We are a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, and all are welcome to worship with us! Our services are in English. Please join us at our coffee hour downstairs after the service.

Weekly Schedule

Saturday Vigil        5:00pm
Sunday Divine Liturgy    9:30am
Sunday Bible Study    after coffee hour
Wednesday Akathist    6:30pm
Friday Small Compline    6:30pm




Sunday Troparion, Tone 1: When the stone had been sealed by the Jews, * and the soldiers were guarding Thine immaculate Body, * Thou didst arise on the third day, O Savior, * granting life unto the world. * Wherefore, the Hosts of the heavens cried out to Thee, O Life-giver: * Glory to Thy Resurrection, O Christ! * Glory to Thy Kingdom! * Glory to Thy dispensation, O only Lover of mankind!

Troparion of the Entry, Tone 4: Today is the prelude of God’s good will *and the heralding of the salvation of mankind. * In the temple of God, the Virgin is presented openly, * and she proclaimeth Christ unto all. * To her, then, with a great voice let us cry aloud: * Rejoice, O thou fulfillment * of the Creator’s dispensation.

Troparion of St. Theodore Stratelates, Tone 4: By true strategy, O trophy-bearer * thou wast an illustrious general of the Heavenly King, O Theodore. * For thou didst wisely arm thyself with the weapons of faith, * and didst utterly annihilate the hordes of demons, * and didst prove a victorious athlete, * wherefore with faith * we ever call thee blessed.

Troparion of St. Theodore the Tyro, Tone 2: Great are the triumphs of faith! * The holy martyr Theodore rejoiced in a fountain of flame as in refreshing water. * For having been made a whole burnt offering by fire, * he was offered as a sweetbread to the Trinity, * By his prayers, O Christ God, save our souls.

H Amphilocius-Tone 4:
As one pure, thou wast initiated by the light of  w i s d o m
and shonest forth with the brilliant rays of Orthodox doctrine to the
      e n d s   of the world
for thou didst preach clearly concerning the consubstantial nature of the T r i n i t y
and didst refute  h e r e s y.
Wherefore, O Hierarch Amphilocius, Christ hath  g l o r-ified thee.

H Gregory-Tone 1
As one diligent in the commandments of the  M a s t e r  of   a l l
Even from thy swaddling bands, O father  G r e-gory,
Thou wast filled with heavenly gifts, O vigilant shepherd of the  p i o u s.
Where-f o r e,
Thou leadest unto ever-verdant  p a-stures
Them that  c r y   unto thee:
G l o r y   to Christ who hath glorified thee.
Glory to Him that  c r o w n e d    thee.
Glory to him who worketh healings for  a l l   t h r o u g h   t h e e.


Sunday Kontakion, Tone 1: As God, Thou didst arise from the tomb in glory, * and Thou didst raise the world together with Thyself. * And mortal nature praiseth Thee as God, * and death hath vanished. * And Adam danceth, O Master, * and Eve, now freed from fetters, rejoiceth as she crieth out: * Thou art He, O Christ, that grantest unto all resurrection.
 
Kontakion of St. Theodore Stratelates, Tone 2: Armed with faith and courage of soul, * and having taken in thy hand the Word of God as a spear, * thou didst conquer the enemy, * O glory of martyrs, Theodore. * With them cease not to intercede with Christ God for us all.

Kontakion of St. Theodore the Tyro, Tone 8: Having received the faith of Christ in thy heart as an inner shield, * thou didst overcome all the opposing forces, O great champion, * and thou hast been crowned with a heavenly crown, O Theodore, * for thou art eternally invincible.

Kontakion of St. Amphilocius, Tone 2: Divine  t h u n-der, trumpet of the  S p i r i t,
cultivator of the faithful, and axe of  h e r e s y,
O  h i e r-arch  Amphi-l o c i u s ,
great servant of the  T r i n i t y,
as thou ever  s t a n-deth with the angels in His  P r e-sence,
p r a y  thou un-c e a-singly  f o r    u s   a l l.

Hierarch Gregory-Tone 4:

With the brilliant rays of the Holy  S p i r i t,
the Church en-l i g h-teneth the way
of them that  c e l e b r a t e
thy  j o y o u s  repose,
O righteous father, all-blessed  G r e g o r y.


Kontakion of the Entry, Tone 4:  The most pure temple of the Savior, *
the most precious bridal-chamber and Virgin, * the sacred treasury of the glory of God, * is on this day brought into the house of the Lord, * bringing with her the grace that is in the Divine Spirit. * And the angels of God chant praise unto her: * she is the heavenly tabernacle.

Today’s Readings
Epistle: Ephesians 5:8b-19; Hebrews 13:7-16
Gospel: Luke 12:16-21; Matthew 24:42-47

Now ye are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light, for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, “Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs [Biblical Odes], singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

                    Ephesians 5:8b-19

Parish News

+ At the end of Divine Liturgy today, as is our custom on the first Sunday of the month, we will serve a brief moleben for the Conversion of the non-Orthodox.

+ Tomorrow, Holy Great-Martyr Catherine, is the name day of  Catherine Fudala, Kathleen Moczerniak and a Katrina Semanchuk, and Wedneday is Matushka Styliana’s name day (St. Stylianos of Paphlagonia). Many years!

+ Today is the last day of the sale at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Lots of great baked goods!

+ On Wednesday at 6:30pm we will serve the Akathist for the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-called.

+ Parents! We are hoping to have a little “Nativity Festivity” on Nativity, where the children and grown-ups can sing some Christmas songs or do some other kind of performance at the dinner. Please see Fr. Peter or Gabriella Damiano if you are interested in participating.

+ Remember that we are collecting canned goods for the Buffalo City Mission. Please see the December Messenger for details on what items to contribute.

+ 2007 wall calendars are still available.

+ Please remember in your prayers those traveling: Galina Bahanovich and Marcus Bursik.

If you are visiting today:

+ There are service books underneath the candle stand that you may borrow and follow along in. If you get lost, ask your neighbor to help you find the page.

+ As you can see, we stand for most of the service. If you are not accustomed to this, please feel free to sit if you feel the need. No one will mind! You should still stand during the Scripture readings and when the priest comes through.

+ In the Orthodox tradition, women cover their heads in church, and extra scarves can be borrowed from the candle stand at the entrance.

+ You will see people making the sign of the cross and bowing. Feel free to follow suit or not, however you are comfortable. Again, no one will mind either way.

+ Feel free to venerate (kiss) the icons and purchase a candle to light. Commemoration slips for Orthodox, living and reposed may be placed on the tray by the candle stand. Please write down how many prosphora you would like (suggested donation: $1/ea.)

+ At the end of the service, you may come forward to venerate the hand-cross if you wish.

+ At our parish we do not pass a collection plate. Gifts are voluntary and can be left at the candle stand.

+ Anyone who wishes to receive Holy Communion must be an Orthodox Christian and make their Confession beforehand. Please speak with Fr. Peter for more information.

Confessions are heard at every evening service.