January 10, 2015

EPISTLE: Ephesians 4:7-13 (#224-ctr)GOSPEL: St. Matthew 4:12-17 (#8)TONE: 7

St. Innocent Orthodox ChurchZ Founded in 1967 Z Moscow Patriarchal Parishes Z

23300 W. Chicago _ Redford, MI 48239 _ 313-538-1142 _ Fax: 313-538-8126Church Website: www.stinnocentchurch.com _ E-Mail: frroman@firebirdvideos.com

St. Innocent Monastic Community: 9452 Hazelton, Redford, MI 48239 _ 313-535-9080PASTOR: Rt. Rev. Mitered Archpriest ROMAN STAR _ Cell: 313-319-0590

Dean, Central States Deanery, Patriarchal ParishesASSISTANT PRIEST: Rev. DANEIL SHIRAK _ 313-295-3073

DEACON: Rev. Dn. Michael ComerfordSUBDEACON: Dr. Joshua Genig

ATTACHED: Sister IoannaCHOIR DIRECTOR: Elizabeth Star Hatfield

READERS: Robert Joseph Latsko & George Hanoian

Z SUNDAY AFTER THEOPHANY Z

SCHEDULE FOR THE COMING WEEK (Resume regular Wednesday & Friday fasting.)

Saturday 1/16 4pm GREAT VESPERS & CONFESSIONS

Sunday 1/17 Sunday After Pentecost; Feast of St. Anthony the Great 9:15am HOURS. AKATHIST OR CANON; CONFESSIONS 10am DIVINE LITURGY, followed by Coffee Hour

_ 9:15am—HOURS, AKATHIST OR CANON; CONFESSIONS _ _ 10am—DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM _

COMMEMORATED TODAY: Afterfeast of the Theophany. Sunday after Theophany. St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa (4th c.). St. Dometian,Bishop of Melitene (601). St. Marcian, Presbyter, of Constantinople (5th c.). Ven. Paul, Abbot of Obnora (Vologdá—1429). Ven. Macarius, Abbot,of Pisma (14th c.). Bl. Theosebia the Deaconess, sister of Ss. Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa (385). Ven. Antipas the Athonite (1882).St. Theophan the Recluse, Bishop of Tambov (1894).

FOR THE REPOSE OF: Estelle & Joseph Star; Anna & John Witkowski; Michael Sr. & Margaret Rusko; Mary, Andrew, Daniel,Michael & Lottie Yakuber; Ross & Margaret Falsetti; Helen, John & Carole Andrayko; Peter & Theresa Harvilla; Marc Dade; BettyMartell; Frances & Todd Smoly; Peter Glover; Irene Adams; Ethel Elizabeth & Wayne Joshua deVyver; David Horka; Michael Rusko,Anna Lichagina, Yelena & Zinaïda Korniyevskaya, Joseph Nossal, Michelle Tucker, Todd Comerford

ALSO FOR: Stanley Taraszkiewicz (newly departed, Dec. 16th), by Sdn. Joshua Genig MEMORY ETERNAL!

FOR THE HEALTH OF: Archimandrite Seraphim; Priest Daneil, Matushka Debra & Corrina Shirak; Deacon Michael, Matushka MaryEllen & Julius Comerford; Matushka Mary Donahue, Subdeacon Joshua Genig; Reader Robert Latsko, Reader George & Betty Hanoian, RoseNossal, Mary Glover, Nancy Cupp, Deborah Dade, Vasiliki Stamoulis, Gerald Martell, Azbehat, Donald Yakuber, Carl deVyver, Jo AnneNicholas (recuperating from surgery), Joan Rusko, Daria, Alice Ladhu (cancer); Joseph Nossal; Ed Manier, (recuperating from stroke)ALSO FOR: MANY YEARS!

PROSPHORA FOR TODAY IS OFFERED BY: John Andrayko & Sister IoannaIn Memory Eternal of: (a) John Andrayko: Parents: John Andrayko (Anniversary of repose, 28 January) & Helen Andrayko; and sister, Carole Andrayko; andall departed family & friends. (b) Sister Ioanna: Parents: Ethel Elizabeth (10th Anniversary of repose, 8 January) & Wayne Joshua deVyver; Robert David Horka; Nina I; Marion Pallas; Mother Benedicta, Fr. Photius, Fr. Roman (Braga), & all departed family & friends; and For the Health of: (a) John Andrayko: John Andrayko; Fr. Roman & Mat. Rose Marie; Rose Nossal; all St. Innocent Parishioners; all family & friends. (b) Sister Ioanna: brother, Carl; Rose Bob; Ed M; JoAnne N; Fr. Roman & Mat. Rose Marie; all Parishioners; Thanksgiving for Anniversary of Chrismation on Theophany & for many blessings.

Z CHRIST IS BAPTIZED IN THE JORDAN! Z GLORIFY HIM! Z

CANDLES FOR LAST SUNDAY, 3 JANUARYCHURCH VIGIL LAMPS:Royal Doors Lamp: In Memory of Husband Joe; Son Kenneth; parents Michael & Margaret Rusko, & John & Martha Nossal, by Rose NossalAltar Candles: In Memory of Nicholas and Susan Yakuber, by son, Donald Yakuber Iconostasis Lamps: In Memory of parents, Ethel Elizabeth & Wayne Joshua; Robert David H; & Health of brother, Carl, by Sister IoannaCandles on the Solea: In Memory of Pete & Theresa Harvilla, Norman & Monica Holst, & Ricky Ellis, by Jason & Debra Truskowski Nave Reliquary-Icon Lamps: (1) In Memory of Ross & Margaret Falsetti, by daughters, Margie Martell & Rose Ann EverhardtNave Reliquary-Icon Lamps: (2) In Memory of Edwin Rusko, by the Nossal FamilyTable of Oblation Lamp: In Memory of parents, Helen & John Andrayko, Sr. & sister, Carole Andrayko, by John Andrayko, Jr.

IN MEMORY OF (MEMORY ETERNAL!)Joseph & Estelle Star, by son Father Roman and familyPaul & Alexandra Yupco, Basil & Ellen Starinshak, by grandson, Father Roman and familyJohn & Anna Witkowski, by daughter, Matushka Rose Marie and familySamuel & Mary Kupec, by granddaughter, Matushka Rose Marie and familyParents, Helen & John Andrayko, and sister, Carole Andrayko, by John Andrayko My husband, Joe; my sisters, Margaret & Ross Falsetti, Anna & Mike Elaschat, Theresa & Pete Harvilla, Irene, & brothers, Michael, John & Edwin Rusko; niece, Rose Mary & Dean Hough; Joe’s brothers, Raymond & Walter Nossal, & sisters, Theresa, Florence & Helen Nossal, by Rose Nossal ++ + Pete & Theresa Harvilla, by Mary Ann Harvilla & Kay Truskowski + + + My husband, Michael Rusko, by Joan Rusko Parents, Ethel Elizabeth (10th Anniv. 1/8) & Wayne Joshua; David H; Nina I; Marion P; Fr. Photius; Mo. Benedicta; Archm. Roman, by Sr. IoannaChild Lana Wilson, Shirley Troyer, Marsha Olsen, by Becky Jurczyszyn Thelma Ratcliff, Louis Pitts, Gloria Robinson, Reginald Bell, Lessie Favor, Lois Hamby, by Manier Family

FOR THE HEALTH OF: (MANY YEARS!)Elizabeth & Lawrence, Caitlin & Zachary, by parents & grandparents, Father Roman & Matushka Rose Marie Gregory & Tamiko Star, by parents, Father Roman & Matushka Rose MarieChildren, Grandchildren & Great-grandchild; Monk Fr. Sdn. Tikhon (Dade); by Rose NossalFather Roman & Matushka & family; Sister Ioanna; John Andrayko; Nancy; Mary G; Jo Anne N; Grandson Joey (in the Navy Reserves) & all people in the Armed Forces; & all the people of St. Innocent Church, by Rose Nossal My Mom, Jaime Truskowski, by Kay Truskowski + + + Family & Friends, by Mary Ann Harvilla & Kay T. Brother, Greg & Donna, nephew, Gregory & Liz & nephew, Alex, by Mary Ann Harvilla & Kay + + + Ed Manier, by Mary Ann Harvilla & KayArchimandrites Nafanail, Gregory & Seraphim; Fr. Roman & Mat. Rose Marie; Fr. Lawrence & fam; Fr. Laurence & fam; Fr. Daneil & fam; Dcn. Michael & fam; Mat. Mary D; Carl; Sdn Fr. Tikhon; Sdn Andrew; Sdn Joshua, Abigail & children; Rdr Robert; Robert M; David Samuel & Sky & new baby (12/31/15); Jo Anne & Nick; Athanasius; John A; Ed (stroke) & Tiffany; Vasiliki; Rose; Emil; Billy & Fonda, by Sister IoannaJay Nossal, by Rose Nossal + + + John Andrayko (May God watch over him), by Rose Nossal + + + Rose Nossal, by John Andrayko Joan & Bob Jurczyszyn, Paul Stelmaszek & Paul Jr., Leia & Mike Wilson, Liz Tomechesky & Andrea Faust, Levi Troyer, Damon Trestain, by Becky Jurczyszyn + + + Sdn. Joshua Genig, by Genig Family + + + Shirley Peponis, by brother, Nick & JoAnne Health & Salvation of: Ed, Manier Children, grandchildren & Family; Donna Williams (MS); Karen Phillips (cancer of lower abdomen); Krystal Gardner (pain-pill addiction), by Tiffany Manier + + + Mom, Rose; Lindsey, Trisha & family, by Patricia Harbut

ANNOUNCEMENTS1) THEOPHANY HOLY WATER. We joyfully celebrated the wonderful Theophany feast this past Tuesday andWednesday with the beautiful Vigil and the Divine Liturgy, and did the magnificent Theophany Great Blessingof Water (photo) at the end of the Vigil. Make sure you get your own bottle of Theophany Holy Water to bringhome for use throughout the year. Bring your bottle, or use (½ liter plastic water) bottles available at church.

2) THEOPHANY HOME-BLESSINGS: Fr. Roman is busy doing the annual Theophany home-blessings. He willcontact you about scheduling your Theophany home-blessing.

3) PLEASE DONATE TO HELP THE NEEDY HERE IN OUR OWN COMMUNITY. We continue to buymuch-needed underwear & socks for children, youth & adults, which are always needed by the Redford InterfaithRelief (RIR). Please donate so we can help as many people as possible. (See Matushka Rose Marie.) Many thanksto all those who have donated.

4) LISTEN EVERY SUNDAY TO THE COCC’S DETROIT’S OWN ORTHODOX RADIO HOUR[DOOR] ON WNZK 690-AM, 4-5 pm, or on your computer, live, at http://www.doorradio.org. This website also has an archive of all itsprevious weekly programs.

5) DO REGULARLY VISIT OUR CHURCH’S WEBSITE FOR WHAT’S NEW: http://stinnocentchurch.com. See JANUARY Calendar. Recent additions: 25 photos of St. Nicholas visiting on Christmas Day, & Sdn. Joshua’s ‘Meditations’ on Jesus’ Genealogy.

6) LATEST ISSUE OF THE COCC’S “GOOD WORKS” NOW AVAILABLE. To view the Nov-Dec issue on-line, go to:http://coccdetroit.com/files/Good%20Works/COCCGoodWorks-2015NOV-DEC.pdf. Printed copies available at church, or can be mailed.

7) PLEASE HELP THE FAMILY OF AN ORTHODOX DEACON WHO LOST EVERYTHING IN A FIRE. The Reeves family with 2young children and a 3rd due in March lost almost everything in a fire. They especially need furniture, appliances, all housewares, and children’sspring and summer clothes and toys. Read details at: https://www.gofundme.com/4mhvmbj8. Bring items to church. Money contributions welcome.Deacon Graham & Mat. Rachel Reeves and their family live in Hillsdale, and he serves at the St. Herman Orth. Church in Lake Odessa.

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE OFPATRIARCH KIRILL

OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA:

To the Archpastors, Pastors, Monastics and

All the Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church

Your Eminences the archpastors, esteemed fathers,

all-honorable monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters!

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because God sent

His Only-Begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. (1 Jn 4:9)

It is with a heart overflowing with joy in the Son of God who has come in the flesh that I address all of youand congratulate you on the radiant and life-bearing feast of the Nativity of our Lord and God and SaviorJesus Christ.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Lk 2:14). In glorifying from year toyear the ineffable benevolence shown to us by the Savior, we, as once the shepherds of Bethlehem whoheard from the angel the “great joy which shall be to all people” (Lk 2:10), hasten with spiritual eyes to seethe Messiah, whose coming was foretold by the glorious prophets and awaited by a great multitude of menand women.

Thus, the desire, as the prophet Haggai puts it, of all nations (Hag 2:7) “made himself of no reputation, andtook upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:7). The Lord of theuniverse selects for himself not an imperial palace, not a dwelling of the rulers of this world, not a mansionof the rich and highly placed. No room is even found for him at an inn. The Son of God is born in a cave forcattle, while his cradle is a manger for the feeding of animals.

“What, then, is poorer than the cave and humbler than the swaddling clothes in which the richness of theGodhead has shone forth?” Having chosen for the Mystery of our salvation utmost poverty (Hypakoe for thefeast), Christ consciously rejects the values which are considered important in our world: power, wealth,fame, noble birth and social status. He offers to us another law of life, the law of humility and love, whichvanquishes pride and enmity. It is by this law that human frailty, united with the grace of God, becomes theforce which cannot be countered by those who possess power and might in this world. The power of Godmanifests itself not in earthly majesty and worldly comfort, but in simplicity and humility of heart.

As St. Seraphim of Sarov puts it, “the Lord seeks out a heart that is overflowing with love of God andneighbor. This is the altar upon which he loves to ascend…’Son, give me your heart,’ he says, ‘and the restI shall give to you,’ for the Kingdom of God can be contained within the human heart (Conversation on theGoal of the Christian Life). The Lord is not disdainful of the poor and homeless, he does not despise thosewho have little money and unglamourous jobs, and even more so He does not hold in contempt those whoare physically disabled or seriously ill. None of these things in themselves put a distance between the humanperson and God, and therefore should not lead one into being downcast or become a cause for destructive

despair. The Savior seeks us out. “My son, my daughter,give me your heart” — He exhorts us (Prov 23:26).

The wondrous feast of the Nativity reminds us of the needto unceasingly follow Christ, “Who has come so that wemight have life, and that we might have it moreabundantly” (Jn 10:10), and Who is the one true path andunchanging Truth and genuine Life (cf. Jn 14:6). Andmay we not be afraid of the difficulties that we inevitablyencounter, and may none of us be broken by the trials thatbefall our lot, for God is with us! God is with us, andfrom our life fear disappears. God is with us, and we findpeace of soul and joy. God is with us, and with steadfasthope in Him we shall accomplish our earthly journey.

In following Christ, the human person goes against the elements of this world. He does not submit to thetemptations he encounters, and he determinedly tramples down the barriers of sin that stand in his way.Indeed, it is sin that draws us away from God and genuinely renders our lives harsh. It is sin that, in eclipsingthe light of the Divine Love, plunges us into many and varied afflictions and hardens our heart towards otherpeople. Sin, though, is vanquished only by the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is given to us through theChurch. The power of God which we receive transforms our inner world and helps us in accordance withthe Lord’s will to change the outer world. And thus those who have in one way or another have fallen awayfrom Church unity lose, like a tree that has dried up, the ability to offer truly good fruits.

I would like today to say a special word to the people of Ukraine. The fratricidal conflict which has arisenin the land of Ukraine should never divide the Church’s children by sowing enmity within people’s hearts.The true Christian cannot hate his neighbors or those afar. “You have heard — the Lord says to those who hearHim — that it has been said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ But I say unto you, ‘Love yourenemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you, andpersecute you;’ That you may be the children of your Father Who is in heaven: for He makes His sun to rise on theevil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt 5:43-45). May these words of the Saviorbecome a guiding force in our lives and may evil and hatred towards others never find a place in our hearts.

I call upon all the children of the multinational Russian Orthodox Church to pray fervently for the speedycessation of hostilities in Ukraine, for the healing of wounds both physical and spiritual that war has causedpeople. Let us in church and at home sincerely beseech this of God; let us pray also for those Christians wholive far from our lands and who are suffering as a result of armed conflicts.

On this light-bearing night of the Nativity and the following holy days, let us praise and exalt our Savior andLord who, in his great love for humanity, deigned to come into the world. Like the biblical Magi, let us offerto the divine Infant Christ our gifts: instead of gold – our sincere love; instead of frankincense – our ardentprayer; instead of myrrh – a kind and caring disposition towards our neighbors and those afar.

Once more I congratulate you all, my beloved, on the radiant feast of the Nativity, and for the forthcomingNew Year, I prayerfully wish you the abundant mercies and compassion of the greatly compassionate LordJesus. Amen.

+ KIRILL, PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIAMoscow — The Nativity of Christ 2015

To the Venerable Fathers, all-Honorable monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters!

“God is with us, understand, all ye nations!” These words of the liturgical hymn, hearkening back to the biblical prophecy ofIsaiah about Emmanuel (cf. Is. 7, 14), have become for us a verbal icon of the Nativity Feast. They proclaim the birth of theOne Whose very presence will be the life of God among people, the fulfillment of the promise given erstwhile to Abraham,passed on from generation to generation of the people of the Old Testament, called into remembrance by the prophets, andrealized now in the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem. “God is with us, understand, all ye nations!” Out of the depths of the centuries the prophet Isaiah foresaw the imminent comingof the Messiah, Whose image was anticipated in the Bible in the images of righteous kings and liberators of the people.Throughout centuries of biblical history, the mystery of the presence of the God among His people and His absence from thesurrounding pagan world had found its reflection in Israel proper. The Tabernacle, and later the Temple, being the place ofthe revelation of God, at the same time also concealed Him in the darkness of the Holy of Holies, entry into which wasaccessible only to the High Priest, and only once a year. “God is with us, understand, all ye nations!” In the New Testament the presence of God becomes all-penetrating. It begins ina small cave of the small Palestinian settlement of Bethlehem, and through the birth and growth of Jesus in fidelity to theCovenant spreads its power and authority to the very limits of the Universe, from the Nativity to the Paschal Mystery. Fornow the time had come when “neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father” (cf. John 4: 21). Theworship of God in spirit and in truth, of which the Gospel speaks, has come to pass. It signifies the mysterious and truepresence of God everywhere and in every place. “God is with us, understand, all ye nations!” The Infant Child in the Bethlehem cave, the glorification of the angels, the wonderof shepherds, the worship of the Magi, the trepidation of Herod, the flight to Egypt, which, in accordance with Tradition,forced the idols to shudder, — all these narratives of the Nativity so familiar to us become, in the proclamation of the Church,testimony to the glory of Christ, a sign of Divine All-presence in the world and power over history. Indeed, according toApostle Paul, “now we no longer know Christ according to the flesh” (2 Cor. 5:16). God’s presence is no longer exhaustedby Bethlehem or Jerusalem, but reaches out to each one of us wherever we might be. “God is with us, understand, all ye nations!” The Nativity event speaks to us about the presence of the God in the world andin history. It bears testimony to the fact that henceforth the former mystery of His presence in Israel and absence amongst theGentiles, His revelations in the Tabernacle and in the Temple and His concealment in the murky darkness of the Holy ofHolies, is not totally abolished, but remains in the human heart. From this moment forth, Bethlehem is in the heart ofeveryone, it is where the meeting takes place, where God is born. Everyone’s heart is now Jerusalem, where Herod’s power,self-interest, malice and madness, symbolizing sin – can and should make room for His Most Glorious Nativity. Everyoneis called to hear the Angels singing of Christ’s glory, and called to worship, in the conviction of faith, the One Who has beenBorn, revealing to Him those very gifts of brotherly love, peace and love, which had been granted by Him. “God is with us, understand, all ye nations!” These words, formerly addressed by Israel to all other nations, henceforth buildup the unity of all those peoples who celebrate the presence amongst us of God Who Loves us. We, the biblical nations, thatis, all people, in the unity of the Triumph of the Nativity, now proclaim our grace-filled transformation which has come topass in Christ, Whose Nativity has made us the One People with whom God abides. “Behold, the tabernacle of God is withmen, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Rev. 21,3). May the blessing of Christ the Savior, now born in Bethlehem, abide in our hearts. Amen.

+ JOHN, Bishop of Naro-Fominsk, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA New York City — The Nativity of Christ 2015/2016

ST. NICHOLAS VISITED ST. INNOCENT CHURCH ON CHRISTMAS DAY, 2015