Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women
Pious Joseph of Arimathea and Righteous Nicodemus
About the beginning of His thirty-second year, when our Lord was going throughout Galilee, preaching and working miracles, many women who had received of His beneficence left their homeland and from then on followed after Him. They ministered unto Him out of their own possessions, even until His crucifixion and entombment; and afterwards, neither losing faith in Him after His death, nor fearing the wrath of the Jewish rulers, they came to His sepulcher, bearing the myrrh-oils they had prepared to anoint His body. It is because of the myrrh-oils that these God-loving women brought to the tomb that they are called the Myrrh-bearers. Of those whose names are known are the following: first of all the most holy Virgin Mary, who in Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40 is called the mother of James and Joses@ (these are the sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, and she was therefore their step-mother); Mary Magdalene; Mary, the wife of Cleopas; Joanna, wife of Chouza, a steward of Herod Antipas; Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee; Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus; and Susanna. As for the names of the rest of them, the evangelists have kept silence.
On this day we also make commemoration of Joseph of Arimathea, who was a secret disciple, and also of Nicodemus, who was a disciple by night. Joseph went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and together with Nicodemus, he gave Him burial out of reverence and love.
Acts 6:1-7: In those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministry. And the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said: “It is not right that we should forsake the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. And we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And the saying pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Próchoros, and Nikánor, and Tímon, and Parmenás, and Nikólaos a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly, and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Mark 15:43-16:8: At that time, Joseph of Arimathaea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the Kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate wondered if He were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether Jesus was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that He was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. And he bought a linen shroud, and taking Him down, wrapped Him in the linen shroud, and laid Him in a tomb, which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid. And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb at the rising of the sun. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back – it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a long white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, Who was crucified. He is risen; He is not here; see the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him, as He told you.” And they went out quickly and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Troparion of the Resurrection: When thou, O immortal Life, didst humble thyself unto death, then didst thou destroy death by the brightness of thy Godhead; and when thou didst raise the bowels of the earth, then all the heavenly powers exclaimed, O Christ, thou art the Giver of life! Glory to thee, O our God!
Troparia of the Holy Myrrh-Bearers: The pious Joseph, having brought down thy pure body from the Tree, wrapped it in fine linen, embalmed it with ointment, provided for it, and laid it in a new tomb. But thou didst truly rise, after three days, O Lord, granting the world the Great Mercy.
Verily, the angel came to the tomb and said to the ointment-bearing women, The ointment is meet for the dead, but Christ is shown to be remote from corruption. But cry ye, The Lord is risen, granting the world the Great Mercy.
Troparion of the Chains of St. Peter: O Holy Apostle, Peter, thou dost preside over the Apostles by the precious chains which thou didst bear. We venerate them with faith and beseech thee that by thine intercessions we be granted the great mercy.
Kontakion of Pascha: When Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal, Thou didst destroy the power of Hades. In victory didst Thou arise, O Christ God, proclaiming Rejoice! to the myrrh-bearing women, granting peace to Thine apostles and bestowing resurrection on the fallen.
CALENDAR
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: All services listed on the calendar will be available through streaming and webcast. (Instructions can be found on the parish website.)
Sunday, April 30 (Sunday of the Myrrh-bearers)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros (webcast)
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (webcast)
Monday, May 1
Father Herman off
Tuesday, May2 (Athanasios the Great)
NO Services
1:00 p.m. — Ladies Lunch
Wednesday, May 3
6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers
Thursday, May 4
NO Services
11:30 a.m. — Men’s Lunch
Friday, May 5
NO Services
Saturday, May 6
Sunday, May 7 (Sunday of the Paralytic)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros (webcast)
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (webcast)
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Algoods for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Eucharist Bread Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
April 30 Algood Schelver
May 7 Schelver D. Root/Baker
May 14 Morris Henderson/Jones
May 20 (Sat. p.m.) Baker (Artos Bread for Litia/Sts. Constantine & Helen)
May 21 Jones Dansereau/Alaeetawi
(Special Coffee Hour to honor High School Graduates)
May 24 (Wed. p.m.) Meadows Lockhart/Karam/Snell
(Feast of Ascension)
May 28 Davis POT LUCK MEAL
Lavric/Skirtech/Dabit
Schedule for Epistle Readers – Page numbers refer to the Apostolos (book of the Epistles) located on the Chanters’ stand at the front of the nave. Please be sure to use this book when you read.
Reader Reading Page#
April 30 Reader Basil Baker Acts 6:1-7 38
May 7 Walt Wood Acts 9:32-42 45
May 14 Brenda Baker Acts 11:19-30 52
May 21 Sh. Charlotte Algood Acts 26:1, 12-20 384
May 24 (Wed. p.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Acts 1:1-12 63
May 28 Ian Jones Acts 20:16-18, 28-36 66
Also, please remember that we still need your tithes and offerings which may be placed in the tray that is passed during the Divine Liturgy, in the tithe box at the back of the nave or be mailed to: St. Peter Orthodox Church, P.O. Box 2084, Madison, MS 39130-2084.
Please remember the following in your prayers: Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Lamia Dabit and her family; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon’s sister); Jay and Joanna Davis; Fr. Leo and Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver and their family; Kathy Willingham; Marilyn (Kyriake) Snell; Jack and Jill Weatherly; Lottie Dabbs (Sh. Charlotte Algood’s mother), Sh. Charlotte and their family; Maria Costas (currently at St. Catherine’s Village); Reader Basil and Brenda Baker and their family; Buddy Cooper; Georgia and Bob Buchanan; Fr. Joseph Bittle; Anthony and Athena Zouboukos and Keri Waites; Steve and Sheryl Chamblee.
Metropolitan SABA will be enthroned as Metropolitan of our Archdiocese on Saturday, May 13th at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY. May God grant him Many Years!
Father Herman will be attending Metropolitan SABA’s enthronement. He will leave on Thursday, May 11th and return Saturday evening, May 13th. Father John will celebrate Great Vespers on Saturday evening and Father Herman will celebrate Orthros and Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning.
Luke Habeeb (Jackson Prep) and Cole Parker (MRA) will be graduating from high school in May. We will honor both of them with a special Coffee Hour on Sunday, May 21st. (Please disregard the notation for the Pot Luck Meal on the May calendar that was handed out previously.)
We will have our Monthly Pot Luck Meal for the month of May on Sunday, May 28th during Bishop NICHOLAS’ visit to St.Peter. (Again, please disregard the notation for the Pot Luck Meal on the May calendar that was handed out previously.)
Fasting Discipline for May
The Holy Synod of Antioch has given instruction in the past that there will be no fasting for the entirety of the Paschal Season. Following the leave-taking of Pascha (May 24th), the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) will once again be observed on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Major Commemorations for May
May 2 Athanasios the Great
May 7 Sunday of the Paralytic
May 10 Simon the Zealot
May 14 Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
May 21 Sunday of the Blind Man
Sts. Constantine and Helen
May 24 Leave-taking of Pascha
May 25 Ascension
The Forerunner (3rd Discovery)
May 28 Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council
Time is running out to register for the PLC. This year the Parish Life Conference will hosted by St. George Cathedral in Coral Gables, FL on June 14-17. Father Herman sent an email with the link for registration, or you may also go to the Diocesan website DOMSE.org.
Archdiocese Convention: The Biennial Antiochian Archdiocese Convention is being hosted by St. George Orthodox Church in Phoenix, Az on July 23-30. Information about the convention may be found at http://www.ac2023az.org.
PARENTS, your help is needed in the following areas:
1) A problem has arisen due to the nursery room being left messy after Coffee Hour. No food of any kind should be taken into that room. Also, it is necessary for a parent to be in the room whenever their children are in there playing. Thank you for your assistance with this.
2) Please see that your children do not use the Sunday school rooms with the doors closed during Coffee Hour.
3) Please ask your children to not climb the trees in the front of the church. (The playground will be available again soon.)
Calendar Items:
* The men of the parish meet for lunch at 11:30 a.m. on the first Thursday of the month.
* The Ladies meet at the church at 10:00 a.m. on the second Saturday of the month to pray the Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children on behalf of our children.
* The Ladies meet for lunch on the last Tuesday of the month.
* Stew Pot Dates for 2023 are Saturday, May 13th and Saturday, September 9th.
* Special Coffee Hour to honor High School Graduates, Luke Habeeb and Cole Parker on Sunday, May 21st.
* Mark your Calendars now! His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS will be at St. Peter for his Archpastoral visit May 26-28. He will celebrate the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with us on Sunday morning. We will also have our Monthly POT LUCK MEAL that Sunday.
Quotable: “Orthodox Christianity does not use deductive reasoning to defend or explain the faith, nor does it attempt to resolve conflicts between faith and reason. It does not modify the faith to conform to human thought or opinions. This should not be misunderstood: Orthodoxy does not reject the contribution of human intellect, nor does it reject science or education. The Fathers of the Church were also rational in their arguments against heresy, but they did not rely on deductive reasoning to resolve theological questions. They discussed the importance of the human intellect in the comprehension of God. In fact, it is the intellect, or nous, that is enlightened and can articulate theological truths, but not through deductive reasoning and scholarly study. Rather it is through prayer and one’s relationship with God that the intellect achieves true enlightenment.”
Dr. Eugenia Constantinou, Thinking Orthodox, Understanding and Acquiring
the Orthodox Christian Mind
Worship: Sunday, May 7, 2023 (Sunday of the Paralytic)
Scripture: Acts 9:32-42; John 5:1-15
Celebrant: Father Herman
Epistle Reader: Walt Wood
Prosphora: Schelver
Coffee Hour: D. Root/Baker
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church 