St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church

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Jan. 18 – Feb. 29: The Early Church (Saturday Night Class)

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On Saturday evenings at St. Paul’s, a 7-week educational series on the earliest years of the Church — from the first through third centuries — is being taught by Dr. Cyril (Gary) Jenkins, Van Gorden Professor in History at Eastern University and Director of the St. Basil Center for Orthodox Thought and Culture.

The schedule for each evening is as follows:

    5pm Great Vespers
    5:45pm Potluck Meal (bring a dish to share)
    6pm Short Lecture with Discussion

Syllabus

18 Jan: The Church of the First Century I
Sources and the Apostolic Church

25 Jan: The Church of the First Century II
The Church of the Late First Century and the Ferment of Heresy

1 Feb: The Church of the Second Century I
Martyrdom and Apologists

8 Feb: The Church of the Second Century II
Gnosticism and Catholicity

15 Feb: The Church of the Third Century I
Athens and Jerusalem: Montanism, Origen, and the Greeks

22 Feb: The Church of the Third Century II
The Emergence of Latin Theology: Hippolytus, Cyprian, and Tertullian

29 Feb: The Church of the Third Century III
The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church

Christmas 2019 and Theophany 2020 Schedule

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annunciation-nativity-meeting

December 25 is the feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ! We will celebrate the feast at the following services:

Tuesday, Dec. 24 – Christmas Eve
8am Royal Hours of the Nativity
9:30am Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great

Wednesday, Dec. 25 – Christmas
8am – Festal Matins
9am – Festal Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

Notes on the Feast
Although the Festal Divine Liturgy is what most of us think of as the “primary” service for this feast, it is the other services that really contain the wealth of our Holy Church’s teaching about the Nativity of our Lord and its significance. If you have never attended these other services, please take the opportunity to do so this year. They are among the most beautiful services of the festal cycle.

If you would like to read more about this great feast, click here.

The Outdoor Water Blessing for Theophany at Little Lehigh Creek in Emmaus
The Outdoor Water Blessing for Theophany at Little Lehigh Creek in Emmaus

Theophany is the feast of the Baptism of Jesus Christ, when He began His public ministry by being baptized by St. John the Forerunner (John the Baptist) in the Jordan River. This act not only introduced Him to the world, but also made Christian baptism possible (by His blessing of the waters) and made plain the three Persons of the Holy Trinity—the Father speaking from the heavens, the Son being baptized and the Holy Spirit descending on the Son in the form of a dove. Theophany means “the appearance of God” and refers to this revelation of the Holy Trinity.

As part of the celebrations of this great feast—which is second in rank only to Pascha (Easter) and thus more important than Christmas!—holy water is blessed for use throughout the year, especially for the blessing of all parishioners’ homes.

Following is the schedule of services for Theophany 2020:

Friday, Jan. 3
8:30am – Royal Hours of Theophany

Sunday, Jan. 5 – Paramon (Eve) of Theophany
8am – Matins of the Eve of Theophany
9am – Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom with the Great Blessing of Water (bring your holy water bottles!)
12pm- Outdoor Blessing of Water at the Emmaus Wildlands Conservancy (3701 Orchid Pl., Emmaus, PA 18049)
5pm – Great Vespers for Theophany (with Litia and Artoklasia)

Please note that the eve of Holy Theophany (January 5) is appointed to be kept as a strict fast day—no meat, poultry, fish with backbones, dairy, wine or oil are to be consumed.

Monday, Jan. 6 – The Feast of Theophany
8am – Festal Matins for Theophany
9am – Festal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great for Theophany with the Great Blessing of Water (bring your holy water bottles!)

To read more about Holy Theophany, click here.

Exploring Orthodox Christianity: Advent Unit

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EXPLORING ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY is a six-week experience for anyone interested in understanding better the faith, teachings, history, worship and practices of the Orthodox Christian Church. This Advent Unit (Saturdays Nov. 10 – Dec. 22) is complemented by a Lent Unit held in the Spring.

This evening program begins with 5pm Vespers on Saturday night, followed by a common potluck fasting meal (roughly 6pm, no meat or dairy, please) and a short presentation and discussion. One or more church members will give the presentation(s) and moderate the discussion. Each evening’s program should wrap up by 7-7:30pm.

This program is recommended for all interested (including Orthodox Christians, non-Christians or non-Orthodox Christians) and is also part of the standard preparation for formally enrolled catechumens of the parish (those who have made a commitment to become Orthodox Christians).

TOPIC SCHEDULE FOR ADVENT 2019
(subject to adjustment as needed):

November 16 – Church History Orientation
Overview
Ecumenical Councils
Historical sources
Also: Clergy & hierarchy

November 23 – Prayer in the Orthodox Tradition
Prayer in the Orthodox tradition (Personal and Corporate)

November 30 – Sacraments (Holy Mysteries) I
What are the Holy Mysteries?
Baptism
Chrismation
Eucharist

December 7 – Sacraments (Holy Mysteries) II
Marriage
Holy Unction
Holy Orders
Confession (Penance)

December 14 – Feasts and Fasts
The Church Year
Overview of Major Feasts
Overview of Major Fasts
Why fast?

December 21 – Other Topics
The Theotokos & Other Saints
Prayer with the saints
Stewardship / Ministry
Tradition / Scripture

St. Paul’s Hosts Orthodox Conference on Author J. R. R. Tolkien

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On Sept. 27-28, 2019, in conjunction with the St. Basil Center for Orthodox Thought and Culture and the Amon Sûl Podcast, St. Paul’s hosted DoxaMoot: The Orthodox Christian Tolkien Conference, featuring lectures from pastor Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, as well as novelist Dcn. Nicholas Kotar, Prof. Alfred Siewers, parishioner Prof. Cyril Gary Jenkins, and author Michael Haldas.

Over 70 people gathered from 11 US states and the Canadian province of Ontario to listen to spiritually edifying talks, to gather for prayer and meals, and to engage in discussion about how Orthodox Christians read the popular fantasy author’s Middle-earth works and find applicability in a way compatible with Orthodox spiritual life.

The dates for the next DoxaMoot are April 24-25, 2020, also to be hosted at St. Paul’s.

Fr. George Goodge, Son of St. Paul’s, Ordained to Holy Priesthood

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On Saturday, July 6, 2019, the Rev. Dcn. George (Marshall) Goodge, a son of St. Paul’s, was ordained by His Grace Bishop Thomas to the holy priesthood, sponsored by the Very Rev. Archpriests George Alberts and Andrew Stephen Damick, joined by the V. Rev. Archpriest Joel Gillam, as well as many of the faithful of St. Paul’s, family and friends of the new priest, and seminary classmates.

On the same day, his wife Mara and newborn son John were churched. On the following day, July 7, Fr. George served his first Divine Liturgy at St. Paul’s.

Fr. George was raised in St. Paul’s, having attended from an early age, and is a 2017 graduate of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and has been assigned to the pastorate of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in New Hartford (Utica), New York.

May God grant him, Kh. Mara, baby John, and all their family many years! Axios!

(Many more photos can be viewed on the St. Paul’s Facebook page.)

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St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church

Planting the Seeds of Orthodoxy,
Cultivating Christian Community

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610.965.2298

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156 E. Main St.
Emmaus, PA 18049

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