Icon of the Holy Ancestors

Sunday Before the Nativity of Our LordSunday of the Ancestors

Vigil Vesperal Liturgy of St. John Chrysostomfor the Sunday before Christmas (of the Ancestors)

December 22, 2018

Begins on Pg. 104 in Green Book

Psalm 140 Tone 6 p. 149Vespers Hymns (Sunday of the Ancestors) Tone 6 pp. 1-3 HandoutDogmatikon Tone 6 pp. 3-4 HandoutProkeimenon (Sunday of the Ancestors) Tone 4 p. 287Alleluia (Sunday of the Ancestors) Tone 4 p. 287Communion Hymn Version E p. 80Communion Hymn (Sunday of the Ancestors) Version E p. 287

Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom for the Sunday before Christmas (of the Ancestors)

December 23, 2018

Begins on Pg. 11 in Green Book

Troparion Tone 6 p. 152Troparion (Sunday of the Ancestors) Tone 2 p. 285Troparion (Pre-Feast) Tone 4 p. 286Kontakion (Pre-Feast) Tone 3 p. 287Prokeimenon (Sunday of the Ancestors) Tone 4 p. 287Alleluia (Sunday of the Ancestors) Tone 4 p. 287Communion Hymn Version E p. 80Communion Hymn Version E p. 287

EPISTLE: HEBREWS 11: 9-10, 32-40

By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. What more shall I say? I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered king-doms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions, put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders. Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth. Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.

GOSPEL: MATTHEW 1:1-25

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the fa-ther of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the fa-ther of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his broth-ers at the time of the Babylonian exile. After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah. Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ

came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,* because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.

This Week’s Liturgical Schedule

Sun. 12/23 Sunday before Christmas [of the Ancestors] (pp. 149-153) Tone 6 Fr. DavidSat. 4:00 p.m. Special Intention of Helen Fellin Sun. 8:40 a.m. Emmanuel Moleben (Prayer Service for Philip’s Fast/Filipovka)Sun. 9 a.m. Sanctification and well-being of our parishioners Fr. Diodoro Mon. 12/24 Holy Eugenia, Martyr/Vigil of Christmas (p. 289) 9 a.m. Royal Hours 7 p.m. Sanctification of Luci Angeli by Trisha Ocampo Fr. Diodoro

Tues. 12/25 CHRISTMAS, the Birth of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (p. 289) 9 a.m. Blessings upon Ryan Winn on his 14th Birthday by Bert and Loretta Winn Christ is born! Christos razdajetsja! !Cristo ha nacido! Bp. JOHN

Wed. 12/26 Synaxis of the Theotokos (p. 294)9 a.m. Personal Intention Fr. David 7 p.m. Vespers with Litija for the patronal feast of St. Stephen Fr. Diodoro

Thurs Holy Apostle, First Martyr, and Archdeacon STEPHEN, patron saint of our cathedral and our parish (p. 298)9 a.m. Sanctification of our bishops, priests, and deacons by Anonymous

Saint Stephen, pray for us! Happy Feast Day!

Fri. 12/28 Holy 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia (p. 381)9.a.m. Personal Intentionnoon 6th Hour Saturday after Christmas/Holy Innocents,Martyrs No Morning Divine Liturgy..

Sunday after Christmas [David, Joseph & James] (pp. 154-158) Tone 7 Sanctification and well-being of our parishioners Fr. Joseph8:45 a.m. Third Hour

9 a.m. Intentions of Jean Kren Sickler and Family by Anonymous Fr. Rojas

Happy Birthday to our parishioners: December 3 – JoAnn Faix; December 8 – Linda Rabayda; December 11 – John Surmay; December 12 – Richard Grimes; December 14 – Jessica Longoria and Bert Winn; December 18 – Sean Grimes; December 23 – Luciana Marmol; December 29 – Ryan Grimes ;

Happy Anniversary to: December 1 – Dcn. James and Josefina Danovich December 30 - Thomas and Jennifer Hetrick

Our Main Candles Shine This Week For:Eternal Lamp: Kristian Lara Resurrection: Tina Mendoza

Let us proclaim that CHRIST is the REASON for the SEASON!

As we greet each other usually with “Glory to Jesus Christ” and respond with “Glory forever”, so during Christmas and Pascha (Easter) seasons, we have ways to share our Byzantine Catholic faith by greeting the people we meet. Thus at Christmastide (from the evening of Dec. 24 to Dec. 31):

English: “Christ is born!” R.: “Glorify Him!”Rusyn: “Christos Razdajetsja!” (Kris-TOS Raz-DAH-yet-sya!) R: “Slavite Jeho!” (Sla-VEE-Te Ye-HO!)Spanish: “!Cristo ha nacido!” (KRIS-to ah na-SEE-doh) R. “!Glorifiquemosle!” (Glo-ri-fi-KAY-mos-leh)

Our Cathedral clergy and staff wish you and your families a most blessed and joyful Christmas season. Please remember to celebrate with Christ and in Christ by honoring Him on His birthday via the Divine Liturgy along with partaking of our rich liturgical schedule in the other days of Christmastide! We thank you in advance for your additional generosity to our parish for Christmas on top of your support for our parish on Sundays. Your Christmas gift to the parish can be a great help.

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY: Reserve your HOUSE BLESSINGS now!

In the Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholic tradition, homes are blessed by priests in conjunction with the Feast of the Theophany of the Lord on January 6. Should you wish your residence to be blessed, kindly complete the blue card by the bulletins and place it in one of the offering baskets no later than TODAY so that a schedule may be set forth of house blessings from January 6 to 31. Also, the Liturgy Intention Book for 2019 is now open! Call the Parish Office at (602) 943-5379 to

reserve your intentions for Divine and Pre-Sanctified Liturgies, whether for Sundays, weekdays, or holy days. Would you help us with our icons of Our Lady of Guadalupe?

In light of Fr. Diodoro’s pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico and the success of Great Vespers in her honor at our Cathedral on Dec. 11, we are looking for sponsors or donors towards the costs of framing three newly acquired tilmas and for the icons (the tilmas) themselves. Kindly approach Fr. Diodoro for more information.

Save some appetite and Christmas cheer for Pot Luck Sunday (12/30)

Along with celebrating the birthday of Our Lord Jesus Christ in church liturgically and our homes socially, let us celebrate together as a parish family, as we do at our Pot Luck Sun-days at the end of each month to foster the bonds of friendship among us. If everyone brings a dish that could feed six to eight people, then the Christmas cheer amongst us next Sunday after Divine Liturgy at the parish hall would be enhanced by good food as well as good compa-ny! Thanks to those parishioners who help with set-up before and cleaning after our Pot Luck Sunday events!

Take note of these changes of schedules and policies at our parish!

We would like to inform you that firstly, our parish offices will be closed from De-cember 24 to 27 for the Christmas holidays and on January 1 for New Year’s Day. Next, as of January 1, 2019, Divine Liturgies on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays shall commence at 9 a.m., instead of 8 a.m. Our Friday liturgies will keep starting at 9 a.m. Finally, on the list-ing of people to pray for in our bulletin under the categories “Special Intentions,” “Eternal Memory”, and “May the Lord rest His healing hand…”, we will announce names for up to four consecutive weeks at a time. If someone wishes to maintain a name after the fourth week, then kindly and timely ask Fr. Diodoro for more time. Otherwise, the name will be set aside to make way for other people and their desire to have us pray for their loved ones by name.

Tune out worldly static and tune in to Byzantine radio programming!

Radio Family Rosary, a program that broadcasts on 1310 A.M., 102.9 F.M. and the Internet at www.radiofamilyrosary.com, will air segments on Byzantine subjects this month! Tune in to the coverage given to our parish and Byzantine Catholic Church while learning more about our faith.

On Monday, December 31 from 6 to 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 to 10 a.m., Radio Family Rosary will include a segment about the the Theotokos in Eastern Catholic tradition, featuring the voice of Fr. Rojas.

ANALYSIS OF ATTENDANCE AND COLLECTIONS OF DEC. 15 AND 16

Sat. 4 p.m. + Sun. 9 a.m. → Sunday Attendance: 21 + 118 = 139

Tithes: $1,570.28 + Offerings by mail: $360 + Offerings via Credit Card: $383 + Candles: $48.95 + Christmas: $10 + Retired Religious: $125 + St. Nicholas Holy Day: $10 + Sunday So-cial: $72 + Icon Frames: $50 + Sunday Social: $12 + Gift Shop: $90 = Total: $2,313.28

28 of 133 registered families donated tithes this weekend.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart lie also.” Mt 6:21

Special Intentions: Theresa Rojas, Vanessa Miller, Erwin Armada, Barbara Dugan, Helen Furka, Vincent Rice, McCarthy Family, Marti Lopez, Kathleen Linkowsky, Betty Geletey, Richard Gable, Robert King, Ann Ryan, Chris Faix, Robyn Foy, Elaine Browne, Mark Chapa, Michael Chapa, Aaron Powell, Kristian Lara, and Iliana Villegas.

Eternal Memory: +Alliyah Calvert, +Robert M. Knizner, +Karla Sanabria, +Rocco Braden-horst, +Peggy Walsh, +Estelle Sue O’Shea, +Jin Wook Suh, +Mildred Garr, +Anna Spencer, +Ingrid Steinbach

May the Lord rest His healing hand on His servants and hear their requests:Gabriella Reagan, Juraj and Melania Kasperek, Juan Sanabria, Mary Rabayda, Ana Ruiz, Jane Walsh, Dorothy Dumnich, Richard Reese, Chris Balsz, Carlene Eneroth, Sharon White, Nancy Sandrock, Bob Dugan, Cathy Milko, Clementina Mendoza, Dan Palaschak, Michael Sherwood, Christina Toth, Liz Kol, Evelyn Sopiak, Nicholas Toth, Nicholas Oprendek, Dennis Milko, Karen Kol, Gabriel Papke, Kari Hill, Ron Minor, Sandy Meyer, Rita Chokan, Nicholas Lewak, Rebecca Braskie, Margaret Atwood, Albina Tesoniero, Elizabeth Petrus, Derrick Car-lyle, Fr. Basil Hutsko and Fr. Joseph Hutsko.

Margaret Atwood fell asleep in the Lord on Saturday Dec 22. 2018

SPECIAL SPONSORS

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The Story of the Origin of Jesus Christ, Son of David, and the Rest of the Names

Eastern Christian Bulletin Service -- PO Box 3909 -- Fairfax, VA 22038-3909 www.ecpubs.com Ph: 703-691-8862 Fax: 703-691-0513

Sunday before Christmas (of the Ancestors) December 23, 2018 Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him Forever! Welcome to Saint Stephen Byzantine Catholic Cathedral. We are delighted that you have come to pray with us. Our Church follows the teachings of Jesus Christ as found in the Gospel and passed on to us through the teachings of the Holy Apostles and Holy Tradition. We are in communion with Pope Fran-cis, the Bishop of Rome.

Saint Stephen’s Byzantine Catholic Cathedral8141 North 16th Street, Front Sunday Divine LiturgyPhoenix, Arizona 85020-3950 Saturday 4:00 PM Weekday ServicesOffice: 602.943.5379 Fax 602.997.4093 Sunday 9:00 AM See BulletinWebsite www.stsbcc.org Confessions: Sat. 3:00- 3:45 pm & Sun. 8:00 - 8:45 amServed by: His Grace, Most Rev. John S. Pazak, C.Ss.R., Bishop

His Grace, Most Rev. Gerald N. Dino, S.E.O.D., Bishop EmeritusVery Rev. Diodoro Mendoza, Rector – rector@ephx.orgRev. Joseph Hutsko, Vice-Rector – frhutsko@ephx.org

Rev. Arthur Rojas, Parochial Vicar - frrojas@ephx.org and Msgr. Kevin McAuliffe, In ResidenceVery Rev. Archpriest David M. Petras, Retired

Deacon John Montalvo - Deacon James Danovich - Deacon Adam Lowe – Subdeacon Paul Kilroy Parish Advisory Council Served by: Parish Finance Council Served by:Peyton Becktold Jennifer Hetrick Mary Beth Foster Julie Pete Karen Ratliff Nicholas Stefaniak IIIJessica Kostyun Joanie Mahar Basil Rabayda Ann Zlamal Dolores Sugent John Surmay Msgr. Kevin McAuliffe