St. Alexis of Wilkes-Barre Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2024-01-14
Bulletin Contents

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St. Alexis of Wilkes-Barre Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • 860-664-9434
  • Street Address:

  • PO Box 134, 108 E Main St

  • Clinton, CT 06413-0134


Contact Information




Services Schedule

Please see our online calendar for dates and times of Feast Day services.


Past Bulletins


Welcome

Jesus Christ taught us to love and serve all people, regardless of their ethnicity or nationality. To understand that, we need to look no further than to the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Every time we celebrate the Divine Liturgy, it is offered "on behalf of all, and for all." As Orthodox Christians we stand against racism and bigotry. All human beings share one common identity as children of God. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatian 3:28)

Members of our Parish Council are:
Greg Jankura - Vice President
Susan Davis- Council Member at Large
Sharon Hanson - Council Elect
 Luba Martins - Council Elect
Susan Egan - Treasurer
Dn Timothy Skuby - Secretary

 

Pastoral Care - General Information

Emergency Sick Calls can be made at any time. Please call Fr Steven at (860) 866-5802, when a family member is admitted to the hospital.
Anointing in Sickness: The Sacrament of Unction is available in Church, the hospital, or your home, for anyone who is sick and suffering, however severe. 
Marriages and Baptisms require early planning, scheduling and selections of sponsors (crown bearers or godparents). See Father before booking dates and reception halls!
Funerals are celebrated for practicing Orthodox Christians. Please see Father for details. The Church opposes cremation; we cannot celebrate funerals for cremations.

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Announcements

Blessing of Homes

Having gone through COVID (which is currently on the upswing yet again) and other trying events, it makes spiritual sense to have your homes blessed. Please let me know when it is best. 

Bible Study Opportunity

I have asked for, and received permission to offer you the opportunity to join Fr John Hopko's bible study. Several of parishioners are already involved in this study and speak very highly of it. Rather than reinvent or 'compete' with our own bible study, Fr John is willing to accept more participants from our parish. If you are interested in joining this bible study, please email Fr John directly ([email protected]); request to be added to the bible study email list. Be sure to identify yourself as being a parishioner of St. Alexis Church. He will then provide you with the Zoom invitation whenever the bible study to be held. 

I hope you take up this opportunity to learn more about the bible from a remarkable teacher, in the expanded communities of our Church.

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Prayers, Intercessions and Commemorations

Please pray for Sarah, Evelyn Leake and Victor Hoehnebart who are in need of God's mercy and healing.

  • Pray for: All those confined to hospitals, nursing homes, and their own homes due to illness; for all those who serve in the armed forces; widows, orphans, prisoners, victims of violence, and refugees;
  • All those suffering chronic illness, financial hardship, loneliness, addictions, abuse, abandonment and despair; those who are homeless, those who are institutionalize, those who have no one to pray for them;
  • All Orthodox seminarians & families; all Orthodox monks and nuns, and all those considering monastic life; all Orthodox missionaries and their families.
  • All those who have perished due to hatred, intolerance and pestilence; all those departed this life in the hope of the Resurrection.

Please let Fr. Steven know via email if you have more names for which to pray.

  • Departed: Fr Anthony, Mat Elizabeth, Kenneth, Fr Michael
  • Clergy and their families: Mat. Ann, Fr Sergei, and Mat Nancy
  • ​Catechumen: Robert, Abbie, Matthew, Joseph, Mary, Kevin and Lynn
  • Individuals and Families: Susan, Luba, Suzanne, Gail Galina Evelyn, Rosemary, John, Lucille, Karen, Oleg, Lucia, Victor, Melissa, Christine, Sebastian, Olga, Daniel & Dayna, Branislava, Alton, Richard, Kristen
  • Birthdays and Name’s Days this Month: Aaron Hosking, Natalie Kurcharski (ND), Gail Kuziak, Dn Timothy (ND), 
  • Anniversaries this Month: 
  • ​Expecting and Newborn: Anastasia and her unborn child
  • ​Traveling: 
  • ​Sick and those in distress: Maria, Brian, Fr Vasily, Katy, Fr Sergei

Leavetaking of the Theophany. St. Savva I, first Archbishop of Serbia (1237). The Holy Fathers slain at Sinai and Raithu: Isaiah, Savva, Moses and his disciple Moses, Jeremiah, Paul, Adam, Sergius, Domnus, Proclus, Hypatius, Isaac, Macarius, Mark, Benjamin, Eusebius, Elias, and others (4th-5th c.). St. Nina (Nino), Equal-to-the-Apostles, Enlightener of the Georgians (355). St. Joseph Analytinus of Raithu (4th c.). Ven. Theodulus, son of Ven. Nilus of Sinai (5th c.). Ven. Stephen, Abbot of Khenolakkos Monastery near Chalcedon (8th c.). Saint Meletios, Bishop of Ryazan (19th c.). Hieromartyr Platon, the first Bishop of Estonia, and all the New Martyrs of Estonia (1869).

Again we pray for those who have lost their lives because of the wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East: that the Lord our God may look upon them with mercy, and give them rest where there is neither sickness, or sorrow, but life everlasting.
Again we pray for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation, for those who are suffering, wounded, grieving, or displaced because of the wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East.
Again we pray for a cessation of the hostilities against Ukraine and the Middle East, and that reconciliation and peace will flourish there, we pray thee, hearken and have mercy.

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Parish Calendar

  • Schedule of Services and Events

    January 14 to January 22, 2024

    Sunday, January 14

    Leavetaking of the Theophany of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

    Gail Kuziak

    Stephen Wexell

    9:30AM Divine Liturgy

    Monday, January 15

    Paul of Thebes

    Tuesday, January 16

    Veneration of Apostle Peter's Precious Chains

    8:30AM Daily Matins

    6:00PM Parish Council Meeting

    Wednesday, January 17

    🍇 Anthony the Great

    4:30PM Open Doors

    Thursday, January 18

    Athanasios and Cyril, Patriarchs of Alexandria

    Repose of Victor Kuziak

    8:30AM Daily Matins

    Friday, January 19

    ☦️ Macarius the Great of Egypt

    Saturday, January 20

    Righteous Euthymius the Great

    5:30PM Great Vespers

    Sunday, January 21

    12th Sunday of Luke

    Sanctity of Life

    9:30AM Divine Liturgy

    Monday, January 22

    Timothy the Apostle of the 70

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Saints and Feasts

January 14

The Holy Fathers slain at Sinai and Raitho

As for the holy Martyrs of Sinai and Raithu, those of Sinai contested during the reign of Diocletian, about the year 296; those of Raithu were slain about the middle of the fifth century. On both occasions, the perpetrators of these massacres were a barbarian tribe called Blemmyes, from the parts of Arabia and Egypt.

Because of the Apodosis of the Feast of Holy Theophany also on the 14th of January, the liturgical services to the Holy Fathers slain at Sinai and Raitho are transferred to January 13th.


January 14

Savas I, Archbishop of Serbia

Saint Sabbas (Sava), the first Archbishop and teacher of the Serbs, and the most beloved of all the Saints of Serbia, was born in 1169, and was named Rastko by his parents. He was the son of Stephen Nemanja, the ruler of Serbia, who is better known as Saint Symeon the Myrrh-streamer (see Feb. 13). As a young man, Rastko fled secretly to the Holy Mountain, Athos, to the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon. When his father learned of his flight, he sent soldiers after him. Before they could seize him, he was tonsured a monk with the name of Sabbas, after Saint Sabbas the Sanctified (celebrated Dec. 5). Soon after, he entered the Monastery of Vatopedi, where his father joined him in 1197. Together they rebuilt the Monastery of Hilandar and made it a great spiritual center for their countrymen. In 1200 Saint Symeon reposed, and his body became a source of holy myrrh; in 1204 Saint Sabbas was compelled to return to Serbia with his father's relics, that he might restore peace between his two brothers, who were struggling over the rule of the kingdom. The grace of Saint Symeon's relics, and the mediations of Saint Sabbas, healed the division between his brethren. After persuading the Emperor in Constantinople and the Ecumenical Patriarch to grant autocephaly to the Serbian Church, the Saint against his will was ordained first Archbishop of his native land in 1219, where he labored diligently to establish the Orthodox Faith. In 1221 he crowned his brother Stephen first King of Serbia (the memory of Saint Stephen, First Crowned King of Serbia, is kept on September 24). In 1234, foreseeing by divine grace his coming departure to the Lord, he resigned the archiepiscopal throne, named his disciple Arsenius as his successor, and made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Mount Sinai; while returning through Bulgaria, he fell asleep in peace in 1236. Because he has been ever since the national hero of Serbia and an invincible bulwark strengthening the Orthodox Faith, the Moslem Turks burned his incorrupt relics in the year 1594. See also June 28.

January 14

Nina of Georgia

The holy virgin Nina was from Cappadocia. According to some, her father Zabulon was a friend of the holy Great Martyr George, whose father was a Cappadocian. The conversion of Georgia by Saint Nina is reported in the Church histories of Rufinus, Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret: Rufinus, writing less than a hundred years after Saint Nina, said that he heard the history in Jerusalem from a Georgian Prince named Bacurius. Saint Nina was taken captive by the Georgians (whom the Greek accounts call Iberians), and while in captivity she lived a very devout life of sobriety and virtue, praying unceasingly night and day; this drew the attention of the Georgians, and to all who asked her about her way of life, she preached the dispensation of Christ. When she healed by her prayer a certain woman's sick child, whom no one else had been able to help, the report of her came to the ears of the Queen of Georgia, who was herself gravely afflicted with an incurable malady. She asked that the captive women be brought to her, but Saint Nina declined out of modesty, so the Queen commanded them to carry her to Nina. Saint Nina healed her immediately, and the Queen returned home in joy. When she extolled Nina and her faith to the king, he gave her no heed, although she mentioned it to him often. But while hunting in the forest, he was shrouded with an impenetrable darkness in which he lost his way, became separated from his men, and fell into despair; he made a vow that if Christ should deliver him, he would worship him alone. The light of day straightway shone again, and the king fulfilled his vow. He and the Queen were instructed in the Faith by Saint Nina, and they with the whole Georgian nation became Christ's. The King also sent an embassy to Saint Constantine the Great, informing him of their conversion, and requesting that priests be sent to Georgia. Saint Nina reposed in peace in about the year 335. The above-mentioned Church historians speak of her without calling her Nina. She is celebrated in the Roman Martyrology on December 15 under the name Christina.

Because of the Apodosis of the Feast of Holy Theophany also on the 14th of January, the liturgical services to Saint Nina are transferred to January 13th.


January 17

Anthony the Great

Saint Anthony, the Father of monks, was born in Egypt in 251 of pious parents who departed this life while he was yet young. On hearing the words of the Gospel: "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell what thou hast, and give to the poor" (Matt. 19:21), he immediately put it into action. Distributing to the poor all he had, and fleeing from all the turmoil of the world, he departed to the desert. The manifold temptations he endured continually for the span of twenty years are incredible. His ascetic struggles by day and by night, whereby he mortified the uprisings of the passions and attained to the height of dispassion, surpass the bounds of nature; and the report of his deeds of virtue drew such a multitude to follow him that the desert was transformed into a city, while he became, so to speak, the governor, lawgiver, and master-trainer of all the citizens of this newly-formed city.

The cities of the world also enjoyed the fruit of his virtue. When the Christians were being persecuted and put to death under Maximinus in 312, he hastened to their aid and consolation. When the Church was troubled by the Arians, he went with zeal to Alexandria in 335 and struggled against them in behalf of Orthodoxy. During this time, by the grace of his words, he also turned many unbelievers to Christ.

Saint Anthony began his ascetic life outside his village of Coma in Upper Egypt, studying the ways of the ascetics and holy men there, and perfecting himself in the virtues of each until he surpassed them all. Desiring to increase his labors, he departed into the desert, and finding an abandoned fortress in the mountain, he made his dwelling in it, training himself in extreme fasting, unceasing prayer, and fierce conflicts with the demons. Here he remained, as mentioned above, about twenty years. Saint Athanasius the Great, who knew him personally and wrote his life, says that he came forth from that fortress "initiated in the mysteries and filled with the Spirit of God." Afterwards, because of the press of the faithful, who deprived him of his solitude, he was enlightened by God to journey with certain Bedouins, until he came to a mountain in the desert near the Red Sea, where he passed the remaining part of his life.

Saint Athanasius says of him that "his countenance had a great and wonderful grace. This gift also he had from the Saviour. For if he were present in a great company of monks, and any one who did not know him previously wished to see him, immediately coming forward he passed by the rest, and hurried to Anthony, as though attracted by his appearance. Yet neither in height nor breadth was he conspicuous above others, but in the serenity of his manner and the purity of his soul." So Passing his life, and becoming an example of virtue and a rule for monastics, he reposed on January 17 in the year 356, having lived altogether some 105 years.


January 18

Athanasios the Great and Cyril, Patriarchs of Alexandria

In the half-century after the First Ecumenical Council held in Nicea in 325, if there was one man whom the Arians feared and hated more intensely than any other, as being able to lay bare the whole error of their teaching, and to marshal, even from exile or hiding, the beleaguered forces of the Orthodox, it was Saint Athanasios the Great. This blazing lamp of Orthodoxy, which imperial power and heretics' plots could not quench when he shone upon the lampstand, nor find when he was hid by the people and monks of Egypt, was born in Alexandria about the year 296. He received an excellent training in Greek letters and especially in the sacred Scriptures, of which he shows an exceptional knowledge in his writings. Even as a young man he had a remarkable depth of theological understanding; he was only about twenty years old when he wrote his treatise "On the Incarnation." Saint Alexander, the Archbishop of Alexandria, brought him up in piety, ordained him his deacon, and after deposing Arius for his blasphemy against the Divinity of the Son of God, took Athanasios to the First Council in Nicea in 325. Saint Athanasios was to spend the remainder of his life laboring in defense of this Holy Council. In 326, before his death, Alexander appointed Athanasios his successor.

In 325, Arius had been condemned by the Council of Nicea; yet through his hypocritical confession of Orthodox belief, Saint Constantine the Great was persuaded by Arius's supporters that he should be received back into the communion of the Church. But Athanasios, knowing well the perverseness of his mind, and the disease of heresy lurking in his heart, refused communion with Arius. The heresiarch's followers then began framing false charges against Athanasios. Finally Saint Constantine the Great, misled by grave charges of the Saint's misconduct (which were completely false), had him exiled to Tiberius (Treves) in Gaul in 336. When Saint Constantine was succeeded by his three sons Constantine II, Constans, and Constantius, in 337, Saint Athanasios returned to Alexandria in triumph. But his enemies found an ally in Constantius, Emperor of the East, and he spent a second exile in Rome. It was ended when Constans prevailed with threats upon his brother Constantius to restore Athanasios (see also Nov. 6). For ten years Saint Athanasios strengthened Orthodoxy throughout Egypt, visiting the whole country and encouraging all: clergy, monastics, and lay folk, being loved by all as a father. After Constans's death in 350, Constantius became sole Emperor, and Athanasios was again in danger. On the evening of February 8, 356, General Syrianus with more than five thousand soldiers surrounded the church in which Athanasios was serving, and broke open the doors. Athanasios's clergy begged him to leave, but the good shepherd commanded that all the flock should withdraw first; and only when he was assured of their safety, he also, protected by divine grace, passed through the midst of the soldiers and disappeared into the deserts of Egypt, where for some six years he eluded the soldiers and spies sent after him.

When Julian the Apostate succeeded Constantius in 361, Athanasios returned again, but only for a few months. Because Athanasios had converted many pagans, and the priests of the idols in Egypt wrote to Julian that if Athanasios remained, idolatry would perish in Egypt, the heathen Emperor ordered not Athanasios's exile, but his death. Athanasios took a ship up the Nile. When he learned that his imperial pursuers were following him, he had his men turn back, and as his boat passed that of his pursuers, they asked him if he had seen Athanasios. "He is not far," he answered. After returning to Alexandria for a while, he fled again to the Thebaid until Julian's death in 363. Saint Athanasios suffered his fifth and last exile under Valens in 365, which only lasted four months because Valens, fearing a sedition among the Egyptians for their beloved Archbishop, revoked his edict in February, 366.

The great Athanasios passed the remaining seven years of his life in peace. Of his fifty-seven years as Patriarch, he had spent some seventeen in exiles. Shining from the height of his throne like a radiant evening star, and enlightening the Orthodox with the brilliance of his words for yet a little while, this much-suffering champion inclined toward the sunset of his life, and in the year 373 took his rest from his lengthy sufferings, but not before another luminary of the truth -- Basil the Great -- had risen in the East, being consecrated Archbishop of Caesarea in 370. Besides all of his other achievements, Saint Athanasios wrote the life of Saint Anthony the Great, with whom he spent time in his youth; ordained Saint Frumentius first Bishop of Ethiopia; and in his Paschal Encyclical for the year 367 set forth the books of the Old and New Testaments accepted by the Church as canonical. Saint Gregory the Theologian, in his "Oration On the Great Athanasios", said that he was "Angelic in appearance, more angelic in mind; ... rebuking with the tenderness of a father, praising with the dignity of a ruler ... Everything was harmonious, as an air upon a single lyre, and in the same key; his life, his teaching, his struggles, his dangers, his return, and his conduct after his return ... he treated so mildly and gently those who had injured him, that even they themselves, if I may say so, did not find his restoration distasteful."

Saint Cyril was also from Alexandria, born about the year 376. He was the nephew of Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who also instructed the Saint in his youth. Having first spent much time with the monks in Nitria, he later became the successor to his uncle's throne in 412. In 429, when Cyril heard tidings of the teachings of the new Patriarch of Constantinople, Nestorius, he began attempting through private letters to bring Nestorius to renounce his heretical teaching about the Incarnation. When the heresiarch did not repent, Saint Cyril, together with Pope Celestine of Rome, led the Orthodox opposition to his error. Saint Cyril presided over the Third Ecumenical Council of the 200 Holy Fathers in the year 431, who gathered in Ephesus under Saint Theodosius the Younger. At this Council, by his most wise words, he put to shame and convicted the impious doctrine of Nestorius, who, although he was in town, refused to appear before Cyril. Saint Cyril, besides overthrowing the error of Nestorius, has left to the Church full commentaries on the Gospels of Luke and John. Having shepherded the Church of Christ for thirty-two years, he reposed in 444.


January 19

Makarios the Great of Egypt

Saint Macarius the Great was from the Thebaid of Egypt, a disciple, as some say, of Saint Anthony the Great. He was born about 331 and struggled in asceticism in the desert at Scete. Although young, he was called "the child elder" because of his great wisdom and austere manner of life. He was ordained presbyter and reposed in 391, at the age of sixty. There are fifty homilies ascribed to him.

It is said of Saint Macarius that he became as a God upon earth, for even as God protects the whole world, so did he cover the faults he saw as if he did not see them. Once he came back to his cell to find a thief taking his things and loading them on a camel. Macarius' non-possessiveness was so great that he helped the thief load the camel. When the camel refused to rise, Macarius returned to his cell and brought a small hoe, said that the camel wanted the hoe also, loaded it on, and kicked the camel telling it to get up. The camel obeyed Macarius' command, but soon lay down again, and would not move until everything had been returned to Macarius. His contemporary, Saint Macarius of Alexandria, was so called because he came from Alexandria and was therefore of that Greek-speaking colony; while Saint Macarius the Great is also called "of Egypt," that is, he belonged to the ancient race native to Egypt, the Copts.


January 20

Euthymios the Great

This Saint, who was from Melitene in Armenia, was the son of pious parents named Paul and Dionysia. He was born about 377. Since his mother had been barren, he was named Euthymius-which means "good cheer" or "joy"-for this is what his parents experienced at his birth. He studied under Eutroius, the Bishop of Melitene, by whom he was ordained and entrusted with the care of the monasteries of Melitene. Then, after he had come to Palestine about the year 406, he became the leader of a multitude of monks. Through him, a great tribe of Arabs was turned to piety, when he healed the ailing son of their leader Aspebetos. Aspebetos was baptized with all his people; he took the Christian name of Peter, and was later consecrated Bishop for his tribe, being called "Bishop of the Tents." Saint Euthymius also fought against the Nestorians, Eutychians, and Manichaeans. When Eudocia, the widow of Saint Theodosius the Younger, had made her dwelling in Palestine, and had fallen into the heresy of the Monophysites which was championed in Palestine by a certain Theodosius, she sent envoys to Saint Symeon the Stylite in Syria (see Sept. 1), asking him his opinion of Eutyches and the Council of Chalcedon which had condemned him; Saint Symeon, praising the holiness and Orthodoxy of Saint Euthymius near whom she dwelt, sent her to him to be delivered from her error (the holy Empress Eudocia is commemorated Aug. 13). He became the divine oracle of the Church, or rather, "the vessel of divine utterance," as a certain historian writes. He was the instructor and elder of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified. Having lived for ninety-six years, he reposed in 473, on January 20.


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Hymns of the Day

Tone 7 Troparion (Resurrection)

By Your Cross You destroyed death.
To the thief You opened Paradise.
For the Myrrhbearers You changed weeping into joy.
And You commanded Your disciples, O Christ God,
to proclaim that You are risen,//
granting the world great mercy.

Tone 1 Troparion (Feast)

When You, O Lord, were baptized in the Jordan,
the worship of the Trinity was made manifest.
For the voice of the Father bore witness to You,
and called You His beloved Son;
and the Spirit in the form of a dove
confirmed the truthfulness of His word.
O Christ our God, You have revealed Yourself//
and have enlightened the world, glory to You.

Tone 7 Kontakion (Resurrection)

The dominion of death can no longer hold men captive,
for Christ descended, shattering and destroying its powers.
Hell is bound, while the Prophets rejoice and cry:
“The Savior has come to those in faith;//
enter, you faithful, into the Resurrection!”

Tone 4 Kontakion (Feast)

Today You have shone forth to the world, O Lord,
and the light of Your countenance has been marked on us.
Knowing You, we sing Your praises:
“You have come and revealed Yourself,//
O unapproachable Light.”

Tone 7 Prokeimenon (Resurrection)

The Lord shall give strength to His people. / The Lord shall bless His people with peace. (Ps. 28:11)

V. Offer to the Lord, O you sons of God! Offer young rams to the Lord! (Ps. 28:1a)

Tone 4 Prokeimenon (Feast)

Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord. / God is the Lord and has revealed Himself to us. (Ps. 117:26b, 27b)

(Instead of “It is truly meet…,” we sing:)

Magnify, O my soul, the most pure Virgin Theotokos,
more honorable than the heavenly hosts!

No tongue knows how to praise you worthily, O Theotokos;
even angels are overcome with awe praising you.
But since you are good, accept our faith;
for you know our love inspired by God!
You are the defender of Christians, and we magnify you.

Communion Hymn

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the highest! (Ps. 148:1)
The grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men. (Titus 2:11)
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. 4th Tone. Psalm 67.35,26.
God is wonderful among his saints.
Verse: Bless God in the congregations.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 6:10-17.

Brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.


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Wisdom of the Fathers

Take heed, then, often to come together to give thanks to God, and show forth His praise. For when ye assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith.
St. Ignatius of Antioch
Epistle to the Ephesians Ch. 13, 2nd century

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Receive the Light

One Body In Christ

Lesson 10: St. Paul’s Summary

Reading
Romans 15-16

St. Paul concluded his letter to the Romans with a call to please our neighbor and build each other up in Christ. He said that even Christ did not please Himself, but took the reproach meant for us. Our consideration should not be for ourselves, but for our neighbor (everyone we come in contact with.) He asked the Roman Church community to be of one mind and voice in glorifying God. (Romans 15:1-6)

St. Paul cited the prophecies of the Old Testament to justify Christ’s receiving the Gentiles into the Christian faith. He used the same prophecies to explain why he, a Jew, also ministered to the Gentiles. He asked his fellow Jewish Christians to do the same. (Romans 15:7-21)

St. Paul then spoke of his future missionary plans. He had planned to visit Rome for many years. He said that he would stop in Rome on his way to visit Spain, but first he had to go to Jerusalem to provide relief for the poor members of the church there with the money he had raised in Macedonia and Achaia. These were Gentile Christians offering money to the Jewish Christians in Judea. He recognized that he would face great danger in Jerusalem by the hand of non-believing Jews. It should be noted that Jewish Christians in Jerusalem suffered greatly for their faith in Christ. They were in physical danger, they lost their jobs and families, and their businesses were boycotted. St. Paul asked for the Roman Christians’ prayers in carrying out this mission, so that he could then visit them afterwards. (Romans 15:22-33)

St. Paul ends the Letter to the Romans with a note of introduction to a number of people. One of these was Phoebe, a woman and deaconess from Cenchrea near Corinth. He asked the church to help her in any way. (Romans 16:1-2)

St. Paul asked that his greetings be given to his friends and fellow workers in Christ, Priscilla and Aquila. (Romans 16:3-5a) Priscilla and Aquila were among the Jews who were banished by Claudius from Rome and had subsequently moved to Corinth. They were tent makers, like St. Paul. When Paul left Corinth and went to Ephesus, they accompanied him. There they established a church in their house. Finally, they moved back to Rome after the death of Claudius.

St. Paul completes his letter by sending over 25 greetings; many of those greeted were women. Some of these may have served in the emperor’s palace as slaves. (Romans 16:5b-16)

Lastly, St. Paul warns against false teachers. These teachers sow division and false doctrines. He described these teachers as self-serving not Christ serving. He asked members of the church to beware of seductive deceivers. (Romans 16:17-20) St. Paul concluded the letter to the Romans with a note that the Gospel to the Gentiles was revealed in prophetic scriptures long ago. St. Paul preached the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to them as promised, in hope that their submission would be born of faith in Jesus Christ. (Romans 16:25-27)

Discussion & Reflection

Q1: St. Paul opened Chapter 15 with a plea of unity and service to one another, saying even Christ did not please himself but took our reproach. Our church communities are often divided on multiple lines. How does Paul say our conduct toward one another should be?

A1: St. Paul said we should bear one another up. We should build up the faith of our brothers and sisters.He asked that the Christian community speak with one voice and be united.

Q2: St. Paul quoted scripture to justify to Jewish Christians his ministry to the Gentiles. Do you think he was effective in his ministry?

A2: St. Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles. Using scripture, he demonstrated a strong justification for adding the Gentiles to the Church. For this he is credited above others for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the rest of the world.

Q3: St. Paul spoke of his future missionary plans. He planned in the future to visit Spain, stopping in Rome on the way. But first, he planned to visit Jerusalem to take aid to the suffering Christians there. What did St. Paul’s charitable mission demonstrate to us?

A3: We should be mindful of the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ no matter where they are. We should contribute to missions and churches in need in disaster areas. Our vision should be global not just parochial.

Q4: St. Paul kept in contact with friends throughout the world through his letters. How important is it to maintain our Christian friendships and relationships?

A4: St. Paul grew the Church with epistles (letters to churches and his friends, and supporters). It is much easier today to communicate with one another. It is important that we keep the lines of communication open to build up one another’s faith and the Church.

Resources

  • Orthodox Study Bible: Epistle to the Romans
  • Podcast: "The Whole Counsel of God" Romans, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14 by Fr. Stephen De Young (www.antientfaith.org/podcasts/wholecounsel)

Church Wisdom

Apolytikion of St. Paul (Tone 4)
We venerate thee with gladness, O preacher of the Gentiles and thrice great star,
teacher of the Athenians and splendor of the world.
We honor thy struggles and tortures suffered on behalf of Christ, and thy sacred
martyrdom.
O Holy Apostle Paul, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Meditation & Activity

Family Activity
Materials: several wooden building blocks, small post-it notes
Write the name of one of the Fruits of the Spirit on a post-it and place it on a block.
Repeat for all fruits. Using all the wooden blocks, build a structure, making sure to incorporate the labeled blocks.
Discuss as a family or journal individually, reflecting on how Christ asks that we build each other up. How do these fruits help build up the Body of Christ?

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The Back Page

Parish Shared Folder (for all documents, bulletins etc) - http://bit.ly/St-Alexis

The QR Code here may be used as well.

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Parish Web Site - http://www.stalexischurch.org ; calendar (https://bit.ly/StA-Calendar)

Facebook - @stalexisorthodox

Youtube Channelhttps://bit.ly/StA_Youtube

Join Zoom Meeting - http://bit.ly/St_Alexis_Zoom

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Bulletin Inserts

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