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Services in MAY 2012 The Healing of the Blind Man Sixth Sunday of Pascha7 / 20 May 2012
The Gospel According To St. John 9: 1-‐38
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Resurrection Tropar, Tone 4: When the women disciples of the Lord / learned from the Angel the joyous message of Thy Resurrection / they cast away the ancestral curse / and elatedly told the Apostles / death is overcome / Christ God is risen / granting the world great mercy. Resurrection Kondak, Tone 4: My Saviour and Redeemer / as God rose from the tomb and delivered the earth-‐born from their chains / He has shattered the gates of hell, / and as Master, / He has risen on the third day. Kondak of the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, Tone 8: Having come to the well in faith, the Samaritan woman saw Thee, the Water of Wisdom, whereof having drunk abundantly, she, the renowned one, inherited the kingdom on high forever. |
So He
came to
a city
of Samaria
which is
called
Sychar, near
the plot
of ground
that
Jacob gave
to his
son
Joseph. Now
Jacob's well was
there. Jesus
therefore,
being wearied
from His
journey,
sat thus
by the
well. It
was about
the sixth
hour. A
woman of Samaria came
to draw
water.
Jesus said
to her,
"Give Me
a drink."
For His
disciples
had gone
away into
the city
to buy
food. Then the
woman of
Samaria said
to Him,
"How is
it that
You,
being a
Jew, ask
a drink
from me,
a Samaritan
woman?"
For Jews have no
dealings with
Samaritans.
Jesus answered
and said
to her,
"If you
knew the
gift of
God, and
who it
is who
says to
you, 'Give Me
a drink,'
you would
have asked
Him, and
He would
have
given you
living water."
The woman
said to
Him,
"Sir, You
have nothing
to draw
with, and
the well
is deep.
Where
then do
You get
that living
water?
Are You
greater than
our
father Jacob, who
gave us
the well,
and drank
from it
himself,
as well
as his
sons and
his livestock?"
Jesus
answered and
said to
her, "Whoever drinks
of this
water
will thirst
again,
But whoever
drinks of
the water
that I
shall
give him
will never
thirst.
But the water that
I shall
give him
will
become in
him a
fountain of
water
springing up
into everlasting life."
The woman
said to
Him, "Sir, give
me this
water,
that I
may not
thirst, nor
come here
to draw."
Jesus
said to
her, "Go,
call your
husband, and
come here." The
woman
answered and
said, "I
have no
husband."
Jesus said
to her,
"You have
well
said, 'I
have no
husband,' For
you have had
five husbands,
and the
one whom
you now
have is
not your
husband;
in that
you spoke
truly." The
woman
said to Him, "Sir,
I
perceive that
You are
a
prophet. Our
fathers
worshiped on
this
mountain, and
you Jews
say that
in
Jerusalem is
the place where
one ought
to
worship." Jesus
said to
her,
"Woman, believe
Me, the
hour is
coming
when you
will neither
on this
mountain, nor
in
Jerusalem, worship
the
Father. You
worship
what you
do not
know; we
know what
we worship,
for
salvation is of
the Jews.
But the
hour is
coming, and
now is,
when the
true
worshipers will
worship
the Father
in spirit
and
truth; for
the Father is
seeking such
to
worship Him.
God is
Spirit,
and those
who worship
Him must
worship
in spirit
and truth."
The woman said
to Him,
"I know
that
Messiah is
coming"
(who is
called Christ).
"When He
comes, He
will tell
us all
things."
Jesus said to
her, "I
who speak
to you
am He."
And at
this point
His
disciples came,
and they
marveled
that He
talked with
a woman;
yet no
one said,
"What do
You seek?"
or, "Why
are You
talking
with her?"
The woman
then left
her
waterpot, went
her way
into the
city, and
said to
the men,
"Come, see
a Man
who told
me all
things
that I
ever did.
Could this
be the
Christ?"
Then they
went out
of the
city and
came to
Him. In
the meantime
His
disciples urged
Him,
saying, "Rabbi,
eat." But
He said
to them,
"I have food
to eat
of which
you do
not know."
Therefore
the disciples
said to
one
another, "Has
anyone
brought Him
anything
to eat?" Jesus
said to
them, "My
food is
to do
the will
of Him
who sent
Me, and
to finish
His work.
Do you
not say,
'There
are still
four months
and then
comes the
harvest'?
Behold, I
say to
you, lift
up your
eyes and
look at
the fields,
for they
are
already white for
harvest! And
he who
reaps
receives wages,
and
gathers fruit
for
eternal life,
that both
he who
sows and
he who
reaps may rejoice
together.
For in
this the
saying is
true: 'One
sows and
another
reaps.' I
sent you
to reap
that for
which you
have not laboured;
others
have laboured,
and you
have
entered into
their
labours." And
many of
the
Samaritans of
that city
believed in Him
because of
the word
of the
woman who
testified,
"He told
me all
that I
ever did."
So when
the
Samaritans had
come to
Him, they
urged Him
to stay
with them;
and He
stayed
there two
days. And
many more
believed because
of His
own word.
Then they
said to
the woman,
"Now we
believe,
not because
of what
you said,
for we
ourselves
have heard
Him and
we know
that this
is indeed
the Christ,
the
Savior of
the world."
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Resurrection Tone 3: Let the heavens be glad; let earthly things rejoice; for the Lord hath wrought might with His arm. He hath trampled down death by death; the first-‐born of the dead hath He become. From the belly of Hades hath He delivered us and Hath granted to the world great mercy. Troparion of St. George Tone 4 : As the deliverer of captives/ and the protector of the poor,/ as the physician of the feeble and combatant of kings,/ holy champion and great martyr George,/ intercede with Christ our God to save our souls. Resurrection Kondak, Tone 3: On this day thou didst rise from the tomb, O Merciful One, / leading us from the gates of death / On this day Adam exults as Eve rejoices. / With the prophets and the patriarchs they unceasingly praise the divine majesty of Thy power. |
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Kondak of
the Sunday
of the
Paralytic,
Tone 3:
As
of old
Thou didst
raise the
paralytic,
O Lord, by
Thy Divine
presence,
raise my
soul which
is
paralysed grievously
by all
manner of
sins and
unseemly deeds,
that
being saved
I may
cry out:
O
compassionate Christ,
glory be
to Thy power.
Kondak of Pascha, Tone 8: Though Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal One, yet didst Thou destroy the power of Hades, and didst arise as victor, O Christ God, calling to the myrrh-‐bearing women, Rejoice, and giving peace unto Thine Apostles, O Thou Who dost grant resurrection to the fallen.
Kontakion of St. George Tone 4: Thou wast cultivated by God/ and didst become a most wonderful cultivator of piety,/ and didst harvest for thyself the sheaves of virtue,/ for having sown in tears thou didst reap in joy/ and having withstood to death thou art garnered for Christ./ By thy intercessions, O Saint,/ thou dost obtain for us all remission of our sins.
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Resurrection Tropar, Tone 2: When Thou didst descend to death, O Life Immortal, Thou didst slay hell with the splendour of Thy Godhead! And when from the depths Thou didst raise the dead, all the powers of Heaven cried out: O Giver of Life, Christ our God, Glory to Thee.
Kondak of the Sunday Of The Myrrh-‐bearing Women, Tone 2: When Thou didst cry, Rejoice, unto the myrrh-‐bearers,/ |
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Thou didst make the lamentation of Eve the first mother to cease / by Thy Resurrection, O Christ God. / And Thou didst bid Thine apostles to preach: // The Saviour is risen from the grave.
Kondak of
Pascha, Tone
8: Though
Thou
didst descend
into the
grave, O
Immortal One,
yet didst
Thou
destroy the
power of
Hades,
and didst
arise as victor, O
Christ God,
calling
to the
myrrh-‐bearing women,
Rejoice,
and giving
peace
unto Thine
Apostles,
O Thou
Who dost grant resurrection
to the
fallen.
Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marvelled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid. Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you." So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Mark how great the women's assiduity. They had followed Him, ministering to Him, and were present even to the time of the dangers. This is why they also saw all; how He cried, how He gave up the ghost; how the rocks were rent and all the rest. These women were the first to see Jesus; and the sex that was most condemned first enjoys the sight of the blessings; this sex shows its courage the most. And when the disciples had fled, these were present. Joseph, who had been concealing his discipleship of late, now became very bold after the death of Christ. He was by no means an obscure person ...but one of the council ...He exposed himself to death, taking great enmity upon him from all by his affection for Jesus ...Do you see the women's courage? Do you see their affection? Do you see their noble spirit in matters of money? their noble spirit even unto death? Let the men imitate the women; let us not forsake Jesus in temptation ...But we neither feed Him when hungry, nor clothe Him when naked (Cf. Matt.25), but seeing Him go begging, we pass Him by. And yet if we saw Him in fact, everyone would strip himself of all his goods.
Read the full article "Sunday of Myrrbearing Women, Third Sunday of Pascha" (pdf) ...
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Resurrection Tropar,
Tone 1:
When the
stone had
been sealed by
the Jews;
/ while
the soldiers
were
guarding Thy
Most Pure
Body; /
Thou didst
rise on
the third
day, O
Saviour, /
granting
life to
the world.
/ The
Powers of
Heaven therefore
cried to
Thee O
Giver of
Life: /
glory to
Thy Resurrection
O Christ!
/ Glory
to Thy
Kingdom;
/ Glory to Thy
Dispensation, O
Thou who
lovest
mankind.
Troparion of
Thomas
Sunday, Tone
7: While
the tomb
was sealed,
Thou, O
Life,
didst shine |
forth from the grave, O Christ God. And while the doors were shut, Thou didst come unto Thy disciples, O Resurrection of all, renewing through them an upright Spirit in us according to Thy great mercy. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Resurrection Kondak, Tone 1: As God, Thou didst rise from the tomb in glory, / Raising the world with Thyself. / Human nature praises Thee as God, for death has vanished. / Adam exults O Master, Eve rejoices, for she is freed from bondage, and cries to Thee; / Thou art the Giver of Resurrection to all, O Christ.
Kontakion of Thomas Sunday, Tone 8: With his searching right hand, Thomas did probe Thy life-‐bestowing side, O Christ God; for when Thou didst enter while the doors were shut, he cried out unto Thee with the rest of the disciples: Thou art my Lord and my God.
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
He was one of the twelve Great Apostles. Through his doubt of the Resurrection of the Lord Christ, a new confirmation was given of that wonderful and saving event, for the risen Lord appeared again to His disciples, to convince Thomas. The Lord said to Thomas: Reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side; and be not faithless, but believing', and Thomas cried: 'My Lord and my God! (John 20). After the descent of the Holy Spirit, when the apostles cast lots to see who would go where to preach the Gospel, it fell to Thomas to got to India. He was somewhat saddened at having to go so far away, but the Lord appeared to him and comforted him. In India, St Thomas converted many, both rich and poor, to the Christian faith, and founded a Church there, making priests and bishops. Among others, St Thomas converted two sisters, Tertiana and Mygdonia, wives of Indian princes. Both sisters were ill-‐treated for their faith by their husbands, who would not live with them after their baptism, and divorced them. Being freed from their marriages, they lived godly lives till their deaths. Dionysius and Pelagia, a couple at first betrothed to each other, heard the Apostle's teaching and did not live together, but devoted themselves to the ascetic life. Pelagia died a martyr for the Faith and Dionysius was made bishop by the Apostle. Prince Misdaeus, the husband of Tertiana, whose wife and son Iuzanes Thomas baptised, condemned the Apostle to death, and sent five soldiers who ran him through with their lances, and thus the holy Apostle Thomas gave his soul into the hands of his Christ. Before his death, he, with the other apostles, was miraculously borne to Jerusalem for the funeral of the most holy Mother of God. Arriving late, he grieved bitterly and, at his request, the tomb of the Most Pure was opened, but the body was not there; the Lord had taken His Mother to His heavenly home. Thus St Thomas first, by his unbelief, confirmed the faith in the Resurrection of the Lord and then, by his late arrival, revealed to us the wondrous glorification of the Mother of God.
Read the full article "Thomas Sunday" in PDF...
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Enjoy ye all the feast of faith;
receive ye all the riches of
loving-kindness.
(Sermon of St John Chrysostom,
read at Paschal
Matins)
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the center of the Christian faith. St Paul says that if Christ is not raised from the dead, then our preaching and faith are in vain (I Cor. 15:14). Indeed, without the resurrection there would be no Christian preaching or faith.
The resurrection reveals Jesus of Nazareth as not only the expected Messiah of Israel, but as the King and Lord of a new Jerusalem: a new heaven and a new earth.
Read
more on our website...
Read an article about Pascha in PDF...
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