January 25, 2026

St. Gregory the Theologian

 

TO OUR VISITORS

Welcome! We hope your time with us is healing and worshipful. Please note that, although we have much respect for other Christian traditions, Holy Communion is reserved for properly prepared members of the Orthodox Church. Everyone is invited to partake of the blessed bread after the conclusion of the Liturgy. May God’s blessing be upon you!

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Hymns in Today’s Liturgy

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Resurrectional Apolytikion (Tone 7)

From the heights Thou didst descend, O compassionate One, and Thou didst submit to the three-day burial, that Thou might deliver us from passion; Thou art our life and our Resurrection, O Lord, glory to Thee.

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Apolytikion of St. Gregory the Theologian (Tone 1)

The pastoral psalter of thy discourse in theology triumphed over the trumpets of orators and overcame it; for having sought the depth of the Spirit, there was also vouchsafed to thee excellence of speech, O Father Gregory. Wherefore, intercede with Christ God to save our souls

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Apolytikion of Mary of Egypt (Tone 8)
Through thee, the divine likeness was securely preserved, O mother Mary; for thou didst carry the cross and follow Christ. By example and precept thou didst teach us to ignore the body, because it is perishable, and to attend to the concerns of the undying soul. Therefore, doth thy soul rejoice with the angels.

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Kontakion of the Presentation of Christ (Tone 1)

Thou, O Christ God, Who by Thy Birth, didst sanctify the Virgin’s womb, and, as is meet, didst bless Simeon’s arms, and didst also come to save us; preserve Thy fold in wars, and confirm them whom Thou didst love, for Thou alone art the Lover of mankind.

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THE EPISTLE

Hebrews 7:26–8:2

Brethren, it was fitting that we should have such a High Priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; He did this once for all when He offered up Himself. Indeed, the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son Who has been made perfect forever. Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a High Priest, one Who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent which is set up not by man but by the Lord.

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THE GOSPEL

Luke 19:1–10

At that time, Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchæus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see Who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus, for He was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchæus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchæus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.”

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UPCOMING AT ST MARY OF EGYPT

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​​​​Sunday

Setup 08:30 @ Friedens

Orthos & Divine Liturgy 09:00 @ Friedens

Fellowship 11:30 @  Friedens

Takedown 12:15 @ Friedens 

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Monday 

Book Study 18:00 @  Google Meet

 

Tuesday

Adult Education / Catechism 19:00 @ Scotts'

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Thursday

Indiana March for Life  10:00  @ Joy of All Who Sorrow

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Saturday

Teen SOYO Retreat    09:30  @  St. George

 

Sunday

Setup 08:30 @ Friedens

Orthos & Divine Liturgy 09:00 @ Friedens

Fellowship 11:15 @

Annual Parish Meeting 11:30 @  Friedens

Takedown 12:15 @ Friedens 

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On the Road: We are now meeting in Hayden Hall at:

Friedens United Church of Christ

8300 S Meridian St
Indianapolis, IN 46217
///fluent.cheaply.scrawl

for Orthros & Divine Liturgy at our normally scheduled time of 09:00. Please arrive at 08:30 to help set up. 

 

Our mailing address is:

St. Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church
480 N Town Center Rd PMB 210
Mooresville, IN 46158-1379

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Inclement Weather: It is highly likely that we will need to cancel services this Sunday due to the impending winter storm. If we do so, we will announce it via Realm, e-mail, Facebook, and WISH-TV

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House Blessings: It is traditional to have one’s house blessed in the season between Theophany (2026‑01‑06) and the beginning of Great Lent (2026‑02‑23). If you would like to schedule a house blessing, please let Fr. Peter know. If possible, please have a candle and an icon (preferably of the Baptism of Christ) present for the blessing.

 

Annual Parish Meeting: Our annual parish meeting has been postponed until Sunday, 2026‑02‑01, immediately following Divine Liturgy.

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Emergency First Aid Training: The New Whiteland Volunteer Fire Department will be having a special first aid class just for us Saturday, 2026‑02‑21 14:00–18:00. There is a limit of 20 students for this class. Please register here by 2026‑02‑15.

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​Visit of Our Archepiscopal Vicar: The Rt. Rev. Fr. Jeremy (Davis), our archepiscopal vicar for the Midwest Region, will be with us 28–29 March to celebrate the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt. Details will be forthcoming as arrangements are made.​​

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Realm: Giving in Realm has now been implemented. There are presently three ways to give via Realm:

1. Log into Realm and select “Giving”

2. Visit https://onrealm.org/StMaryEgyptOrth/Give in your browser

3. Text STMARYINDY to 73256, followed by your gift amount, to give online through text.*.

At present, we have 5 people who have received Realm invitations who have yet to respond. If you have not yet received a Realm invitation or have misplaced yours, please contact Fr. Peter. If you need help signing in or have general questions, please contact Kendra.

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Building Program: We are currently working on obtaining easements for sewage, water, and stormwater drainage. More updates will be issued as work progresses.

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Coffee Hour: 

Coffee Hour is our time of fellowship after the Liturgy. If we are able to have services this Sunday, we will be skipping our normal meal due to the malfunctioning heat in Hayden Hall; next week, group D (led by Carrie Ventura) will oversee coffee hour. If you are not currently in a coffee group and would like to join, please contact Amal. If you’d like to bring something one Sunday, please feel free!

We will continue to collect funds to send our kids to summer camp. Please give generously to allow them to meet other Orthodox Christians their age and to have the experience of a lifetime.

Please also remember that, as guests of Friedens UCC, we do not currently have the use of a kitchen so everything we bring in must be taken out when we leave. We must also be finished in plenty of time to clean up and take down so that we are  out of the building by 12:30 sharp.​

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Following Along: When you enter the church, please be sure to pick up a service book and follow along with the Liturgy. Our goal is that everyone will be familiar with the music and everyone will participate in the Liturgy to the fullest extent possible.

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COMMUNITY OUTREACH

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Canned Food: Kathy Evans is collecting “no sugar added” or “packed in their own juice” canned fruits and “no salt added” canned vegetables on Sundays to take to Johnson County Senior Services. Individual cans can be brought inside while cases can be transferred directly to her vehicle. If neither Kathy nor the donation box are present, please bring your donation on the following Sunday. For more information, please contact Kathy.

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Benevolence:  In these increasingly tough economic times, we are constantly being approached by those in and around the community asking for financial help. If you would like to donate towards this cause, please contact Amal.

 

DATES TO REMEMBER

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1 Feb    Annual Parish Meeting    Friedens UCC

5–8 Feb   Winter Sacred Music Institute     Phœnix, AZ

13–16 Feb   Winter Camp   Antiochian Village

17–21 Jun     Parish Life Conference   North Royalton, OH

20–23 Aug   Do You Want to Be a Priest?    Antiochian Village

4–6 Sep   DoxaMoot  Raleigh, NC

8–11 Oct   Centennial Celebration    St. George

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PARISH PRAYER REQUESTS

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Living: Archpriest Athanasius, Archpriest James, Archpriest Petar, Archpriest Philip, Archpriest Zachariah, Priest Gabriel (02‑10), Sdn. Alexander, Aaron (02‑10), Abraham, Alexander, Amira, Andrea (02‑10), Bonnie (02‑16), Connie (01‑20), Elaina (02‑11), Elen, Elena, Evgueni, Hadleigh (02‑20), Hannah, Ioanna, Katya (02‑10), Kelly, Lee, Lynn, Mary Ellen (02‑16), Meriana, Michael (03‑26), Mike (02‑05), Nikolai, Senayet (02‑10), Tanya

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Departed:  Archimandrite Daniel (02‑13), Tom (01‑18), Presbyter Michael (2020)

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​​Please,   notify Fr. Peter  of any new prayer requests by Wednesday for inclusion in the bulletin.

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SYNAXARION
 

On 18 January, in the Holy Orthodox Church, we commemorate our Father among the Saints Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople.

To acknowledge God’s essence in Orthodox manner:

Such is this Gregory’s legacy unto Christians.

On the twenty-fifth, Gregory of divine speech died.

He was born in Nazianzus and studied in Athens with Basil the Great and Julian the Apostate. Gregory correctly prophesied that Julian would become an apostate and a persecutor of the Church. When he completed his studies, Gregory was baptized. Basil consecrated him as bishop of Sasima, and Emperor Theodosius the Great summoned him to fill the vacant archepiscopal throne of Constantinople. Gregory wrote numerous works, of which his most famous are those concerning theology. Especially known because of its depth is his work Homilies on the Holy Trinity. Gregory wrote against the heretic Macedonius who erroneously taught that the Holy Spirit is a creation of God, and against Appolinarius who erroneously taught that Christ did not have a human soul but that His divinity was in lieu of His soul. Gregory died in 390 at age 80.

On this day, we also commemorate Venerable Demetrios the Sacristan; and New-martyr Auxentios of Constantinople. By the intercessions of Thy saints, O Christ God, have mercy upon us. Amen.