S t . B a s i l t h e G r e a t A nt i o c h i a n O r t h o d o x C hu r c h
S t . B a s i l t h e G r e a t A nt i o c h i a n O r t h o d o x C hu r c h His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH, Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America.
His Grace Bishop THOMAS, Auxiliary Bishop of The Diocese of Oakland, Charleston, and the Mid-Atlantic.
REV. FATHER JAMES PURDIE, PASTOR 1520 Todds Lane Hampton, VA 23666 Phone: Office (757) 223-4159, Cell: (412) 327-4099 Email: OrthodoxHampton@gmail.com Web Site: www.OrthodoxHampton.com
Welcome visitors! If you are visiting with us for the first time, we greet you in the Holy Name of Christ, our Saviour, and hope you will join us in fellowship after worship. We are genuinely pleased to have you with us today. We must remind you that while the Orthodox Church prays for the unity of all, we do not practice “open Communion.� Only those Orthodox Christians who have prepared themselves with prayer, fasting, and regular confession should approach the chalice.
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For questions, please contact Fr. James Purdie. Blessings.
The Holy Apostles of the Seventy Philemon, Apphia, Archippus, and Onesimus Philemon, who was from Colossae, a city of Phrygia, was a man both wealthy and noble; Apphia was his wife. Archippus became Bishop of the Church in Colossae. All three were disciples of the Apostle Paul. Onesimus, who was formerly an unbeliever and slave of Philemon, stole certain of his vessels and fled to Rome. However, on finding him there, the Apostle Paul guided him onto the path of virtue and the knowledge of the truth, and sent him back to his master Philemon, to whom he wrote an epistle (this is one of the fourteen epistles of Saint Paul). In this epistle, Paul commended Onesimus to his master and reconciled the two. Onesimus was later made a bishop; in Greece he is honoured as the patron Saint of the imprisoned. All these Saints received their end by martyrdom, when they were stoned to death by the idolaters. Saint Onesimus is also commemorated on February 15. Apolytikion of Philemon & Archippus of the 70 in the Third Tone O Holy Apostles, intercede to our merciful God, that He may grant our souls forgiveness of sins. Kontakion of Philemon & Archippus of the 70 in the Second Tone We praise Christ’s Apostles as bright stars illumining the ends of the world, glorious Philemon, Onesimos, Archippus, and with them, wise Apphia, crying: Pray unceasingly in behalf of us all.
ANTIPHON tHE
RESURRECTIONAL APOLYTIKION IN TONE SEVEN
TROPARION OF ST. BASIL THE GREAT IN TONE ONE
Thou didst shatter death by Thy Cross, Thou didst open paradise to the thief; Thou didst turn the sadness of the ointment-bearing women into joy. And didst bid Thine Apostles proclaim a warning, that Thou hast risen O Christ, granting to the world the Great Mercy.
In all the earth that received thy sayings, thy melody did resound, O righteous father, through which thou didst go about and proclaim, as worthy of God, the nature of creatures, cultivating the character of mankind, O thou of kingly Priesthood, Basil. Wherefore, plead thou with Christ God to save our souls.
APOLYTIKION OF THE ENTRANCE OF THE THEOTOKOS IN TONE FOUR Today the Virgin is the foreshadowing of the pleasure of God, and the beginning of the preaching of the salvation of mankind. Thou hast appeared in the Temple of God openly and hast gone before, preaching Christ to all. Let us shout with one thrilling voice, saying: Rejoice, O thou who art the fulfillment of the Creator’s dispensation. 4
KONTAKION OF ENTRANCE OF THE THEOTOKOS IN TONE FOUR The sacred treasury of God’s holy glory, * the greatly precious bridal chamber and Virgin, * the Savior’s most pure temple, free of stain and undefiled, * into the House of the Lord * on this day is brought forward * and bringeth with herself the grace * of the Most Divine Spirit; * her do God’s Angels hymn with songs of praise, * for she is truly the heavenly tabernacle.
EPISTLE tHE
The Lord will give strength to His people. Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of God, ascribe to the Lord honor and glory. The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians. (2:14-22) Brethren, Christ is our peace, Who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in
one body through the Cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. And He came and preached peace to you, who were far off, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in Whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in Whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
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GOSPEL THE
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (12:16-21) The Lord spoke this parable: “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my
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grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” As He said this, Jesus called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
tHE
KOINONIKON ( COMMUNION HYMN)
Praise the Lord from the Heavens; Praise Him in the highest; Alleluia.
Post Communion Prayer of St. Basil the Great (pray silently after receiving the Holy Gifts) O Master, Christ our God, King of all ages and Maker of all things, I thank Thee for all the good things which Thou hast given me and of partaking of Thine immaculate and life-giving Mysteries. Wherefore, I pray Thee, who art good and loves mankind, keep me under Thy protection and in the shadow of Thy wings, and grant me a pure conscience, even unto my last breath to partake of Thy Holy Gifts for unto Thee we ascribe glory and thanksgiving, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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OFFERINGS + Prayers of Health and Safety are offered for +
Dn. Christopher and family, Ross family, Chris, Bill, Yelena, Neonila, Svetlana, Luybov, Alexander, Anne, Jim and family, Victoria, Daniel, Irina, Christopher, Daria and child, Christopher, Daniel, Sophia, George, Anne, Nun Thecla, Ekaterina, Angelina, Igor, Alexander, Mark, Alexander, James, Alexandra, Whelan family, Girogi, Levan, Liza, Tamar, Maia, Levan, Giorgi, Becka, Khatuna, Richard, Levan, Lela, Diana, Aiden, Sophia, Fr. Elia and family, Fr. Alexis and family, Fr. Isaac and family, Fr. Antonio and family, Fr. Gabriel and family, Thieme 8
family, Crawford family, Joyner family, Cooper family, Hovan family, Fields family, Nixon family, Susan and family, Charlie, Anastasia, Nathan, Camron, Lee, Aaron, Lisa, Kathy, Erik, Esra, Maria, Alix, Brigid, Seraphim, Michael, Robert, Margaret, Ethan. Scott, Grant, Thadeus, Neal family, Karl, John, Cheryl, Ben, Emily, Jared, Jared, Basil, Josiah, Tim, Cailin, Christina, Louanna, Melissa, Ben, Amonica family, Nasi family, Saur family, Fr. Earl and family, Zambonini family, McAddis family, Freedman family, Leary family, Hovarter family, Holden family, Klein family
OFFERINGS +++ Prayers of Loving Memory are offered for +++
Marcie, Lena, Mary, Gerhard, Roger, Kelly, Kh. Anastasia, Elder Ephraim, Bp. Milutin, Fr. John, Almira, Fr. Michael, Fr. Michael, Subdeacon Nicholas, Paul, Viktor, Lary Giorgi, Natela, Zhana, Steven, William, Radovanka,
Ephimia, Ephim, Michael, Alexey, Alexander, Yuri, Boris, Valentin, Valentina, Alexandra, Seraphima, Vladimir, Nikolay, Sofia, Maria, Vasiliy, Lydia, Victor, Tatyana, Alexander, Evdokia, Fr. Neil
Holy Bread is offered by Planinka Whelan and Anna Mary Vogt for the health, safety, and memory of their loved ones. 9
The Limits of Being Rich
Many believers wish that God would at some point in their lives speak to them – if for no other reason than to know for sure that He existed. In Luke 12:16-21, we are presented the story of a man to whom God spoke directly. Unfortunately, God’s words to the man were “You fool!” It certainly would be a rude awakening for any of us believers if when God finally spoke to us, first words were to call us a fool! We might then wish that God had never spoken to us, for such a judgment by God would not be a welcomed word by us. If we examine our own lives and our own values, do we imagine that God’s first words to us would be one of praise for our lives and thinking, or would we be rebuked for our folly – for basing our lives on shallow ideas, on goals that turn out to be phantoms which disappear in a second when we wake up to reality? The man’s folly was not that he had become rich, but he had not become rich towards God. Wealth and prosperity can be a blessing from the Lord, but they are given to us in order for us to accomplish His will, not to selfishly spend it on our selves which also turns out to be folly. Being rich is not the same as being rich towards God. Blessing received from God are by God’s design meant to enable us to give – not just to be thankful but to be generous as well. This Gospel lesson from Christ offers us one of the earliest glimpses into the notion of a “bubble economy.” For the rich man’s bubble was burst in that moment when he was told he was going to die that night. His wealth was shown to be a mere dream but not the reality upon which to base his life’s decisions. It was not even the case that his wealth was the result of illgotten goods – he didn’t lie, cheat and steal to obtain his wealth, but worked for it. Yet in the eternal scale of things, his wealth was not all that valuable to that man. Blessings received might make us rich, but we have to receive those blessing and use them to make us rich towards God. + Fr. Ted Bobosh