September 17th - Thursday - Saint Sophia and her daughters Faith, Hope, and Charity (Love).
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
September 20th - Sunday after Holy Cross
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
September 26th - Saturday
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
Catechumens/inquirers - every Thursday at 6:30 pm
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85887423891
Although the historical accounts differ somewhat, the Deposition that is celebrated today took place most likely during the reign of Emperor Arcadius (395-408), when the precious Cincture of the Mother of God was brought from Zela of Cappadocia to Constantinople, and placed in the Church of the Theotokos in the section of Chalcopratia.
For the maintenance of their armed forces, the Roman emperors decreed that their subjects in every district should be taxed every year. This same decree was reissued every fifteen years, since the Roman soldiers were obliged to serve for fifteen years. At the end of each fifteen-year period, an assessment was made of what economic changes had taken place, and a new tax was decreed, which was to be paid over the span of the fifteen years. This imperial decree, which was issued before the season of winter, was named Indictio, that is, Definiton, or Order. This name was adopted by the emperors in Constantinople also. At other times, the latter also used the term Epinemisis, that is, Distribution (Dianome). It is commonly held that Saint Constantine the Great introduced the Indiction decrees in A.D. 312, after he beheld the sign of the Cross in heaven and vanquished Maxentius and was proclaimed Emperor in the West. Some, however (and this seems more likely), ascribe the institution of the Indiction to Augustus Caesar, three years before the birth of Christ. Those who hold this view offer as proof the papal bull issued in A.D. 781 which is dated thus: Anno IV, Indictionis LIII -that is, the fourth year of the fifty-third Indiction. From this, we can deduce the aforementioned year (3 B.C.) by multiplying the fifty-two complete Indictions by the number of years in each (15), and adding the three years of the fifty-third Indiction. There are three types of Indictions: 1) That which was introduced in the West, and which is called Imperial, or Caesarean, or Constantinian, and which begins on the 24th of September; 2) The so-called Papal Indiction, which begins on the 1st of January; and 3) The Constantinopolitan, which was adopted by the Patriarchs of that city after the fall of the Eastern Empire in 1453. This Indiction is indicated in their own hand on the decrees they issue, without the numeration of the fifteen years. This Indiction begins on the 1st of September and is observed with special ceremony in the Church. Since the completion of each year takes place, as it were, with the harvest and gathering of the crops into storehouses, and we begin anew from henceforth the sowing of seed in the earth for the production of future crops, September is considered the beginning of the New Year. The Church also keeps festival this day, beseeching God for fair weather, seasonable rains, and an abundance of the fruits of the earth. The Holy Scriptures (Lev. 23:24-5 and Num. 29:1-2) also testify that the people of Israel celebrated the feast of the Blowing of the Trumpets on this day, offering hymns of thanksgiving. In addition to all the aforesaid, on this feast we also commemorate our Saviour's entry into the synagogue in Nazareth, where He was given the book of the Prophet Esaias to read, and He opened it and found the place where it is written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for which cause He hath anointed Me..." (Luke 4:16-30).
It should be noted that to the present day, the Church has always celebrated the beginning of the New Year on September 1. This was the custom in Constantinople until its fall in 1453 and in Russia until the reign of Peter I. September 1 is still festively celebrated as the New Year at the Patriarchate of Constantinople; among the Jews also the New Year, although reckoned according to a moveable calendar, usually falls in September. The service of the Menaion for January 1 is for our Lord's Circumcision and for the memorial of Saint Basil the Great, without any mention of its being the beginning of a new year.
Saint Mammas was from Gangra of Paphlagonia. He was born in prison, where his parents were suffering for Christ's sake and ended their lives. He was named Mammas because, after he had long remained without speaking, he addressed his foster mother Ammia as "mamma." He contested for Christ about the year 275.
After the death of the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia, their Bishop Anthimus fled to a certain village to care for his remaining flock. The Emperor Maximian sent men in search of him. When they found him, he promised to show Anthimus to them, but first took them in as guests, fed them, and only then made himself known to them. Amazed at his kindness, the soldiers promised him to tell Maximian that they had not found him. But Anthimus went willingly with them, and converting them by his admonitions, baptized them on the way. He boldly confessed his Faith before Maximian, and after frightful tortures was beheaded in the year 303 or 304.
The Prophet Moses-whose name means "one who draws forth," or "is drawn from," that is, from the water-was the pinnacle of the lovers of wisdom, the supremely wise lawgiver, the most ancient historian of all. He was of the tribe of Levi, the son of Amram and Jochabed (Num. 26:59). He was born in Egypt in the seventeenth century before Christ. While yet a babe of three months, he was placed in a basket made of papyrus and covered with pitch, and cast into the streams of the Nile for fear of Pharaoh's decree to the mid-wives of the Hebrews, that all the male children of the Hebrews be put to death. He was taken up from the river by Pharaoh's daughter, became her adopted son, and was reared and dwelt in the King's palace for forty years. Afterward, when he was some sixty years old, he fled to Madian, where, on Mount Horeb, he saw the vision of the burning bush. Thus he was ordained by God to lead Israel and bring it out of the land of Egypt. He led Israel through the Red Sea as it were dry land and governed the people for forty years. He wrought many signs and wonders, and wrote the first five books of the Old Testament, which are called the Pentateuch. When he reached the land of Moab, he ascended Mount Nabau, on the peak called Phasga, and there, by divine command, he reposed in the sixteenth century before Christ, having lived for some 120 years. The first two Odes of the Old Testament, "Let us sing to the Lord" and "Attend, O heaven, and I will speak," were written by him. Of these hymns, the first was chanted by the shore of the Red Sea as soon as the Israelites had crossed it; the second, in the land of Moab, a few days before his repose. The Holy High Priest Aaron was the elder brother of the Holy Prophet Moses. He was appointed by God to serve as the spokesman of Moses before the people, and also before Pharaoh, in Egypt. Afterwards, in the wilderness, he was called to the ministry of the high priesthood, as narrated in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers in the Old Testament. The name Aaron means "enlightened."
According to the opinion of many Fathers of the Church, based on an ancient tradition, this is the Zacharias whom, as our Lord said, the Jews slew between the temple and the altar (Matt. 23:35), first, because even after the Virgin Mary gave birth, he continued to refer to her as virgin and number her among the virgins; second, because Zacharias' son John was not found during the slaughter of the Innocents, since the elderly Elizabeth had taken him and carefully hid him while he was yet an infant, in an unnamed place somewhere in the desert, where, according to the Evangelist, "the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel" (Luke 1:80). When the child was not found, his father was slain by Herod's command.
The feast today in honour of the Archangel Michael commemorates the great miracle he wrought when he delivered from destruction a church and holy spring named for him. The pagans, moved by malice, sought to destroy the aforesaid church and holy spring by turning the course of two rivers against them. But the Archangel appeared and, by means of the Cross and a great earthquake that shook the entire area, diverted the waters into an underground course. Henceforth, the name of that place changed from Colossae to Chonae, which means "funnels" in Greek.
Prokeimenon. Plagal First Mode. Psalm 11.7,1.
You, O Lord, shall keep us and preserve us.
Verse: Save me, O Lord, for the godly man has failed.
The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 1:21-24; 2:1-4.
Brethren, it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us; he has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
But I call God to witness against me - it was to spare you that I refrained from coming to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith; we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith. For I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For I wrote you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.
14th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 22:2-14
The Lord said this parable, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.' But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.' And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."
September 6th - 14th Sunday of Matthew
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
The Catechumen meeting on Thursday has been cancelled due to a conflicting Parish Council meeting.
All inquirers/Catechumens please send Fr. David your Name, E-mail address and cell phone number. This way we can communicate more effectively. Father David's updated email: [email protected]
September 12th - Saturday
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
September 20th - Sunday after Holy Cross
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
September 26th - Saturday
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
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October 3rd - Saturday
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
October 10th - Saturday
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
October 18th - Sunday of Luke the Evangelist
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
October 25th - 6th Sunday of Luke
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
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November 1st - 5th Sunday of Luke
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
November 8th - 7th Sunday of Luke
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
November 15th - 8th Sunday of Luke: Nativity Fast begins
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
November 22nd - 9th Sunday of Luke
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
November 28th - Saturday
Orthros 9am - Divine Liturgy 10am
Weekly Bible Class Zoom Meeting - every Thursday at 6:30 pm
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85887423891
Fr. David contact info - Confessions heard by appointment.
Text or call cell: 262-352-3346 E-mail: frdavidmoga@gmail
Bio: PART 2
During the service I thought how many times can these people say “Lord have mercy? ”. Afterwards, two founding members invited me down for a dinner and the talk on the Icons. Being Great Lent they served a lentil soup. Again, not knowing anything about Orthodoxy, my reactions were that these people were culinary inhibited. The first talk on the Icons was given on the Tranfiguration Icon. Never in my years of being a Catholic had I ever heard the depth of theology that is contained within that Icon. I was hooked, being amazed at the depth of theology found in Icons, expressing a view of Christianity that I had never known. In my heart I knew that I had “found the pearl of great price”, I knew that I had to become Orthodox. Linda was more hesitant. After all, she followed me from Lutheranism, into Catholicism and now Orthodoxy? But her heart also was searching for a Church where the Holy Spirit found real, true expression, and presence. After some months we gradually gave up our commitments to the Catholic Church as Eucharistic Ministers and Bible Study and began attending Divine Liturgy exclusively. Eventually I told Linda that I wished to become Orthodox, she agreed. I think at one time early on, she said “what are you getting us into now?”
Having fallen in love with the Orthodox Church, I wanted to be there all the time.The flexibility of my job afforded me the opportunity to attend many services, reading on Sundays and weekdays and eventually serving as a Acolyte at the Altar. The first time I served at the altar was an amazing experience being so close to the Heavenly Throne.
There was a program offered by the Antiochian Archdiocese called the St. Stephens Study Program. I wished to take it only to learn more about Orthodoxy. It was a course where we were given a list of books to read then we had exams to take each semester. Technically we were reading more than the seminarians had to read. We had to go to the Antiochian Village outside of Pittsburgh, once a year for a week, at the end of summer for in person classes.
My second year was tough in many ways. The studies were very demanding. Perhaps it was fear, but I really did not wish to attend the summer session. When arriving at the Village , I was very uncomfortable being among people were far more spiritually advanced than myself. I did not want to be there. In retrospect it was most likely spiritual harassment. I was assigned a single room, which was very unusual. That night I was weeping in my bed wondering why I was even there, I planned on leaving the next morning. By His Grace there was an Icon of the Theotokos in that room, as I wept, the Theotokos spoke to my heart “Dave do you think that I knew what I was getting into when I said ‘yes?’ An image overcame me of a leaf on a smooth river with the the leaf was being carried along the by river , peaceful yet moving steadily underneath, along to somewhere unknown. After that I knew that I was supposed to be there, despite my desire to leave.
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PART 1
To the readers: This is not meant to be an ego trip for me, but a rather poor example of how if we live with God things can happen. From my very earliest memories I was always drawn by the Mystery of God, despite my “youth of many passions”. Forgive me if at anytime of this reading you are offended, for being the first among sinners, I remain a weak sinful man.
Born and raised in an active Roman Catholic family in St. Francis Wisconsin. Serving as an altar boy we had to learn the Latin for Mass which later helped me in learning Spanish. Our neighbors had a private exchange student and we became close friends. He invited me to his country and after grade school graduation (I was 13) traveled to Venezuela by myself, to spend the summer there, returning again 3 years later again for the summer. Linda and I had our first formal date on October 19, 1969 and have been together ever since. None of my story could be written without her, as she has been my best friend, a loving critic in all our life together. We both attended UW-Whitewater she in Phy Ed as a teacher, me as a double major in Spanish and Latin American Studies. In sophomore year I was an exchange student at Grambling College in Louisiana. Everyone was talking about the Civil Rights Movement so it was an opportunity to live it. When in a very rural setting of Louisiana being one out of 18 whites in a college of four thousand primarily black students, you learn to see things differently. Linda giving up her Lutheran Heritage became Catholic. We were married in the Catholic Church, March 1st, 1975. Our daughter was born a month early later that year in October. No, she was conceived after our marriage and because the insurance did not kick in until the day after she was born it took us four years “to pay her off”. Our son was born two years later, and Linda almost died during an emergency C-section. We were active members of the same Catholic Church where I had grown up. Linda and I were among the first to be trained as Eucharistic Ministers in the Milwaukee area. Eventually we moved to Grafton, then to the Town of Cedarburg where we reside today. We attended the Catholic Church in Mequon and I taught Bible Studies for almost 18 years there. The Orthodox Study Bible came out and I began to use it in my classes as the footnotes were excellent. It was also during this time that Icons became a topic in the media and St. Nicholas Church in Cedarburg was offering a class on the meaning of Icons. Wishing to learn more I attended. It was the first Pre-sanctified Liturgy of Great Lent. Entering the Church I saw the Icons of Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist and St. Nicholas and others, my reaction was “my friends are still here!” In the Catholic Churches we no longer had the saints around the Church as we once did, so this was both shocking and welcoming to me. PART 2 next week
Updated: new date for the gyro fry is Sept. 19th
Mark your calendars! The church is bringing back its famous Gyro Fry on Saturday, September 19th, from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM right here on church grounds.
Two shifts will be 8am - 1pm and 1pm - 6pm but we will accept help anytime!
Please see the sign up sheet in the community room (downstairs) in the church to sign up.
There is also this sign up genius below to volunteer.
Sign Up Genius for gyro fry shifts (opens in new window)
We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help make this event a success—setup will begin at 8 AM. Whether you can lend a hand for a few hours or stay for the day, come out to enjoy great food, wonderful fellowship, and plenty of fun with our church community!
Save the date! The church will be holding a Rummage Sale on Saturday, October 17th.
This is our initial announcement, so stay tuned—specific hours, donation drop-off times, and details on how you can participate or volunteer will be shared in the coming weeks. For now, mark your calendars and start setting aside any items you’d like to donate!
We invite parishoners to bring any items they have to the church to donate!
