2nd Sunday after Pentecost – All Saints of America & Romania. Tone 1. Mat. Gos. 2. Combine Octoechos and Menaion. Great Vespers: Entrance. Old Testament readings. Litia. Matins: Polyeleos. Megalinaria. Resurrectional Hymns of Blessings. Gospel of Resurrection. Katavasia of Annunciation. Praises – “Glory” for Saints, “Now and ever” – “You are most blessed”. Great Doxology. Liturgy: Epis. Romans 2:10-16. Gos. Matthew 4:18-23. Axion: “It is truly right.” Sts. Bessarion & Hilarion the New (Fish permitted) Tropar When the stone had been sealed by the Jews; while the soldiers were guarding your Most Pure Body, you rose on the third day, O Savior, granting life to the world. Therefore, the Powers of heaven cried out to you, O Giver of life: Glory to your Resurrection, O Christ! Glory to your Kingdom! Glory to your dispensation, O only Lover of  mankind. Kontak Being God, you gloriously rose from the tomb, raising the world with you. Human nature praises you, God. Death has vanished! Adam dances, O Master! Being freed from bondage, Eve rejoices, crying out: O Christ, you are the One who gives resurrection to all. Epistle Reading Deacon: Let us be attentive! Priest: Peace be to all. Choir: And to your spirit. Deacon:  Wisdom! (DYNAMIS) Reader: The Prokimenon in the 8th Tone: Lord, let your mercy be on us just as we hope in you. Choir:  Lord, let your mercy be on us just as we hope in you. Reader:  Rejoice in the Lord, all you righteous. Praise befits the upright. Choir:  Lord, let your mercy be on us just as we hope in you. Reader:   Lord, let your mercy be on us Choir:  just as we hope in you. Reader: The Reading is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans 2:10-16 Deacon: Let us be attentive! BRETHREN, glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. Priest: Peace be to you, reader Reader: And to your spirit. – Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Choir/People:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Reader: (first alleluia verse) God avenges me and subdues the peoples under me. Choir/People:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Reader: (second alleluia verse) He gives great deliverance to his king, and shows mercy to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever. Choir/People:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia During the Alleluia Verses, the priest stands at the holy table and says the PRAYER BEFORE THE GOSPEL: Priest: Enkindle in our hearts the pure light of your divine knowledge, O master, Lover of mankind, and open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of your evangelical proclamations. Instill the fear of your blessed commandments in us, so that trampling down all bodily desires, we may practice a spiritual life, thinking and doing all which pleases you. For you are the illumination of our souls and bodies, Christ God, and we offer glory to you, together with your Father who is without beginning and your All-Holy, good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Deacon:  Wisdom. Arise. Let us listen to the Holy Gospel. Priest: Peace be to all. People:  And with your spirit. Deacon: The Reading of the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew People:  Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You. Priest: Let us be attentive. At that time, as Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left their boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. People:  Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You. Synaxis of the Saints of North America Commemorated on June 6 On the second Sunday after Pentecost, each local Orthodox Church commemorates all the saints, known and unknown, who have shone forth in its territory. Accordingly, the Orthodox Church in America remembers the saints of North America on this day. Saints of all times, and in every country are seen as the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem fallen humanity. Their example encourages us to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us” and to “run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). The saints of North America also teach us how we should live, and what we must expect to endure as Christians Although it is a relatively young church, the Orthodox Church in America has produced saints in nearly all of the six major categories of saints: Apostles (and Equals of the Apostles); Martyrs (and Confessors); Prophets; Hierarchs; Monastic Saints; and the Righteous. Prophets, of course, lived in Old Testament times and predicted the coming of Christ. The first Divine Liturgy in what is now American territory (northern latitude 58 degrees, 14 minutes, western longitude 141 degrees) was celebrated on July 20, 1741, the Feast of the Prophet Elias, aboard the ship Peter under the command of Vitus Bering. Hieromonk Hilarion Trusov and the priest Ignatius Kozirevsky served together on that occasion. Several years later, the Russian merchant Gregory I. Shelikov visited Valaam monastery, suggesting to the abbot that it would be desirable to send missionaries to Russian America. On September 24, 1794, after a journey of 7,327 miles (the longest missionary journey in Orthodox history) and 293 days, a group of monks from Valaam arrived on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The mission was headed by Archimandrite Joasaph, and included Hieromonks Juvenal, Macarius, and Athanasius, the Hierodeacons Nectarius and Stephen, and the monks Herman and Joasaph. St Herman of Alaska (December 13, August 9), the last surviving member of the mission, fell asleep in the Lord in 1837. Throughout the Church’s history, the seeds of faith have always been watered by the blood of the martyrs. The Protomartyr Juvenal was killed near Lake Iliamna by natives in 1799, thus becoming the first Orthodox Christian to shed his blood for Christ in the New World. In 1816, St Peter the Aleut was put to death by Spanish missionaries in California when he refused to convert to Roman Catholicism. Missionary efforts continued in the nineteenth century, with outreach to the native peoples of Alaska. Two of the most prominent laborers in Christ’s Vineyard were St Innocent Veniaminov (March 31 and October 6) and St Jacob Netsvetov (July 26), who translated Orthodox services and books into the native languages. Father Jacob Netsvetev died in Sitka in 1864 after a life of devoted service to the Church. Father John Veniaminov, after his wife’s death, received monastic tonsure with the name Innocent. He died in 1879 as the Metropolitan of Moscow. As the nineteenth century was drawing to a close, an event of enormous significance for the North American Church took place. On March 25, 1891, Bishop Vladimir went to Minneapolis to receive St Alexis Toth (May 7) and 361 of his parishioners into the Orthodox Church. This was the beginning of the return of many Uniates to Orthodoxy. St Tikhon (Belavin), the future Patriarch of Moscow (April 7, October 9), came to America as bishop of the diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska in September 1898. As the only Orthodox bishop on the continent, St Tikhon traveled extensively throughout North America in order to minister to his widely scattered and diverse flock. He realized that the local church here could not be a permanent extension of the Russian Church. Therefore, he focused his efforts on giving the American Church a diocesan and parish structure which would help it mature and grow. St Tikhon returned to Russia in 1907, and was elected as Patriarch of Moscow ten years later. He died in 1925, and for many years his exact burial place remained unknown. St Tikhon’s grave was discovered on February 22, 1992 in the smaller cathedral of Our Lady of the Don in the Don Monastery when a fire made renovation of the church necessary. St Raphael of Brooklyn (February 27) was the first Orthodox bishop to be consecrated in North America. Archimandrite Raphael Hawaweeny was consecrated by Bishop Tikhon and Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) at St Nicholas Cathedral in New York on March 13, 1904. As Bishop of Brooklyn, St Raphael was a trusted and capable assistant to St Tikhon in his archpastoral ministry. St Raphael reposed on February 27, 1915. The first All American Council took place March 5-7, 1907 at Mayfield, PA, and the main topic was “How to expand the mission.” Guidelines and directions for missionary activity, and statutes for the administrative structure of parishes were also set forth. In the twentieth century, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, countless men, women, and children received the crown of martyrdom rather than renounce Christ. Sts John Kochurov (October 31) and Alexander Hotovitzky (December 4 and August 7) both served the Church in North America before going back to Russia. St John became the first clergyman to be martyred in Russia on October 31, 1917 in St Petersburg. St Alexander Hotovitzky, who served in America until 1914, was killed in 1937. In addition to the saints listed above, we also honor those saints who are known only to God, and have not been recognized officially by the Church. As we contemplate the lives of these saints, let us remember that we are also called by God to a life of holiness.

5th Sunday after Pascha – Samaritan Woman. Tone 4. Mat. Gos. 7. Great Vespers: Entrance. Matins: No Polyeleos. Resurrectional Hymns of Blessings. Hymns of Ascent of Tone. Katavasia of Pascha. At 9th Ode, sing “More honorable”. Praises. Great Doxology. Liturgy: Regular Antiphons. “Holy God.” Epis. Acts 11:19-30. Gos. John 4:5-42. Axion: “The angel cried out.” St. Athanasius the Great Tropar Having learned the joyful proclamation of the resur­rection and the abolition of the ancestral curse from the angel, the women disciples of the Lord elatedly told the Apostles: Death is despoiled! Christ God has risen, granting great mercy to the world. Kontak My Savior and Redeemer lay in the tomb, but being God, he was delivering mortal men from their bonds. He shattered the gates of Hades, and being Master rose on the third day! Epistle Reading Deacon: Let us be attentive! Priest: Peace be to all. Choir: And to your spirit. Deacon:  Wisdom! (DYNAMIS) Reader: The Prokeimenon is in the 4th tone. Reader: Lord, what variety you have created, making everything so wisely! People: Lord, what variety you have created, making everything so wisely! Reader: Bless the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, how great you are! People: Lord, what variety you have created, making everything so wisely! Reader: Lord, what variety you have created People:  making everything so wisely! The reading is from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews and The Acts of the Apostles according to St Luke. Deacon: Let us be attentive! Brethren, remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be lead away by diverse and strange teachings; for it is well that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited their adherents. We have an alter from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go forth to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. In those days, those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. Priest: Peace be to you, reader Reader: And to your spirit. – Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Choir/People:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Reader: (first alleluia verse) Go forth and prosper and reign, because of truth and meekness and righteousness! Choir/People:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Reader: (second alleluia verse) You love righteousness and hate wickedness. Choir/People:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia During the Alleluia Verses, the priest stands at the holy table and says the PRAYER BEFORE THE GOSPEL: Priest: Enkindle in our hearts the pure light of your divine knowledge, O master, Lover of mankind, and open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of your evangelical proclamations. Instill the fear of your blessed commandments in us, so that trampling down all bodily desires, we may practice a spiritual life, thinking and doing all which pleases you. For you are the illumination of our souls and bodies, Christ God, and we offer glory to you, together with your Father who is without beginning and your All-Holy, good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Deacon:  Wisdom. Arise. Let us listen to the Holy Gospel. Priest: Peace be to all. People:  And with your spirit. Deacon: The Reading of the Holy Gospel according to St. John People:  Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You. Priest: Let us be attentive. Jesus came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” For his disciples had gone into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her. “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but none said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking to her?” So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the city and were coming to him. Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat which you do not know.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has any one brought him food?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘In four months comes the harvest?’ I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for the harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Any many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” People:  Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You.