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Saints Peter and Paul

Saints Peter and Paul

[On June 29th, the Holy Church piously remembers the sufferings of the Holy Glorious and All-Praised Apostles Peter and Paul. Preceding this, there is a fasting time starting the Monday after All Saints Sunday.]

^{Sermon of Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo}

St. Peter, the fervent follower of Jesus Christ, for the profound confession of His Divinity: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” was deemed worthy by the Savior to hear in answer, “Blessed art thou, Simon ... I tell thee, that thou art Peter [Petrus], and on this stone [petra] I build My Church” ^{(Mt.16:16-18)}. On “this stone” [petra], is on that which thou sayest: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” it is on this thy confession I build My Church. Wherefore the “thou art Peter”: it is from the “stone” [petra] that Peter [Petrus] is, and not from Peter [Petrus] that the “stone” [petra] is, just as the Christian is from Christ, and not Christ from the Christian. Do you want to know, from what sort of “rock” [petra] the Apostle Peter [Petrus] was named? Hear the Apostle Paul: “Brethren, I do not want ye to be ignorant,” says the Apostle of Christ, “how all our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” ^{(1 Cor.10: 1-4)}. Here is the from whence the “Rock” is Peter.

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Lives of the Apostles

The Lives of the Apostles

The Synaxis of the Holy, Glorious and All-Praised Twelve Apostles is commemorated on June 30

The Synaxis of the Glorious and All-Praiseworthy Twelve Apostles of Christ appears to be an ancient Feast. The Church honors each of the Twelve Apostles on separate dates during the year, and has established a general commemoration for all of them on the day after the commemoration of the Glorious and First-Ranked among the Apostles Peter and Paul.

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Coronavirus crisis

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, in person services in our parish have been cut back for now.  Fr Matthew sends out reader’s services via email each week to follow at home. In addition, the diocesan web page nynjoca.org/livestream has online services for viewing.

When services are held, they are celebrated with only the allowed number of people in attendance. Please contact Fr Matthew if you wish to attend as part of the restricted number. 

(No one else should attend in person.)

The Re-Openning of Our Parish

THE RE-OPENING OF OUR PARISH
 
REV MATTHEW SEARFOORCE
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters, His Eminence Archbishop Michael has Blessed our Plan for the Re-Opening of our Parish for worshipping together as a Parish Family.  We are planning to start this Sunday with the celebration of Pentecost! There will be some changes with the way we will be doing things in order to protect ourselves now and for the foreseeable future, as Covid-19 is still a danger to all of us.  We are making every attempt to protect our parish family from the virus.

Things that will be different:

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Corona Virus Prayer

Let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

O God Almighty, Lord of heaven and earth, and of all creation visible and invisible, in thine ineffable goodness, look down upon us, thy people gathered in thy Holy Name. Be our helper and defender in this day of affliction. Thou knowest our weakness. Thou hearest our cry in repentance and contrition of heart. O Lord who lovest mankind, deliver us from the impending threat of the Corona Virus. Send thine angel to watch over us and protect us. Grant health and recovery to those suffering from this virus. Guide the hands of physicians and preserve those who are healthy. Enable us to continue to serve our suffering brothers and sisters in peace that together we may glorify thy most honorable and majestic name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.

Amen.

 Links:

• Sign for NYNJ Churches
• Diocesan Directives on the Gradual Re-Opening of Diocesan Churches
• UPDATED GUIDELINES FROM OUR ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL
• Holy Synod issues Statement on Coronavirus outbreak
• Archpastoral Letter Regarding the Coronavirus Pandemic
• DIOCESAN GUIDELINES CONCERNING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

About the Patron of our Parish

(the Icon of the Mother of God "the Joy of All the Sorrowful"  is Commemorated on July 23, October 24, and November 19)

About the Patron of our Parish

^{By Helen Creticos Theodoropoulos}

Deep within the heart of the Church, in the place where sorrow and joy meet and where our bitter tears are kissed away by a mother's love, we encounter the Most Holy Mother of God. The Church in its devotion to the Ever-Virgin Mary has always known that she is a mystery and a gift given to us by God. The Theotokos is a mystery that can be experienced and encountered, and yet never explained or described in words of logic and science, and she is a gift that brings radiant joy and comfort in the midst of darkness and need. Through the centuries the Church has expressed its love for her through countless hymns, has praised her in its most exquisite poetry and song, and has portrayed her in its most beautiful and beloved icons. No other saint is the subject of so much devotion, and no other saint has so many miracles attributed him or her.

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Purpose

Purpose

As the local community of the Church of the Mother of God, this parish, exists for the purpose of worshiping God according to the Holy Scriptures and Tradition of the Holy Orthodox Church, to encourage union with God among the members of the parish, to seek out the lost, the searching, and the un-churched and to strive to bring them into union with the Church, to provide religious education to its members and potential members, provide charitable aid, and to defend, promote, and witness to theOrthodox Christian Faith in southern New Jersey.

This website is a tool to help in this purpose. Primarily to publicize our existence in southern New Jersey, and hopefully, encourage people to "come and see".  

The many pages on this website contain information we hope is helpful. 

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