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Lives of the Saints
Sunday, December 21, 2014
The Sunday before the Nativity of the Lord is known as the Sunday of the Holy Fathers. On
this day the Church commemorates all those who were well-pleasing to God from all ages,
from Adam to St. Joseph the Betrothed of the Most Holy Theotokos, those who are mentioned
in the genealogy of Luke 3:23-38. The holy prophets and prophetesses are also remembered
today, especially the Prophet Daniel and the three holy youths (December 17). The Troparion
to the Prophet Daniel and the three holy youths (“Great are the accomplishments of faith…) is
quite similar to the Troparion for St. Theodore the Recruit (February 17, and the first Saturday
of Great Lent). The Kontakion to St. Theodore, who suffered martyrdom by fire, reminds us
that he also had faith as his breastplate (see 1 Thessalonians 5:8).
Virginmartyr Juliana of Nicomedia
Services and Events for the Week
St. Gregory of Nyssa Church
2219 Summit Street
Columbus, OH 43201
614-261-6006
www.stgregs.info
Fr. Matthew Moriak, Rector
614-882-6036
[email protected]
V. Rev. Daniel Rentel
614-459-0167
[email protected]
Fr. Stephen Frase
614-786-7166
[email protected]
Fr. James Sizemore
740-601-3911
[email protected]
Fr. Dcn. Paul Mitchell
614-775-1266
[email protected]
Rdr. Christopher Reeves
814-880-6119
[email protected]
Rdr. Tom Chiatalas,
Lay Vice Chair
248-504-8828
[email protected]
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Wednesday, Dec. 24th Royal Hours of Nativity
9 AM
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Wed., Dec. 24th Nativity Eve Vesperal Liturgy
3:30 PM
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Wed. Dec. 24th Holy Night Supper-Upper Room 5:30 PM
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Wednesday, Dec. 24th Nativity Eve Vigil
7 PM
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Thursday, Dec. 25th
Nativity Divine Liturgy
9:30 AM
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Friday, Dec. 26th Liturgy-Synaxis of the Theotokos 9 AM
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Saturday, Dec. 27th
Great Vespers
6 PM
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Sunday, Dec. 28th
Hours 9:10 AM Liturgy 9:30 AM
Afterfeast of the Nativity
Sunday after Nativity
Quotes from the Fathers and other Sources…
“Pure is the present night, in which the Pure One
appeared, Who came to purify us! Let our hearing be
pure, and the sight of our eyes chaste, and the feeling of
the heart holy, and the speech of the mouth sincere!”
St. Ephraim the Syrian on the Nativity of Christ
The Holy Virgin Martyr Juliana, daughter of an illustrious
pagan named Africanus, was born in the city of Nicomedia.
As a child, she was betrothed to a certain Elusius, one of the
emperor’s advisors. St. Juliana was endowed with a profound
intellect and goodness of soul. She saw through the delusion
and deception of the pagan faith, and secretly accepted holy
Baptism.
When the time of her wedding approached. Juliana refused to
be married. Her father urged her not to break her
engagement, but when she refused to obey him, he began to
beat her viciously. Then Africanus handed his daughter over
to the Eparch, who happened to be Elusius, Juliana’s former fiancé. Elusius fervently asked
Juliana to marry him, promising not to require her to abandon her faith. St. Juliana refused and
said that she’d rather be put to death.
They beat the saint both long and harshly, but after each beating she received healing
and new strength from God. Her punishment took place before a large number of people. Of
these, 500 men and 150 women came to confess Christ after witnessing the steadfastness and
courage of the holy virgin miraculously healed from her wounds. They were all beheaded, and
were baptized in their own blood.
Convinced of the futility of attempting to separate the holy virgin from her heavenly
Bridegroom, Eleusius sentenced Juliana to death. She accepted the sentence with joy and
glorified the Lord for permitting her to receive a martyr’s crown. The holy Martyr Juliana was
executed in the year 304.
St. Juliana is the subject of an Anglo-Saxon poem, believed to have been written by
Cynewulf in the eight century.
Parish News and Notes
Week of the Nativity at a Glance The following services and events will be taking place as
we joyfully celebrate the birth of Christ this week:
• Royal Hours The service of Royal Hours will begin at 9 AM on Christmas Eve. We
celebrated this service last year, and it was well received.
• Vesperal Divine Liturgy Nativity is often called the “Winter Pascha” and this service
echoes the Vesperal Divine Liturgy we serve on Holy Saturday. On Holy Saturday,
there are 15 Old Testament Readings. On the Eve of Nativity, there are 8 Old
Testament Readings during the Vesperal Liturgy, all pointing to the coming of the
Messiah. The Vesperal Divine Liturgy will begin at 3:30 PM.
• Holy Night Supper The Holy Night Supper will begin following the Liturgy at
approximately 5:30 PM. At the conclusion of the Vesperal Liturgy, the Feast of
Nativity has officially begun. While the Holy Night Supper is a solemn event, we will
also begin our celebration with the singing of hymns and Christmas Carols.
• Nativity Eve Vigil At 7 PM, we will celebrate the Vigil, which consists of Compline and
Matins. In the past, we have done just Matins, so the service will be a little longer than
we might be used to, but it is a beautiful and moving service and a perfect cap to the
day. The bread, wheat, wine and oil of the Litya will be blessed and distributed during
the service.
• Nativity Liturgy Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Nativity will begin at 9:30 AM. We
have a parish tradition of sharing cookies in the Upper Room following Liturgy. If you
wish to, please consider bringing some cookies.
• Synaxis of the Theotokos The day after Nativity is rightfully dedicated to the
Theotokos. Liturgy will be celebrated this day at 9 AM.
Moriaks to be away Following the celebration of the Nativity, Fr. M and his family will be
traveling to visit family. They will be leaving on Saturday, December 28th and returning after
the New Year. Fr. Stephen will be serving Vespers on Saturday, December 27th. Fr. Jim and
Fr. Dan will be serving Liturgy on Sunday, December 28th. Fr. M will be checking his home
voice mail and will be available to be contacted via email while he is away.
Coffee Roster Host Anyone wishing to be added or removed from the coffee roster for the
next cycle (January-June) or if you have questions about how it works, please contact Anthony
Schultz at 830-0492 or [email protected]
Early Notice for Annual Parish Meeting Our annual parish meeting will be taking place
on Sunday, January 25th following Liturgy. There will be many important things discussed at
our meeting, including updates on the progress of the expansion project. Please plan to attend.
Our meetings are generally not very long, and the more people who participate, the better!
“And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:47
NEW Drawings Posted; More to Come
Please be sure to submit any feedback on the current drawings posted in the Upper Room as
soon as possible. Feedback should be submitted to either Fr. M, Gust Mecera or Tom
Chiatalas.
Tentative Time Line for our Expansion Project Going Forward
By the end of 2014—Work towards having a final set of plans to be presented to the parish
March, 2015—Concept plans approved by the city
July, 2015—Construction documents approved by the city
September, 2015—Approve contractor
May, 2016—BREAK GROUND!!!
If you have any questions about the specifics, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Many Years to Stephen Jogan (12/22), Troy Heffernan (12/23) and Jerry Stayer
(12/27), celebrating their birthdays this week.
For the health and well being of all those persecuted for their faith, Mary Evelyn,
Sarah, Marissa, Lia, Kelly, Colleen and their unborn children; the catechumens—
Nicholas, Brittany, David, Joel and Chad— the priest, Michael, the priest, Peter,
Deacon Marc, Elizabeth, Lydia, Carolyn, Jennifer, Billy and his family, Lucia, Tabitha,
Anna, Elizabeth, Thomas, Audrey, Susan, Vladimir, Magdalena, Andrew, Olga,
Nikolai, Kirk, Marie, Tim, Mary, Jim, Tommy, Philip, Barbara, Jim, Lynne, Bruce and
Beth, Katarina, Tara and her family, Philip and Kathy, Robert, Matthew, Joshua, Neil,
Mark, Maria and Scott, Olga, Nicholas, Georgia, Matthew, Patricia, James, Beth,
Juliana, Logan, Timothy, Saleh, William, Deborah, Kayla, Mary and Lydia.
Eternal Memory Carl, Marie, Andrew, Anna, Georgia, Richard and Ronald John
Coffee Social Sponsors
st
December 21
Wargo, Schultz, Pawlack
December 28th
Kankia, Tupps, Rentel
January 4th
Core, Ambrose, Mecera
Greeters
December 21st
Elexis Schultz & Samantha Paduchik
December 28th
Gabrielle & Justine Smith
January 4th
Bronwyn Lewis & Nina Frase