SS.

kosmas & damianos Orthodox Church (goa)

703 W. Center Street, Rochester, MN (507) 282-1529 http://www.rochesterorthodoxchurch.org
office@rochesterorthodoxchurch.org Rev. Fr. Mark Muñoz, Proistamenos
APOLYTIKIA FOR TODAY

The heavenly powers appeared at Your tomb, and those guarding it became
like dead. Mary stood at Your grave seeking Your pure body. You
stripped the power of Hades, not touched by its corruption. You met the
virgin woman as one who grants life. O Lord, who rose from the dead,
glory to You. (Plagal 2nd Tone)

When You, O Lord, were baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity
was manifest. For the voice of the Father bore witness to You, calling You
His Beloved Son, and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the
certainty of His words. O Christ our God, who appeared and has
enlightened the world, glory be to You. (1st Tone)

The memory of the just is celebrated with hymns of praise, but the Lord's
testimony is sufficient for thee, O Forerunner; for thou hast proved to be
truly even more venerable than the Prophets, since thou was granted to
baptize in the running waters Him Whom they proclaimed. Wherefore,
having contested for the truth, thou didst rejoice to announce the good
tidings even to those in Hades: that God hath appeared in the flesh, taking away the sin of the world and
granting us great mercy. (2nd Tone)

KONTAKION FOR TODAY

You appeared to the world today, and Your light, O Lord, has left its mark upon us. With fuller
understanding we sing to You: "You came, You were made manifest, the unapproachable light."

Ἐπεφάνης σήμερον τὴ οἰκουμένη, καὶ τὸ φῶς σου Κύριε, ἐσημειώθη ἐφ' ἡμᾶς, ἓν ἐπιγνώσει
ὑμνούντάς σε. Ἦλθες ἐφάνης τὸ Φῶς τὸ ἀπρόσιτον.

Synaxis of st john the forerunner and baptist

Synaxis of John the Holy Glorious Prophet, Baptist, & Forerunner, Afterfeast of the Theophany of Our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Cedd, Bishop of Scotland, Fursey, Abbot of Lagny
January 7th, 2018
 Today’s scripture readings
Epistle reading
Acts of the Apostles 19:1-8
Psalm 63.11,1
The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord.
Verse: Oh God, hear my cry.

In those days, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country
and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, "Did you
receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said, "No, we have never even
heard that there is a Holy Spirit." And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?"
They said, "Into John's baptism." And Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of
repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is,
Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when
Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with
tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve of them in all. And he entered the
synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, arguing and pleading about the
kingdom of God.

Gospel pericope
John 1:29-34

At that time, John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man
who ranks before me, for he was before me.' I myself did not know him; but for this I
came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." And John bore witness,
"I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. I myself did
not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you
see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I
have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."
 Announcements
Liturgical/Program Schedule:
TODAY: Annual Vasilopita Cutting during Fellowship Hour, special THANKS to Angie
Chafos for baking!
Mon. Jan. 8th: Adult Religious Ed: Gospel of St John, 6pm
Thurs. Jan. 11th: Adult Rel Ed. “Inside the Temple, Inside the Liturgy, Inside the Community”, 6pm

Today’s Memorial Service: Mr. George Margellos- 1 year

Inclement Weather & Church Closing: We are all too aware that in Minnesota we receive a
wide variety of weather! If it is decided that services or events will need to be cancelled due to
bad weather the following protocol will be immediately implemented:
• An announcement will appear on KTTC’s Storm Center and Closing System.
• An email will be sent to the parishioners who have registered their email w/ the office.
• An announcement will be posted on the parish’s Facebook page.

HOW TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION—Only Orthodox Christians (i.e. the Orthodox Church
does not observe ‘open communion’) in good standing are encouraged to receive Holy Communion frequently,
provided they have prepared themselves spiritually, mentally and physically. They must 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 fasts of the Church, 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 to receive Holy Communion, state your Christian (baptismal) name clearly, 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 of the Cross as you step away. Please do not be in a rush while
communing! Please take special care not to bump the Holy Chalice.

Pearls from the desert…

We shall be blessed with clear vision if we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, for He, as Paul
teaches, is our head, and there is in Him no shadow of evil. Saint Paul himself and all who
have reached the same heights of sanctity had their eyes fixed on Christ, and so have all
who live and move and have their being in Him. As no darkness can be seen by anyone
surrounded by light, so no trivialities can capture the attention of anyone who has his eyes
on Christ. The man who keeps his eyes upon the head and origin of the whole universe has
them on virtue in all its perfection; he has them on truth, on justice, on immortality and on
everything else that is good, for Christ is goodness itself. St. Gregory of Nyssa, 4th century
 Today’s Commemorations
1. SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

Because John's main role in his life was played out on the day of
the Epiphany (Theophany), the Church from earliest times
dedicated the day following Epiphany to his memory. To this feast
is also linked the incident with the hand of the Forerunner. The
Evangelist Luke desired to remove the body of John from Sebaste,
where the great prophet was beheaded by Herod, to Antioch his
place of birth. He succeeded though, in acquiring and translating
only one hand which was preserved in Antioch until the tenth
century after which it was transferred to Constantinople from
where it disappeared during the time of the Turks. Among the
Gospel personalities who surround the Savior, John the Baptist
occupies a totally unique place by the manner of his entry into the
world as well as by the manner of his life in this world, by his role
in baptizing people for repentance and for his baptizing the
Messiah and, finally, by his tragic departure from this life. He was of such moral purity that, in truth, he
could be called an angel [messenger] as Holy Scripture calls him rather than a mortal man. St. John
differs from all other prophets especially in that he had that privilege of being able, with his hand, to show
the world Him about Whom he prophesied. It is said that every year on the feast of the saint, the bishop
brought the hand of St. John before the people. Sometimes the hand appeared open and other times the
hand appeared clenched. In the first case it signified a fruitful and bountiful year and, in the second case,
it meant a year of unfruitfulness and famine.

2. THE HOLY MARTYR ATHANASIUS

This martyr of Christ was a simple and poor man but rich in faith and wise through the Spirit of God.
Once, unintentionally, Athanasius entered into a debate about the Faith with a certain Turk. The Turk was
educated and adroit with words, but Athanasius endeavored with all his strength to emphasize and to
establish the truth of and preference for the Christian Faith over Islam. After that, they departed. The next
day Athanasius was summoned before the judge. This Turk stood there as his accuser. When the judge
called upon Athanasius to deny the Faith of Christ, as he allegedly made known to his companions a day
earlier and to embrace Islam, Athanasius cried out: "I would rather die a thousand deaths before I would
renounce the Faith of Christ." For that he was condemned to death and beheaded in the year 1700 A.D. in
Smyrna. His body was buried in the Church of St. Parasceve in the same city.