10748 E. 116th Street • Fishers, Indiana 46037 (317) 845-7755 • www.stgindy.org

V. Rev. Father Nabil L. Hanna, Pastor (317) 919-0841 • pastor@stgindy.org

Rev. James A. Childs, Deacon (317) 626-3943 • jachilds555@gmail.com

Rev. Joseph S. Olas, Deacon (317) 201-8151 • jsolas@stgindy.org

A Parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America • Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH, Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America

His Grace Bishop ANTHONY, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Toledo

TONE 4 DECEMBER 16, 2018 EOTHINON 7

SUNDAY OF THE FOREFATHERS (ANCESTORS) OF CHRIST

PROPHET HAGGAI • THEOPHANIA THE EMPRESS • MODESTOS, ARCHBISHOP OF JERUSALEM

Today we commemorate the holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths Ananias, Azarias and Mishael; Dionys-ios of Zakynthos, the wonderworker; and the New Mar-tyrs Paisios the hieromonk and his disciple Habakkuk the deacon of Belgrade. On this day we celebrate the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (Ancestors) of our Lord Jesus.

We remember all the holy Patriarchs of the Old Testa-ment who prefigured or foretold Christ: Adam the first Father, Enoch, Melchizedek, Abraham, the friend of God, Isaac, the fruit of the Promise, Jacob and the twelve patri-archs. We then commemorate those who lived under the Law: Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Samuel, David, and the Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; the twelve minor prophets; Elijah, Elisha, Zachariah, and John the Baptist; and finally, the Virgin Mary, the intermediary between mankind and her divine Son.

Indeed, the Lord Jesus did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to redeem humanity, which suffered the weight of evil since Adam, to realize the promise made to Abraham, to change the Law of Fear into the Law of Love and to give Resurrection and Life to mankind. This feast prepares us for the Nativity of Jesus Christ, placing before us the anticipation and hope for His coming among us.

L I T U RGY VA R I AT I O N S

3RD ANTIPHON: TROPARION OF THE RESURRECTION (TONE 4)

Having learned the joyful message of the Resurrection from the angel, the women disciples of the Lord cast from them their parental condemnation and proudly broke

the news to the Disciples, saying: Death hath been spoiled; Christ God is risen, granting the world Great Mercy.

APOLYTIKIA AFTER THE ENTRANCE

Troparion of the Resurrection (Tone 4)

Having learned the joyful message….

Schedule of Regular Weekly Services

Sundays: Matins, 8:50 AM

Divine Liturgy, 10 AM

Wednesdays: Vespers, 6:30 PM

Saturdays: Great Vespers, 5 PM

Confession: After Saturday Vespers

During Sunday Matins

Or by Appointment Remember to turn cell phones off!

See Calendar for Feast Days and Other Weekday Services Scheduled

Order for Holy Communion Members of the Orthodox Church age seven and above must prepare for Holy Communion with a recent confession, prayer, fasting from all food and drink from midnight (unless medical condition preclude it), being in church before the Epistle and Gospel readings, and being at peace with everyone.

As there are NO CHURCH SCHOOL classes today, children should sit with their parents and come to Communion with them. An usher will dismiss your row from the center aisle. Then return to your place by a side aisle for the prayers of thanksgiving and the final blessing and dismissal. Please let choir members pass when they come down for Communion.

A Warm Welcome to Our Guests We are glad you are worshipping with us. Please note that participation in Holy Communion is limited to members of the Orthodox Church in good standing, who have prepared through prayer, fasting and confession.

For all others: though we cannot share Communion with you—since it is an expression of membership and full unity in faith—you are welcome to come forward after the dismissal, receive a blessing and partake of the blessed bread (from the large bowls). Please also sign our guest book, and introduce yourself to Fr. Nabil during the coffee hour. You may inquire with him how you can become a member.

Troparion for the Forefathers (Tone 2)

Thou hast justified by faith the ancient forefathers, and, through them, thou hast gone before and betrothed unto thyself the Church of the Gentiles. Let the saints, therefore, take pride in glory, for from their

seed sprouted forth a noble fruit, and she it was who gave birth to Thee without seed. Wherefore, by their pleadings, O Christ God, save our souls.

Troparion for St. George (Tone 4, Byzantine)

Liberator of captives, Defender of the poor, the Physician of the sick and the Champion of kings, O Trophy-bearer, Great-martyr

George, intercede with Christ our God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion in Preparation for the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Tone 3)

The Virgin cometh today to the cave to give birth, ineffably to bring forth the Word eter-nal. Therefore, rejoice, O earth at the message.

With the angels and shepherds give glory to Him who shall appear by His own will as a young child, He Who is from eternity God.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS

Prokeimenon (Daniel 3.26-27 LXX; Tone 8)

Blessed are You, O Lord, the God of our Fathers. Verse: For You are just in all you have done.

Epistle of Saint Paul to the Colossians (3.4-11; 29th Sunday after Pentecost/Forefathers)

BRETHREN, when Christ Who is our life ap-pears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil de-sire and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But

now put them all away; anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.

Holy Gospel according to St. Luke (14.16-24; 11th Sunday of Luke/the Forefathers)

THE LORD SPOKE THIS PARABLE: “A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for all is now ready.’ But, one by one, they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the servant came and

reported this to his master. Then the house-holder in anger said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

HOLY OBLATIONS AND PRAYER REQUESTS

• By David Egly

A sign-up sheet for baking and offering the prosphora (altar bread) is posted on the bulletin board, next to the elevator. You can also contact Thelma Hoover at (317) 782-1633.

WELCOME FATHER GABRIEL

Father Gabriel Monforte is presiding today, as Fr. Nabil is serving in our daughter mission in Evansville. Even though the formal opening of the new church building there is being re-scheduled to next summer, Father Nabil, in his capacity as Dean of the Indiana parishes, is there to check on them and to help them in their progress.

FOR ST. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, THE “GOD-BEARER”

Divine Liturgy at 6 pm Wednesday, December 19.

Dinner and the final sessions of our fall adult study programs will follow.

Wednesday, Dec. 19, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m.

Option 1 Spirituality (Sexuality, Marriage, Family, Sickness, Suffering, Death, Judgment)

Option 2 Orthodox Holy Places around the World: Holy Places in America

ST. MARDARIJE OF LIBERTYVILLE AND ALL-AMERICA - DECEMBER 12

St. Mardarije was born as Ivan Uskokovic on November 15, 1889, to pious parents Pero and Jela (nee Bozovic). Pero was chief of the Uskokovic tribe from the Ljesani area of Montenegro. By the time he was 15, he had already moved to Serbia where he was tonsured a monk and ordained a hierodeacon at Studenica Monastery. Not long after, he was sent to Russia, where he studied in the Seminaries of Zhitomir and Kishinev, and t the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. While in Russia, he was ordained a hieromonk at the age of 18 and continued teaching and preaching to the Russian people. A book of these sermons was published in 1914. He was a gifted orator with a golden tongue, able to exegete on the most difficult of subjects in ways that were clear both to a great theologian or a lay person.

On July 16, 1917, Fr. Mardarije was sent by order of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church to serve in the Serbian Ecclesiastical Mission of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of America. Within several months, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and appointed Chief of the Serbian Ecclesiastical Mission. He immediately began his work in organizing church life and teaching the Serbian people about faith in Christ. Church congregations were organized, and he founded St. Sava Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois. After the Bolshevik Revolution the Serbian Orthodox Church opened a Diocese for America and Canada. Fr. Mardarije was elected to be the Bishop by the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church and was consecrated on April 15, 1926, in the St. Archangel Michael Cathedral in Belgrade.

Bishop Mardarije soon returned to the United States and intensified his work in the spiritual vineyard entrusted to him. Churches were consecrated and the construction of St. Sava Monas-tery was completed. All of his contemporaries spoke about him as a man of angelic life, excep-tionally talented and with great vision. He was extremely humble, selfless and forgiving, especially of those who opposed his efforts. During this time, he became very ill with tuberculo-sis. He suffered for a long time, often seeking treatments over a period of several months. He was literally crushed on the field of service to people and God.

After much suffering and pain, Bishop Mardarije gave his no-ble soul to the Lord on December 12, 1935, while being treated at University Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His re-mains were transferred to St. Sava Monastery in Libertyville, where they were interred in the monastery church. On July 16, 2017, exactly 100 years from the date St. Mardarije was sent to the Serbian Orthodox people in North America, he was canonized at a Pan-Orthodox Glorification at St. Sava Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois, with His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Irinej leading the celebration along with represent-atives of the Local Orthodox Churches.

Through the prayers of our father among the saints, Hierarch Mardarije, Bishop of America and Canada, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us and save us!

STEWARDSHIP

Thanks and blessings on all who stepped up last week and made their stewardship commitments for 2018. This is the pledge we make to continue the operational support of our new church for the coming year and is separate from the building fund pledge.

If you haven’t done so yet, please place your pledge card in the offering box at

the candle stand, or return it by mail. You will find extra pledge cards in the narthex, or you can enter your pledge as a recurring donation online yourself at www.stgindy.org/donate

SPECIAL CHRISTMAS OFFERINGS

So that we might join the wise men in of-fering gifts to the newborn King, please bring in or mail back the “Christmas Gift to My Church” card that was mailed by Friday, December 21. Extra copies are available at the candle stand, or make your offering online at tinyurl.com/ChristmasGiftChurch

Include the names of the living and departed whom you wish to have commemorated at the preparation of the Holy Gifts. We will also print the names of those offering and those being remembered in the bulletin for the Christmas Liturgy.

Our Christmas offerings—separate from our tithes—are dedicated this year to our de-velopment fund for iconography. We look forward to Dr. Kordis returning in early 2020 to complete the last five panels of the nave, prior to our hosting the Midwest Diocese Parish Life Conference that June.

PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS: PRE-CHRISTMAS FAST

November 15 marked the first day of the NATIVITY FAST, which runs for forty days, until Christmas. During this time, we abstain from meat and dairy products. Then the last few days of the fast—Dec. 20-24—become stricter, when fish, wine and oil are also excluded. Everyone should also plan to make their confession sometime during the fast.

Christmas Eve Schedule: Monday, December 24

With the angels, the shepherds, the wise men and all the saints, then, let us come to adore Him Christmas Eve.

8:30 a.m. Royal Hours of Christmas

10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy (Paramon of Christmas) While we encourage all to come to both the morning and night services (which are not the same), this may be an excellent opportunity for young children and entire families to celebrate the birth of Christ together, especially if attendance at the late service be impossible.

8:30 p.m. Christmas Matins

10:00 p.m. CHRISTMAS DIVINE LITURGY In celebration of the Feast and as a token of our love and appreciation of you, Fr. Nabil and Khouriyah Elaine will host dinner in the church hall immediately following Liturgy, assisted by our parish council.

Please Join Us for Fellowship after the Liturgy The ushers will hand you the announcements bulletin as you exit via the north (side) doors of the nave, following the dismissal and verbal announcements.

PARISH PRAYER LIST

Please include in your daily prayers the following—those struggling with acute illness and those newly departed this life—from our parishioners and those for whom they have requested our prayers. (Names are kept for 40 days, the date indicated after the name, and may be renewed upon request.)

LIVING Metropolitan Paul and Archbishop John

Elias AlTawil, Carmel Care Rehab., 1/24

Fouad Fred Musleh, Copper Trace Rehab., 1/24

Kh. Ann Patricia Beauchamp, 1/21

Salim Najjar, 1/15

Carol Abraham, Carmel Care Rehab., 1/8

C. Edward Edge, 12/25

Mary Lou Saikley, Margaret Sankey’s aunt, 1/22

John Meyer, Fr. Nabil and Elaine Hanna’s brother-in-law, 1/18

Thomas Fedor and Christine Cataldo, Liza Nahas’ father and aunt, 1/17

Susan Moore and Andrea Tabanelli, Joanne Beck’s sister and sister-in-law, 1/7

Alexandru, friend of Jeff Beck, 12/21

Trenton Wesley, deployed in Afghanistan

Those displaced by earthquakes in Alaska and fires in California

All those suffering from illness, violence or want throughout the world

DEPARTED Fr. Stephen Rhudy, 12/21

President George H. W. Bush, 1/9

Paul Thomas, friend of the Kiritsises, 1/23

Hani Sarweh, cousin of Oussama, Samer and Amer Nahas, 12/25

Mohy Saleh, Iman Kiritsis’ father, 1/16

Lauretta Hood, Joanne Beck’s mother, 1/6

William McKnight, 1/5

James VanHorn, friend of Brian Phillips, 12/24

Richard Arbuckle, Michael’s father, 12/22

Janice Elaine Beveridge, James’ mother, 12/20

Fawwaz Dahdal, father of Zain Ishak and Sherin Khamis, 12/18

Nathan Saleh, grandson of Marcele Saleh and nephew of Iman Kiritsis, 12/18

Nadia Hanna, Fr. Nabil’s aunt, 12/17

The victims of violence in California, Pittsburgh, Egypt, Syria and throughout the world

ST. GEORGE PARISH CALENDAR

December 2018

Sun. 16

Matins, 8:50 am

Choir practice, 9 am

Divine Liturgy, 10 am

Tue. 18 Parish Council, 7 pm

Wed. 19

Eve of the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch

Divine Liturgy, 6 pm

• Dinner

• Basics of Orthodox Christianity

• “Where in the World?” class

Sat. 22 Great Vespers, 5 pm

• Confessions heard afterwards

Sun. 23

Matins, 8:50 am

Choir practice, 9 am

Divine Liturgy, 10 am

• Christmas Caroling to shut-ins

Mon. 24

Royal Hours, 8:30 am

Divine Liturgy of St. Basil (Paramon of Christmas), 10 am

Christmas Matins, 8:30 pm

CHRISTMAS DIVINE LITURGY, 10 pm

• Dinner/Breaking the Fast

Wed. 26 Vespers, 6:30 pm

Thu. 27 Ladies of St. George Christmas

Dinner, 6 pm at George’s Neighborhood Grill

Sat. 29 Great Vespers, 5 pm

• Confessions heard afterwards

See the full calendar and the latest additions and updates at www.stgindy.org/calendar