Sunday After the Nativity of Christ Holy Righteous Ones: Joseph the Betrothed, David the King, and James the Brother of the Lord; Leavetaking of the Nativity
Ss Cyril & Methodius Orthodox Church Ss Cyril & Methodius Orthodox Church
An Orthodox Christian community on the campus of UW-Madison
1020 Regent St
(Lower Level)
Madison, WI 53715

Weekly Services:

Vespers: 5:00 PM Saturday
Divine Liturgy: 9:30 AM Sunday

Confessions: before and after Saturday Vespers or by appointment.

www.madisonorthodox.com

Click above to send names of those to be commemorated at Liturgy.

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Tone 5

Sunday After the Nativity of Christ Holy Righteous Ones: Joseph the Betrothed, David the King, and James the Brother of the Lord; Leavetaking of the Nativity

Commemoration of the Holy Righteous David the King, Joseph the Betrothed, and James the Brother of the Lord

Commemorated on December 31

(OCAThe Holy Prophet-King David, Saint Joseph the Betrothed, and Saint James the Brother of the Lord are commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity. If there is no Sunday between December 25 and January 1, their commemoration is moved to December 26.

At an early date, some churches in the East began to commemorate certain important figures of the New Testament at the time of Theophany, and later during the Nativity season. In Syria, for example, Saint Stephen (December 27), Saints James (April 30) and John (September 26), and Saints Peter and Paul (June 29) were commemorated near the end of December.

In Jerusalem, the saints mentioned above were combined with a feast that the Jews of Hebron celebrated on December 25 or 26 in honor of the Old Testament Patriarch Jacob. Later on, the Christians substituted Saint James (October 23) for Jacob, and then the commemoration of the Brother of the Lord became associated with his ancestor King David. In time, Saint Joseph was linked with Saints David and James.

Saint Joseph had four sons from his previous marriage: James, Judah, Joses, and Simon (or Symeon), and three daughters: Esther, Martha, and Salome, who was the mother of Saint John the Theologian.

Christ is Born!

Congratulations to our new brother in Christ, Basil (Srivats) Tharanilath who was baptized on Saturday (12/23). Basil's sponsors are Deacn Peter & Stella Kovacich from St Ignatius.

On behalf of Fr Christopher and myself, thank you everyone for your thoughtful Christmas gifts to us and our families.

In Christ!

Fr Gregory

This Week at Ss Cyril & Methodius

 

Wednesday, December 27

  • 11:00 AM-3:00 PM: Office Hours/Confessions [canceled]

Thursday, December 28

  • 1:00-5:00 PM: Office Hours/Confessions [canceled]

Saturday, December 30

  • 3:30 PM: Catechumen Class [canceled]
  • 4:30 PM: Confessions
  • 5:00 PM: Great Vespers
  • 6:00 PM: Confessions

Sunday, December 31

  • 9:00 AM: Hours & Precommunion Prayers
  • 9:30 AM: Divine Liturgy

Looking Ahead

 

Monday, January 1 (Circumcision of Our Lord/ St. Basil)

  • 9:00 AM: Hours & Precommunion Prayers
  • 9:30 AM: Divine Liturgy

Wednesday, January 3

  • 11:00 AM-3:00 PM: Office Hours/Confessions

Thursday, January 4

  • 1:00-5:00 PM: Office Hours/Confessions
  • 5:30 PM: Akathist to Our Lady, Queen of All

Friday, January 5

  • 9:00 AM: Royal Hours for Theophany

Saturday, January 6 (Theophany)

  • 9:00 AM: Hours & Precommunion Prayers
  • 9:30 AM: Divine Liturgy
  • 3:30 PM: Catechumen Class [canceled]
  • 4:30 PM: Confessions
  • 5:00 PM: Great Vespers
  • 6:00 PM: Confessions

Sunday, January 7

  • 9:00 AM: Hours & Precommunion Prayers
  • 9:30 AM: Divine Liturgy
  • 1:30 PM: Blessing of Lake Monoa (Brittingham Beach, 701 Brittingham Place, Madison

Hymns After the Small Entrance

 

Tone 5 Troparion (Resurrection)

Let us, the faithful, praise and worship the Word, co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, born for our salvation from the Virgin; for He willed to be lifted up on the Cross in the flesh, to endure death, and to raise the dead//by His glorious Resurrection. 

Tone 4 Troparion (Feast)

Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, has shone to the world the light of wisdom! For by it, those who worshipped the stars, were taught by a star to adore Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know Thee, the Orient from on high.// O Lord, glory to Thee! 

Tone 2 Troparion (Righteous Ones)

Proclaim the wonder, O Joseph, to David, the ancestor of God; thou hast seen a Virgin great with child; and thou didst give glory with the shepherds; thou didst worship with the Magi, and didst receive the news from the Angel.//Pray to Christ God to save our souls!    

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;  

Tone 3 Kontakion (Righteous Ones)

Today godly David is filled with joy; Joseph and James offer praise. The glorious crown of their kinship with Christ fills them with great joy. They sing praises to the One ineffably born on earth,//and they cry out: “O Compassionate One, save those who honor Thee!”

now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Tone 3 Kontakion (Feast)

Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One, and the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One! Angels with shepherds glorify Him! The Wise Men journey with the star,//since for our sake the eternal God was born as a little Child!

Epistle: Galatians 1:11-19

Brethren, but I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

Gospel: Matthew 2:13-23

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

“A voice was heard in Ramah,

Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children,

Refusing to be comforted,

Because they are no more.”

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

 

By the age of 25, about 60% of those baptized as infants will no longer consider themselves members of the Orthodox Church. A parish on a university campus is an important witness not only to the surrounding community but also to high school age and younger parishioner. Establishing a parish on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison helps remind young people that graduating high school doesn't mean "graduating" from the Church. Please consider joining those who have committed their time, treasure and talent in establishing an Orthodox community on the Isthmus.

Please help us reach your children and grandchildren with the Gospel of Jesus Christ by clicking the gofundme link.

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