The Divine Liturgy for the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Holy Theotokos will be served at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, August 15. There will be the blessing of flowers and herbs for the feast day.
St Matthias, apostle
Today is the feast of the Holy Apostle Matthias, chosen to continue the Mission.
The Church prays in her Liturgy:
Chosen by lot through the grace of the Spirit, you were numbered with the twelve divine Apostles. Proclaiming with them the Word who emptied himself in the flesh for our sake, you were filled by the Lord with wondrous powers. O illustrious Apostle Matthias, entreat him to grant to those who praise your name the remission of sins and great mercy.
Though chosen by lot, as it were, by chance, Matthias still had one supreme qualification for being added to the twelve apostles, he was, in the words of Peter, “one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
Matthias, whose name means “gift of God”, was one of the 72 disciples that Jesus sent out to preach the good news of the Resurrection. There seems to be some early evidence that there was once a Gospel according to Matthias in circulation, but it has since been lost.
Matthias spent three years with the Apostle Andrew, with him at Edessa and Sebaste. Church Tradition indicates he was preaching at Pontine, Ethiopia (presently Western Georgia) and Macedonia.
He was martyred in AD 63.
Grant, O Lord, that we may also be a witness to the resurrection by death to sin by God’s grace, and living in his holiness.
Faith and Doubt
Divine Liturgy for the coming week
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Sunday, 8/07, 9th Sunday after Pentecost
10:00 a.m. For the people of the parish
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 3:9-17
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-34, Tone 8
Monday, 8/08, Our Holy Father Emilian
9:00 a.m. No particular intention for the Divine Liturgy
Tuesday, 8/09, Holy Apostle Matthias
9:00 a.m. No particular intention for the Divine Liturgy
Wednesday, 8/10, Holy Martyr Archdeacon Lawrence
9:00 a.m. No particular intention for the Divine Liturgy
Thursday, 8/11, Holy Martyr Euplus
9:00 a.m. No particular intention for the Divine Liturgy
Friday, 8/12, Holy Martyrs Photius and Anicetus
9:00 a.m. No particular intention for the Divine Liturgy
Saturday, 8/13, Our Venerable confessor Maximus
9:00 a.m. No particular intention for the Divine Liturgy
Sunday, 8/14, 10th Sunday after Pentecost
10:00 a.m. For the people of the parish
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:9-16
Gospel: Matthew 17:14-23, Tone 1
Parish announcements
Christ is among us!
This week vigil light is offered by Kolesnik and Buciak families for a Special Intention
THE DORMITION FAST: From August 1 to August 14, we Byzantine Catholics prepare for the feast of the Dormition (Assumption) of the Holy Theotokos, the Mother of God, with a period of prayer, fasting and works of charity. Five (5) tips for a successful Dormition: Fast, Go to Church, Pray, Fast from meat and sin, Read a spiritual book, Confess your sins. The feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God is on Monday, August 15.
From July 3 until September 11 we will celebrate only one (1) Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. in Ukrainian and English languages.
RELIGIOUS VACATION COVERAGE: During my vacation in case of emergency you can call Fr. Paul Luniw 860-583-7588 or Fr. Ivan Mazuryk 203-367-5054, or Fr. Gregory Lozinskyy 201-985-5015 or Fr. Albert Forlano 203-215-3311. Thank you. Father Iura.
68th ANNUAL HOLY DORMITION PILGRIMAGE will be held on August 13-14 at the motherhouse of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate in Sloatsburg. This year’s theme is “Our Loving Mother, Under Your Patronage, Welcome Your Children, We beseech You!” The Sisters invite all our parishioners to attend! For information call: 845-753-2840 or www.ssmi-us.org
If you would like to have a Confession, Holy Communion or prayer of the sick at your house or nursing home, please call the rectory at 203-865-0388.
CHARITIES APPEAL: Please don’t forget to make a donation to the Eparchy’s Charity Appeal. Please make check payable to the Byzantine Rite Eparchy of Stamford. DO NOT MAIL THIS FORM OR CHECK TO THE CHANCERY OFFICE BUT TURN IT IN AT THE PARISH. We sincerely ask all parishioners to make a generous contribution.
KIDS HELPING UKRAINE STICKERS: Our New Haven Ridna Shkola is doing a Fundraiser called, KIDS HELPING UKRAINE. The stickers (two styles) are $1.00 per sticker and if you can contribute more it will be appreciated. All donations will go to provide medical supplies and care for those wounded in this terrible war started by Russia. If you any questions contact Halia Lodynsky 203-494-6378 or Volodymyr Dumalskyy.
Bridgeport Festival 2022
Feast of the Holy Transfiguration
The Divine Liturgy will be served for the Feast of Holy Transfiguration at 9 a.m. on Saturday, August 6.
“Christ took His disciples and went up on the mount, and there His face appeared shining. His vestments became white as snow, and one of the disciples said, ‘Lord it is good for us to be here.’ This was the fulfillment of all human desires, the moment of supreme happiness. … Again Christianity is joy; such is the meaning of Transfiguration. … God has given us … Himself; and this means Life, Love, and Transfiguration. He has given us the power of going with Him to Mount Tabor, and of tasting there that which He has prepared for us.”
Alexander Schmemann
Liturgy and Life, p. 82-3.
Support reaches the front lines
Father Roman (Роман Мануляк) blesses a vehicle purchased with the monies raised by Carl R Harvey and Myron Melnick through the benefactions of our community, near and far.
This vehicle will be used to transport goods and people near the front lines of the war.
Thank you!
UPDATE note on the Ukrainian Relief Project New Haven, August 3, 2022
The Ukrainian American Veterans Post 33, New Haven and the St Michael Humanitarian Relief Fund have been closely collaborating to provide medical supplies for Ukraine’s military.
We are now systematically refocusing our efforts to DIRECTLY address the immediate medical needs of those wounded on the front lines of combat . We aim to provide high quality supplies directly to those medics and soldiers on the front lines in an all out effort to save lives.
To do this we are working closely with Father Roman Manuluk and his parish outside of Lviv, Ukraine. Father Roman coordinates with the Vynnyky Veterans Hospital and its director Doctor Maxym Prykupenko to receive and distribute our supplies to where they are needed most throughout Ukraine . We know and trust both Father Roman (he is a relative of one of our parishioners) and Doctor Prykupenko personally and have worked with them throughout to guarantee that our assistance gets to those places that need it.
We currently have two initiatives:
1. We are purchasing and sending immediate life-saving items:
Tourniquets, blood clotting powders and blood clotting bandages. These three items are top EMT quality and are sourced from a distributor in Old Saybrook, CT. Purchasing this way ( and at a substantial discount ) we can verify the quality of the materials and respond to the precise needs as specified by physicians and medics on Ukraine’s front lines.
Please don’t try to purchase these items on your own. The exact items needed are not readily available.
2. We are working personally with the Chief of Police in Kyiv to retrofit (repair and to make more suitable for war conditions) a vehicle for transporting wounded soldiers. Recent events in Ukraine have shown that the American and European-made ambulances have been targeted and destroyed by Russian forces. Our retrofitting of common transport vehicles is a much safer and much more economical approach to transporting wounded soldiers .
We are now appealing to our broader Connecticut community to support our above-mentioned initiatives with monetary donations so that we can purchase and send these critically needed items directly to Ukraine’s front line soldiers and defenders
Feast of the Procession of the Cross
According to the Synaxarion, the feast celebrates the veneration of the Holy Cross in Constantinople. The early days of August were dangerous in antiquity. Because of the heat, many diseases became strong, and so the Cross was displayed in various places in the city for fourteen days. This feast was then introduced into Rus in the fifteenth century.
Today it announces the coming of the great feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14, approximately forty days from now. I think in may ways we misunderstand the Cross, we equate it with pain and suffering, as a negative sign that Christians were made to be miserable. That is not what St. Paul says in today’s epistle, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God …. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 18:18.23-24).
St. John calls the Cross the glory of Jesus, not because of its ugliness, but because it witnesses to the infinite love of God for his people. Because of love the cross is a “trophy of victory.”
In the Ambon Prayer of the Feast of the Exaltation, we pray, “You are glorified by the exaltation of your venerable Cross and by it accomplish our purification from the pride of demons.” As the people of Constantinople centuries ago looked to the Cross for deliverance from illness, we look at it today as our hope for deliverance from sin and evil.
Meditation by Archpriest David Petras