Holy anargyroi Orthodox Church (GOA)

703 W. Center Street, Rochester, MN (507) 282-1529 http://www.rochesterorthodoxchurch.org

frmark@rochesterorthodoxchurch.org Rev. Fr. Mark Muoz, Proistamenos

/APOLYTIKIA FOR TODAY

, , , , , . The joyful news of your resurrection was told to the women disciples of the Lord by the angel. And throwing off the ancestral curse, they boastingly told the Apostles: death has been vanquished, Christ our God is risen, bestowing great mercy on the world.
, , , , , , , , . O Christ our God, begging forgiveness of our sins, we venerate Your Pure Icon, O Good One. Of your own will you condescended to ascend upon the Cross in the flesh and deliver those You created from the bondage of the enemy. Wherefore, thankfully, we cry out, "When You came to save the world, Your filled all things with joy, O Our Savior. /KONTAKION FOR TODAY Ti ypermacho stratigo ta nikitiria, os lytrotheisa ton deinon efharistia, anagrafo si e polis sou Theotoke, allos ehousa to kratos aprosmahiton, ek pantinon me kyndinon eletheroson, ina krazo si, Here nymfi anymfefte. O Champion Leader, we your faithful inscribe to you the prize of victory as gratitude for being rescued from calamity, O Theotokos. But since you have invincible power, free us from all kinds of perils so that we may cry out to you: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded.

1st Sunday of the FAST: Triumph of Orthodoxy (Liturgy of St. Basil the Great)
Holy 40 Martyrs of Sebasteia March 9th, 2014

TODAYS SCRIPTURE READINGS

EPISTLE READING

St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 12:1-10

Prokeimenon. Mode 4. Daniel 3.26,27 Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers. Verse: For you are just in all you have done.

BRETHREN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father.
GOSPEL READING

John 1:43-51 At that time, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and he said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these." And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Liturgical/Program Schedule:
Sun. March 9th: Oratorical Festival Mon. March 10th: Great Compline, 6pm Wed. March 12th: Presanctified Liturgy, Lenten Potluck following, 6pm Wed. March 12th: GOYA Faith Night after Presanctified Thurs. March 13th: JOY Faith Night, 4:40pm (time change!) Thurs. March 13th: Great Compline, 6pm Fri. March 14th: Akathist Hymn, 6pm
Sunday of Orthodoxy: Today there will be no catechetical classes to allow the children to participate in the procession with the holy icons. Cheesefare Fundraiser for Hellenic College Holy Cross School of Theology: Last Sunday, the proceeds of our fundraiser came to $1,000 for the college! This is the highest amount, more than double, that we ever raised for HC/HC. Thank you to Maria Thomas whose guidance and planning of the preparations and baking right down to every single detail made the event a reality for us. Thank you to Denise and Johnny Mangouras for the donation of cheesecakes. Thank you to the sponsors Penny and Ari Kolas and Elaine and Don Jenkins who split the cost of the ingredients so we could send a bigger check to HC/HC. Thank you to the many parishioners who gave extra (totaling over $200) and thank you to all the Philoptochos members who donated their time to prepare the meal, and set up and clean the hall. GOYA Icon Raffle: our GOYANS are planning another major outreach mission this summer to Navajo Nation in New Mexico this June. To help raise funds for their mission they will be raffling off a beautiful diptych icon with the Theotokos and Christ. Each ticket is $10 and the drawing will be on TODAY. Holy Week Liturgical Books: We have ordered several copies of the official Holy Week Book endorsed by our Metropolis. This comprehensive book, compiled by Fr. Pappadeas, will be used exclusively for all the liturgical celebrations from Palm Sunday evening through the Agapi Vespers on Pascha. Each book is $25, and are now available! Only those Orthodox Christians in good standing are encouraged to receive Holy Communion frequently, provided they have prepared themselves spiritually, mentally, and physically. They should be on time for the Divine Liturgy and be in a Christ-like, humble state of mind. They should be in a confession relationship with their priest or spiritual father, have observed the fasting regulations, and they should have self-examined their conscience. On the day of receiving Holy Communion it is not proper to eat or drink anything before coming to church. When you approach the holy chalice state your baptismal name, and hold the red communion cloth to your chin. After receiving wipe your lips on the cloth, step back carefully, hand the cloth to the next person and make the sign the of the cross as you step away. Please do not be in a rush while communing.
WITH THE FEAR OF GOD, FAITH, AND LOVE DRAW NEAR:

Todays liturgical commemorations

The Holy Forty Martyrs of Sabastea All of them were soldiers in the Roman army and steadfastly believed in the Lord Jesus. When the persecution of Christians began during the reign of Licinius, they were brought to trial before the commander. When he threatened to strip them of their honor as soldiers, one of them, St. Candidus, responded, "Not only the honor of being a soldier, but take away our bodies, for nothing is more dear or honorable, to us than Christ our God." After that, the commander ordered his servants to stone the holy martyrs. While the servants were hurling stones at the Christians, the stones turned and fell back on the servants, severely striking them. One of the stones struck the commander's face and knocked out his teeth. The torturers, angry as wild beasts, bound all of the holy martyrs and tossed them into the lake and stationed a guard around it so as to prevent any of them from escaping. There was a terrible frost and the lake froze around the bodies of the martyrs. So that their pain and suffering would be worsened, and in order to persuade one of them to deny Christ and acknowledge the idols of Rome, the torturers heated a bath by the side of the lake in sight of the frozen martyrs. Indeed, one of them was persuaded. He came out of the water and entered the bath. And behold, an extraordinary light appeared from heaven which warmed the water in the lake and the bodies of the martyrs. With that light, thirty-nine wreaths descended from heaven over their heads. Upon seeing this, a guard on the shore removed all his clothes, confessed the Name of the Lord Jesus and entered the lake so that he could become worthy of the fortieth wreath in place of the betrayer. Indeed, the last wreath descended upon him. The next day the entire town was astonished when they saw that the martyrs were still alive. Then, the wicked judges ordered that the lower part of their legs be broken and their bodies thrown into the water so Christians could not recover them. On the third day the martyrs appeared to Peter, the local bishop, and summoned him to gather their relics and remove them from the water The bishop with his clergy went out into the dark of night and beheld the relics of the martyrs shining brightly in the water. Every bone which was separated from their bodies floated to the top and glowed like a candle. Bishop Peter gathered and honorably buried them. The souls of these martyrs, who suffered for all of us, went to the Lord Jesus, resurrected with glory. They suffered honorably and were crowned with unfading glory in the year 320 A.D. The Venerable Filomorus He lived and mortified himself in Galatia in the fourth century. It is said about him that he was so perfected in all virtues that he resembled an angel rather than a man. He was especially glorified because of his patience. He was persecuted by the Emperor Julian the Apostate and suffered much for Christ. After the death of Julian,this wicked persecutor of Christ, St. Filomorus lived peacefully, benefiting many. He died in his eightieth year.

The Sunday School have received their coin boxes to help raise money for the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (www.ocmc.org). The money the children and teens collect will go towards the mission work of our Orthodox missionaries around the world. Currently there are about 18 brave American men and women who are in countries such as Albania, Guatemala, Mongolia, Tanzania, Moldova and Romania representing and teaching our Orthodox faith. A few of the programs they help operate are medical clinics, schools, camps, soup kitchens, and addiction support groups. Please talk to your child about the importance of praying for and raising money for others and also encourage them to earn coins. In the past four years our Holy Anargyroi parish has sent a slow but steady increase of donations from year to year towards the Mission Coin Box project. On behalf of our hard working missionaries, thank you!
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2014 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival

This year our Parish Oratorical Festival will take place during coffee hour on TODAY. All children are asked to participate in this event; registration forms are available from Presbytera Michelle. The categories include speech, essay, poem, and iconography. Although all categories are welcome this year we are emphasizing speeches. Parents and/or Catechetical Teachers can assist children with their projects. There are several different themes for each division. Divisions include Elementary (preschool-6th grade), Junior (7th-9th grades), and Senior (10th-12th grades). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Panagias Icon
One of the most beloved Lenten services is the Salutations to the Holy Theotokos which are chanted every Friday night during the Fast. It is customary to honor her by decorating her icon with flowers which is then placed on the solea. Five services will be chanted with a decorated icon at each service. The cost for each icon is approximately $75, any individuals/families who would like to donate to help defray the cost please see Fr. Mark. Thank you in advance!

LENTEN POTLUCK
Every Wednesday eve of Great Lent the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated. Afterwards we gather in the library for a simple Lenten meal. Please plan on attending these compunctionate services and bring a fasting meal to share! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Pascha flowers: A table will be set up in the Narthex for collections of monetary
donations towards the Pascha flowers on Sundays from March 9th until April 13th. Donations can also be made at any time to the Church during Lent, please mark Pascha flowers with your check or donation. Thank you!

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FIRST SUNDAY OF THE FAST: TRIUMPH OF ORTHODOXY
For more than one hundred years the Church of Christ was troubled by the persecution of the Iconoclasts of evil belief, beginning in the reign of Leo the Isaurian (717-741) and ending in the reign of Theophilus (829-842). After Theophilus's death, his widow the Empress Theodora (celebrated Feb. 11), together with the Patriarch Methodius (June 14), established Orthodoxy anew. This evermemorable Queen venerated the icon of the Mother of God in the presence of the Patriarch Methodius and the other confessors and righteous men, and openly cried out these holy words: "If anyone does not offer relative worship to the holy icons, not adoring them as though they were gods, but venerating them out of love as images of the archetype, let him be anathema." Then with common prayer and fasting during the whole first week of the Forty-day Fast, she asked God's forgiveness for her husband. After this, on the first Sunday of the Fast, she and her son, Michael the Emperor, made a procession with all the clergy and people and restored the holy icons, and again adorned the Church of Christ with them. This is the holy deed that all we the Orthodox commemorate today, and we call this radiant and venerable day the Sunday of Orthodoxy, that is, the triumph of true doctrine over heresy.

ICONS: Q and A
Do Orthodox Christians pray to Icons? Christians pray in the presence of Icons (just as Israelites prayed in the presence of Icons in the Temple), but we do not pray to the image. Do Orthodox Christians Worship Icons? What's the difference between "worship" and "veneration"? Orthodox Christians do not worship Icons in the sense that the word "worship" is commonly used in modern English. In older translations one finds the word "worship" used to translate the Greek word proskyneo (literally, "to bow"). Nevertheless, one must understand that the older use of "worship" in English was much broader than it is generally used today, and was often used to refer simply to the act of honoring, venerating, or reverencing. For example, in the old Book of Common Prayer, one of the wedding vows was "with my body I thee worship," but this was never intended to imply that the bride would worship her husband in the sense in which "worship" is commonly used now. Orthodox Christians do venerate Icons, which is to say, we pay respect to them because they are holy objects, and because we reverence what the Icons depict. We do not worship Icons any more than Americans worship the American flag. Saluting the flag is not exactly the same type of veneration as we pay to Icons, but it is indeed a type of veneration. And just as we do not venerate wood and paint, but rather the persons depicted in the Icon, patriotic Americans do not venerate cloth and dye, but rather the country which the flag represents. Doesn't the 2nd Commandment forbid Icons? The issue with respect to the 2nd commandment is what does the word translated "graven images" mean? If it simply means carved images, then the images in the temple would be in violation of this Commandment. Our best guide, however, to what Hebrew words mean, is what they meant to Hebrewsand when the Hebrews translated the Bible into Greek, they translated this word simply as "eidoloi", i.e. "idols." Furthermore the Hebrew word pesel is never used in reference to any of the images in the temple. So clearly the reference here is to pagan images rather than images in general. Let's look at the Scriptural passage in question more closely: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image (i.e. idol), or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor shalt thou serve (worship) them..." (Exodus 20:4-5a). Now, if we take this as a reference to images of any kind, then clearly the cherubim in the Temple violate this command. If we limit this as applying only to idols, no contradiction exists. Furthermore, if this applies to all imagesthen even the picture on a driver's license violates it, and is an idol. So either every Protestant with a driver's license is an idolater, or Icons are not idols. Leaving aside, for the moment, the meaning of "graven images" lets simply look at what this text actually says about them. You shall not make x, you shall not bow to x, you shall not worship x. If x = image, then the Temple itself violates this Commandment. If x = idol and not all images, then this verse contradicts neither the Icons in the Temple, nor Orthodox Icons.

Sunday of Orthodoxy
The Seventh Ecumenical Council dealt predominantly with the controversy regarding icons and their place in Orthodox worship. It was convened in Nicaea in 787 by Empress Irene at the request of Tarasios, Patriarch of Constantinople. The Council was attended by 367 bishops. Almost a century before this, the iconoclastic controversy had once more shaken the foundations of both Church and State in the Byzantine empire. Excessive religious respect and the ascribed miracles to icons by some members of society, approached the point of worship (due only to God) and idolatry. This instigated excesses at the other extreme by which icons were completely taken out of the liturgical life of the Church by the Iconoclasts. The Iconophiles, on the other-hand, believed that icons served to preserve the doctrinal teachings of the Church; they considered icons to be man's dynamic way of expressing the divine through art and beauty. The Council decided on a doctrine by which icons should be venerated but not worshipped. In answering the Empress' invitation to the Council, Pope Hadrian replied with a letter in which he also held the position of extending veneration to icons but not worship, the last befitting only God. The decree of the Council for restoring icons to churches added an important clause which still stands at the foundation of the rationale for using and venerating icons in the Orthodox Church to this very day: "We define that the holy icons, whether in color, mosaic, or some other material, should be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on the sacred vessels and liturgical vestments, on the walls, furnishings, and in houses and along the roads, namely the icons of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, that of our Lady the Theotokos, those of the venerable angels and those of all saintly people. Whenever these representations are contemplated, they will cause those who look at them to commemorate and love their prototype. We define also that they should be kissed and that they are an object of veneration and honor (timitiki proskynisis), but not of real worship (latreia), which is reserved for Him Who is the subject of our faith and is proper for the divine nature. The veneration accorded to an icon is in effect transmitted to the prototype; he who venerates the icon, venerated in it the reality for which it stands". An Endemousa (Regional) Synod was called in Constantinople in 843 under Empress Theodora. The veneration of icons was solemnly proclaimed at the Hagia Sophia Cathedral. The Empress, her son Michael III, Patriarch Methodios, and monks and clergy came in procession and restored the icons in their rightful place. The day was called "Triumph of Orthodoxy." Since that time, this event is commemorated yearly with a special service on the first Sunday of Lent, the "Sunday of Orthodoxy".