January 5, 2014

THE THEOPHANY (EPIPHANY) OF OUR LORD AND GODTHE THEOPHANY (EPIPHANY) OF OUR LORD AND GODTHE THEOPHANY (EPIPHANY) OF OUR LORD AND GODTHE THEOPHANY (EPIPHANY) OF OUR LORD AND GOD

AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRISTAND SAVIOR JESUS CHRISTAND SAVIOR JESUS CHRISTAND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST

WWWW hen our Lord reached thirty years from His physical birth, He began His teaching and salvific work.

He Himself signified this “beginning of the beginning” by His Baptism in the Jordan river. St. Cyril of

Jerusalem says, “The beginning of the world is water; the beginning of the Gospel is the Jordan.” At the

time of the Baptism of the Lord in water, the mystery was declared to the world - the mystery that was

prophesied in the Old Testament; the mystery that was known only in fables in ancient Egypt and India;

the mystery of the Divine Holy Trinity. The Father was revealed to the sense of hearing, the Spirit was

revealed to the sense of sight, and the Son was revealed to the sense of touch. The Father uttered His

witness about the Son, the Son was baptized in the water, and the Holy

Spirit, in the form of a dove, hovered above the water. When John the

Baptist bore witness to Christ, saying: “Behold the Lamb of God, which

taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29),” and when John immersed

and baptized the Lord in the Jordan, the mission of Christ in the world and

the path of our salvation were shown. That is to say, the Lord took upon

Himself the sins of mankind and died under them (immersion) and rose

again (the coming out of the water); and we must die to the old sinful man

and rise again as cleansed, renewed and regenerated. This is the Savior

and this is the path of salvation. The Feast of the Theophany is also called

the Feast of Illumination. The event in the Jordan river illuminates us by

manifesting God to us as Trinity, consubstantial and undivided. That is

one way that we are illumined. And the second way is that every one of us

through baptism in water is illumined, in that we become adopted by the

Father of Lights through the merits of the Son and the power of the Holy

Spirit. From: The Prologue of Ochrid

FATHER GEORGE H. SHALHOUB

248-374-0591 January 5, 2014 Issue 400

�18100 Merriman Road � Livonia, Michigan 48152 � www.saintmarylivonia.com � Office: (734)-422-0010 �

Sunday Services

Confession: 8:30AM

Matins: 9:00AM

Divine Liturgy: 10:00AM

St. Mary’s Cultural

and Banquet Center

(734) 421-9220

Daily Confession by Appointment - Call the Church Office

“And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” Acts 11:26

The Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary

Fr. George Shalhoub - Pastor Fr. Jim King - Director of Youth & Pastoral Outreach Programs Archdeacon Issa Rizkallah

313-690-2030 Deacon Dr. Dennis Bojrab Salem Samaan - Parish Council Chairman Linda Lawson - Choir Director Stacey Badeen - Church Administrator Arwa Ansara -Church School Administrator Richard Shebib/Sami Azzouz - Ushers Dr. Tom Saba - Young Adults- St. John Divine Georgine Hayes - Ladies Society President Nicole Khamis - Teen Soyo President Lina Nunu - Arabic School Keith Rowe - Cultural Center General Manager 734-421-9220

The Light of Christ

AL-NOUR

PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY:

THE ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX BASILICA OF ST. MARY

Page 2 The Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary

THE EPISTLE

Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord.

O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good;

for His mercy endureth forever.

The Reading is from the Epistle of St. Paul to Titus Chapter 2:11-14; 3:4-7

MMMM y son Titus, the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to

renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives

in this world; awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and

Savior Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify

for Himself a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds. Declare these things;

exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. When the goodness and

loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of deeds done by us

in righteousness, but in virtue of His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and

renewal in the Holy Spirit, which He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our

Savior, so that we might be justified by His grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

THE GOSPEL

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew Chapter 3:13-17

AAAA t that time, Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John

would have prevented Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by Thee, and Thou dost

come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill

all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, He went up

immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of

God descending like a dove, and alighting on Him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying,

“This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased.”

The Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary Page 3

PRAYER CORNER memorials

IIII am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25)

Thank You

OUR NEW ARRIVALS

“A Vigil Light is Burning” In Loving Devotion

FFFF or The Health and Well Being Of:

IIII n Memory Of: Joseph Michael

Mouaikel; George Abodeely; Ken

Biedron,

HOLY BREAD OF OBLATION

HHHH oly Bread of Oblation

is offered by the families, for the

month of January, in loving memory

of:

Fuad Ghannam

Edward Ayoub

Naimeh Ayoub

Azizeh and Julia Harb

Naiem and Haleeleh Warra

Michael Abukhader

Farah Kakish

HHHH oly Bread of Oblation

is offered by the families, for the

month of January, for the health and

well being of:

Jeries and Malak Abukhader and

their family

LLLL ord, you are the physician of

our souls and body. We pray

You grant the following parish-

ioners good health and blessings: Metropolitan PAUL Yazigi, Arch-

bishop Youhanna Ibrahim, Mother

Pelagia, the nuns and orphans of

Maaloula, Syria,

CCCC ongratulations and best

wishes to Fady and Dr. Victoria

Tarazi on the birth of their baby

boy, Raphael Edward. Proud

grandparents are Dr. Nabil and

Isabelle Sultani and Nahedd and

Souzan Tarazi.

May God bless parents,

grandparents and child.

TTTT he following parishioners and

friends of the Basilica of St.

Mary have given special donations

to the Church in the past few

weeks:

$50-For the health and well being

of Jeries and Malak Abukhader and

their family,

$50-In loving memory of Mona

Zakhem offered by sons John and

George Saad,

$100-For the health and well being

of daughter Erin Herron and

new-born grandson Colin James

Herron offered by David and Noel

Bawulski,

$100-In loving memory of Azizeh

and Julia Harb, and Naiem and

Haleeleh Warra offered by Basim

and Ferial Warra,

$200-For the health and well being

of their children and grandchildren

offered by Salah and Siham Salah,

$200-In loving memory of Naimeh

Ayoub, Ayoub Ayoub, Jamal

Ayoub, Fred Ayoub and Edward

Ayoub offered by Anton and Laila

Hassan,

$500-For the health and well being

of newly baptized Madison Rose

offered by parents Dr. Jim and

Stefanie Madany,

$1000-For the health and well

being of newly baptized Ella Sirene

(Elizabeth) and Oliver Riyad

(Michael) offered by parents Drs.

Majed and Nevin Ajluni,

Condolences

TTTT he clergy and parishioners at the

Basilica of St. Mary extend

their deepest sympathy to

Khouriyeh Mariam Elias, the

children and grandchildren on the

passing of the V. Rev. Fr. Anis

Elias

TTTT he clergy and parishioners

at the Basilica of St. Mary extend

their deepest sympathy to

Khouriyeh Louise, children Farida,

James (Linda), George (Lynne), the

grandchildren Kevin (Trish), Dana,

John, Michael (Nicole), Christy and

the entire Badeen family on the

passing of the V. Rev. Fr. John

Badeen.

May their memories be eternal.

Save the Dates Feb. 15, 2014 - Annual Valentine’s

Party at the Cultural Center.

Feb. 28th - Ladies Society annual

Wine Tasting Event

June 5-8, 2014 - St. Mary’s

Festival

Please Excuse Our Dust

We ask all parishioners and friends to

please excuse the dust and any

inconvenience happening in our

church. The 2 front center rows of

pews will be removed to

accommodate the one hundred foot

scaffolding. Chairs will be added to

our choir loft. We ask you to utilize

them without interrupting the choir.

The scaffold will take 10 days to

install, beginning on January 8th.

Work will commence on the Dome

January 19th.

May God bless you and your family.

Page 4 The Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary

Week of January 5, 2014

Please visit our website for details about all the Basilica of St. Mary events and activities. www.saintmarylivonia.com

Upcoming Events Every Wednesday: Mother-Toddler Group (10:00am-12:00pm) Teen Soyo Meetings (5:45pm-8:00pm) January 11: Pre-teen mini retreat Henry Ford museum January 17: 20/40 retreat - “Called to be Apostles ” with Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis January 18: 20 / 40 retreat “Called to be Apostles ” Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis February 14-17: Winter Camp at the Antiochian Village

If you have any questions regarding any of these events, please call

Fr. Jim King at the Department of Youth and Outreach office.

The life of the Basilica depends on you. Get involved today!

THEOPHANY Jan.6th

The Baptism of our Lord and Savior The Baptism of our Lord and Savior The Baptism of our Lord and Savior The Baptism of our Lord and Savior

Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! (Troparion Byz. Tone one)

When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the trinity was made manifest. The voice of the Father did bear witness unto Thee, and called Thee His

beloved Son. And the spirit, in the form of a dove did confirm the constancy of the words.

O Christ our God who didst appear and illuminate the world.

Glory to thee, O Lord.

The Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary Page 5

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Dated Material

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visit our website: www.saintmarylivonia.com

The Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary

FROM OUR FAMILY HERE AT THE BASILICA OF ST. MARY TO YOUR FAMILY, WE WISH YOU A

SAFE, HEALTHY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

† Father George and Nouhad Shalhoub † Fr. Jim and Audrey King † Archdeacon Issa Rizkallah † Deacon and Mrs. Dennis Bojrab, M.D. † St. Mary’s Parish Council, Salem Samaan, Chairman † The Cultural Center Andrew Ansara and Dr. Radwan Khoury, Co-Chairmen † The Financial Controllers, Andrew Ansara, Don Hayes and Maha Khalil † Finance Committee, Aziz Naser, Chairman, † Church Administrator, Stacey Badeen † Administrative Associate, Bill Lawson † Ladies Society, Mrs. Georgine Hayes, President † St. Mary’s Church Choir, Mrs. Linda Lawson, Director † The Chanters, Sub-deacon Suheil Kashou, Sub-deacon Samer Hanna, Sub-deacon Dr. George Zacur † The Altar Boys † The Ushers, Richard Shebib and Sami Azzouz † Custodian, Randy VanNispen † Assistant Youth Director, Sub-Deacon Richard Ajalat � Church School Administrator Arwa Ansara, † Arabic School, Mrs. Lina Nunu, Director † Teen Soyo, Mark Sultani, President † The Cultural Center, Mr. Keith Rowe, General Manager and Mrs. Robin Schlack, Office Manager † Bulletin Volunteers † Mother/Toddler Group � Senior Heritage Group � 20/40 Group �