{"id":26423,"date":"2017-03-07T04:20:39","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T09:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/?p=5796"},"modified":"2017-03-07T04:20:39","modified_gmt":"2017-03-07T09:20:39","slug":"st-peter-newsletter-sunday-of-st-gregory-palamas-lenten-service-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/st-peter-newsletter-sunday-of-st-gregory-palamas-lenten-service-schedule\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Peter Newsletter — Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, Lenten Service Schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"

Second Sunday of Great Lent
St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica<\/h2>\n

Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great<\/h4>\n
\"St.
St. Gregory Palamas, Abp. Of Thessaloniki<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our holy Father Gregory was born in Constantinople in 1296 of aristocratic parents who had emigrated from Asia Minor in the face of the Turkish invasion, and were attached to the court of the pious Emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus (1282-1328).<\/p>\n

About the year 1316, Gregory decided to abandon the vanities of the world. His mother, two sisters, two brothers and a great many of his servants entered upon the monastic life with him. He and his two brothers went on foot to the holy Mountain of Athos, where they settled near the Monastery of Vatopedi.<\/p>\n

After only three years, the early death of his brother Theodosius, followed by that of the Elder Nicodemus, led Gregory and his second brother, Macarius, to attach themselves to the Monastery of the Great Lavra. Gregory was appointed chanter.<\/p>\n

The incessant raids of Turkish pirates soon obliged Gregory and his companions to leave their hermitage. Together with twelve monks, he wanted to make the pilgrimage to the Holy Places and to seek refuge at Mount Sinai; but this did not prove feasible. Instead, he spent some time in Thessalonica, where he joined the group around the future Patriarch Isidore, who was endeavoring to spread the practice of the Jesus prayer among the faithful so that they might profit from the experience of the monks. In 1326, Gregory was ordained a priest, having understood in a vision that this was indeed the will of God.<\/p>\n

He suffered a long illness and, some time before his death, Saint John Chrysostom appeared to him with the invitation to join the choir of holy hierarchs immediately after his own feast. And, indeed, on November 14, 1359 the Saint gave up his soul to God.<\/p>\n

Read the complete biography on the Greek Orthodox website<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/div>\n

St. Basil Liturgy Celebrated During Lent<\/h2>\n

\"St.<\/p>\n

During the Lenten Sundays we celebrate St. Basil’s Liturgy instead of our usual St. John Chrysostom Liturgy. St. John’s liturgy is derived from St. Basil’s but the prayers are a bit shorter.<\/p>\n

 <\/div>\n

Liturgy for 40 Holy Martyrs on Thursday, March 9 at 6:30<\/h2>\n
\n\"The<\/p>\n

The Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A Presanctified Liturgy for the 40 Holy Martyrs will be held on Thursday, March 9 at 6:30.<\/p>\n

Who Were the 40 Holy Martys?<\/h4>\n

When the pagan Licinius ruled the eastern half of the Roman Empire (307-323 AD), it was his evil intent to eliminate Christianity from the lands under his control, and especially, for fear of treason, among the troops. One of his supporters was a cruel man by the name of Agricola who commanded the forces in the Armenian town of Sebaste, in what is now eastern Turkey. Among his soldiers were forty devout Christians who wielded equally well the sword of battle and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17). These men formed an elite bodyguard. When it came to Agricola’s attention that they were Christians, he determined to force them to renounce their’ faith and bow down to the pagan gods. He gave them two alternatives:<\/p>\n

1) Either offer sacrifice to the gods and earn great honors or, 2) in the event of your disobedience, be stripped of your military rank and fall into disgrace.”<\/p>\n

The soldiers were thrown into jail to think this over…<\/p>\n

Read the full story on the Forty Holy Martyrs Church website<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lenten Suppers — Sign-Ups and Program<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We will hold a light Lenten supper following each Wednesday Presanctified Liturgy during Lent. This will be something like lentil soup, bread and fruit — very simple.<\/p>\n

A sign up sheet is posted on the board in the Social Hall. The dates are March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29.<\/p>\n

We also will hold brief presentations during the suppers. This year we look at Monasticism. The schedule this year:<\/p>\n