesh that needs spiritual circumcision; first, and before all else, it is our heart. Circumcision of the heart must reach all our thoughts, all our desires, all our feelings — and excise everything that is in conflict with the search for God. The great commandment: 'Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart...' expresses very well, what this circumcision of the heart means and that it does not take place without very serious effort.”

But on the civil calendar we also have New Year's Day, and one of the best resolutions you can make is to live fully the new life given you in Baptism by following the laws of God. Maybe this new “circumcision of our hearts” can best be outlined very simply in two stages: “beginner” Christians use the Ten Commandments (see Anthology, pages 9-11), which guide us mostly in what we should not do, and “ex-perienced” Christians are also guided by the Beatitudes (see Anthology, pages 12-14), where Our Lord says what we should be doing from a positive point of view.

Since January 1st was the day in 379 AD when he was born to eternal life, the Byzantine Church celebrates not only the Circumcision of Our Lord, but also the Feast of St. Basil the Great. This was the day on which the Roman Catholic calendar of saints celebrated him at first; but in the 13th century they moved it to June 14, a date believed to be that of his ordination as Bishop, and it remained on that date until the 1969 revision of the calendar, which moved it to January 2, rather than January 1, because the latter date is occupied by the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (which the Byzantines celebrate on December 26). So, in the Latin/Roman Church, on January 2, Saint Basil is celebrated together with Saint Gregory Nazianzen.

Saint Basil the Great is one of the "Cappadocian Fathers." Born around 329-330, Basil studied in Caesarea, Constantinople, and finally in Athens where he became a close friend of Saint Gregory Nazlanzen. In 356, Basil returned to the outskirts of Neocaesarea to live in prayerful solitude for a brief time. At this time he composed his ascetical writings. His best known works are: "Selections from Origen," "On the Holy Spirit," "Monastic Rule," Books of Commentaries on the Scriptures, Sermons, Letters, and the Anaphora of the Liturgy which bears his name. Basil was ordained a priest by Eusebius, Archbishop of Caesarea, and at the death of the latter, was elected in 370 to succeed him as Bishop of Caesarea. He governed the see for eight years, during which time Basil proved himself a witness of the truth by defending the faith against the Arian Emperor, Valens. The life of Saint Basil is a model for all Christians. He was a lover of learning and continued to learn throughout his lifetime. His teachings were so deeply impregnated with the Scriptures, that he was apologetic if he was constrained to depart from the biblical texts and use words not contained in Scripture. In his treatise Saint Basil speaks of his profession of faith at baptism:

34 "For me my baptism was the beginning of my life, and that day of my rebirth the first of

all days, then plainly, the word I spoke on the day of my adoption is the one most of all to be honored....For myself I pray that I may depart to the Lord holding fast to this profession; and I exhort them also, to preserve the faith inviolate till the Day of Christ, to maintain the Spirit undivided from the Father, and from the Son, and observe the faith of their baptism, both in their profession of faith, and in giving praise to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to Whom be praise and glory, unto the ages of ages. Amen."

It behooves one to reflect upon Saint Basil's writing as preparation for the Feast of Theophany, January 6. Indeed, Saint Basil is remembered for his eloquent writings, for establishing social foundations such as hospitals and orphanages, establishing organized monasticism and being an outstanding student and teacher. These endeavors led to his receiving the titles of "Divinely Inspired" and "the Great."

У цивільному календарі: Щасливого Нового Року

In the civil calendar: Happy New Year!

SPECIAL CHRISTMAS REFLECTION AND GREETING FROM OUR BASILIAN SISTERS At Compline we sing "God is with us, understand all you nations and submit yourselves

for God is with us." (Is 8:9–18; 9:1–6, Septuagint). “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? […] Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? […] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:31-37). Persecution, dangers, the sword: it is not an abstract or imaginary list; they are, in fact, reasons for anguish, which Paul experienced in his life. He describes them at length in the Second Letter to the Corinthians (Cf. 2 Corinthians 11:23 ff). The Apostle reviews them now in his mind and sees that no one of them is so strong as to hold a confrontation with the thought of the love of God. The Apostle invites us implicitly to do the same: to look at our life, as it presents itself, and to bring to light the fears and motives for sadness that nest themselves therein and that do not allow us to accept ourselves serenely: that complex, that physical or moral defect, that failure, that painful memory. Expose everything to the light of the thought that God loves us and conclude with the Apostle: “In all these things, I can be more than a conqueror through him who loved me.” From his personal life, the Apostle passes immediately after to consider the world that surrounds him. He writes: “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39). He observes his world, with the powers that rendered it threatening: death with its mystery, the present life with its allurements, the astral or infernal powers that instilled so much terror in ancient man. We are invited to do the same also here: to look, in the light of the love of God, at the world that surrounds us and that makes us fear. What Paul calls the “height” and the “depth,” are for us infinitely great up there and infinitely small down here, the universe and the atom. Everything is ready to crush us; man is weak and alone in a universe that is so much greater than himself and that has become, in addition, even more threatening, following its scientific discoveries, not to mention wars, incurable illnesses, terrorism today… However, nothing of all this can separate us from the love of God. God has created the universe and has it firmly in hand! God is, and that is enough! Saint Teresa of Avila left us a sort of testament, which it is useful to repeat to ourselves every time we are in need of finding peace of heart again: “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing affright you; all things are passing, God never changes; patient endurance attains all things; whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.”

“May the Lord’s Birth, Holy Father, Venerable Fathers, brothers and sisters, be truly for us, as Saint Leo the Great said, “the birth of peace”! -- of all three dimensions of peace: that between heaven and earth, that between all peoples and that in our hearts.” (writes Fr. Cantalamessa's in his "Peace, Fruit of the Spirit") So rejoice and be at peace for God is With Us! Sr Ann Laszok & Sr. Olga Marie Faryna, OSBM.

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CHRIST AMONG US - ХРИСТОС ПОСЕРЕД НАС “Christ among us” - a radio program brought to you each Sunday at this time

to reach those who are elderly or ill, and those who are not able to attend their church for Sunday worship. Tune in to WPIT- 73 AM - Pittsburgh, PA every Sunday at 2:00 pm (EST) or listen to the radio program on-line at www.wpitam.com. You can also listen any time at http://stjosaphateparchy.com/listen/

This Program is sponsored by the Diocesan Resource Committee of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma, OH, and by your contributions. Each Sunday we will bring to you the word of God, we hope to brighten your lives and bring you joy and solace. They are now asking for feedback regardiing how many people listen to the porgam. Parishioners may also want to sponsor a Sunday broadcast in honor of a living or departed family member. Please contact Mrs. Luba Hlutkowsky (412-519-7087) for the appropriate level of sponsorship. Donations of any amount are always welcome. Please send check to the Diocesan Resource Committee of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma (D.R.C.) at P.O. Box 16319, Pittsburgh, PA 15242-0319.

Радіопрограма “Христос посеред нас”, яка приходить до Вас кожної неділі у той самий час, аби, всі хто потребує, старші чи хворі ... Для того аби всі, хто не в змозі відвіддати церкву, прийняти участь у недільній Службі, почув Боже слово. Ця програма виходить за сприянням Єпархіального комітету ресурсів української католицької Єпархії Святого Йосафата що у Пармі, Огайо та інших парафій. Кожної неділі ми принесемо Вам слово Боже, ми надіємося прикрасити Ваше життя і принести вам радість та втіху.

“Unceasing prayer is born of love, but fault-finding, idle talk and self-indulgence are the death of prayer.” – St. Silouan the Athonite

The Church was a Mother to you in life, providing for your spiri-tual needs. Please remember her in your last will and testament. The wording to do this, is as follows:

“I give and bequeath to the Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of St. Jos-aphat in Parma, located in Parma, Ohio, _____% of the residue of my es-tate [or: the sum of $ _____].”

“I give and bequeath to St John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, located in Pittsburgh, PA., _____% of the residue of my estate [or: the sum of $ _____].” Thank you.

Будь ласка, пам’ятайте про свою “Українську Католицьку Єпархію св. Йосафата”, та нашу “Церкву/Парафію св. Івана Хрестителя”, в своєму заповіті.

“I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing.” — 2 Kings, LXX (2 Samuel) 24:24

36 Vol. 60, No. 52 DECEMBER 27, 2015 AD

PARISH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

CATHOLIC CHURCH Byzantine-Kyivan-Ukrainian Rite

109 S. 7th STREET,

PITTSBURGH, PA. 15203-1028 412-431-2531

E-MAIL ADDRESS: stjohnucc@comcast.net WEB SITE: stjohnspittsburgh.com

“Catholic” comes from the Greek, meaning: “according-to-the-whole” or “universal”

“Rite” or “Ritual Church” means “One of the twenty-one Eastern Catholic Sister Churches, who are simultaneously in Communion with the Church & Pope in Rome, while living their own distinct-ly non-Roman (non-Latin), and yet equally Apostolic Tradition

(Theological, Spiritual, Liturgical & Canonical Heritage).”

Stephen Protomartyr

Now Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called “Synagogue of Freedmen”, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. Then they instigated some men to say, "We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God." They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin. … .

When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, filled with die Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The

witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them;" and when he said this, he fell asleep.

Now Saul was consenting to his execution. On that day, there broke out a severe persecution of the church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.

Acts of the Apostles

6:8-12; 7:54-60; 8:1-3

For more information on Eastern spirituality, visit www.ecpubs.com

Eastern Christian Bulletin Service - PO Box 3909 - Fairfax, VA 22038-3909 www.ecbulletin.com Ph: 703-691-8862 Fax: 703-691-0513