DECEMBER LECTURE SERIES: OUR SAINTS

We are excited to introduce Father Samaras' “Zoom Lectures” for December - All About Our Saints

Join us Tuesdays @ 8pm for the month of December.

Tuesday, December 13   8pm

Tuesday, December 20   8pm

Tuesday, December 27   8pm

ZOOM LINK: https://hbc.zoom.us/j/7281157184 

Meeting ID: 728 115 7184 

Or Phone In: 1-646-931-3860 

Nancy Kalos and family honor the 11 Year Memorial of her husband John Kalos.

Diana and Alex Kalos and family honor the 40 Day Memorial of her father Cheuk Wang Ng.

Thank you to the Kalos family for generously sponsoring this Sunday's Coffee Hour.

His Eminence invites all Parishioners to the Annual Christmas Open House at the Archdiocese to celebrate the joy of the Nativity of Christ together in song and fellowship.  

Wednesday, December 21, 2022 (4pm - 7pm)

Kick off the New Year and celebrate our patron Saint John with a dinner at Kellari.  All proceeds will go towards continuing our renovation efforts of the church. 

To reserve tickets, please email saintjohn.churchnyc@gmail.com or through the QR Code below.

 FATHER SAMARAS

ALWAYS A SPIRITUAL FOCUS FIRST 

Sunday, December 11^th, 2022

Dearest Parish Families, 

We had a wonderful week this past week, being able to spend some quality time on our Zoom program, discussing the advent of Saints and what they mean to both us and to God. As Saint Paul shares with us, all of us are called to be Saints, even if that may seem impossible. As long as we think about it, any effort we give can only bring us closer to God. This is our goal. This is our worship.

And gathered together, we had about a dozen people joining in. For this coming Tuesday's presentation at 8 pm, I invite everyone to bring questions so we may present a good dialogue.  See if we can get more people to join us.

In other news, have you noticed that our December hymns have now turned to sing about the birth of Jesus Christ.  This becomes our advent and our celebration of life and salvation.

Look at these Saints we are celebrating this Sunday, listed below. Immediately, we can see several questions, which I'll be happy to address in our Sermon. I'm excited to see if you can find the questions.

Again, my gratitude to all of you who help our Church, chant in it, and give us a warm, hospitable home of welcome. See you always. 

Father Samaras 

On December 11th, we commemorate our devout father Daniel the Stylite; our devout father Luke the new Stylite; the holy martyrs Acepsimas and Aeithalas; the contest of the holy martyr Barsabas; the holy martyrs Terence, Vincent, Aimilianos, and Bebaia. Today is also the Sunday of the holy Forefathers.

Συναξάριον Τοῦ Μηναίου. Τῇ ΙΑʹ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μηνὸς μνήμη τοῦ ὁσίου Πατρὸς ἡμῶν Δανιὴλ τοῦ Στυλίτου. Τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ μνήμη τοῦ ὁσίου Πατρὸς ¨ημῶν Λουκᾶ, τοῦ νέου Στυλίτου. Τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ μνήμη τῶν ἁγίων Μαρτύρων Ἀκεψεῆ καὶ Ἀειθαλᾶ. Τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ μνήμη Μείρακός τινος, καὶ διήγησις πάνυ ὠφέλιμος. Τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἄθλησις τοῦ ἁγίου Μάρτυρος Βαρσαβᾶ. Καί, τῶν ἁγίων Μαρτύρων Τερεντίου, Βικεντίου, Αἰμιλιανοῦ, καὶ Βεβαίας. Τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ Κυριακὴ τῶν ἁγίων Προπατόρων.

The Epistle                  Sunday For the Forefathers

Blessed are You, O Lord God of our fathers.

For You are righteous in all You did for us.

The reading is from Saint Paul's Letter to the Colossians 3:4-11

Brethren, when Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. In these you once walked, when you lived in them.

But now put them all away; anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.

The Gospel                  Sunday For the Forefathers

The reading is from the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke 14:16-24

The Lord said this parable: "A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; and at the time of the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come; for all is now ready.'

But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused.' And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'

So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.'

And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and there is still room.'

And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet. For many are called, but few are chosen.'"

Ὁ Ἀπόστολος                          Κυριακὴ Τῶν Προπατόρων

Εὐλογητὸς εἶ Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν.

Ὅτι δίκαιος εἶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν, οἷς ἐποίησας ἡμῖν.

Πρὸς Κολασσαεῖς Ἐπιστολῆς Παύλου 3:4-11

Ἀδελφοί, ὅταν ὁ Χριστὸς φανερωθῇ, ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν, τότε καὶ ὑμεῖς σὺν αὐτῷ φανερωθήσεσθε ἐν δόξῃ. Νεκρώσατε οὖν τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, πορνείαν, ἀκαθαρσίαν, πάθος, ἐπιθυμίαν κακήν, καὶ τὴν πλεονεξίαν ἥτις ἐστὶν εἰδωλολατρία, διʼ ἃ ἔρχεται ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας· ἐν οἷς καὶ ὑμεῖς περιεπατήσατέ ποτε ὅτε ἐζῆτε ἐν αὐτοῖς. Νυνὶ δὲ ἀπόθεσθε καὶ ὑμεῖς τὰ πάντα, ὀργήν, θυμόν, κακίαν, βλασφημίαν, αἰσχρολογίαν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν· μὴ ψεύδεσθε εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἀπεκδυσάμενοι τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον σὺν ταῖς πράξεσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐνδυσάμενοι τὸν νέον τὸν ἀνακαινούμενον εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν κατʼ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτόν, ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ καὶ ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, ἐλεύθερος, ἀλλὰ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν πᾶσι Χριστός.

Τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον                        Κυριακὴ Τῶν Προπατόρων

Ἐκ τοῦ κατὰ Λουκᾶν ἁγίου Εὐαγγελίου ιδʹ 16-24

Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην· Ἄνθρωπός τις ἐποίησε δεῖπνον μέγα, καὶ ἐκάλεσε πολλούς· καὶ ἀπέστειλε τὸν δοῦλον αὐτοῦ τῇ ὥρᾳ τοῦ δείπνου εἰπεῖν τοῖς κεκλημένοις· ἔρχεσθε, ὅτι ἤδη ἕτοιμά ἐστι πάντα. καὶ ἤρξαντο ἀπὸ μιᾶς παραιτεῖσθαι πάντες, ὁ πρῶτος εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἀγρὸν ἠγόρασα, καὶ ἔχω ἀνάγκην ἐξελθεῖν καὶ ἰδεῖν αὐτόν· ἐρωτῷ σε, ἔχε με παρῃτημένον. καὶ ἕτερος εἶπε· ζεύγη βοῶν ἠγόρασα πέντε, καὶ πορεύομαι δοκιμάσαι αὐτά· ἐρωτῷ σε, ἔχε με παρῃτημένον. καὶ ἕτερος εἶπε· γυναῖκα ἔγημα, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐ δύναμαι ἐλθεῖν. καὶ παραγενόμενος ὁ δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος ἀπήγγειλε τῷ κυρίῳ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα. τότε ὀργισθεὶς ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης εἶπε τῷ δούλῳ αὐτοῦ· ἔξελθε ταχέως εἰς τὰς πλατείας καὶ ῥύμας τῆς πόλεως, καὶ τοὺς πτωχοὺς καὶ ἀναπήρους καὶ χωλοὺς καὶ τυφλοὺς εἰσάγαγε ὧδε. καὶ εἶπεν ὁ δοῦλος· κύριε, γέγονεν ὡς ἐπέταξας, καὶ ἔτι τόπος ἐστί. καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος πρὸς τὸν δοῦλον· Ἔξελθε εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς καὶ φραγμοὺς καὶ ἀνάγκασον εἰσελθεῖν, ἵνα γεμισθῇ ὁ οἶκός μου. λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων τῶν κεκλημένων γεύσεταί μου τοῦ δείπνου. Πολλοὶ γάρ εἰσι κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ εκλεκτοί.