ST.

NICHOLAS ALBANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE
SHRINEOFTHEHOLY VIRGIN MARY
2701 NORTH NARRAGANSETT AVENUE CHICAGO, IL 60639 773-889-4282
stnicholasalbanianchicago.org

rd
3 Sunday of Matthew
June 25th, 2017
 Epistle Reading
St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 5:1-10
Prokeimenon. Mode 2.
Psalm 117.14,18
The Lord is my strength and my song.
Verse: The Lord has chastened me sorely.
BRETHREN, since we are
justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him
we have obtained access to this grace in which we
stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory
of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings,
knowing that suffering produces endurance, and
endurance produces character, and character
Gospel Reading
The Gospel According to Matthew 6:22-33
The Lord said, "The eye is the lamp
of the body. So, if your eye is sound,
your whole body will be full of light;
but if your eye is not sound, your
whole body will be full of darkness.
If then the light in you is darkness,
how great is the darkness! No one can serve two
masters; for either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore
I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you
shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body,
what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and
the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the
JOANI - ORESTI - PAIS - JULIANI - ALBANI
AGRIPINA - ATHANASI - DHIMITRIAN
ZAHARIA - ELISABETA
produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us,
because God's love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.
While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died
for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a
righteous man -- though perhaps for a good man one
will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in
that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since,
therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much
more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to
God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we
are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not
of more value than they? And which of you by being
anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why
are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of
the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet
I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the
field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into
the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of
little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What
shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall
we wear? For the Gentiles seek all these things; and
your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all
these things shall be yours as well."
 MESSAGES FROM Fr. KOSTANDINs OFFICE
With blessing and guidance of Fr. Tuda, both Ladies auxiliary and Parish Council are joining
efforts in these important future events for our parish. Please make plans to participate
SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2017, 80TH BIRTHDAY OF OUR VERY
OWN, HIS GRACE, BISHOP ILIA
The St. Nicholas Parish Council and Ladies Auxiliary
will be jointly hosting a wonderful dinner in honor
of His Grace Bishop Ilias 80th Birthday. The event
will be held at Venutis Banquet Hall in Addison.
Invitations will be going out shortly and will contain
more detailed information. Check out our website
for updates as we get closer to the event..
A CHRISTIAN PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND LED BY OUR
VERY OWN, HIS GRACE, BISHOP ILIA
His Grace Bishop Ilia will be leading a 12-day tour to
the Holy Land beginning on Wednesday, November 1
and ending on Sunday, November 12. Participants will
visit Nazareth, the Garden of Gethsemane and the
original baptismal site of our Lord at the Jordan River.
In Jerusalem they will visit the Patriarchate and have a
private audience with His Beatitude Theophilos. The
all inclusive cost for the tour is $3,893.00 per person
based on double or triple occupancy. If interested, you
can pick up a registration form in the St. Nicholas
Church narthex which contains a detailed itinerary.
NOV 1 12, 2017: A CHRISTIAN PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND LED BY
OUR VERY OWN, HIS GRACE, BISHOP ILIA
PARTICIPANTS WILL VISIT NAZARETH, THE
GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE AND THE
ORIGINAL BAPTISMAL SITE OF OUR LORD AT
THE JORDAN RIVER. IN JERUSALEM THEY
WILL VISIT THE PATRIARCHATE AND HAVE A
PRIVATE AUDIENCE WITH HIS BEATITUDE
THEOPHILOS.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 20, 2017 CELEBRATION OF 30TH
ANNIVERSARY OF WEEPING MARY.
Once again the St. Nicholas Parish Council and Ladies
Auxiliary will be jointly planning a celebration honoring
this most momentous occasion that occurred in our
Church. The event will be commemorated at St.
Nicholas Church with a special service immediately
following Divine Liturgy and with a reception
afterwards in the church hall. Flyers will be posted
containing more information. Please watch our
website for any updates.
Your donations and membership
dues allows us to continue to
provide our unique services and
operational upkeep. Donations to
our church are vital to support and
to keep our mission strong (and
are tax-deductible). We envision a community where
individuals with disabilities and their families have a
network that supports independence, choice and
personal success. The services and activities we offer
would not be possible without the continued and
generous support of our community.
All donations are tax deductible and MUCH
APPRECIATED

ST JOHN THE BAPTIST
The forerunner
The glorious Prophet and
Forerunner John the Baptist is also
referred to as John the Forerunner
because he was the forerunner of Christ. He was an
ascetic and great prophet, who baptized Christ and
became one of the most revered saints in the
Orthodox Church. John is a cousin of Christ through his
mother Elizabeth who was the daughter of Zoia. Zoia is
the sister of Christ's grandmother. He was later
beheaded by Herod in the first century to satisfy the
request of Herod's stepdaughter, Salome, and wife
Herodias. Because he baptized Christ, he is the patron
saint of godparents. He is sometimes called the Angel
of the Desert; because of this title, he is sometimes
depicted with wings.
His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the course
of Abia, and his mother, Elizabeth, was of the
daughters of Aaron. John held the priesthood of Aaron,
giving him the authority to perform baptisms of God.
His birth took place six months before that of
Jesus, and according to the Gospel account was
expected by prophecy and foretold by an angel.
Zacharias lost his power of speech because of his
unbelief over the birth of his son, and had it restored
on the occasion of John's circumcision.
John was a Nazarite from his birth. He spent his
early years in the mountainous tract of Judea lying
between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. He led a simple
life, wearing rope (gamla) fiber clothing and eating
"locusts and wild honey". As an adult John started to
preach in public, and people from "every quarter"
were attracted to his message. The essence of his
preaching was the necessity of repentance and turning
away from selfish pursuits. He denounced the
Sadducees and Pharisees as a "generation of vipers,"
and warned them not to assume their heritage gave
them special privilege. He warned tax collectors and
soldiers against extortion and plunder. His doctrine
and manner of life stirred interest, bringing people
from all parts to see him on the banks of the Jordan
River. There he baptized thousands unto repentance.
The fame of John reached the ears of Jesus in
Nazareth, and he came from Galilee to Jordan to be
baptized by John, on the special ground that it became
him to "fulfill all righteousness". John's special office
ceased with the baptism of Jesus, who must now
"increase" as the King come to his kingdom. He
continued, however, for a while to bear testimony to
the Messiahship of Jesus. He pointed him out to his
disciples, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God." His public
ministry was suddenly (after about six months
probably) brought to a close by his being cast into
prison by Herod, whom he had reproved for the sin of
having taken to himself the wife of his brother Philip.
He was shut up in the castle of Machaerus, a fortress
on the southern extremity of Peraea, 9 miles east of
the Dead Sea, and here he was beheaded at the
instigation of Herodias; later tradition also implicates
Salom. His disciples, having consigned the headless
body to the grave, went and told Jesus all that had
occurred. John's death occurred apparently just before
the third Passover of Jesus' ministry.
Jesus himself testified regarding John that he
was a "burning and a shining light". John was the last
of the Old Testament prophets, thus serving as a
bridge figure between that period of revelation and
Jesus. They also embrace a tradition that, following his
death, John descended into Hell and there once more
preached that Jesus the Messiah was coming.
The Tomb of Christ, within the Cathedral of the Holy Sepulchre,
from which the Patriarch (or presiding archbishop) of Jerusalem
emerges with the Fire.
Welcome to St. Nicholas Church
Be part of our Albanian-American community
flasim shqip Shrbehet n Shqip dhe Anglisht