St. John Antiochian Orthodox Church, Levittown NY

2020 - Royal Hours of the Nativity of our Lord, God, & Savior Jesus Christ Thank you for Donating & Supporting our Church! You Can Donate Online Through Venmo or Zelle: www.venmo.com/StJohnAntiochianChurch Venmo: @StJohnAntiochianChurch Zelle: [email protected]

Just as wax has to melt in order for the candle to give light, so also must our good works melt before others and so we become the light of the world as the Good Lord promises. A Blessed Week " " .

Schedule of Divine Services Christmas Eve: Blessed Feast to all :

A very important message on Sunday of the Forefathers of Christ: "Who" are the Forefathers and "Why" should we honor them? Why do we sing in today's Troparion: "...O Christ God, Thou didst betroth to Thyself aforetime the Church from among the nations..." The Second Sunday before the Nativity of Christ is very important to understand, and honor in the Church. Blessed Sunday to all!

Church Services for Sunday 12/20/20 Cancelled please Check your email & be safe everyone!Church Services for Sunday 12/20/20 Cancelled please Check your email & be safe everyone!

Beautiful Hymn (poetry & melody) sung on the preparatory eves of the Nativity chanted by the Monks of Hamatoura in Mount Lebanon

2020 - Sunday of the Forefathers of Christ (Orthros & Divine Liturgy) Thank you for Donating & Supporting our Church! You Can Donate Online Through Venmo or Zelle: www.venmo.com/StJohnAntiochianChurch Venmo: @StJohnAntiochianChurch Zelle: [email protected]

Today, 13 December 2020, being the Second Sunday before the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, as we do every year, we commemorate the Forefathers () of Christ, those before and of the Law

This Sunday October 18th the Church commemorates the all-holy and all-laudable Apostle (of the Seventy) and Evangelist Luke, of Antioch, the beloved physician and author of the Gospel that bears his name along with the book of Acts of the Holy Apostles The Epistle and Gospel Readings are for the Holy Apostle Luke Join us in Prayer and Worship! ( ) " "... See more

The teaching of the Orthodox Church regarding the Feast of the Conception of the Holy & Ever-Virgin Lady, the Theotokos Mary: On the ninth of December the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of the conception of the Virgin Mary by her parents Joachim and Anna. On this major festival which finds its place in the Church's preparation for Christmas, the faithful rejoice in the event by which Mary is conceived in fulfillment of her parents' prayers in order to be formed in the w...omb, born on the earth, dedicated to the Lord, and nurtured in holiness to become by God's grace the mother of His Son the Messiah. Please read below the Orthodox teaching on the conception of Mary and original sin. In the notes section there is also a teaching from Fr. John Meyendorff. ... "The Orthodox Church, particularly in the present time, does not call the feast of Mary's beginning the "immaculate conception," although perhaps in ancient times this title would have been fully acceptable. This is not because the Orthodox consider Mary's conception to have been somehow "maculate" or "stained" (macula means "stain" in Latin). It simply means that the Orthodox do not want to support the conviction that God had somehow to intervene at the moment of Mary's conception with a special action to remove the "stain" of the original sin transmitted by the act of human reproduction because, simply put, the Orthodox do not hold that such a "stain" exists. The Orthodox Church affirms original sin. Orthodox theology teaches that all human beings, including the Virgin Mary who is a "mere human" like the rest of us-- unlike her Son Jesus who is a "real human" but not a "mere human" because He is the incarnate Son and Word of God-- are born into a fallen, death-bound, demon-riddled world whose "form is passing away" (1 Cor 7:31). We are all born mortal and tending toward sin. But we are not born guilty of any personal sin, certainly not one allegedly committed "in Adam." Nor are we born stained because of the manner in which we are conceived by the sexual union of our parents. If sexual union in marriage is in any sense sinful, or the cause in itself of any sinfulness or stain, even in the conditions of the "fallen world," then, as even the rigorous Saint John Chrysostom has taught, God is the sinner because He made us this way, male and female, from the very beginning. ... Mary is conceived by her parents as we are all conceived. But in her case it is a pure act of faith and love, in obedience to God's will, as an answer to prayer. In this sense her conception is truly "immaculate." And its fruit is woman who remains forever the most pure Virgin and Mother of God. Come, let us dance in the spirit! Let us sing worthy praises to Christ! Let us celebrate the joy of Joachim and Anna, The conception of the Mother of our God, For she is the fruit of the grace of God. " ~ Fr. Thomas Hopko The Winter Pascha: Chapter 9

2020 Fourth Sunday of Luke (Orthros & Divine Liturgy) Thank you for Donating & Supporting our Church! You Can Donate Online Through Venmo or Zelle: www.venmo.com/StJohnAntiochianChurch Venmo: @StJohnAntiochianChurch Zelle: [email protected]

8 October 2020 Bible Study: "Who Do You Say that I Am?"

We will be going live at 8:15 PM for our Next Bible Study Stay Tuned!We will be going live at 8:15 PM for our Next Bible Study Stay Tuned!

Bible Study RESCHEDULED to THURSDAY EVENING instead of Wednesday Evening, sorry for the Inconvenience. In the Meantime, PLEASE, READ the Article (Link is in here) as preparation for Thursday Evening's Discussion: "Who is the Lord Jesus?" https://www.newsweek.com/52-percent-americans-say-jesus-isn

2020 Second Sunday of Luke (Orthros & Divine Liturgy) Thank you for Donating & Supporting our Church! You Can Donate Online Through Venmo or Zelle: www.venmo.com/StJohnAntiochianChurch Venmo: @StJohnAntiochianChurch Zelle: [email protected]

Mark your Calendars for NEXT WEDNESDAY EVENING (October 7th 2020) as God is our Helper we will discuss a New Topic during the Livestream Bible Study. Thank you and God bless you~

2020 First Sunday of Luke (Orthros & Divine Liturgy) Thank you for Donating & Supporting our Church! You Can Donate Online Through Venmo or Zelle: www.venmo.com/StJohnAntiochianChurch Venmo: @StJohnAntiochianChurch Zelle: [email protected]

This Sunday 27 September 2020 we will have the 6-Month Memorial Service for the handmaiden of God Martha (Um Nabil) Khoury, beloved mother of Jimmy Khoury. Martha reposed in the peak of the pandemic and circumstances prevented her from receiving a Full Funeral Service at her death. For that reason on Sunday her memorial service will go a bit beyond the ‘usual’ Trisagion Prayers of Mercy (by adding some parts from the Funeral Rite as she was deprived of them at her burial). May God rest her soul in peace, and may her memory be eternal

. ! Whoever believes in Me though he dies yet will live again With great sorrow and sadness yet with firm assurance in t...he hope of the Resurrection we wish to convey to you the falling asleep in the Lord of His servant, Nimer, beloved brother of our sister Jalileh Joudeh, who reposed in California. Due to the global pandemic the family humbly asks you to offer your condolences by telephone calling and hopes and prays that you will be understanding of the difficult situation caused by COVID. Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! See more

2020 Sunday after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in all the World (Orthros & Divine Liturgy) Thank you for Donating & Supporting our Church! You Can Donate Online Through Venmo or Zelle: www.venmo.com/StJohnAntiochianChurch Venmo: @StJohnAntiochianChurch Zelle: [email protected]

Many Thanks to our Ladies for their labor of love, Cleanup Saturday: The Hall, Kitchen, Hallway, Red Room, Downstairs Hallway, Bathrooms & Kitchen. May God bless you and grant you many years!

Church Cleaning was done today. Many thanks to Debbie & Kh Dina