ORTHROS/MATINS 8:30AM
DIVINE LITURGY 9:30AM
ORTHROS BEGINS AT 8:30AM & THE DIVINE LITURGY BEGINS AT 9:30AM
Website Links: Visit the church's website at www.stgeorgeclifton.org for our online streaming links.
To find the prayers for each service and to follow along, visit the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s Digital Chant Stand at https://digitalchantstand.goarch.org.
WE WELCOME EVERYONE TO OUR CHURCH COMMUNITY!
We are grateful that you have joined us for prayer and worship. Please join us after the Divine Services in our Fellowship Hall for our Hospitality Hour sponsored by the Sandukos family in memory of their beloved family member.
Memorial Services Today For:
Konstantinos Patiniotis – 1 year
Theoni Argiris – 2 years Elias Argiris – 4 years
Demetrios Sandukos – 10 years
May their memory be eternal.
The Artoclasia Service today is offered by the families of Anna Protopapas and Mike & Anna Sakellakis.
Liturgical Schedule:
Monday, December 9th – The Conception by St. Anna of the Most Holy Theotokos ………………Orthros & Divine Liturgy 8:30AM
Thursday, December 12th – St. Spyridon the Wonderworker………..Orthros & Div. Lit. 8:30AM
The Sacrament of Holy Confession:
When an Orthodox Christian repents & comes to Holy Confession, God grants forgiveness of sins and help in the struggle against sin, the passions and the influences of the evil one. We have a printed booklet with useful information which helps the faithful better prepare for the Sacrament of Holy Confession. The booklet is free and available for everyone who wishes to use it. Pick up your copy today from the table outside the Church office. To make an appointment for confession call Fr. Peter directly on his cell, 973-650-9717.
Holy Communion Line:
We remind everyone that the Communion line is to be formed in the center aisle, and once you receive, depart to the right or to the left to return to your seat. When Sunday School is in session, children and their teachers will come up first. Infants may be brought up to the front of the line at any time. Please remain in place, (you may sit if you need to), and enter the center aisle once the Parish Council members indicate that it is time for people in your pew to come up. While you are waiting, you may read the prayers for before Holy Communion on page 76. Once you return to your seat, please read the thanksgiving prayers for after Holy Communion on page 90. This is one of the most sacred moments of the service, so please treat it accordingly, refrain from talking and be respectful and prayerful. Also, please wipe any excess lipstick from your lips before coming to the Holy Chalice and no chewing gum during services. Thank you.
Mark Your Calendar:
Sunday, December 8th ………………Parish Council Elections Deadline for St. George Community Christmas Card Sign-up
Sunday, December 8th & 15th ………Daughters of Penelope Christmas Money Tree Raffle
Tuesday, December 10th ……………Senior Citizens Luncheon – 12:00PM
Saturday, December 14th…………..Metropolis of NJ Annual Christmas Concert at Kimisis Tis Theotokou, Holmdel, NJ – 6:00PM
Friday, December 20th …………........Metropolis of NJ Annual Christmas Tree Lighting & Open House in Westfield, NJ – 6:00PM
Sunday, December 22nd……………..Sunday School Christmas Pageant Greek School Hosts Christmas Brunch
Dec. 23rd – Dec. 26th ………………...Church Office Closed
Monday, January 6th …………………Metropolis of NJ Annual Epiphany Celebration & Blessing of the Waters at Molos Restaurant, Weehawken, NJ at 2:00PM
Monday, January 13, 2025………….10th Anniversary Gala in Honor of the Episcopal Ordination of His Eminence Metropolitan Apostolos of NJ at the Venetian in Garfield, NJ
Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025……………..Apokriatiko “Greek-Steak” Glendi in our Fellowship Hall
May 30th, 31st & June 1st 2025…….Greek Festival
Sunday School Christmas Pageant:
The holiday season is quickly approaching. Our annual Sunday School Christmas Pageant will be held on Sunday, December 22nd and it will take place in church upon completion of the Divine Liturgy. Everyone is welcome to participate and bring a friend! A SignUpGenius email was sent to all of our registered Sunday School families. Be sure to sign up your children. Thank you!
Orthodox Faith Orientation Classes:
Classes on Orthodoxy are ongoing. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact the church office at 973.779.2626 or [email protected]. Classes are on Thursdays at 7:00 pm. We are currently studying the Holy Trinity and the next class is on Thursday, December 12th.
Nativity Fast:
We are currently in the Nativity Fast, a time of almsgiving, fasting and prayer. This also is a time to recommit to worship, engage with our families, practice forgiveness, partake in the Sacraments of Confession & Holy Communion and act upon the needs of our less fortunate brothers & sisters.
‘Tis the Season for the Angel Tree!
Once again, Sunday School is sponsoring the Angel Giving Tree. This year’s collection will again benefit two groups! Parishioners are invited to select a red or green Angel from our Christmas Tree and return a wrapped gift for the families helped by The Manifesting Miracles in the World group in Passaic. Parishioners can also select an angel and return an unwrapped gift that will be mailed to orphans ranging in age from infant to 21 years old by Warm the Children. All gifts should be returned no later than Sunday, December 15th. We thank all of you for your generosity during this joyous season!
IOCC Christmas Ornaments/Cards:
Our Sunday School children will be creating beautiful IOCC Christmas tree ornaments and cards. These very special ornaments and cards will be offered for sale to the community for $5.00 each. All money raised will go directly to the IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities.) As part of this project our students learned about the important work that the IOCC does in our country and around the world. Please support this worthwhile project and help us teach our children to think of others.
Feast Day Flower and Icon Donations:
During the Ecclesiastical year, our Church comes alive with many Liturgical services. It is customary in our faith to decorate icons used during special Feast Day services with flowers. We encourage our parishioners to offer this special donation as a unique and appropriate way to remember departed friends and relatives, as well as an expression of love on behalf of their family and prayers for their loved ones. Donations are now being accepted for:
19 (24) Christmas Poinsettia Plants - $30 each
St. George Sr. Citizen Fellowship Ministry:
We welcome all Seniors (55 & over) to this fun and meaningful ministry of St. George. At our next gathering on December 10th at 12 noon, a light luncheon will be offered here at the church. We look forward to seeing you. Please call the church office for more information.
Stewardship Report:
We invite you and your family to participate in our spiritual, outreach, social and youth ministries. For those that have never given an annual gift, we need your help. Our community has nearly $40K in monthly expenses and the annual stewardship is the primary program that raises funds for us to meet our obligations. You can make a difference today with your participation. We understand that philanthropy is something very personal. Each person is invited to give according to their ability. If you are able, please consider joining one of the following giving levels this year: ($5,000 or more – Grand Benefactors, $2500 – $4,999 – Benefactors, $1,200 – $2,499 – House of Stewards, $800 – $1,199 – Patrons). Of course, whatever you decide to give please know that you have our utmost gratitude and appreciation, and please know our Church is here to serve your each and every need. The important thing to keep in mind is that we need everyone to do something. Sincere thanks to those who have already made their Stewardship Commitment for 2024!
This Saint was from the Thebaid of Egypt and struggled many years in the wilderness. He departed for Constantinople, and having performed many miracles and healings, he reposed in peace in a mountain cave on the Gulf of Corinth, where his holy relics are found incorrupt to the present day.
According to the ancient tradition of the Church, since Saint Anna, the Ancestor of God, was barren, she and her husband Joachim remained without children until old age. Therefore, sorrowing over their childlessness, they besought God with a promise that, if He were to grant them the fruit of the womb, they would offer their offspring to Him as a gift. And God, hearkening to their supplication, informed them through an Angel concerning the birth of the Virgin. And thus, through God's promise, Anna conceived according to the laws of nature, and was deemed worthy to become the mother of the Mother of our Lord (see also Sept. 8).
Spyridon, the God-bearing Father of the Church, the great defender of Corfu and the boast of all the Orthodox, had Cyprus as his homeland. He was simple in manner and humble of heart, and was a shepherd of sheep. When he was joined to a wife, he begat of her a daughter whom they named Irene. After his wife's departure from this life, he was appointed Bishop of Trimythus, and thus he became also a shepherd of rational sheep. When the First Ecumenical Council was assembled in Nicaea, he also was present, and by means of his most simple words stopped the mouths of the Arians who were wise in their own conceit. By the divine grace which dwelt in him, he wrought such great wonders that he received the surname 'Wonderworker." So it is that, having tended his flock piously and in a manner pleasing to God, he reposed in the Lord about the year 350, leaving to his country his sacred relics as a consolation and source of healing for the faithful.
About the middle of the seventh century, because of the incursions made by the barbarians at that time, his sacred relics were taken to Constantinople, where they remained, being honoured by the emperors themselves. But before the fall of Constantinople, which took place on May 29, 1453, a certain priest named George Kalokhairetes, the parish priest of the church where the Saint's sacred relics, as well as those of Saint Theodora the Empress, were kept, took them away on account of the impending peril. Travelling by way of Serbia, he came as far as Arta in Epirus, a region in Western Greece opposite to the isle of Corfu. From there, while the misfortunes of the Christian people were increasing with every day, he passed over to Corfu about the year 1460. The relics of Saint Theodora were given to the people of Corfu; but those of Saint Spyridon remain to this day, according to the rights of inheritance, the most precious treasure of the priest's own descendants, and they continue to be a staff for the faithful in Orthodoxy, and a supernatural wonder for those that behold him; for even after the passage of 1,500 years, they have remained incorrupt, and even the flexibility of his flesh has been preserved. Truly wondrous is God in His Saints! (Ps. 67:3 5)
Saint Herman (his name is a variant of Germanus) was born near Moscow in 1756. In his youth he became a monk, first at the Saint Sergius Hermitage near Saint Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland; while he dwelt there, the most holy Mother of God appeared to him, healing him of a grave malady. Afterwards he entered Valaam Monastery on Valiant Island in Lake Ladoga; he often withdrew into the wilderness to pray for days at a time. In 1794, answering a call for missionaries to preach the Gospel to the Aleuts, he came to the New World with the first Orthodox mission to Alaska. He settled on Spruce Island, which he called New Valaam, and here he persevered, even in the face of many grievous afflictions mostly at the hands of his own countrymen in the loving service of God and of his neighbour. Besides his many toils for the sake of the Aleuts, he subdued his flesh with great asceticism, wearing chains, sleeping little, fasting and praying much. He brought many people to Christ by the example of his life, his teaching, and his kindness and sanctity, and was granted the grace of working miracles and of prophetic insight. Since he was not a priest, Angels descended at Theophany to bless the waters in the bay; Saint Herman used this holy water to heal the sick. Because of his unwearying missionary labours, which were crowned by God with the salvation of countless souls, he is called the Enlightener of the Aleuts, and has likewise been renowned as a wonderworker since his repose in 1837.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Cross Press
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Greek Standard Text
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Greek Standard Text
Second Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Mark 16:1-8
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back - it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, He is not here; see the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him, as He told you." And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Second Orthros Gospel
Κατὰ Μᾶρκον 16:1-8
Διαγενομένου τοῦ Σαββάτου, Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ καὶ Μαρία ἡ τοῦ Ἰακώβου καὶ Σαλώμη ἠγόρασαν ἀρώματα, ἵνα ἐλθοῦσαι ἀλείψωσιν τὸν Ἰησοῦν. Καὶ λίαν πρωῒ τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων ἔρχονται ἐπὶ τὸ μνημεῖον ἀνατείλαντος τοῦ ἡλίου. Καὶ ἔλεγον πρὸς ἑαυτάς· Τίς ἀποκυλίσει ἡμῖν τὸν λίθον ἐκ τῆς θύρας τοῦ μνημείου; καὶ ἀναβλέψασαι θεωροῦσιν ὅτι ἀποκεκύλισται ὁ λίθος· ἦν γὰρ μέγας σφόδρα. Καὶ εἰσελθοῦσαι εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον, εἶδον νεανίσκον καθήμενον ἐν τοῖς δεξιοῖς, περιβεβλημένον στολήν λευκήν, καὶ ἐξεθαμβήθησαν· ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐταῖς· Μὴ ἐκθαμβεῖσθε, Ἰησοῦν ζητεῖτε τὸν Ναζαρηνὸν τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον, ἠγέρθη, οὐκ ἔστιν ᾧδε· ἴδε, ὁ τόπος ὅπου ἔθηκαν αὐτόν, ἀλλ' ὑπάγετε, εἴπατε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ Πέτρῳ, ὅτι προάγει ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν· ἐκεῖ αὐτὸν ὄψεσθε, καθὼς εἶπεν ὑμῖν. Καὶ ἐξελθοῦσαι ταχὺ ἔφυγον ἀπὸ τοῦ μνημείου, εἶχε δὲ αὐτὰς τρόμος καὶ ἔκστασις, καὶ οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν εἶπον· ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ.
Prokeimenon. Grave Mode. Psalm 28.11,1.
The Lord will give strength to his people.
Verse: Bring to the Lord, O sons of God, bring to the Lord honor and glory.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter 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.
Προκείμενον. Grave Mode. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 28.11,1.
Κύριος ἰσχὺν τῷ λαῷ αὐτοῦ δώσει.
Στίχ. Ἐνέγκατε τῷ Κυρίῳ υἱοὶ Θεοῦ, ἐνέγκατε τῷ Κυρίῳ δόξαν καὶ τιμήν.
τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πρὸς Ἐφεσίους 2:14-22.
Ἀδελφοί, Χριστός ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη ἡμῶν, ὁ ποιήσας τὰ ἀμφότερα ἕν, καὶ τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσας, τήν ἔχθραν ἐν τῇ σαρκί αὐτοῦ, τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐν δόγμασιν, καταργήσας· ἵνα τοὺς δύο κτίσῃ ἐν ἑαὐτῷ εἰς ἕνα καινὸν ἄνθρωπον, ποιῶν εἰρήνην, καὶ ἀποκαταλλάξῃ τοὺς ἀμφοτέρους ἐν ἑνὶ σώματι τῷ θεῷ διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ, ἀποκτείνας τὴν ἔχθραν ἐν αὐτῷ· καὶ ἐλθὼν εὐηγγελίσατο εἰρήνην ὑμῖν τοῖς μακρὰν καὶ τοῖς ἐγγύς· ὅτι διʼ αὐτοῦ ἔχομεν τὴν προσαγωγὴν οἱ ἀμφότεροι ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα. Ἄρα οὖν οὐκέτι ἐστὲ ξένοι καὶ πάροικοι, ἀλλὰ συμπολῖται τῶν ἁγίων καὶ οἰκεῖοι τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐποικοδομηθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν, ὄντος ἀκρογωνιαίου αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐν ᾧ πᾶσα οἰκοδομὴ συναρμολογουμένη αὔξει εἰς ναὸν ἅγιον ἐν κυρίῳ, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὑμεῖς συνοικοδομεῖσθε εἰς κατοικητήριον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν πνεύματι.
10th Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 13:10-17
At that time, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity." And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the sabbath day." Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" As he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
10th Sunday of Luke
Κατὰ Λουκᾶν 13:10-17
Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ῏Ην δὲ διδάσκων ἐν μιᾷ τῶν συναγωγῶν ἐν τοῖς σάββασι. καὶ ἰδοὺ γυνὴ ἦν πνεῦμα ἔχουσα ἀσθενείας ἔτη δέκα καὶ ὀκτώ, καὶ ἦν συγκύπτουσα καὶ μὴ δυναμένη ἀνακῦψαι εἰς τὸ παντελές. ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὴν ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς προσεφώνησε καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ· γύναι, ἀπολέλυσαι τῆς ἀσθενείας σου· καὶ ἐπέθηκεν αὐτῇ τὰς χεῖρας· καὶ παραχρῆμα ἀνωρθώθη καὶ ἐδόξαζε τὸν Θεόν. ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἀρχισυνάγωγος, ἀγανακτῶν ὅτι τῷ σαββάτῳ ἐθεράπευσεν ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς, ἔλεγε τῷ ὄχλῳ· ἓξ ἡμέραι εἰσὶν ἐν αἷς δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι· ἐν ταύταις οὖν ἐρχόμενοι θεραπεύεσθε, καὶ μὴ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου. ἀπεκρίθη οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ Κύριος καὶ εἶπεν· ὑποκριτά, ἕκαστος ὑμῶν τῷ σαββάτῳ οὐ λύει τὸν βοῦν αὐτοῦ ἢ τὸν ὄνον ἀπὸ τῆς φάτνης καὶ ἀπαγαγὼν ποτίζει; ταύτην δέ, θυγατέρα ᾿Αβραὰμ οὖσαν, ἣν ἔδησεν ὁ σατανᾶς ἰδοὺ δέκα καὶ ὀκτὼ ἔτη, οὐκ ἔδει λυθῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ δεσμοῦ τούτου τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου; καὶ ταῦτα λέγοντος αὐτοῦ κατῃσχύνοντο πάντες οἱ ἀντικείμενοι αὐτῷ, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ἔχαιρεν ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἐνδόξοις τοῖς γινομένοις ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ.
Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 6:00PM at Kimisis tis Theotokou, Holmdel, NJ.
Friday, December 20, 2024 at the Metropolis Headquarters in Westfield, NJ at 6:00PM.
Come worship with us!
Place your orders by December 15, 2024.
Orders need to be placed by December 15, 2024 and pick-up will be on December 22, 2024.
Please donate new or clean coats and blankets for the less fortunate.
Thursday, January 2, 2025 at 6:30PM at St. George in Piscataway.
For more information on Bishop Themi and his Mission please visit: Videos: vimeo.com/30911645 YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=YOQqHBKgZT0 Website: www.paradise4kids.org
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Daily Morning Prayer