HOLY CROSS
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Verse: Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His mercy
endures forever.
Titus, my son, the grace of God has appeared for the salvation
of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly
passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this
world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of the
great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to
redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of
his own who are zealous for good deeds.
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior
appeared, he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in
righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured out
upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be
justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal
life.
GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
The Epistle Reading is from St. Paul’s Letter to Titus (2:11-14;
3:4-7)
Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου.
Στίχ. Στίχ. Ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῷ Κυρίῳ ὅτι ἀγαθὸς, ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα
τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ.
Τέκνον Τίτε, ἐπεφάνη γὰρ ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ σωτήριος πᾶσιν
ἀνθρώποις, παιδεύουσα ἡμᾶς ἵνα ἀρνησάμενοι τὴν ἀσέβειαν καὶ τὰς
κοσμικὰς ἐπιθυμίας σωφρόνως καὶ δικαίως καὶ εὐσεβῶς ζήσωμεν ἐν τῷ
νῦν αἰῶνι, προσδεχόμενοι τὴν μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα καὶ ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς
δόξης τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὃς ἔδωκεν
ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ἵνα λυτρώσηται ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἀνομίας καὶ
καθαρίσῃ ἑαυτῷ λαὸν περιούσιον, ζηλωτὴν καλῶν ἔργων.
ὅτε δὲ ἡ χρηστότης καὶ ἡ φιλανθρωπία ἐπεφάνη τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν
Θεοῦ, οὐκ
ἐξ ἔργων τῶν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ὧν ἐποιήσαμεν ἡμεῖς, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸν
αὐτοῦ ἔλεον ἔσωσεν ἡμᾶς διὰ λουτροῦ
παλιγγενεσίας καὶ ἀνακαινώσεως Πνεύματος ῾Αγίου, οὗ ἐξέχεεν ἐφ᾽
ἡμᾶς πλουσίως διὰ ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, ἵνα δικαιωθέντες
τῇ
ἐκείνου χάριτι κληρονόμοι γενώμεθα κατ᾽ ἐλπίδα ζωῆς αἰωνίου.
Matthew 3:13-17 Gospel Reading
Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, παραγίνεται ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐπὶ τὸν
᾿Ιορδάνην πρὸς τὸν ᾿Ιωάννην τοῦ βαπτισθῆναι ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ. ὁ δὲ
᾿Ιωάννης διεκώλυεν αὐτὸν λέγων· ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ὑπὸ σοῦ βαπτισθῆναι,
καὶ σὺ
ἔρχῃ πρός με; ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς εἶπε πρὸς αὐτόν· ἄφες
ἄρτι· οὕτω γὰρ πρέπον ἐστὶν ἡμῖν πληρῶσαι πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην· τότε
ἀφίησιν αὐτόν· καὶ βαπτισθεὶς ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς ἀνέβη εὐθὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος·
καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνεῴχθησαν αὐτῷ οἱ οὐρανοί, καὶ εἶδε τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ
καταβαῖνον ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν καὶ ἐρχόμενον ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν· καὶ ἰδοὺ φωνὴ
ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν λέγουσα· οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν ᾧ
εὐδόκησα.
Holy Theophany
At that time, Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to
be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need
to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered
him, "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill
all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized,
he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were
opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and
alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
Today our Holy Orthodox Church commemorates:
+ The Theophany (Epiphany) of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ About the beginning of our Lord's thirtieth year,
John the Forerunner, who was some six months older than Our Savior
according to the flesh, and had lived in the wilderness since his
childhood, received a command from God and came into the parts of
the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto the remission
of sins. Then our Saviour also came from Galilee to the Jordan, and
sought and received baptism though He was the Master and John was
but a servant. Whereupon, there came to pass those marvellous
deeds, great and beyond nature: the Heavens were opened, the Spirit
descended in the form of a dove upon Him that was being baptized
and the voice was heard from the Heavens hearing witness that this
was the beloved Son of God, now baptized as a man (Matt. 3:13-17;
Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:1-22). From these events the Divinity of the
Lord Jesus Christ and the great mystery of the Trinity were
demonstrated. It is also from this that the present feast is called
"Theophany," that is, the divine manifestation, God's appearance
among men. On this venerable day the sacred mystery of Christian
baptism was inaugurated; henceforth also began the saving preaching
of the Kingdom of the Heavens. ***At the end of the Divine Liturgy
today will be the “Megalos Agiasmos”, the Great Blessing of the
Water. The Church and all of the congrega-tion will be blessed with
the Holy Water at the end of the service.
Variable Hymns of the Day before and after the Small
Entrance
Hymn of Theophany (Εν Ιορδάνη): At Your baptism in the Jordan, O
Lord, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest, for the
Father’s voice bore You witness by calling You his beloved Son, and
the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of the
Father’s Word. O Christ our God, You have appeared to us and
enlightened the world. Glory to You. (Sung before and after the
Small Entrance, Page 208+209 in the Hymnal) The Hymn of the Church
is not sung today. Kontakion for Theophany (Επεφάνης σήμερον): You
have revealed Yourself to the world today, and Your light shines
forth on us, who sing Your praise with full knowledge: You have
come to us, O Lord; You are made manifest, O inaccessible Light.
(Page 248+249 in the Hymnal)
The Divine Liturgy today is the Liturgy of St. Basil which we
celebrate on great Feast Days of the Lord. You will notice that the
priestly prayers are longer (and very beautiful.) There are also a
few other differences in the service today:
Before, the Epistle, instead of Holy God, Holy Mighty…. We sing
“As many of You as have been baptized into Christ, have put on
Christ, Alleluia.”
After we kneel, instead of “Axion Estin”, we sing “Epi Si
Hairei”, the words can be found in the hymnal on pages 298/299
Instead of the normal Communion hymn (“Aineite”), today we sing:
The grace of God has appeared, for the salvation of all people.
Alleluia.
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE IS AND EVER SHALL BE!
HOLY CROSS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
859 First Street; Macon, Georgia 31201 478.621.0744 (office)
www.holycross.ga.goarch.org
[email protected]
Rev. Fr. Theodore Ehmer E-mail: [email protected] Cell:
770.256.0290 Office Hours: Tues. through Fri. 10am-3pm and By
Appointment Holy Confession: By Appointment
Bulletin for the week of January 6, 2019 Usher on Duty: Ben
Davis
Altar Servers: All Altar Boys Epistle Readers: George
Saratsiotis / Daniel Filimon
Today, January 6: Orthros 9:30am Divine Liturgy 10:30am Church
School following Holy Communion Great Blessing of the Waters
following the Liturgy Coffee Fellowship following the Water
Blessing NO Bible Study Today Today’s Bulletin is sponsored by Roza
Harris wishing everyone a blessed and happy 2019! Today’s Coffee
Hour is sponsored by Beth Zoumberis. Thank You!
———————————————————————————— Monday, January 7 (Feast Day of St.
John the Baptist) Orthros 9:30am Divine Liturgy 10:30am Office
Hours until 3:00pm January 10-12: Fr. Theodore will be out of town.
Sunday, January 13 Orthros 9:30am Divine Liturgy 10:30am Church
School following Holy Communion Swearing in of the new Parish
Council for 2019 Blessing and Cutting of the Vasilopita (St.
Basil’s/New
Year’s Bread) at the end of the Liturgy Fellowship and Bible
Study to follow Greek Dancing for the Youth during Bible Study
Parish Council Meeting 2:00pm Fellowship: Natalia Saratsiotis
Usher: Ben Davis Readers: George Saratsiotis / Bob Dunbar
Wednesday, January 16 Great Vespers for the Feast Day of St.
Anthony the Great
5:45pm Adult Study Class 6:30-7:30pm Thursday, January 17 (Feast
Day of St. Anthony the
Great) Orthros 9:30am Divine Liturgy 10:30am Young Adult
Ministry (first meeting!) 7:00pm Saturday, January 19 Catechumen
Class 3:30pm Great Vespers 5:00pm Sunday, January 20 Orthros 9:30am
Divine Liturgy 10:30am Church School following Holy Communion
Fellowship, Bible Study, and Greek Dance following the
Liturgy Fellowship: Georgia Saratsiotis Usher: David Zoumberis
Readers: Maria Spicer / Daniel Filimon
Weekly Announcements: Prayer Requests: Panteleimon, Michael,
Anna-Maria, Zoe, Stella, Styliane, Loula, Niki, George, Lula,
Jennifer, Raymond, Christina, George, Anthony, Mary, Mary, Eve,
Marina, Adriana, Dimitri, Fred, Travis, Larry Prayers for Military
Personnel and Their Families: Harrison Danforth, Aaron Vrahiotes,
Anthony Odom Shut-Ins: If you know of anyone who is unable to come
to the Church because of illness, age, or any other reason, please
contact Fr. Theodore so that he can visit with them, pray with
them, and administer to them the Holy Sacraments.
—————————————————————————— Upcoming Celebrations This Week
Name Days—Chronia Polla, Many Years! 7th: John Cacavias, Sean
Morris, John Santon
Birthdays—Happy Birthday!
4th (missed in the last bulletin!): TJ Ragan, Alex
Saratsiotis
8th: Holly Economopoulos —————————————————————————————
* Our sister parish of Sts. Raphel, Nicholas, and Irene Greek
Orthodox Church in Cumming, Georgia is having a gala fundraiser for
their new Church early next year and we have been invited. Please
see the following: "Sts RNI in Cumming, Georgia is presenting a
beautiful and fun gala on February 23, 2019. Our vision is to build
a church to serve our community at large and to educate them on the
Orthodox Christian faith. We look forward to meeting members of
other parishes as we go forward in our mission. If you have any
questions, please contact Stephanie Crosio or Tina Vamvakias at
Gala Fund-Raiser [email protected]. Thank you and God Bless." More
information can be found on the bulletin board in the Parish House.
* A weekly Orthodox Christian inquirers class has begun on Saturday
afternoons at 3:30pm. Please contact Father for more details. We
are using the book “Introducing the Orthodox Church: Its Faith and
Life” by Fr. Anthony Coniaris as our focus. * The next Youth event
is Friday, January 25: We will go to the Macon Mayhem (hockey)
game! Details to come. * GOYA (6th to 12th grace) Lenten Retreat:
Mark Your Calendars—March 22-24 at the Diakonia Center in South
Carolina (Fr. Theodore is one of the leaders of the event) * Bible
Study will resume on January 13—new theme: The Sunday Epistles (For
example, we will study from the 4th chapter of Ephesians. * Young
Adult Group (20’s and 30’sish) is going to begin! We will have the
first meeting on the evening of Thursday, January 17 at 7:00pm.
Details will be sent by e-mail.
