“By Your Nativity, O Most Pure Virgin, / Joachim and Anna are freed from the reproach/disgrace of barrenness (ὀνειδισμοῦ ἀτεκνίας); / Adam and Eve, from the corruption of death. / And we, your people, freed from subjection to sin (ἐνοχῆς τῶν πταισμάτων), celebrate and sing to you: / The barren woman gives birth to the Theotokos, the nourisher of our life!” (Byzantine Kontakion-hymn of the Nativity of the Theotokos)
The services of the great feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, celebrated this Sunday (NC), are full of difficult theological concepts, like “corruption of death” and “subjection to (liability for) sin,” referring to our human state before Christ. Even more perplexing, perhaps, is the mention of Christ annulling our “curse” in another well-known hymn of the feast: “By annulling the curse (καὶ λύσας τὴν κατάραν) He bestowed a blessing, by destroying death, He gave us eternal life,” it says in the Troparion-hymn. What does it all mean?
I am given to understand the meaning of these terms first and foremost through a story. It is the personal story of Saints Joachim and Anna, and their “disgrace of barrenness” or “childlessness.” And here’s what their story teaches me: Before God intervened and stepped into our picture, they, like me, were unable to “live” to their full potential. Without the Source of Life stepping into our nature, separated from Him through “sin” (a loss of focus), and a “curse” (a loss of “blessing” or “ev-logia,” a “good word”), we are cut off from His creative energies, which allow us to become truly productive and truly human. He becomes human, through His Most-Pure Mother, so that I can become my true self, freed from paralyzing “barrenness” and capable of giving birth to His word in my world.
So today “the barren woman gives birth,” as He bestows His same blessing on an ever God-Bearing Church. Let me embrace this blessing, by the intercessions of the Blessed Among Women, amen!
Meditation by Sr. Vassa
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Sunday, 9/08, 13th Sunday after Pentecost —Birth of the Holy Theotokos
9:00 a.m. For our parishioners
10:30 a.m. God’s blessings and good health for Fr. Stepan and Orysia Yanovski requested by their children
Epistle: Galatians 6:11-18
Gospel: John 3:13-17, Tone 4
Monday, 9/09, Post-feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God; the Holy and Righteous Forebears of God Joachim and Anna
9:00 a.m. God’s blessings and good health for Vasyl and Nadia Ivantsiv requested by Natalia Chermak and Family
Tuesday, 9/10, Post-feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God; the Holy Martyr Menodora, Metrodora and Nymphodora
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy
Wednesday, 9/11, Post-feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God; Our Venerable Mother Theodora of Alexandria
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy
Thursday, 9/12, Leave-taking of the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God; the Holy Priest-Martyr Autonomus
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy
Friday, 9/13, Commemoration of the Dedication of the Holy Church of the Resurrection of Christ Our God; the Fore-feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy
Saturday, 9/14, The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross
9:00 a.m. +Dario Aponte (Pan.) requested by the Family
Sunday, 9/15, Sunday after the Exaltation
9:00 a.m. +Michael Waselik (34th Anniversary) requested by the Family
10:30 a.m. For our parishioners
Epistle: Galatians 2:16-20
Gospel: Mark 8:34-9:1, Tone 5
Christ is in our midst!
This week’s vigil light is offered to God’s glory by Mary and Michael Muryn in memory of all the victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on our country. May their souls rest in peace, Eternal Memory!
CONGRATULATIONS to Fr. Stepan and Orysia Yanovski on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary which was celebrated last week. Congratulations as well to Vasyl and Nadia Ivantsiv on the occasion of their 40th wedding anniversary which was also celebrated last week. May God continue to shower them with His choicest blessings for long life, health and happiness. Mnohaya lita!
During my vacation, you can call Fr. Stepan Yanovski 203-468-0367, or Fr. Ivan Mazuryk 203-367-5054. Blessings, Fr. Iura Godenciuc
The next meeting of Knights of Columbus Blessed Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Ukrainian Council will be held on Monday, September 9th, 7:00 p.m. in the Holy Name Room.
The Connecticut State Ukrainian Day Committee wishes to invite all parishioners to attend this year’s Ukrainian Day Festival to be held TODAY. The Festival will be held on the grounds of St. Basil’s Seminary, 161 Glenbrook Rd., Stamford. Advance general admission tickets are $5.00 per person, 12 and over and are available from Luba Dubno. Tickets purchased at the gate will be $10.00 per person. We also have raffle tickets for sale 5 tickets $5.00. This festival can exist only if volunteers sign up during the day to help out. Please make that effort to volunteer.
Our next pyrohy project for regular orders will be September 14th. We need your help on Friday, September 13 to peel potatoes and Saturday September 14 to make pierogies (varenyky). Please come and help. Due to recent legislation, we will no longer be providing plastic bags. Please bring your own shopping bag. Thank you, Walter Ushchak
The Immaculate Conception Society (Sestretsi) is cordially inviting all St. Michael’s Parishioners and friends to attend its Lasagna Dinner to be held on Sunday, October 6, 12:00 noon, at our Parish church hall. Come to enjoy good food, deserts and the company of parishioners and friends. Tickets are $20.00 for adults and free admission to those under the age of 12. Tickets sellers will be announced at a later date. For more information see the Treasurer, Maria Sobko
Ukrainian American Veterans will hold our National Convention here in New Haven Thursday, October 31st thru Saturday, November 2nd. We expect 140 attendees at the convention and we are asking for your help to make this event a success. Please contact Post Commander Carl Harvey for further details and how you can help. Thank you!
We have for sale frozen pierogies (varenyky) 2 dozen $14.00, borsht $5.00, cabbage and sausage (kapusta and kovbasa) $10.00. You can buy after each Divine Liturgy.
STAMFORD CHARITIES APPEAL
REMINDER: Please don’t forget to donate to the Charities Appeal. Forms are designed for each family of our parish. Attached to the form is an envelope into which you can place your contribution. Please enclose the form with your contribution into the envelope and place it into the collection basket during church services. Kindly make checks payable to the Byzantine Rite Eparchy of Stamford. DO NOT MAIL THIS FORM TO THE CHANCERY OFFICE. We sincerely ask all parishioners to make generous contributions.
Awakenings —Adult Faith Formation: By your holy birth, most pure Lady, Joachim and Anna are freed from the curse of childlessness. Adam and Eve are freed from the corruption of death. The faithful are freed from the guilt of sin. (Kondakion – Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Christ is in our midst!
Volunteers are needed for the Ukrainian Day on Sunday at St. Basil’s Seminary.
The Committee will submit letters for students for Community Hours. Please call Gloria Horbaty to volunteer or for information 203-269-5909/cell 203-508-0306.
The committee is in need of help in the following areas:
Outside Serving Area: 12:30 – 2:30 (need 4)
Cashiers – Outside Kitchen Area: 12:00 – 2:00; 2:00 – 3:30; 3:30 – 5:00, 5:00 – 6:30 (need 2 each hour)
Beer Stand: 11:30 – 2:00; 2:00 – 3:30; 3:30 – 5:00; 5:00 – 6:30 (need 2 each hour)
Raffle Stand: after 1:00 (one hour shifts)
Moon Walk: after 1:00 – Middle and High School students
Note: Advance Admission ($5) and Raffle Tickets ($1 each; $5/book) are still available at the New Haven Ukrainian Credit Union from Larissa Swartwout.
Today we celebrate St Moses the Prophet, according to tradition was born a Jew in Egypt at a time when the Jewish population was enslaved to the Egyptians. Moses was abandoned by his mother only to be adopted by the Egyptian royal family. Eventually Moses was called by God to be a leader to the Jewish people, interceding for them before Pharaoh, demanding their liberation, “Let my people go!” What followed is one of the earliest recorded campaigns of mass unarmed resistance in history. Trusting not in force of arms, but in the Lord, the Jewish people prayed, and God delivered them. They won their freedom, but it was not given easily. They marched out of Egypt in search of a promised land, but Pharaoh and his army followed, only to be once again routed by the work of God.
Moses then became the great lawgiver and one of the earliest monotheists, carrying down the commandments from the Lord’s mountain: Do not worship other gods. Do not lie. Do not kill. These words, and the example of liberation on which they are borne have forever changed society.
(Hagiography: In Communion)
The previous post (see below) speaks of the new liturgical year. It’s a new year of Grace. Here are some suggestions as to “dig into our new year.”
~Build and/or grow the icon corner in your home
~Make it church frequently as possible
~Pray with Scripture, start with the Gospel of Matthew, reading only a paragraph at a time
~Give yourself an hour of quiet time —without cell phone or TV/radio/computer
~Engage in Byzantine prayer practices
~Do spiritual reading
~Do something charitable for someone in need.
Happy New Year!—The Beginning of the New Liturgical Year
For the maintenance of their armed forces, the Roman emperors decreed that their subjects in every district should be taxed every year. This same decree was reissued every fifteen years, since the Roman soldiers were obliged to serve for fifteen years. At the end of each fifteen-year period, an assessment was made of what economic changes had taken place, and a new tax was decreed, which was to be paid over the span of the fifteen years. This imperial decree, which was issued before the season of winter, was named Indictio, that is, Definition, or Order. This name was also adopted by the emperors in Constantinople.
At other times, the latter also used the term Epinemisis, that is, Distribution (Dianome). It is commonly held that Saint Constantine the Great introduced the Indiction decrees in A.D. 312, after he beheld the sign of the Cross in Heaven and vanquished Maxentius and was proclaimed Emperor in the West. Some, however (and this seems more likely), ascribe the institution of the Indiction to Augustus Caesar, three years before the birth of Christ. Those who hold this view offer as proof the papal bull issued in A.D. 781 which is dated thus: Anno IV, Indictionis LIII -that is, the fourth year of the fifty-third Indiction. From this, we can deduce the aforementioned year (3 B.C.) by multiplying the fifty-two complete Indictions by the number of years in each (15), and adding the three years of the fifty-third Indiction.
There are three types of Indictions: 1) That which was introduced in the West, and which is called Imperial, or Caesarean, or Constantinian, and which begins on the 24th of September; 2) The so-called Papal Indiction, which begins on the 1st of January; and 3) The Constantinopolitan, which was adopted by the Patriarchs of that city after the fall of the Eastern Empire in 1453. This Indiction is indicated in their own hand on the decrees they issue, without the numeration of the fifteen years.
This Indiction begins on the 1st of September and is observed with special ceremony in the Church. Since the completion of each year takes place, as it were, with the harvest and gathering of the crops into storehouses, and we begin anew from henceforth the sowing of seed in the earth for the production of future crops, September is considered the beginning of the New Year. The Church also keeps festival this day, beseeching God for fair weather, seasonable rains, and an abundance of the fruits of the earth. The Holy Scriptures (Lev. 23:24-5 and Num. 29:1-2) also testify that the people of Israel celebrated the feast of the Blowing of the Trumpets on this day, offering hymns of thanksgiving.
In addition to all the aforesaid, on this feast we also commemorate our Savior’s entry into the synagogue in Nazareth, where He was given the book of the Prophet Isaiah to read, and He opened it and found the place where it is written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for which cause He hath anointed Me…” (Luke 4:16-30).
It should be noted that to the present day, the Eastern Church has always celebrated the beginning of the New Year on September 1. September 1 is still festively celebrated as the New Year at the Patriarchate of Constantinople; among the Jews also the New Year, although reckoned according to a moveable calendar, usually falls in September. The liturgical service of the Menaion for January 1 is for our Lord’s Circumcision and for the memorial of Saint Basil the Great, without any mention of its being the beginning of a new year.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Sunday, 9/01, 12th Sunday after Pentecost —Beginning of the Indiction, that is, the New Year
9:00 a.m.+Ivan and Halyna Lobay requested by Maria Lobay
10:30 a.m. For our parishioners
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Gospel: Matthew 19:16-26, Tone 3
Monday, 9/02, The Holy Martyr Mamas —Labor Day (US civil holiday)
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy
Tuesday, 9/03, The Holy Priest-Martyr Anthymus
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy
Wednesday, 9/04, The Holy Priest-Martyr Babylas, the Holy Prophet Moses Who saw God
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy
Thursday, 9/05, The Holy Prophet Zachary and Elizabeth, Parents of John the Baptist
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy
Friday, 9/06, Commemoration of the Miracle Performed at Colossus in Chone by the Archangel Michael
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy
Saturday, 9/07, The Fore-feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God
9:00 a.m. +Myroslaw Trojan requested by Nadia Trojan and Family
***Note: On a Sunday or holy day nearest to today – 35th anniversary of the death of Patriarch Joseph Cardinal Slipyj in 1984 – one of the bination Divine Liturgies is to be offered for the repose of his soul, following the Liturgy, a panakhyda is to be offered. (Cf. Stamford Diocesan Memorandum No. 472/92)
Sunday, 9/08, 13th Sunday after Pentecost —Birth of the Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary
9:00 a.m. Special Intention
10:30 a.m. For our parishioners
Epistle: Galatians 6:11-18 and Philippians 2:5-11
Gospel: John 3:13-17, Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28, Tone 4
Christ is in our midst!
This week’s vigil light is offered to God’s glory by Cathy Kolesnik for God’s blessings and good health for Barbara and Patrick Bagley.
Reposed: Last week Sophie Ciukenda fell asleep in the Lord. Please pray for the repose of her soul. May her memory be eternal!
During my vacation, you can call Fr. Stepan Yanovski (203) 468-0367, or Fr. Ivan Mazuryk (203) 367-5054. Blessings, Fr. Iura Godenciuc
THANK YOU to the Estate of Pauline Kurylo for her generous donation of $2,000.00 to our church. Pauline Kurylo was a wonderful person who was loved by many. She will be missed. May her memory be eternal!
The next Sestrechi meeting will be held on Sunday, September 8th after the 9:00 Divine Liturgy. The meeting will be held in the Church Hall Classroom 1.
The next meeting of Knights of Columbus Blessed Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Ukrainian Council will be held on Monday, September 9th, 7:00 p.m. in the Holy Name Room.
We have for sale frozen pierogies (varenyky) 2 dozen $14.00, borsht $5.00, cabbage and sausage (kapusta and kovbasa) $10.00. You can buy after each Divine Liturgy.
PYROHY PROJECT: We will make Pyrohy for the Ukrainian Festival in Stamford on Saturday, September 7th. Our next pyrohy project for regular orders will be September 14th Please come and help. Due to recent legislation, we will no longer be providing plastic bags. Please bring your own shopping bags. Thank you, Walter Ushchak
The Connecticut State Ukrainian Day Committee wishes to invite all parishioners to attend this year’s Ukrainian Day Festival to be held on Sunday, September 8. The Festival will be held on the grounds of St. Basil’s Seminary, 161 Glenbrook Rd., Stamford, CT. Advance general admission tickets are $5.00 per person, 12 and over and are available from Luba Dubno. Tickets purchased at the gate will be $10.00 per person. We also have raffle tickets for sale 5 tickets $5.00. This festival can exist only if volunteers sign up during the day to help out. Please make that effort to volunteer.
The Immaculate Conception Society (Sestretsi) is cordially inviting all St. Michael’s parishioners and friends to attend its lasagna dinner to be held on Sunday, October 6, 12:00 noon, at our church hall. Come to enjoy good food, deserts and the company of parishioners and friends. Tickets are $20.00 for adults and free admission to those under the age of 12. Tickets sellers will be announced at a later date. For more information see Maria Sobko-Treasurer
STAMFORD CHARITIES APPEAL
REMINDER: Please don’t forget to donate to the Charities Appeal. Forms are designed for each family of our parish. Attached to the form is an envelope into which you can place your contribution. Please enclose the form with your contribution into the envelope and place it into the collection basket during church services. Kindly make checks payable to the
Byzantine Rite Eparchy of Stamford. DO NOT MAIL THIS FORM TO THE CHANCERY OFFICE. We sincerely ask all parishioners to make generous contributions.
September 1 – Happy New Year! – The Beginning of the New Liturgical Year
The beginning of the new liturgical year for the Byzantine Church, that is, our Kievan Church, does not correspond with the civil new year. The ordering of the year, the “indiction” has a long and complicated history which needs some attention to understand how and why we pray the Liturgy the way we do.
This “Indiction” begins on the 1st of September and is observed with special ceremony in the Church. Since the completion of each year takes place with the harvest and gathering of the crops into storehouses, and we begin anew from henceforth the sowing of seed in the earth for the production of future crops, September is considered the beginning of the New Year. The Church also keeps festival this day, beseeching God for fair weather, seasonable rains, and an abundance of the fruits of the earth. The Holy Scriptures (Lev. 23:24-5 and Num. 29:1-2) also testify that the people of Israel celebrated the feast of the Blowing of the Trumpets on this day, offering hymns of thanksgiving.