SS.

kosmas & damianos Orthodox Church (goa)

703 W. Center Street, Rochester, MN (507) 282-1529 http://www.rochesterorthodoxchurch.org
office@rochesterorthodoxchurch.org Rev. Fr. Mark Muoz, Proistamenos
/APOLYTIKIA FOR TODAY


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Lord save Your people and bless Your inheritamce,
grant victory to the faithful against the enemies of the
Faith, and protect Your commonwealth by the power
of Your Cross.


/KONTAKION FOR TODAY















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Lifted up on the Cross by Your free will, Christ God, grant mercies to the new
commonwealth that bears Your name. Gladden our faithful rulers by Your power,
giving them victories over their adversaries. May Your alliance be for them a
weapon for peace, an invincible standard.



Elevation of the holy cross
Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Giving Cross, Commemoration of the 6th Ecumenical
Council
September 14
th
, 2014

Todays scripture readings
Epistle reading
St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 1:18-24
Prokeimenon. Grave Mode.
Exalt the Lord our God.
Verse: The Lord reigns; let the people tremble.

BRETHREN, the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is
the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever
I will thwart." Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God
made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God
through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews
demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and
folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God.
Gospel pericope
John 19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30

At that time, when the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!"
Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no crime in him." The Jews answered
him, "We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he has made himself the Son of God."
When Pilate heard these words, he was the more afraid; he entered the praetorium again and said to
Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, "You will not speak
to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?" Jesus answered
him, "You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore he who
delivered me to you has the greater sin." When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat
down on the judgment seat at a place called the Pavement, and in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day
of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" They
cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King!"
The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." Then he handed him over to them to be
crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a
skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on
either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the cross; it read, "Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified
was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. But standing by the cross of Jesus
were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw
his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold your
son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his
own home. Then when Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished"; and he bowed his head
and gave up his spirit.
Announcements
Liturgical/Program Schedule:
TODAY: Sunday School starts again, Special General Assembly re Fellowship Hall
Wed. Sept. 17
th
: St. Sophia and her 3 Children, Orthros/Divine Liturgy 8:30am
Sat. Sept. 20
th
: St. Eustathios, Orthros/Divine Liturgy 8:30am; Fr. Demetri Tobias and
delegation from Holy Trinity Sioux City, IA visiting parish and Philoxenia House.
Sun. Sept. 21
st
: GOYA & Family Volleyball after Liturgy

Todays Artoklasia: offered in commemoration of the Holy Cross by Maria Thomas

Change in Schedule: Due to the nature of today being a strict fast day in observance of
the Holy Cross, the traditional back-to-school luncheon has been postponed until next
Sunday September, 21
st
. Thank you again to George Kereakos and the Philoptochos for
organizing and hosting this annual event!

Dorothy Day Clothing Drive: beginning Sunday Sept. 21
st
-Oct. 12
th
our parish will be
hosting a clothing drive for a local homeless shelter. The Dorothy Day House (our own
Ray Ostfeld is the current president!) offers short term shelter, clothing, and encourages
people to find resources to get them back on their feet. We are asking for gently used
adult clothing items, e.g. shirts, coats, pants, and NEW undergarments. Bins will be
placed in the Narthex for easy deposit. Thank you parishioners!


HOW TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNIONOnly Orthodox Christians (the Orthodox church does NOT
practice open communion) in good standing are encouraged to receive Holy Communion frequently,
provided they have prepared themselves spiritually, mentally and physically. They must be on time for the
Divine Liturgy, and be in a Christ-like, humble state of mind. They should be in a confession relationship
with their priest or spiritual father, have observed the fasts of the Church, and they should have self-
examined their conscience. On the day of receiving Holy Communion, it is not proper to eat or drink
anything before coming to church. When you approach to receive Holy Communion, state your Christian
(baptismal) name clearly, and hold the red communion cloth to your chin. After receiving, wipe your lips on
the cloth, step back carefully, hand the cloth to the next person and make the sign of the Cross as you step
away. Please do not be in a rush while communing! Please take special care not to bump the Holy
Chalice.

Todays Commemoration:
The Exaltation of the Honorable Cross: Two events in connection with the Honorable Cross of Christ are
commemorated on this day: first, the finding of the Honorable Cross on Golgotha and second, the return of the
Honorable Cross from Persia to Jerusalem. Visiting the Holy Land, the holy Empress Helena decided to find the
Honorable Cross of Christ. An old Jewish man named Judah was the only one who knew where the Cross was
located, and, constrained by the empress, he revealed that the Cross was buried under the temple of Venus that
Emperor Hadrian had built on Golgotha. The empress ordered that this idolatrous temple be razed and, having dug
deep below it, found three crosses. While the empress pondered on how to recognize which of these was the Cross of
Christ, a funeral procession passed by. Patriarch Macarius told them to place the crosses, one by one, on the dead
man. When they placed the first and second cross on the dead man, the dead man lay unchanged. When they placed
the third cross on him, the dead man came back to life. By this they knew that this was the Precious and Life-giving
Cross of Christ. They then placed the Cross on a sick woman, and she became well. The patriarch elevated the Cross
for all the people to see, and the people sang with tears: ``Lord, have mercy!'' Empress Helena had a silver case made
and set the Honorable Cross in it. Later, the Persian Emperor Chozroes conquered Jerusalem, enslaved many people,
and took the Lord's Cross to Persia. The Cross remained in Persia for fourteen years. In the year 628 the Greek
Emperor Heraclius defeated Chozroes and, with much ceremony, returned the Cross to Jerusalem. As he entered the
city Emperor Heraclius carried the Cross on his back, but suddenly was unable to take another step. Patriarch
Zacharias saw an angel preventing the emperor from bearing the Cross on the same path that the Lord had walked
barefoot and humiliated. The patriarch communicated this vision to the emperor. The emperor removed his raiment
and, in ragged attire and barefoot, took up the Cross, carried it to Golgotha, and placed it in the Church of the
Resurrection, to the joy and consolation of the whole Christian world.
Saint Placilla, The Empress: Placilla was the wife of Emperor Theodosius the Great. In mind and deed, she was a
true Christian. She was especially distinguished for helping the needy and the sick. When some people told her that
this was not consistent with imperial dignity, she replied: ``It becomes the imperial calling to assist with money;
however, in my personal efforts concerning the poor, I give to Him who deigned to give me this calling.'' She rested
peacefully in about the year 400.
The Venerable Martyr Macarius of Thessalonica: Macarius was a disciple of Patriarch Niphon when the latter
was laboring in stillness at Vatopedi [on Mount Athos]. Macarius longed to be martyred for Christ the Lord, and
begged St. Niphon for his blessing. The clairvoyant patriarch, seeing that this was the will of God, blessed his path to
martyrdom. Macarius went to Thessalonica and, in a crowd of Turks, began to speak about Christ as the One True
God. The Turks beat him and threw him into prison. When they brought him to trial, Macarius cried out to them:
``Oh if you only knew the truth, and were baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!'' The
Turks beheaded him in 1527. At that very moment, St. Niphon saw this in the spirit and told a monk of Macarius's
death by martyrdom, saying: ``Know this, my child, that today your brother Macarius died a martyr's death and is
borne to heaven, celebrating and rejoicing in the Lord. May we, by his prayers, be made worthy of blessedness.
''