Schedule for April 24th-May 3rd
Holy Week
- Lazarus Saturday, April 24th: 8am Orthros, 9am Divine Liturgy, followed by pancake breakfast, palm cross folding, and church decorating
- Saturday, April 24th: 5pm Great Vespers for Palm Sunday, Confessions heard following
- Palm Sunday, April 25th: 8:30am Orthros, 9:30am Divine Liturgy, Procession with palms following
- Sunday, April 25th: 6:30pm Bridegroom Matins of Holy Monday
- Monday, April 26th: 6:30pm Bridegroom Matins of Holy Tuesday
- Tuesday, April 27th: 8:30am Presanctified Liturgy
- Tuesday, April 27th: 6:30pm Bridegroom Matins of Holy Wednesday
- Wednesday, April 28th: 8:30am Presanctified Liturgy
- Wednesday, April 28th: 6:30pm Service of Holy Unction
- Thursday, April 29th: 9:30am Vesperal Liturgy of The Mystical Supper
- Thursday, April 29th: 6:30pm Matins of Holy Friday, Service of the 12 Passion Gospels
- Holy Friday, April 30th: 10am Royal Hours
- Holy Friday, April 30th: 3:30pm Vespers of Holy Friday, Taking Down of Christ from the Cross
- Holy Friday, April 30th: 6:30pm Matins of Holy Saturday, The Lamentations Service, Procession of the Funeral Bier
- Holy Saturday, May 1st: 10am Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil
- Holy Saturday, May 1st: 11pm Nocturnes, followed by Paschal Matins, Procession, & Divine Liturgy
- Great and Holy Pascha Sunday, May 2nd: 12:30pm Agape Vespers
- Bright Monday, May 3rd: Celebration of our Parish Feast Day! 9:30am Orthros & Liturgy for St. George
Helpful Tips and Notes about Holy Week and Pascha
Please make every effort to attend as many Holy Week services as you are able, especially those of Holy Unction, the Service of the 12 Passion Gospels, and Holy Friday services.
Processions: During Holy Week, there are two outdoor processions. One on Holy Friday evening during the Lamentations Service, and one Saturday night/Sunday morning for Pascha. If you are in any way concerned about navigating the terrain around the Church, please feel free to stay inside, or wait in the courtyard for the return of the procession.
Shoes: wear comfortable shoes for the sake of both comfort and safety.
Candles: Please be very mindful of children with candles so that they don't drip lots of wax or set anything on fire. If they're too young, it's okay. They'll be able to hold a candle in the future.
The Paschal Service and Procession: Nocturnes (The Midnight Service) begins at 11pm on Holy Saturday as the faithful begin to gather in the Church, which is very dark. The only light is from the small oil lamp in the altar and the chanter's candle. Please be careful as you enter.
Around 11:30pm, the priest and altar servers begin singing "Your resurrection O Christ our Savior..." Then Fr. Jeffrey will sing "Come receive the Light..." at which point all of the candles of the faithful will be lit from the servers' candles as they begin they move out of the Church, and the procession around the exterior of the Church will begin. The Choir leads the procession, followed by alter servers, the servers with the cross and censer, the priest, and lastly, the rest of the faithful.
When we re-enter the Church, Paschal Matins will begin, followed by the Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom, and Divine Liturgy. Services will likely conclude sometime around 2am.
Commemorations This Week
Palm Sunday
On the Sunday before the Feast of Great and Holy Pascha and at the beginning of Holy Week, the Orthodox Church celebrates one of its most joyous feasts of the year. Palm Sunday is the commemoration of the Entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem following His glorious miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. Having anticipated His arrival and having heard of the miracle, the people went out to meet the Lord and welcomed Him with displays of honor and shouts of praise. On this day, we receive and worship Christ in this same manner, acknowledging Him as our King and Lord.
By raising Laz’rus from the dead before your Passion, you confirmed the
Universal Resurrection O Christ God. Like the children with the palms of
victory, we cry out to you O Vanquisher of Death: “Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!”
Universal Resurrection O Christ God. Like the children with the palms of
victory, we cry out to you O Vanquisher of Death: “Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!”
When we were buried with You in baptism, O Christ our God, we were made
worthy of eternal life by Your Resurrection! Now we praise You and sing:
“Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!”
Being borne upon a throne in Heaven, and upon a colt on the earth, O Christ
God, Thou didst accept the praise of the Angels and the laudation of the
children as they cried to Thee: Blessed art Thou Who comest to recall Adam.
God, Thou didst accept the praise of the Angels and the laudation of the
children as they cried to Thee: Blessed art Thou Who comest to recall Adam.
Palm Sunday, April 25th Epistle and Gospel Readings
St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians 4:4-9
BRETHREN, rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.
The Gospel According to John 12:1-18
Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazaros was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazaros was one of those at table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it. Jesus said, "Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."
When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazaros, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazaros also to death, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" And Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it; as it is written, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazaros out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
Click below to access recent homilies
from Father Jeffrey
Parish News
Pascha Baskets and Paschal Meal
Metropolitan Gerasimos has given his blessing for parishes to resume fellowship following Liturgy. Events such as Coffee Hour, the Paschal Meal, etc… can be offered provided that health and safety conscious measures are maintained. Please take note of the guidelines for our Paschal Meal following the Divine Liturgy.
Baskets
- It is a tradition of our Parish, that we have adopted from Russian Orthodox believers, to bring Pascha Baskets to Church filled with food and drink to be blessed following Paschal Divine Liturgy.
- See the image below for an idea of the traditional things to place in these baskets; it's also perfectly fine to place your favorite food and drinks in the basket, whatever they happen to be. Also, feel free to put your food in a bag or a box, etc.
- Important: Please remove any cellophane, or other coverings, from the food prior to its being blessed.
- Please place your baskets and food on the tables in the courtyard (not in the Church or hall) near the fellowship hall windows, in order for them to be blessed after Liturgy.
Meal and Fellowship
- This year, we can use the courtyard, but not the fellowship hall. This is to maintain health guidelines, but also because the fellowship hall is currently set up as an extension of the church.
- When preparing your basket, think of it as a picnic: what you pack in, you pack out. You’ll want to bring your own utensils, cups, and plates.
- We won’t be using the kitchen, refrigerator, crockpots, or the grill, so you’ll want to bring prepared food. To keep food warm or cool, consider an insulated bag or cooler.
- People are welcome to share food with one another from their baskets.
Mark your calendars: The blessing of the Church land on Rosser Street has been moved to Sunday, May 23rd. More details will be announced soon.
Community News
Prescott Area Shelter Services, or PASS, is a local women & children's shelter. St. George parishioners provide a meal once a month for the residents there. If you would like to further support them, please consider donating needed items on their "Wish List". To find out more, check out their website, prescottshelters.org, and click on "Ways To Help". Contact Laura Scott for more information.
Metropolis News
Reflection from His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos for Holy Week
Metropolis Ministries
The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco is dedicated to ministry. There is no more appropriate way to put the Gospel into action than through good works. This new video below highlights all of the Metropolis ministries, and features each ministry leader sharing their efforts with you. There is something for everyone, so we invite you to take the time to watch this video, learn about what is available, and get involved! (You might even recognize a few faces!)
For more information, please visit www.sanfran.goarch.org/ministries.
