St. Raphael of Brooklyn 2020-11-07

St. Thomas Orthodox Church: A Parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

⚠️ Please be sure to wear your mask when entering and leaving the church, entering and leaving your pew, and approaching and returning from the chalice. Hand sanitizer is available in the narthex.

Hymns in Today’s Liturgy

Apolytikion of St. Raphael (Tone 3)

Thou are champion of the one true faith, consolation of the persecuted, father of the orphans, friend of the destitute, peacemaker and good shepherd, and seeker of the lost, O Father Raphael, the joy of the Orthodox. Son of Antioch and boast of America, beseech Christ God for us and for all those who honor thee.

Apolytikion of St. Thomas (Tone 3)

O Holy Apostle Thomas, intercede to the merciful God, that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of sins.

Ordinary Kontakion (Tone 2)

O protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, mediation unto the Creator most constant, O despise not the suppliant voices of those who have sinned; but be thou quick, O good one, to come unto our aid, who in faith cry unto thee: Hasten to intercession, and speed thou to make supplication, thou who dost ever protect, O Theotokos, them that honor thee.

Epistle

Hebrews 7:26–8:3

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. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.

Gospel

John 10:9–16

The Lord said to His Disciples: “I am the door; if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know My own and My own know Me, as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed My voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.”

Synaxarion

On the first Saturday in November in the Holy Orthodox Church we commemorate our father among the Saints, Raphael Hawaweeny, Bishop of Brooklyn, “good shepherd of the lost sheep in America.” O holy hierarch Father Raphael, the first to be consecrated to apostolic ministry in the New World, lift up thy hands and bless thy people, consecrating us, thine inheritance, who consecrate this day to thee.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, and educated in Damascus, Syria, Halki, Turkey, and Kiev, Russia, Raphael found himself virtually exiled in Kazan, Russia. The young archimandrite was called to the New World by the Syrian Orthodox Benevolent Committee in New York City. Immigrating in 1895 and serving under the ægis of the Russian Orthodox Mission — then the only established Orthodox hierarchy — he was technically pastor of St. Nicholas Church (later Cathedral) in Brooklyn, New York, but was, in fact, the roving pastor of several dozen tiny, isolated communities spread thinly across the continent. As a priest he crossed the continent repeatedly in the course of nine years, and did so several more times after being consecrated Bishop of Brooklyn — the first such Orthodox consecration in North America — in 1905. He established a journal, al-Kalimat, to spread “The Word” to places he could not himself be, and worked diligently at translating Greek liturgical books into Arabic. These he distributed at his own expense to communities throughout the Middle East and to émigrés in the Americas, Africa, and Australasia. Thus, this “shepherd of the lost sheep” helped preserve Orthodox Christianity in those regions.

Through his prayers, O Christ our God, have mercy upon us, and save us. Amen.

Today and This Week

Today: Great Vespers, 18:00, St. Thomas

We will stream services live and post updates on our Facebook page and on our YouTube channel.

Please return your 2021 pledge card by 15 November!