Parish Announcements
Spiritual Pearl: Serving God
“Know that we must serve, not the times, but God”
–St. Athansius the Great
Message from Fr. Anthony on the Feast of Holy Theophany 2021
Dear and faithful Orthodox Christians, 
In today’s Gospel we heard the preaching of the Prophet, and Forerunner, Saint John the Baptist saying, ‘There comes One mightier than I…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ Saint John prepares the way for the coming of Our Saviour. The Great Feast of Theophany celebrates the appearance of God at the Jordan River, the establishment of Holy Baptism as the entry into the Church, and the worship of the Holy Trinity which was made manifest on this day.
We prepare for Theophany, by keeping a strict Fast on Monday, and participating in the Services on Monday and Tuesday to celebrate the Great Feast. Please join the Services that we will both live stream from the Cathedral, as well as through Facetime for Father Sergey’s Services.
The Service of the Great Blessing of the Waters will take place following the Liturgy on both Monday and Tuesday morning. Do you have some holy water at home? If you do have some from a previous service, I would encourage those praying with us at home to also sprinkle the holy water and chant with us the Hymn of the Feast, “When Thou wast baptized in the Jordan, O Lord”. You can listen to the Dismissal Hymn and Kontakion of Theophany chanted by the Choir of Saint Nicholas through the links below. You will also find the text below, or find it in your Prayer Book.
Many blessed years for the Feast of Theophany!
Father Anthony
Dismissal Hymn. First Tone
Listen Here
When Thou wast baptized in the Jordan, O Lord, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest; for the voice of the Father bare witness to Thee, calling
Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the certainty of the word. O Christ our God, Who hast appeared and hast enlightened the world, glory be to Thee.
Kontakion. Fourth Tone. The Original Melody
Listen Here
On this day Thou hast appeared * unto the whole world, * and Thy light, O Sovereign Lord, * is signed on us who sing Thy praise * and chant with
knowledge: Thou hast now come, * Thou hast appeared, O Thou Light unapproachable.
Translation copyright 2021 Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA, USA
Nativity Message of Metropolitan Andrew of Toronto
Today we gather to celebrate the birth in the flesh of the Son of God. Angels sang, shepherds came from their fields to worship and Magi journeyed a great distance to adore a Babe laid in a manger poor, cold and in swaddling bands, this tiny Babe Who is Lord of all creation. And what caused Him to empty Himself and take on our lowly human form? His inexhaustible love for His creatures. Man had disobeyed, had gone after false gods and rejected Him; and yet His love for us is so great that it causes Him to become incarnate and to labour and suffer all that He did, that He might bring us back to the Father. He has bestowed on us incalculable riches, which we can gain if we but strive to live in accordance with His commandments. The beauty and depth of our services are beyond compare. The means of acquiring grace are constantly with our reach. Every phase of our life has a blessing attached to it. And all this started in that humble cave and lowly manger. Let us hasten there in spirit to worship with the shepherds and with the Magi offer gifts to the new born King: a loving and humble heart, a grateful disposition and fervent prayer for one another.
May the Light of Christ shine in our hearts during these joyful days, blessing us and those around us. I wish you all a Happy Christmas filled with every blessing.
In Christ,
Andrew, Metropolitan of Toronto
Blessings on the Feast of our Saviour’s Holy Nativity in 2020
Dear and faithful Orthodox Christians,
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Together, let us all rejoice with great rejoicing as we celebrate the Birth of 
Our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ! Let us read together now the announcement of the Angel to the shepherds as recorded in the second chapter of the divine Gospel of Saint Luke:
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
And we also say with them, ‘Glory to God in the highest!’ for Our Saviour was incarnate, and lived among us, through His sacrifice making possible the forgiveness of our sins, the reconciliation of God with men, and He showed us the most excellent way, that we also walk in peace and virtue to the great day of Salvation.
Our father among the Saints, John Chrysostom expounded to us in a sermon that he gave on December 20, 386 AD, that we pull down the wall that may still keep us from Our Saviour saying, “Farewell to the law courts! Farewell to the council chambers, and to daily business with its contracts and transactions! I want to save my soul!”. He gives us a word which I think is very helpful for our current situation. This year we are not able to all celebrate in the Vigil and Liturgy as we have in the past, we will not all be together to celebrate the feast with Nativity treats and singing of Carols. Yet we all remain united in Christ. Our community united in Christ through prayer, participation in the Services at home, through love and joined through Divine Communion.
As we celebrate in our homes, listen to these beautiful words again of Saint John Chrysostom, “The Magi came from Persia, you must come away from daily business and travel towards Jesus. The distance isn’t great, if we’re willing.” The point is, you don’t have to cross the sea, or traverse the mountain peaks, but if you sit at home exhibiting piety and much compunction… you can cut the distance of the journey. For “I am a God close at hand, and not a God far off,” (Jer 23:23) and “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth” (Ps 145:18).
In the few days until Nativity, I would encourage everyone to read at home from the Gospels, Luke chapter 2, and Matthew Chapter 3. If you are with your family and children, gather them and read it together. And also each day to read or learn to chant these two sacred Kontakia hymns of the Forefeast and the Nativity written by Saint Romanus the Melodist. You can hear them chanted by the choir of Saint Nicholas through links below, and you can follow the words noted below, as well.
Kontakion of the FOREFEAST of Nativity of our Saviour Jesus Christ
Kontakion of the FEAST of the Nativity of our Saviour Jesus Christ
Our beloved Metropolitan Andrew sends his fatherly blessing to all of us, together with his encouragement that we pray for one another, and rejoice in the great mercy and love of God Our Saviour.
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Father Anthony
Kontakion for the Forefeast of Nativity of our Saviour
Third Tone. On this day the Virgin.
On this day the virgin cometh to the cave to give birth to * God the Word ineffably, * Who was before all the ages. * Dance for joy, O earth, on hearing * the gladsome tidings; * with the Angels and the shepherds now glorify Him * Who is willing to be gazed on * as a young Child Who * before the ages is God.
Kontakion of the Feast of the Nativity of our Saviour
Third Tone. The Original Melody.
On this day the Virgin beareth the Transcendent in essence; * to the Unapproachable, * the earth doth offer a small cave; * Angels join in choir with shepherds * in giving glory; * with a star the Magi travel upon their journey; * for our sakes is born a young Child, * He that existed * before the ages as God.
Text copyright Holy Transfiguration Monastery; used with permission.