NEWSLETTER

ST George Newsletter

04/24/21 - 24 April 2021 - Holy Week Schedule

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24 April 2021 - Holy Week Schedule

Orthodox Holy Week
Holy Week schedule

III. Paschal services

current announcements
current civil protocols

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ORTHODOX HOLY WEEK:

This year there is, as noted in recent newsletters, a four‑week difference between the newer Western & older Eastern Paschal calendars.

So for the Orthodox, the forty days of Great Lent this year conclude after sundown this Friday April 23rd.

The next two days are Lazarus Saturday on April 24th and Palm Sunday on April 25th. They are followed, beginning at sundown on Sunday the 25th, by Passion Week with its daily services, and finally by the Paschal services beginning Saturday night May 1st.

(The more common name Holy Week is often used to refer to the combined sequence of Lazarus Saturday & Palm Sunday and Passion Week.)

These special Lenten services to the glory of God are offered as further Lenten opportunities for worship, available to the local people to the extent that respectively they may be able to attend and take part.

As with the past Lenten weeks, although some of these additional services may not have present the choir that we try normally to have, visitors nevertheless are invited and welcome always, as at all of our services.

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HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE:

This Sunday morning April 25th at 9:35 a.m. an abbreviated Matins with the Palms Blessing, and at 10:00 a.m. the Divine Liturgy of St. John, will be offered for Palm Sunday, the Great Feast of the Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem, followed by lunch or refreshments.

Holy Monday evening April 26th at 6:30 p.m. we will offer this eve’s (for Tuesday) Bridegroom Matins.

Holy Tuesday evening April 27th at 6:30 p.m. we will offer this eve’s (for Wednesday) Bridegroom Matins.

Holy Wednesday evening April 28th at 6:30 p.m. we will offer this day’s (Wednesday’s) Bridegroom Vespers, with the Liturgy of the Presanctified.

Maundy Thursday evening April 29th at 6:30 p.m. we will sing the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil for the Last Supper, concluding about 8:40 p.m.

Great & Holy Friday morning April 30th at 10:00 a.m. Fr. Benedict will offer the service of the Royal Hours (or Great Hours) of Great & Holy Friday, for any who might attend, concluding about 11:30 a.m.

Great & Holy Friday afternoon April 30th at 3:00 p.m. we will sing this day’s (Friday’s) Vespers service, concluding about 4:10 p.m.

Great & Holy Friday evening April 30th at 7:00 (seven o’clock) p.m. we aspire to serve this eve’s (for Saturday) Matins service, including the “Praises” (or “Lamentations”) and the outdoor Trisagion procession, concluding about 9:00 p.m.: the question of holding this evening service, based on our celebrant’s endurance & resilience, he will decide by the 4:10 p.m. end of the Friday afternoon Vespers; and so anyone not then present but interested should call our office at 482–2006 later in the afternoon (recording a message if necessary) to learn the decision.

Great & Holy Saturday midday May 1st at 12:00 noon preceding the Divine Liturgy, two of our catechumens are to be received at St. George’s, by the mystery (or sacrament) of Chrismation, into the Orthodox Church.

Great & Holy Saturday midday May 1st thus around 12:30 p.m. we will sing the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil, concluding around 2:15 p.m.

Visitors are always invited and welcome at all of our services.

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III. PASCHAL SERVICES:

Saturday evening May 1st at 11:30 p.m. we will sing the Great & Holy Paschal services, for the Resurrection of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ: Nocturn (the midnight office, with its Canon and the outdoor procession), Matins (with the Paschal Canon and the homily by St. John Chrysostom), the Paschal Hours’ Prayers, and the Paschal Divine Liturgy of St. John; followed about 2:40 a.m. by the Paschal feast itself, in the adjoining parish hall.

It is customary on arrival at the Paschal services to bring a basket with items from which we’ve been fasting through Lent, that is, meat & eggs & dairy products; following the services, around 2:40 a.m. Sunday morning May 2nd, Fr. Benedict will give the traditional blessing over the baskets, after which we’ll all sit down together for the customary Paschal Feast.

As at all of our services and occasions, visitors are always invited and welcome.

Sunday May 2nd at 12:00 noon (there being no late‑morning service that day) we will offer the Paschal Vespers, concluding about 1:00 p.m.

May 8th our normal Saturday schedule resumes at 5:00 p.m. with our weekly Great Vespers, concluding before 6:00 p.m.

May 9th our normal Sunday schedule resumes at 9:35 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. with the Hours’ Prayers and the Divine Liturgy for St. Thomas’ Sunday, followed by lunch or refreshments.

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CURRENT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Each Saturday (except May 1st, when the Paschal weekend schedule differs) we have Great Vespers at 5:00 p.m., concluding before 6:00 p.m.

And every Sunday (except May 2nd, when the Paschal weekend schedule differs) we have at 9:35 a.m. the Hours’ Prayers and at 10:00 a.m. the Divine Liturgy, followed by lunch or refreshments, and normally either Bible study or Sunday school.

Our schedule of special services next week through the Paschal weekend is recited in detail in § II and § III of this newsletter.

Our lunchtime Bible study & Sunday school, because of Lent’s longer Sunday services and additional midweek services, will resume following the May 2nd Paschal weekend.

All of our services are held in our historic church building at 212 East Church Street in Edenton; and visitors are always invited and welcome. Our office telephone number is 482–2006.

Our prayers are asked for the servant‑of‑God Jonathan, recovering from surgery, besides for his family, and likewise for the handmaiden‑of‑God Diane, the handmaiden‑of‑God Katina, and the handmaiden‑of‑God Sherry.

For the newly‑departed Robert & Barbara and Adah & Noah our prayers are offered, and particularly for Marguerite, Laura & Joel, and the rest of the family in their grief.

And our prayers are asked for Fr. Andrew & Mo. Katrina, for Tony, for Samuel, for Patsy & John, for Rosa, for Maria, for Natasha, for Scott, for Harvey, for Sandy, for Darnell, and for Carolyn; and for those many further friends for whom we pray at each of our services.

Our mailing address is P. O. Box 38, Edenton, N. C., 27932.

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PROTOCOLS for the PANDEMIC:

In view of our providential circumstances of a very large church building with a very small congregation, since last May 23rd we have been able again to announce our church services publicly and to welcome visitors, and since August 16th likewise to resume our after‑church Sunday parish‑hall refreshments & fellowship and Bible study.

Although North Carolina’s executive orders exempt churches entirely, their comparable rules for retail stores & hair salons & restaurants would allow, now since this March 26th, an attendance of thirty‑eight to fifty in the 2,100 square‑foot St. George’s church; and thus with our yet very small congregation, we have plenty of room for visitors.

At services our Bishop has asked that six‑foot distancing be maintained between households, and that masks be worn indoors, with exceptions for those helping with our singing, or assigned to chanting or reading parts in the service, and for children under eight years. (Masks are available in the narthex for visitors needing them, along with 80% alcohol hand sanitizer.)

Of course anyone with a recent exposure or symptom of the virus should offer instead at home our Sunday prayers or other days’ prayers for the time being, as may likewise any who may be at risk with weakened immune function or comparable medical conditions.

In Edenton during this pandemic we remain thankful for the blessing both of our remarkably spacious church and likewise of our parish hall (the former St. John’s School auditorium) that’s similarly quite spacious for the yet small size of our congregation and visitors.

17 April 2021 Newsletter

I. Thursday evening & Saturday morning

ll. Holy Week & Paschal services

III. Lazarus Saturday

IV. The Great‑Martyr & Trophy‑bearer

V. The hymns commemorating St. George

VI. Current announcements

VII. Current civil protocols

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Next THURSDAY evening & SATURDAY morning:

Next THURSDAY evening April 22nd we will celebrate our patronal feast day of St. George, with the vespers of St. George’s Day and the Lenten Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

(Its celebration this year is held on its eve alone, because the April 23rd patronal feast day falls on a Lenten weekday this year.)

Next SATURDAY morning April 24th we will hold a Divine Liturgy for the Saturday of St. Lazarus (a week & a day before Easter), commemorating (John 11: 1–46) the Raising of Lazarus.

Our congregation’s small size, together with some new families beginning to attend, has rendered it most practical to discuss & decide weekly at our Sunday luncheon fellowship the starting times for any services during the ensuing week.

Consequently any visitors interested in attending next Thursday evening or Saturday morning are asked & encouraged to call our office at 482–2006 for the decided starting times for these midweek services, which we apologize it’s not yet practical to publish in the prior week’s newsletter.

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HOLY WEEK & PASCHAL Services:

As noted in recent newsletters, in this present year 2021, the Gregorian New calendar runs four weeks earlier, with Western Easter on April 4th, than the Julian Old calendar, with the Orthodox Pasch or Easter on May 2nd.

At the beginning of Holy Week is (or, more precisely, preceding Passion Week is) Palm Sunday—April 25th this year on the Orthodox calendar, and one of the twelve Great Feasts—celebrating the bittersweet Royal Entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into the Holy City of Jerusalem.

And during Passion Week (or Holy Week), beginning Monday April 26th this year, we anticipate holding services daily, which we will hope to announce in a newsletter next week, including the services for Orthodox Good Friday (Great & Holy Friday) on April 30th, Holy Saturday on May 1st, and Easter or the Pasch on May 2nd.

Thus that Paschal weekend of May 1st & 2nd is the one weekend during the year when our services do not begin at the otherwise usual times, neither for Saturday vespers nor for the Sunday services.

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III. LAZARUS SATURDAY:

Lent in Orthodox Christianity, as noted in prior newsletters, comprises three seasons: Pre-Lent (abolished in Western Christianity in 1969 & 1979), Great Lent (of 40 days, concluding at sundown on the Friday before Good Friday), and Holy Week (concluding at midnight on the eve of Easter or the Pasch).

The forty days of Great Lent are thus followed immediately by Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, and then by the Monday through Saturday of Passion Week. (The more common name Holy Week is often used to refer to the combined sequence of Lazarus Saturday & Palm Sunday and Passion Week.)

Accordingly, between Great Lent’s forty days of penitence, and Passion Week’s six days of darkness and mourning, we celebrate two days of joy and triumph: Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday.

Jesus’ raising from the dead, after four days in the tomb, of his friend Lazarus of Bethany (John 11: 1–46) is a prefiguring both of Christ’s own Resurrection, not many weeks later, and of the bodily resurrection of all the righteous on the Last Day.

As such Lazarus Saturday is celebrated by the Orthodox Church, on the day before Palm Sunday in that, some days after Lazarus’ resurrection, Jesus returned to Bethany and dined with him and his sisters Mary and Martha (John 12: 1–13) on the very day before Palm Sunday.

In the years following Pentecost when the Christians were scattered (Acts 8:1, 11: 19–20), including St. Lazarus (John 12: 10–11), he settled in Cyprus; and during St. Paul’s and St. Barnabas’ (a Cypriot, Acts 4:36) journey a.d. 46 by land across the island (Acts 13: 1–6, 13), they consecrated St. Lazarus the first bishop of the city of Kition (formerly Kittim, subsequently Larnaca), where he served until his death a.d. 60 and where his tomb remains.

Lazarus Saturday has, as attested by contemporary homilies extant, been celebrated at least since the fourth century—the century that began with the cataclysmic Diocletian’s Persecution from 303 to 311 and was followed by Constantine’s Edict of Milan in 313 finally for the full toleration of Christianity. And Lazarus Saturday has always been held to be an occasion particularly appropriate for baptism and chrismation.

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the GREAT-MARTYR & TROPHY-BEARER:

It is under the patronage of St. George that our Edenton mission was placed—and is his name that accordingly was bestowed upon our congregation’s church here—by our late Archbishop Dmitri during his visit to Edenton, on October 28 & 29 of 2007.

In George’s military service he had attained by the year 303, while in his twenties, the rank of tribune (regimental commander) in the personal guard of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

Following the issuance, on February 24th that year, of the imperial edict of persecution of the Christians, George proclaimed that he himself was one of them, refused to deny his faith, and so suffered torture and finally death on April 23, 303.

His bravery inspired the conversion of thousands of others, who witnessed George’s days of public martyrdom in the imperial capital, to a courageous confession of Jesus Christ likewise; and there followed remarkably in less than a decade the Edict of Milan in 313 for the full toleration of Christianity.

St. George, the Great‑martyr & Trophy‑bearer, is often shown on icons as mounted on a white horse and slaying a dragon, so portraying his victory over the devil. He is the patron saint of England and of several other countries, as well as of the Boy Scouts.

The title “Great‑martyr” is a category of saints; it signifies that George’s martyrdom was specifically through torture (in his case, over a number of days).

The other title is not a category of saints; instead, “the Trophy‑bearer” is a title of honor, carried by George alone among all the Saints of the Church, and derived as follows.

The English “trophy” comes (via the Middle French “trophee” and Latin “trophaeum”) from the Greek “trópaion,” which was originally, among the ancient Greeks, a monument erected to mark a military victory, before acquiring its later meaning of trophies, in the broader sense, brought home from a military victory.

The Greek compound‑word tropaiophóros, meaning literally “trophy‑bearer,” had in the Roman Empire initially two applications. First it was a title applied to Rome’s founder Romulus following his initial military victory, against the neighboring king Acron in the 8th century b.c., the title being illustrated both in public coinage and in monumental art. Second the same title was likewise applied to Jupiter, who was the principal and national god of the Roman Empire, until its adoption finally of Christianity instead in 380 a.d. under Theodosius.

Thus in 303, in the eastern imperial capital Nicomedia (the new Constantinople not being established until 330), the vow of the Emperor Diocletian was to escalate the public torture of his theretofore esteemed tribune George until he relented and made an offering to Jupiter, so redeeming himself as a good citizen again.

But in his contest against the pagan Emperor, over the successive April days of torture in the capital, it proved to be neither the Emperor nor Jupiter, but instead the great‑martyr George, blessed by his Lord in his unsurpassed bravery for Him and His faith, who proved himself the “Trophy‑bearer,” bearing and carrying home the trophy of victory for Jesus Christ, with the conversion, in the process, to Christianity of thousands of others who witnessed George’s days of public martyrdom.

And it took only nine years then for Christianity to be in 312 first endorsed by an emperor, Constantine, and took only the decade to 313 for his Edict of Milan to be issued for the full toleration of Christianity.

So it is no wonder that, in the recalling of his bravery through those days of public spectacle and witness in the imperial capital, the popular veneration of St. George soared among the Christians and the general population, both in the region of his home town of Lydda and the surrounding Holy Land, and likewise from Nicomedia through the Greek provinces surrounding the Ægean.

Throughout the centuries since 303, “the Tropaiophóros” has been understood among the Greeks to refer to none other than St. George; and in fact he has remained the only saint who carries in the Church the name “Trophy‑bearer” as a title.

Subsequently in a derivative sense the Church has applied the term “Trophy‑bearer” (Tropaiophóros) as part of the hymnography of three later saints—although not as a title: first to the Great‑martyr Theodore Stratelates (i.e., the General, or the Commander), whose martyrdom in 319 was known for dislodging the Roman idols; and second to St. Athanasius the Great and St. Cyril, both Archbishops (or Patriarchs) of Alexandria—whose contests were against the major Christian‑era heresies respectively of Arianism and Nestorianism.

(In modern time the term in English has sometimes been loosely employed in translating further cases, as has been the Greek term’s Slavonic substitute, Victory‑bearer, although the latter is equivalent instead to the separate Greek term Nicephoros, which is used for other saints.)

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of St. George’s title, ever reflecting his successive days of martyrdom for his Lord and Christian faith, in the presence of the populace of the capital of the Empire.

In summary, through the initial pagan half of the Roman Empire’s duration, from its founding in 753 b.c. until its adoption of Christianity in 380 a.d., “the Trophy‑bearer” was either the principal god Jupiter, or else the city’s founder Romulus who had brought Jupiter the first Roman victory trophies; but through then the Christian half of the Roman Empire’s existence, from a.d. 380 until the fall of Constantinople in 1453, “the Trophy‑bearer” carried no meaning but one—to recall the courage & faith of St. George the Great‑Martyr, as the epitome of a witness for Jesus Christ.

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THE HYMNS commemorating ST. GEORGE:

The three principal hymns commemorating St. George, at least one of which we hear nearly every week, teach & remind us regularly of our relationship with our patron saint and of his profound Christian witness as an enduring example for us.

In the last hymn, the agricultural references allude to the fact that the original Greek meaning of “George” is “worker of the land” (i.e., Geōrgios, from geo + ergos), as well as to the circumstance that George’s maternal family were planters, at Lydda in Judea.

The Orthodox understand that, as it is right to ask the prayers of a fellow Christian on earth, it is no less right to continue to ask his prayers when he is gone to be with our Saviour Himself, and particularly when the Christian’s holiness is demonstrated by his having laid down his life for our Lord—as epitomized by the Great‑martyr St. George, the Trophy‑bearer.

The text is as follows, of these three principal hymns commemorating our patron St. George.

—the Russian hymn:

Thou didst fight the good fight, O George, martyr of Christ,
and by faith didst thou vanquish the tyrant’s godlessness.

Thou gavest thyself as a sacrifice well‑pleasing unto God,
and so hast received, O Holy One, the crown of victory; //

and through thy supplications, forgiveness of sins is granted unto all.

—the Greek hymn:

As deliverer of those in chains,
defender of the poor,
physician of the sick,
and champion of kings,

O trophy‑bearer Great‑martyr George,
intercede with Christ God //
that our souls be saved.

—the collect‑hymn:

Having been cultivated well by God,
thou O George wast made manifest

as a most honourable husbandman of piety,
harvesting unto thyself the sheaves of virtue:

For, having sown in tears, thou dost reap in gladness;
and having fought the good fight and shed thy blood,
thou hast inherited Christ:

So that through thine intercessions, O Holy One, //
the forgiveness of transgressions is bestowed upon all.

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CURRENT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Each Saturday (except May 1st, when the Paschal weekend schedule differs) we have Great Vespers at 5:00 p.m., concluding before 6:00 p.m.

And every Sunday (except May 2nd, when the Paschal weekend schedule differs) we have at 9:35 a.m. the Hours’ Prayers and at 10:00 a.m. the Divine Liturgy, followed by lunch or refreshments, and normally either Bible study or Sunday school.

Our schedule of special services these next two weeks is recited in detail in § I and § II of this newsletter.

Our lunchtime Bible study & Sunday school, because of Lent’s longer Sunday services and additional midweek services, will resume following the May 2nd Paschal weekend.

All of our services are held in our historic church building at 212 East Church Street in Edenton; and visitors are always invited and welcome. Our office telephone number is 482–2006.

There were no newsletters the last three weeks, the most recent thus having been the issue of March 18th/20th.

Our prayers are asked for the servant‑of‑God Jonathan, recovering from surgery, besides for his family, and likewise for the handmaiden‑of‑God Diane, the handmaiden‑of‑God Katina, and the handmaiden‑of‑God Sherry.

For the newly‑departed Robert & Barbara and Adah & Noah our prayers are offered, and particularly for Marguerite, Laura & Joel, and the rest of the family in their grief.

And our prayers are asked for Fr. Andrew & Mo. Katrina, for Tony, for Samuel, for Patsy, for Rosa, for Maria, for Natasha, for Scott, for Harvey, for Sandy, for Darnell, and for Carolyn; and for those many further friends for whom we pray at each of our services.

Our mailing address is P. O. Box 38, Edenton, N. C., 27932.

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VII. PROTOCOLS for the PANDEMIC:

In view of our providential circumstances of a very large church building with a very small congregation, since last May 23rd we have been able again to announce our church services publicly and to welcome visitors, and since August 16th likewise to resume our after‑church Sunday parish‑hall refreshments & fellowship and Bible study.

Although North Carolina’s executive orders exempt churches entirely, their comparable rules for retail stores & hair salons & restaurants would allow, now since this March 26th, an attendance of thirty‑eight to fifty in the 2,100 square‑foot St. George’s church; and thus with our yet very small congregation, we have plenty of room for visitors.

At services our Bishop has asked that six‑foot distancing be maintained between households, and that masks be worn indoors, with exceptions for those helping with our singing, or assigned to chanting or reading parts in the service, and for children under eight years. (Masks are available in the narthex for visitors needing them, along with 80% alcohol hand sanitizer.)

Of course anyone with a recent exposure or symptom of the virus should offer instead at home our Sunday prayers or other days’ prayers for the time being, as may likewise any who may be at risk with weakened immune function or comparable medical conditions.

In Edenton during this pandemic we remain thankful for the blessing both of our remarkably spacious church and likewise of our parish hall (the former St. John’s School auditorium) that’s similarly quite spacious for the yet small size of our congregation and visitors.

13 March 2021 Newsletter

l. Lent next week

ll. Lenten Fast summary

III. Lenten Fast guidance

Prayer of St. Ephraim
current announcements
current civil protocols

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LENTEN SERVICES:

On SUNDAY March 14th this weekend, the morning’s schedule will conclude with the annual “Forgiveness Vespers” rite of mutual forgiveness, on the eve of Great Lent.

(Because Great Lent, with its fasting regimen, commences liturgically in the middle of the annual Forgiveness Vespers, this service will be held immediately after, rather than before, the Sunday refreshments & fellowship.)

Monday through Friday of next week, March 15th through 19th, being the initial week of Orthodox Lent and thus called “Clean Week” or “Pure Week,” services will be held each of those five evenings at 6:30 p.m.

The MONDAY & TUESDAY & THURSDAY services next week at 6:30 p.m. will be the first & second & fourth divisions respectively of the Great Penitential Canon, of St. Andrew of Crete, along with Little Compline (for this pandemic year, in place of the usual Grand Compline), and all concluding thus about 7:30 p.m.

The WEDNESDAY service next week, March 17th at 6:30 p.m., will be the Lenten Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, preceded by the afternoon Prayers, and all concluding about 8:05 p.m. (Any wishing to remain could sing the Great Canon’s third division, in an abbreviated service on account of the late hour.)

On FRIDAY evening of next week, March 19th at 6:30 p.m., Fr. Benedict will offer the Vespers of St. Theodore for anyone who is able to attend.

On SATURDAY morning of next week, March 20th, there will be offered the morning Prayers and the Divine Liturgy for St. Theodore’s Saturday, all concluding in 1½ hours—besides our Saturday usual Great Vespers at 5:00 p.m. weekly. (The starting time for the Saturday morning services March 20th will be decided at Sunday lunch March 14th; visitors interested in attending may call our office at 482–2006 for the decided hour.)

And on SUNDAY March 21st, the services traditionally conclude with the congregational procession for the Sunday of Orthodoxy, when we give thanks for those who laid down their lives in defense of the Apostles’ teachings. This annual procession of icons that day commemorates the Œcumenical Councils that upheld Orthodox Christianity against the innovations of heretics, and it provides the laity an annual review of basic Trinitarian & Christological doctrine. (Customarily everyone is invited to bring a favorite icon for this annual procession, and icons are available for participating visitors to carry as well.)

The remaining weeks of Great Lent will have special services generally on Wednesday evenings (but not Wednesday April 21st) and Saturday mornings and on some Friday evenings. They may begin at the same times as during the initial week, or adjustments may be made for the needs of those who attend; until those decisions are announced in a newsletter, visitors interested in attending may call Fr. Benedict at 325–4505 about these subsequent weeks’ schedule.

For the MARCH 25th Great Feast of the Annunciation of Jesus Christ’s Incarnation, falling this year on a Lenten weekday, its eve (thus on Wednesday evening March 24th) will be celebrated with the Great Vespers of the Annunciation and the Lenten Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts; and its own day (thus on Thursday evening March 25th) will be celebrated with the Great Vespers of the Leavetaking & Synaxis and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. (Until those two evenings’ Annunciation services’ hours may be announced potentially in a later newsletter, visitors interested in attending may call our office at 482–2006 for the decided times.)

For our APRIL 23rd patronal feast day of St. George, because it falls on a Lenten weekday this year, its celebration will be on its eve alone (thus on Thursday evening April 22nd) with the vespers of St. George’s Day and the Lenten Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

Finally, during Orthodox Holy Week, beginning Monday April 26th this year, there will be services daily. As those dates approach, we will announce in the newsletter the times for these services particular to Holy Week.

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LENTEN FAST SUMMARY:

The annual acclimation toward the Lenten fasting gradually during the pre‑Lenten weeks (through “Meatfare Sunday” on March 7th and “Cheesefare Sunday” on March 14th this year) was addressed in the last newsletter, along with those weeks’ lessons to us: about man’s Fall from Paradise; against hypocrisy and self‑righteousness; and toward repentance, mercy, and forgiveness.

Now the fasting principles for Lent itself, beginning March 15th for the 40 days of the Great Fast and the 8 days of Holy Week, are as follow.

The fundamental rule is that we abstain from meat (including finfish), eggs & dairy products, and oil & wine (—i.e., alcoholic beverages); but on Saturdays and Sundays oil and wine are allowed, as the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day respectively.

There are several exceptions (all noted on our 2021 wall calendars): but, notably, on the Annunciation (always March 25th) and on Palm Sunday, finfish (i.e., fish with backbones) are allowed; and, on Lazarus Saturday (the day before Palm Sunday), fish roe.

(Shellfish, i.e., all invertebrates, have been traditionally allowed throughout the season, as being more primitive than the animals from which we abstain, and notably without recognizable blood generally—besides being historically disdained as mere scavengers.)

During the initial five days of Lent (beginning on Sunday evening March 14th) the traditional practice is an absolute fast except for Wednesday supper & Friday supper; likewise there is an absolute fast on Great & Holy Friday (Good Friday). During the remaining weeks of Lent, on weekdays (Monday through Friday) traditionally a single meal is taken, at supper.

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III. LENTEN FAST GUIDANCE:

The fasting discipline should be undertaken with the guidance, especially when questions arise, of one’s priest (or spiritual father, or mother), for several reasons, including those of ensuring a proper measure of prayer, compassion, & dependence on God, and of avoiding pride or irritability. Reasons of health may mitigate the fast, as well as other personal circumstances, such as those of an individual in a non-Orthodox household.

An inquirer or catechumen or one otherwise yet entering upon such a fast should not try to undertake this all at once, as such an attempt likely would be neither successful nor beneficial. Adopting the discipline instead in increments, over a period of several seasons & years as necessary, avoids a sense of burden or being overwhelmed and allows rather a glad anticipation of each successive step.

Most importantly, the Orthodox emphasize not a legalistic approach to fasting but one of joyful anticipation.

The Biblical history of fasting, together with its spiritual benefits of self-discipline, to soul & body together, that are experienced by those who follow this example of Jesus and the Fathers in growing closer to God, are well explained by Bishop Kallistos (Timothy Ware) in his booklet “When You Fast,” available from our tract cabinet.

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PRAYER of ST. EPHRAIM:

The fourth‑century Prayer of repentance of St. Ephraim the Syrian, appointed for Orthodox Christians’ use each weekday during Lent, is said (in this translation or in other translations) as follows.

“O Lord and Master of my life,
“deliver me from the spirit of sloth, faint‑heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. (prostration.)

“But grant rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and charity to Thy servant. (prostration.)

“Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see mine own transgressions, and not to judge my brother:
“for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.” (prostration.)

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CURRENT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Each Saturday we have Great Vespers at 5:00 p.m., concluding before 6:00 p.m.

And every Sunday we have at 9:35 a.m. the Hours’ Prayers and at 10:00 a.m. the Divine Liturgy, followed by lunch or refreshments, and normally either Bible study or Sunday school.

Our schedule of additional Lenten services is recited in detail at the beginning of this newsletter.

At lunch currently we normally are alternating weekly between our regular Bible study and a special teaching series by Fr. Benedict on the structure & history of our Sunday Liturgy from the Early Church.

(Visitors expecting to be with us on a particular weekend may always call our office at 482–2006 to confirm which chapter is next for our bi‑weekly Bible study on a Sunday approaching.)

All of our services are held in our historic church building at 212 East Church Street in Edenton; and visitors are always invited and welcome. Our office telephone number is 482–2006.

There were no newsletters the last two weeks, the most recent thus having been the issue of February 18th/20th.

Our prayers are asked for the servant‑of‑God Jonathan, recovering from surgery, besides for his family, and likewise for the handmaiden‑of‑God Katina and the handmaiden‑of‑God Sherry.

And our prayers are asked for the newly‑departed Maximo, that he may rest in peace; and for Fr. Andrew & Mo. Katrina, for Tony, for Samuel, for Patsy, for Rosa, for Maria, for Natasha, for Scott, for Harvey, for Sandy, for Darnell, and for Carolyn; and for t those many further friends for whom we pray at each of our services.

Our mailing address is P. O. Box 38, Edenton, N. C., 27932.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

PROTOCOLS for the PANDEMIC:

As reported in our recent months’ newsletters, in accord with North Carolina’s executive orders effective since last May 22nd, and in view of our providential circumstances of a very large church building with a very small congregation, since last May 23rd we have been able again to announce our church services publicly and to welcome visitors.

At services our Bishop has asked that six‑foot distancing be maintained between households, and that masks be worn indoors, with exceptions for those helping with our singing, or assigned to chanting or reading parts in the service, and for children under eight years. (Masks are available in the narthex for visitors needing them, along with 80% alcohol hand sanitizer.)

Although North Carolina’s executive orders exempt churches entirely, their comparable rule for retail stores & hair salons & restaurants would allow an attendance of twenty‑five (or now even more, since this February 26th) in the 2,100 square‑foot St. George’s church; and thus with our yet very small congregation, we have plenty of room for visitors.

Of course anyone with a recent exposure or symptom of the virus, or at risk with weakened immune function or comparable medical conditions, should offer instead at home our Sunday prayers or other days’ prayers, for the time being.

And as related in the more recent newsletters, our Diocese of the South on August 11th, by consensus of our bishop, administrator, chancellor, and the local deans, has issued now simplified guidelines, for a prudently maximal approach, in concert with the civil jurisdictions in our Diocese, to the further reopening of church life in our parishes and missions.

Thus at St. George’s we resumed on August 16th our after‑church Sunday parish‑hall refreshments & fellowship and Bible study, which had been suspended since March 12th of last year.

Until the pandemic subsides, the protocols of distancing between households and of masks indoors, as at services in the church, will continue likewise for our parish‑hall activities, along with limits on duration and numbers, and with particular care & attention as to food & beverage sourcing & serving.

As with our remarkably spacious church, in Edenton during this pandemic we are blessed to have a parish hall (the former St. John’s School auditorium) that’s likewise quite spacious for the yet small size of our congregation and visitors.

30 January 2021 Newletter

ST GEORGE’S NEWLETTER – 30 JANUARY 202

I. Candlemas on Monday & Tuesday

II. Current announcements

III. Feast of the Meeting

IV. Our eighteenth anniversary

V. Current civil protocols

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CANDLEMAS on MONDAY & TUESDAY:

For the February 2nd Great Feast next week, as usual we will have Great Vespers on its eve, and on its morning the Divine Liturgy, followed by this Feast’s annual “Candlemas” blessing of the candles.

So Monday evening February 1st at 7:00 p.m. (concluding before 8:00 p.m.) there will begin the Vespers of the Feast of the Meeting (or Presentation) of Christ in the Temple.

And Tuesday morning Feb. 2nd, preceded at 6:50 a.m. by the First Prayers, there will begin at 7:00 a.m. the Divine Liturgy (concluding about 8:15 a.m.) for the same Great Feast (as recounted in Luke 2: 22–39) of the Meeting (or Presentation) of Our Lord & God & Saviour Jesus Christ in the Temple—and then followed about 8:20 a.m. by the Blessing of the Candles (concluding around 8:30 a.m.).

All who attend the Tuesday morning Candlemas services, whether members or visitors, are encouraged to bring candles to be blessed, for common use or liturgical use, in their households during the ensuing year.

A full description of Candlemas—the Feast of the Meeting of Christ in the Temple, and one of the twelve Great Feasts of the Church—is given below in this newsletter.

February 2nd will moreover mark the eighteenth anniversary of the Orthodox Mission in Edenton, our first service here having been held on February 2, 2003, as recounted near the end of this newsletter.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

CURRENT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Regardless of weather or other considerations, on Sundays our principal services are always held, at the (9:35 a.m.) appointed time, for any whose circumstances will allow them to get to church safely.

For services other than on Sundays, however, during snowy or icy conditions it’s best to call our office in advance at 482–2006 for any announcement.

Each Saturday we have Great Vespers at 5:00 p.m., concluding before 6:00 p.m.

And every Sunday we have at 9:35 a.m. the Hours’ Prayers and at 10:00 a.m. the Divine Liturgy, followed by lunch or refreshments, and normally either Bible study or Sunday school.

At lunch we currently are alternating weekly between our regular Bible study and a special teaching series by Fr. Benedict on the structure & history of our Sunday Liturgy from the Early Church.

(Visitors expecting to be with us on a particular weekend may always call our office at 482–2006 to confirm which chapter is next for our bi‑weekly Bible study on a Sunday approaching.)

All of our services are held in our historic church building at 212 East Church Street in Edenton; and visitors are always invited and welcome. Our office telephone number is 482–2006.

There were no newsletters the last three weeks, the most recent thus having been the issue of Dec. 31st/Jan. 2nd.

Our prayers are asked for the servant‑of‑God Jonathan, recovering from surgery, besides for his family, and likewise for the handmaiden‑of‑God Katina and the handmaiden‑of‑God Sherry.

And our prayers are asked for our community and our country and our leaders, and for the people and for their salvation, as always; and for Fr. Andrew & Mo. Katrina, for Tony, for Samuel, for Patsy, for Rosa, for Maria, for Scott, for Harvey, for Sandy, for Darnell, and for Carolyn; and for those many further friends for whom we pray at each of our services.

Our mailing address is P. O. Box 38, Edenton, N. C., 27932.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

III. FEAST of the MEETING:

One of the twelve Great Feasts of the Church, and known as Candlemas in English, the Feast of the Meeting of Our Lord commemorates the presentation of the Christ child in the Temple at Jerusalem, on the 40th day from his birth, as ordained by Jewish law. Accordingly, the Church has always celebrated it on the 40th day from Christmas, being thus February 2nd.

The events of the day are recounted in Luke 2: 22–39, including the testimony of the holy prophetess St. Anna and the aged elder St. Simeon, and particularly his sublime hymn known as the Nunc Dimittis, which subsequently the Church has sung always at Vespers:

“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy Salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”

Being the day appointed (from St. Simeon’s hymn, of Christ as the Light to enlighten the nations) for blessing the year’s candles for liturgical use and otherwise at home, the Feast is known in English as Candlemas.

(In Eastern and Western tradition, the last of the Christmas decorations remain in place through Candlemas or its Eve; and this Feast’s observance, on the 40th day from Christmas since the third or fourth century, is the reason for the practice on February 2nd of the secular customs, in German Pennsylvania as in Europe from Scotland to Serbia, of observing various hibernating animals to venture prediction of the end of winter.)

Strictly its Orthodox name is the Feast of the Meeting of Our Lord & God & Saviour Jesus Christ, though it is also commonly known among the Orthodox as the Feast of the Presentation of (Our Lord, God & Saviour Jesus) Christ in the Temple. Its traditional Western name has been the Feast of the Purification of the Most-Holy Virgin, so emphasizing its Levitical aspect.

The title “Meeting” (or “Encounter”) indicates that for the Orthodox, not only the Levitical Purification but also the related Presentation of the Child is transcended in this event by this inaugural “Meeting” by the Messiah or Christ with His “people Israel,” as represented by Sts. Simeon & Anna formally in the Temple at Jerusalem.

Although St. John the Baptist is called the last prophet of the Old Covenant in the sense that he is the one whose life and preaching of the coming Messiah took place during New Covenant times and thus last of all, Sts. Simeon & Anna can be considered the last Old Covenant prophets in the sense that they were the last whose lives and ministry took place essentially during Old Covenant times.

The liturgical reception of a new child and his mother in the temple, on the 40th day from his birth, was established by God in Leviticus and so was followed by Mary and Joseph, as recounted in Luke 2:22, for Jesus. (During those first forty days, the new mother is excused from attendance at services, so that she may give due attention to her child.)

Known as the “Churching” of a new mother with her child, after forty days, that liturgy from Christianity’s Jewish foundation is still preserved faithfully by the Orthodox Church, and has taken place accordingly here at St. George’s.

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OUR EIGHTEENTH ANNIVERSARY:

The services February 2nd will mark the eighteenth anniversary of the Orthodox Mission in Edenton.

Our first service here was held on February 2, 2003, a Sunday‑evening vespers in a borrowed hall (the present County Social Services building, at the end of West Freemason Street), conducted by Fr. Edward Rommen, then rector of the Holy Transfiguration Parish in Raleigh.

Mo. Ainee, his wife, led the music, and Fr. Edward carried down in his truck the essential liturgical furnishings, some of which we continue to use at St. George’s to this day.

A few weeks earlier on a visit to Raleigh, Archbishop Dmitri on December 15, 2002, had given his blessing to Fr. Edward to drive down biweekly at the request of several here, so far from any Orthodox church, who wanted to experience Orthodox Christianity in Edenton.

For God’s miraculous and innumerable blessings on the work being done here, we all are most grateful to Him daily, and likewise to our three successive priests, Fr. Edward and Fr. Andrew Davis and Fr. Benedict, for their combined years of sacrificial labor in the Lord’s service in establishing in this place now an Orthodox Church, for the worship of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity who has created us and sustains us and saves us.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

PROTOCOLS for the PANDEMIC:

As reported in our recent months’ newsletters, in accord with North Carolina’s executive orders effective since May 22nd, and in view of our providential circumstances of a very large church building with a very small congregation, since May 23rd we have been able again to announce our church services publicly and to welcome visitors.

At services our Bishop has asked that six‑foot distancing be maintained between households and that masks be worn indoors, with exceptions for those helping with our singing, or assigned to chanting or reading parts in the service, and for children under eight years. (Masks are available in the narthex for visitors needing them, along with 80% alcohol hand sanitizer.)

Although North Carolina’s executive orders exempt churches entirely, their comparable rule for retail stores & hair salons & restaurants would allow attendance of twenty‑five in the 2,100 square‑foot St. George’s church; and thus with our yet very small congregation, we have plenty of room for visitors.

Of course, anyone with a recent exposure or symptom of the virus, or at risk with weakened immune function or comparable medical conditions, should offer instead at home our Sunday prayers or other days’ prayers, for the time being.

And as related in the more recent newsletters, our Diocese of the South on August 11th, by consensus of our bishop, administrator, chancellor, and the local deans, has issued now simplified guidelines, for a prudently maximal approach, in concert with the civil jurisdictions in our Diocese, to the further reopening of church life in our parishes and missions.

Thus at St. George’s, we resumed on August 16th our after‑church Sunday parish‑hall refreshments & fellowship and Bible study, which had been suspended since March 12th.

Until the pandemic subsides, the protocols of distancing between households and of masks indoors, as at services in the church, will continue likewise for our parish‑hall activities, along with limits on duration and numbers, and with particular care & attention as to food & beverage sourcing & serving.

As with our remarkably spacious church, in Edenton during this pandemic, we are blessed to have a parish hall (the former St. John’s School auditorium) that’s likewise quite spacious for the yet small size of our congregation and visitors.

02 January 2021 Newsletter

I. Epiphany or Theophany services

II. Feast of the Theophany

III. Baptism of Christ

IV, Blessing of the Water

V. Current announcements

VI. Current civil protocols

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I. THEOPHANY (Epiphany) SERVICES:

Our worship services for the rest of Christmastide, and for the Epiphany or Theophany, are scheduled as follows.

(Because this year the Theophany or Epiphany falls during the work week, its service of the Great Blessing of the Waters, described in § IV below, will be appended to either the Jan. 5th evening service, the Jan. 6th service, the Jan. 9th service, or the Jan. 10th service; we expect that decision to be made at lunch on Jan. 3rd, and so anyone interested may call 482–2006 after this Sunday afternoon for that information.)

This Saturday evening Jan. 2nd, at 5:00 p.m. as usual, there will begin the Great Vespers of the Sunday before the Theophany, concluding before 6:00 p.m., and incorporating hymns for the Holy Prophet Malachi, one of the Old Testament’s Twelve Minor Prophets.

And Sunday morning Jan. 3rd, at 9:35 & 10:00 a.m. as usual, there will begin the Hours’ Prayers and the Divine Liturgy for the Sunday before and the Forefeast of the Theophany, followed by refreshments.

Next TUESDAY MORNING Jan. 5th at 10:00 a.m. Fr. Benedict will offer the service of the Royal Hours (or Great Hours) of the Theophany, concluding about 11:30 a.m. (This service combines the prayers from the day’s four watches—nominally at the day’s First Hour, Third Hour, Sixth Hour, and Ninth Hour—with psalms and Scripture readings anticipating the Baptism of Jesus Christ by St. John the Baptist in the River Jordan.)

Then TUESDAY EVENING Jan. 5th at 6:00 p.m. will begin the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil, concluding about 8:00 p.m. (This service combines the Vespers of the Theophany, including the sequence of Old Testament readings foreshadowing the event, with the Divine Liturgy for Theophany Eve.)

And WEDNESDAY MORNING Jan. 6th at respectively 6:50 & 7:00 a.m. will begin the First Prayers and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, for the Great Feast of the Holy Theophany of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ, concluding about 8:15 a.m.

Next Saturday evening Jan. 9th at 5:00 p.m. will begin the Great Vespers of the Sunday after the Theophany and of St. Gregory of Nyssa (4th‑century Bishop, and one of the Three Cappadocian Fathers), concluding before 6:00 p.m.

Sunday morning Jan. 10th at 9:35 & 10:00 a.m. will begin the Hours’ Prayers and the Divine Liturgy for the Sunday after the Theophany, followed by refreshments.

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II. FEAST of the THEOPHANY:

On January 5th & 6th as always, a Tuesday & Wednesday this year, services will be held for the Great Feast of the Holy Theophany of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ (known in the Western Church as the Feast of the Epiphany).

Among the twelve Great Feasts besides the Paschal “Feast of Feasts,” the Theophany is ranked second, being subordinate thus only to Pentecost and to Easter.

In accord with the Church’s ancient practice, this Feast with its season, immediately following the Twelve Days of Christmas, annually commemorates the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan by St. John the Baptist & Forerunner, son of the Temple priest (who for a term served as its high priest) Zacharias.

(Both names for the Feast are based on the Greek verb “phaínein,” meaning “to show,” or “to appear.” Thus the Western term Epiphany [with the “epi‑” prefix] means literally the “showing forth,” or the “manifestation.” And the Eastern term Theophany [with “Theós,” or “God”] means literally the “appearing of God,” or “revelation of God.”)

The significance of the name Theophany, or “appearance of God,” is that all three persons of the Trinity are manifested simultaneously: above God the Son standing in the river, the voice of God the Father is heard speaking, and the Holy Spirit is seen descending as a dove.

Its observance on January 6th is attested since the second century at Alexandria; and the Theophany is one of the few events recorded in all four Gospels: in Matthew 3: 13–17, in Mark 1: 9–11, in Luke 3: 21–22, and in John 1: 28–37.

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III. BAPTISM of CHRIST:

As to Christ’s Baptism itself, Orthodox understanding offers some insight of note.

Of course it is evident, as Scripture teaches, that after the fall of the angels (Revelation 12: 7–9) and then the fall of man (Genesis 3), now similarly left warped & disfigured is the whole creation (Ephesians 6: 11–12, i Peter 5:8, i John 5:19).

And, viewing Jesus Christ as the “new Adam” (i Corinthians 15: 20–23; Romans 5: 12–21), Orthodox teaching sees that, as all mankind through Adam suffered the Fall, analogously for mankind through Jesus’ Baptism there is accomplished, by anticipation, the regeneration effected ultimately in one’s individual baptism, as a new creature cleansed & regenerate & reconciled.

The baptism being offered by St. John in the Jordan was of course “baptism of repentance, for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3), so that John at first resisted baptizing Jesus (Matt. 3: 13–15) who, being God incarnate, was sinless.

Correspondingly Orthodox teaching sees John’s accomplished baptism then of Jesus Himself as having cosmically also a reverse effect: not of washing away sins of His own, but conversely of sanctifying the water itself, to the redemption with it of all creation.

And as, at the Divine Liturgy or Eucharist, there become present in a mystical way the Last Supper & Crucifixion & Resurrection, so at the Theophany feast’s Great Blessing of the Waters there become present in a mystical way Christ’s Baptism and His sanctification of the waters of His creation.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

IV. BLESSING of the WATERS:

In established parishes the Great Blessing of the Waters is annually conducted twice at Theophany.

Thus first at the conclusion of the Theophany Eve services, typically the Blessing is at the font inside the church, from which the households attending carry some of the blessed water home for use during the year.

And second at the conclusion of the Theophany morning services, ideally there is a procession to a nearby body of water where the Blessing is conducted; here we aspire at some point to conduct annual Theophany processions to Edenton Bay, as we have done here at the Bay in the past for the comparable feast on August 1st of the Procession of the Venerable Cross.

Visitors, as at all of our services, are invited and welcome; and each household attending the Great Blessing of the Waters is invited TO BRING an APPROPRIATE VESSEL (a glass cruet, for example) in which to carry back home some of the blessed water, the use of which Fr. Benedict will explain.

This year at St. George’s the annual Great Blessing of the Waters, as explained in § I above, will conclude either the Jan. 5th evening service, the Jan. 6th service, the Jan. 9th service, or the Jan. 10th service; visitors interested in attending may call our office at 482–2006 or Fr. Benedict at 325–4505, after Sunday afternoon the 3rd, for confirmation of the date.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

V. CURRENT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Regardless of weather or other considerations, on Sundays our principal services are always held, at the (9:35 a.m.) appointed time, for any whose circumstances will allow them to get to church safely.

For services other than on Sundays, however, during snowy or icy conditions it’s best to call our office in advance at 482–2006 for any announcement.

Each Saturday we have Great Vespers at 5:00 p.m., concluding before 6:00 p.m.

And every Sunday we have at 9:35 a.m. the Hours’ Prayers and at 10:00 a.m. the Divine Liturgy, followed by lunch or refreshments, and normally either Bible study or Sunday school.

At lunch we currently are alternating weekly between our regular Bible study and a special teaching series by Fr. Benedict on the structure & history of our Sunday Liturgy from the Early Church.

(Visitors expecting to be with us on a particular weekend may always call our office at 482–2006 to confirm which chapter is next for our bi‑weekly Bible study on a Sunday approaching.)

All of our services are held in our historic church building at 212 East Church Street in Edenton; and visitors are always invited and welcome. Our office telephone number is 482–2006.

There was no newsletter last week, the most recent thus having been the issue of December 17th/19th.

Our prayers are asked for the servant‑of‑God Jonathan, recovering from surgery, besides for his family, and likewise for the handmaiden‑of‑God Katina and the handmaiden‑of‑God Sherry.

And our prayers are asked for our community and our country and our leaders, and for the people and for their salvation, as always; and for Fr. Andrew & Mo. Katrina, for Tony, for Samuel, for Patsy, for Rosa, for Maria, for Scott, for Harvey, for Sandy, for Darnell, and for Carolyn; and for those many further friends for whom we pray at each of our services.

Our mailing address is P. O. Box 38, Edenton, N. C., 27932.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

VI. PROTOCOLS for the PANDEMIC:

As reported in our recent months’ newsletters, in accord with North Carolina’s executive orders effective since May 22nd, and in view of our providential circumstances of a very large church building with a very small congregation, since May 23rd we have been able again to announce our church services publicly and to welcome visitors.

At services our Bishop has asked that six‑foot distancing be maintained between households, and that masks be worn indoors, with exceptions for those helping with our singing, or assigned to chanting or reading parts in the service, and for children under eight years. (Masks are available in the narthex for visitors needing them, along with 80% alcohol hand sanitizer.)

Although North Carolina’s executive orders exempt churches entirely, their comparable rule for retail stores & hair salons & restaurants would allow an attendance of twenty‑five in the 2,100 square‑foot St. George’s church; and thus with our yet very small congregation, we have plenty of room for visitors.

Of course anyone with a recent exposure or symptom of the virus, or at risk with weakened immune function or comparable medical conditions, should offer instead at home our Sunday prayers or other days’ prayers, for the time being.

And as related in the more recent newsletters, our Diocese of the South on August 11th, by consensus of our bishop, administrator, chancellor, and the local deans, has issued now simplified guidelines, for a prudently maximal approach, in concert with the civil jurisdictions in our Diocese, to the further reopening of church life in our parishes and missions.

Thus at St. George’s we resumed on August 16th our after‑church Sunday parish‑hall refreshments & fellowship and Bible study, which had been suspended since March 12th.

Until the pandemic subsides, the protocols of distancing between households and of masks indoors, as at services in the church, will continue likewise for our parish‑hall activities, along with limits on duration and numbers, and with particular care & attention as to food & beverage sourcing & serving.

As with our remarkably spacious church, in Edenton during this pandemic we are blessed to have a parish hall (the former St. John’s School auditorium) that’s likewise quite spacious for the yet small size of our congregation and visitors.

19 DECEMBER 2020 NEWSLETTER

Christmas services
Christmas hymns
deductible 2020 contribution
current announcements
current civil protocols

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CHRISTMAS SERVICES:

On the Orthodox calendar the liturgical sequence begins near the end of the Advent fast on the second Sunday before Christmas, when we last weekend on Dec. 12th & 13th thus commemorated the Sunday of the Forefathers of Christ Jesus (viz., those particularly who lived before the Law was given).

Then this weekend on Dec. 19th & 20th, at our usual Saturday 5:00 p.m. Great Vespers and usual Sunday 9:35 a.m. Prayers & 10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy, we commemorate the Sunday of the Holy Fathers before Christ (i.e., the righteous men & women throughout the Old Testament, from the Creation down to St. Joseph of Nazareth the Betrothed); the Liturgy this Sunday then will be followed by an abbreviated Sunday Forefeast vespers, besides the usual refreshments in the parish hall.

(Beyond that Sunday vespers normally we would aspire, were it not for the pandemic, to have services each day during the Nativity Forefeast, which commences annually at sundown on December 19th.)

On WEDNESDAY MORNING Dec. 23rd at 10:00 a.m. will begin the service of the Royal Hours (or Great Hours) of the Nativity, concluding about 11:30 a.m. (This service combines the prayers from the day’s four watches—nominally at the day’s First Hour, Third Hour, Sixth Hour, and Ninth Hour—with psalms and Scripture readings anticipating the Nativity.)

On THURSDAY AFTERNOON the 24th at 12:30 p.m. will begin the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil (including the eight Old Testament prophecies) for Christmas Eve, concluding around 2:30 p.m.

On CHRISTMAS EVE the 24th at 7:30 p.m. will begin the Nativity Vigil, consisting of Grand Compline (with Psalter & other Old Testament readings and Scriptural hymns) and of Matins (with Psalter & Gospel readings and with Scriptural hymns in two Canons by respectively St. Cosmas the Hymnographer and St. John of Damascus); this service should conclude at some point between 8:40 and 9:25 p.m., depending on the extent to which it might or might not be abbreviated.

On CHRISTMAS MORNING the 25th at 9:00 a.m. will begin the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, concluding about 10:25 a.m., for the Great Feast of the Nativity, according to the Flesh, of our Lord, God, and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The ensuing weekend, Dec. 26th & 27th, our usual Saturday 5:00 p.m. Great Vespers and usual Sunday 9:35 a.m. Prayers & 10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy will commemorate the Holy Righteous Ones (Joseph the Betrothed, David the King, and James the Brother) and the festal Sunday after the Nativity, followed as usual by refreshments & fellowship in the parish hall.

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ll. CHRISTMAS HYMNS:

Over the years our priest has reminded us of the primary method that God has provided for us to know what He says to us: that it is in our reading of God's Word the Scriptures, and in our listening to (or reading) His Church’s orthodox Liturgies and hymns, that we will notice what He each time has for us to hear.

Especially now as we approach the Nativity we should spend time regularly reading & singing the Church’s Orthodox hymns appointed for these days, which teach us a right understanding of the Holy Trinity’s work in Jesus Christ’s Incarnation for our salvation.

Since the First Millennium when the undivided Church completed her liturgies & hymns, the Orthodox Church has steadfastly guarded them against adulteration, so that we remain confident that they, as faithfully as Holy Scripture, teach us God’s eternal truth.

Two excerpts from the hymnody for the Vespers and Matins of the Forefeast of the Nativity illustrate their profound beauty:

“Lo, the time of our salvation is at hand. Make ready, O cave; the Virgin draweth nigh to give birth. Be glad and rejoice, O Bethlehem, land of Judah, for from thee our Lord hath shone forth as the dawn. Hearken, ye mountains and hills and all ye lands round about Judæa: for Christ cometh in His love for mankind, to save the man He fashioned.”

“Receive, O Bethlehem, the Christ: for, made flesh, He cometh to dwell in thee, opening Eden to me. Make ready, O cave, to behold, most strangely contained in thee, Him who cannot be contained, Who now is made poor in the wealth of His tender mercies.”

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III. DEDUCTIBLE 2020 CONTRIBUTIONS:

St. George’s Mission, as some might not realize, does not receive support from the deanery, the diocese, or the national church; and so for the fire insurance & hurricane insurance on the church & parish hall, their gas & electricity, the rectory’s monthly rent & utilities, and the priest’s travel & expenses annually (for the required summer diocesan assembly, its winter clergy conference likewise, and similarly the deanery’s spring clergy retreat and fall clergy retreat), besides recurring lesser expenses, our small congregation is responsible—with the help of the kind friends of St. George’s.

For those inclined toward charitable contributions, we note that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, & Economic Security Act (CARES Act) of March 27th temporarily liberalizes the federal income‑tax deductibility of charitable “cash” contributions (that is, monetary contributions—rather than of other property) made during this calendar year 2020 by individuals and by corporations.

Besides loosening some limitations on charitable cash contributions during 2020 by corporations and by individuals who itemize their deductions, the Act also allows a deduction up to three hundred dollars even for individuals who do not itemize, for their charitable cash contributions made before the end of this year 2020.

As a bona fide church in Edenton, St. George’s Orthodox Church of course is a fully qualified public charity under I.R.S. regulations.

Thus to the friends, of our little Mission here offering Orthodox or Eastern Christianity to northeast Carolina, we’re always grateful for their support, whether to our monthly operation or to the restoration of our historic church & parish hall.

Our mailing address is P. O. Box 38, Edenton, N. C., 27932.

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IV. CURRENT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

We are grateful to our members who again this year spent this Saturday afternoon in the nave decorating the rood‑screen and icon‑screen and hammer‑beam timbers and principal icons with the smilax, locally called bamboo, that is traditional in Edenton for Christmas and which was provided to St. George’s by some generous friends from their countryside homeplace.

Each Saturday we have Great Vespers at 5:00 p.m., concluding before 6:00 p.m.

And every Sunday we have at 9:35 a.m. the Hours’ Prayers and at 10:00 a.m. the Divine Liturgy, followed by lunch or refreshments, and normally either Bible study or Sunday school.

At lunch we currently are alternating weekly between our regular Bible study and a special teaching series by Fr. Benedict on the structure & history of our Sunday Liturgy from the Early Church.

(This weekend—Sunday the 20th—as noted above, following the Liturgy along with the usual lunch will be, instead of the usual Bible Study or Sunday School, an abbreviated Christmas Forefeast vespers, taking the place of subsequent midweek services during the pandemic.)

(Visitors expecting to be with us on another weekend may always call our office at 482–2006 to confirm which chapter is next for our bi‑weekly Bible study on a Sunday approaching.)

All of our services are held in our historic church building at 212 East Church Street in Edenton; and visitors are always invited and welcome. Our office telephone number is 482–2006.

There was no newsletter last week, the most recent thus having been the issue of December 3rd/5th.

Our prayers are asked for the servant‑of‑God Jonathan, recovering from surgery, besides for his family, and likewise for the handmaiden‑of‑God Katina and the handmaiden‑of‑God Sherry.

And our prayers are asked for our community and our country and our leaders, and for the people and for their salvation, as always; and for Fr. Andrew & Mo. Katrina, for Tony, for Patsy, for Rosa, for Maria, for Scott, for Harvey, for Sandy, for Darnell, and for Carolyn; and for those many further friends for whom we pray at each of our services.

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V. PROTOCOLS for the PANDEMIC: